Strange stuff and things I miss from home!

I`ve been in Chile for almost three weeks now, and it is definitely a completely different world! I am still having a great time and love my family. I`ve been sick for the past few days, which came at a bad time, trying to get started with my classes and still getting used to new surroundings. I think everyone gets sick one way or another from the extreme change in temperature or the different food and water. Luckily I just had a cold, but with a couple of days of rest and some medicine i'm feeling much better!

There have been a few things i`ve come across in Chile that have been very different, unique to say the least! Most of the food my family serves are things i`m familiar with. We have a lot of fruits, veggies, cheese, bread and rice. I live with a wealthy family, so they also have meat pretty often. My family has friends over all the time for meals and wine, and on Sunday they prepared a huge lunch for everyone. There was a big platter of meat that looked like bbq chicken. My madre offered me some with a grin, so I asked what it was. It turned out to be rabbit cooked in a chocolate sauce. I`ve never had rabbit and told myself I would try anything once, so I did. Sure enough, it was`t for me, but at least now I can say i`ve tasted it! On a different night, during a birthday party for my madre, they had different cheeses and finger foods out on the table. I don`t care for strong cheeses, which are the most expensive and favorite here, so I stick to the mild, fresh cheeses. I found one on the table I really liked and was eating some. Out of curiousity I asked someone at the table what type of cheese it was and found out it was goat cheese! I`ve never had it before, so it was strange to me, but was actually really good!

The college is also a lot different here. First of all, there are several buildings, but no campus. The buildings are spread out between two cities, and your classes could really be anywhere. Also, there seems to be a lot less structure with schedules. Classes are in one room, at one time one day a week, then in another room at another time another day a week. I still don`t understand how the credits are given for classes. Classes have anywhere from 2 credits to 6 credits, that i`ve seen so far, but this doesn`t seem to depend on how long the class meets each week or the subject itself. Also, I don`t think any of the classes require you to buy textbooks. You either make copies, get handouts, or get info on the internet. Definitely saves money! All of these differences are going to take some time to adjust to!

I`ve also had problems dealing with all of the stray animals on the streets that dig through garbage and beg for food. No one seems to give them a second glance. As an animal lover it`s hard to accept, but it is common, and a way of life here. There is a cat close to our house that was hit by a car, and laying dead on the side of the road. I asked if there were people who came and took care of things like that, but they told me it happened all the time and someone would eventually put it in a trash can. They also told me that all of the stray animals are normal, but makes the city look dirty, so when anyone of political importance is supposed to visit the city, they collect all of the strays and "put them down." Kinda hard to deal with but I guess that`s life!

There are obviously different things in Chile, and some things from home I miss that can`t be found here. Of course most of all I miss all of you...family and friends! As far as edible things go, I definitely miss Diet Mountain Dew and pizza. You get the strangest cravings for things when they aren`t available! I also miss my dog...seeing the horrible conditions here makes it that much worse. I also miss having the internet around whenever I want to use it, and driving my car. Most people have a washing machine, then hang their close to dry. I definitely miss clean, hot laundry straight from the dryer! I also miss having central heat, and not having to bundle up inside during the winter months (as it is winter here now becuase we are in the southern hemisphere). These seem like such small things compared to what most people here have.

The other day I got in a taxi, and the driver misunderstood my street name. Valparaìso is up on huge hills, and my neighborhood is one of the richest ones, near the middle as far as altitude goes. The taxi driver kept driving further up, into the poorest parts of the city. It was so sad to see the conditions so many people live in here. There houses, or shacks, look like they are made out of anything they could get their hands on, piled on top of each other, and could collapse at any minute. It`s hard to describe in words, but was like nothing i`ve seen before. I realized we weren`t going in the right direction and finally got to where I needed to be, but those images will be stuck in my head for a long time!

Hope everyone is doing well, and keep sending comments and emails!