My first weekend!

I´ve been in Valparaíso, Chile for a week now and i´m having such a good time and learning a lot! I finished orientation this week where we met all of the other exchange students, learned about the university, toured the city and registered for classes. The exchange students are from all different countries, including Germany, Sweden, Mexico, Brazil, Frace and the United States. Everyone speaks different languages and it´s so cool that Spanish is now our common language! Two of my best friends i´ve made here so far are from Germany. Last night (Friday), the mentors from orientation, who are also students at the university, took all of us out to a pub in Viña del Mar, the neigboring town where a majority of the exchange students live. It was pretty different from clubs and bars in the Unites States. It was two floors, where the first floor had a bar and a dance floor, and the second floor was like a big lounge with couches and tables. They served pnuts and chips, and candles were lit on all of the tables. There were huge screens both upstairs and down, where music videos played. The night started out with everyone sitting upstairs talking and getting to know one another, then led to dancing. I met so many people and got to speak a lot of Spanish! Since we went out in Viña del Mar, I was nervous about getting back to Valparaíso, but luckily three of the mentors also live in Valpo (for short), and we took a bus back together, and then a taxi to our houses. Overall it was a fun night! There are a lot of mixed opinions as to whether people prefer Viña or Valpo. Valpo is more historic with old houses and stone streets. Viña is more up to date and has highrise buildings and McDonalds restaurants. I guess with my stay here I will have a chance to learn each city a little better.

Today I spent the day helping my family set up for a surprise birthday party for my madre here. I learned from some of the mentors last night that the family I live with actually comes from an Italian background which explains alot about how much they talk and spend time with family and friends! About twenty people came to the house for the party and it turned out really well! People began talking and catching up, then everyone sat down for tea and apetizer type foods. María (my madre) opened all of her gifts and everyone continued to talk. I was so excited that people couldn´t believe i´d only been here for a week, and told me I understood and spoke so well. That definitely helped my confidence! After some time talking at the table, they brought out a huge cake, which people ate and had more coffee or tea. Still sitting at the table, they brought out different types of finger foods and the night went on talking and having fun. The family is absolutely wonderful and so friendly. I couldn´t imagine being in any other house!