¡Hola a todos! Wow, I realize that my general stagnant state throughout the last semester and holiday season came back to bite me pretty hard. On Monday, I walked around and explored Santiago Centro (downtown) and Barrio Bellavista for 6 HOURS, which consequently meant that I grew some major blisters on my feet and had some major lower back pain. I was walking around holding my back like a pregnant woman. But it's good for me, for sure. I have to admit I did not use the metro on Monday because I was still a little bit intimidated by the fact. Oscar's house really is not very close to the city center so I spent most of my day on foot. I saw where my new apartment will be (really cool place right across from this beautiful church) and walked around Plaza de Armas, which is like a big square right downtown that is pretty busy with vendors and the like. On my walk to Barrio Bellavista, I saw my first canchas de tenis (tennis courts) and I got a little excited because I saw they were clay courts, which the majority of them in Chile are. I have never played on clay before so I am pretty excited to start playing, but the problem is is that there are virtually no public courts in the city so I will have to pay to play, but whatever. Barrio Bellavista by day is much different than at night - wayyy quieter. On my way out of the Barrio this younger activist woman came up to me and started going off in Spanish and handed me some poem. I got from her that she was fighting for lowering the cost of university education in the city because a lot of people cannot afford it. And of course, she asked me for a donation, which of course, I did not give her any money because who knows what would happen to it. Just because I am more 'gringo' looking doesn't mean that I have tons of money to throw around. I am (Mom and Dad) trying to be a bit frugal here. On Monday night, I met Ignacio for the first time - we talked in Spanish for a long time, so that was pretty cool. I tend to stay up pretty late here, partly because I have nothing to wake up early for in the mornings and it is very hot so I have a hard time falling asleep (for those of you who know me well, you know this). On Tuesday, I ballsed up and used the Metro to meet Oscar at his office so we could go and buy me a cell phone. Using the Metro is ridiculously easy and I don't know why I was intimidated by it - everything is marked very well. You get a BIP! card and add credit to it, and then all you have to do is wave it in front of a little area and voila! you're in. I feel soooooooooo cool using the Metro, it's really fun, because basically I can go anywhere in the city that I want (or need) to now. I met Oscar at his LAN office (LAN is the national airline of Chile and one of the largest *and best, so I'm told* in Latin America) in Los Condes, a newer and more upscale section of Santiago. I must say, THANK GOD I had his help in getting a celular - seriously, the cell phone store that we went to was fricken nuts. There were people everywhere! It was two floors, and so crowded and that you had to go up to this kiosk and take a number, then this digital screen called off all the numbers and directed you to a certain station. I would have been annoyingly confused if I would have been on my own. We ended up going to a big department store in one of the malls near Oscar's office to get my phone - I got a phone with a chip in it to add minutes, which apparently you can go to any pharmacy or supermarket and do it very easily. For me, prepaid was the best way to go because I didn't want to pay for a plan monthly and not use the minutes, especially because I do not know many people here yet. After the purchase of the cell phone, I took the Metro back to Oscar's apartment. For those of you who know me, I take great pride in my ability to memorize maps and find my way around places without using a map. Believe it or not (lol), I did get lost on my way back this time. I was very confused, so I asked this younger couple what direction Av. Varas was. They were very kind and walked me to where I needed to go, and we talked in Spanish the whole way there. They asked me a lot of questions about myself and my time in Chile so far - it was really great. I finally made it back to Oscar's apartment, took in some sun, and then Ignacio came over to watch his favorite fútbol team play against an Argentinian team. We chatted (in Spanish) and had some beers. Today, I slept until about one o'cock (13:00) and then headed to the language center to ask them some questions about the program. I met one of the coordinators, who happens to be from Milwaukee and loved it so much here that she stayed, and she showed me around the school. She also handed me a flyer of a restaurant called California Cantita, which is run by 3 gringos from California. She said it is a really great place to go to meet other foreigners and get to get your burger (and RANCH DRESSING - LOL) fix. I will probably go there tomorrow night because they are having a benefit for the victims of the Haitian earthquake. Also, she informed me that I should really enjoy my weekend because once the program starts next Wednesday, I won't be doing much else because it is quite intensive :( :( That's okay, it's why I'm here after all! But speaking of earthquakes, upon my arrival, Oscar informed me that tremors and earthquakes are quite common in Santiago - every 3 months or so. I swear today I felt the ground shake left and right for about 10 seconds, but I'm not sure if it was something else, like a big truck underneath me or something. Nevertheless, I may have experienced my first earthquake today! It was actually kind of cool. But, unlike in Haiti, all the buildings are built with that in mind so they are topple-proof. I went up to Cerro Santa Lucía, a big rocky but green hill in the middle of the city. It was really beautiful and I got a great panoramic view of Santiago - I will post some pics soon. After this, and lots of sweat and panting, I once more headed to Santiago Centro to take a look around. I used the Metro that is closest to my new apartment, got some grub, and just hung out a bit. I also met a new Chilean bud, Richard. I asked him where a good place to eat was and he joined me and we hung out for awhile and had a good chat. We're gonna hang tomorrow after he gets off of work, which is cool because I'm starting to meet people now! I'm back now at the apartment and pretty tired, but looking forward to the weekend for sure! Hope this post finds everyone well (and not too cold) :)

SOME RANDOM THINGS...

-The money situation here is very strange but I am getting used to it. 500 pesos = 1 dollar. It seems like I am taking out soooo much money when I take out 100,000 pesos, but it is actually only $200 dollars. Very different but it's pretty fun to learn.

-When I see American things in Chile, the translations make me laugh soo hard. Yesterday I saw a big advertisement for a McChicken on a billboard, but instead of McChicken, it's McPollo. HAHAHAHAHA. Love it! Also, today I watched Rachael Ray cook some food, but her voice was dubbed over by a very Rachael Ray-esque Spanish speaking woman. Fricken hilarious.

-ATTENTION avocado/guacamole lovers!!!!! Palta (avocado) is virtually on/in everything here. Very delicious.

-Every time that I speak in Spanish, whether it be to ask for directions, add credit to my BIP! card, or grab a water (sin gas - without bubbles) from a convenience store, people are always very nice and smile at me because they can obviously tell I am not a native speaker. It makes me feel very welcome here in Chile. I'd like to end this post to let everyone know that this is extremely important for my comfort here. Next time that you encounter someone who is not a native English speaker in the States, do not scoff or laugh, but try and make them feel welcome; smile and ask them questions, help them out if you can. I could not imagine anything worse than being here and trying to speak my broken Spanish and have people laugh at me, make fun of me, or yell at me and tell me to go back where I came from. My experience thus far in Chile has really opened my eyes to this.

More pics to come!