First Impressions

Los carabineros (police officers)

First off, I'd like to share that Chile is not how most people picture it. It is not a 3rd world country and it hasn't been for years. It is super stable and has a ton of modern technology. Santiago itself is the most developed city in all of South America! The police are honest and helpful. There are extremely few beggars or homeless people, no random creepy street performers, and the streets are filled with Audis, BMWS, Fords, and Toyotas. Everyone has iPhones or other smartphones. The parks are clean and the metro is safe. It is a very large misconception that it is super impoverished and underdeveloped (something I was partially guilty of thinking before I traveled here and experienced myself.)

View from my bedroom!

           

With almost a week under my belt, I feel like I officially have a "feel" for the city and I love it! My apartment building is in a residential area with a gorgeous view of the mountains. The apartment itself is a decent size with 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a huge enclosed terrace facing the mountains (on the terrace there is a couch, two chairs and the kitchen table).

The terrace where we eat all of our meals

In the apartment, I have my own room with a comfortable bed, a desk, a TV and a large closet (perfect for the collective 100 pounds worth of belongings I deemed necessary to bring). It feels homey and safe and I couldn’t be happier to be living here with Gaby and Sergio.

A hotdog "italiano"

I will say, the food here is a little bland because they don't use very many spices. But I really don't have any major complaints. I've had a variety of foods like spaghetti, chicken and rice, steak and potatoes, empanadas (an authentic Chilean dish) and I have toast and eggs or cereal for breakfast. Hot dogs are one of the most common foods here, specifically an “italiano” which is a hot dog smothered in chopped tomato, avocado and mayonnaise. I was served this my second night here and it is sold on the streets at just about every other dining establishment. One of Chile's biggest exports is fruit (especially right now during their summer and our winter) so fresh watermelon and grapes and other summer fruits are always in the house and they're super delicious.

Empanadas - usually filled with meat and/or cheese

            One thing I had to do here but didn’t have to do in Spain was register my visa (a must-do within 30 days of entering the country or they deport you) as well as get a foreign identity card (similar to a license without the ability to drive - all Chileans use it as ID). It took almost 6 hours to do both those things in one day but I’m so happy Kyle and I got it out of the way prior to classes starting. Orientation starts for us on March 5^th (which is unfortunate since it is my birthday!) and classes start on March 13th, so until then we are all just exploring and being tourists and getting to know the city better.

           

The weather is currently averaging 80-85 degrees F every day. Central air conditioning doesn’t seem to be a huge thing here but most rooms have fans and if you combine that with keeping the windows open, there is always a nice breeze making it feel comfortable. All in all, I would say I couldn’t be happier that I chose Santiago as the location for my second semester abroad. I feel safe, comfortable and extremely happy!

Being Tourists

During our 2^nd full day here, Kyle and I ventured out to explore Santiago. We had heard about Cerro San Cristobal from a number of people and it sounded like a pretty major tourist site. Cerro means hill in Spanish and San Cristobal is an enormous "hill" in the middle of Santiago. Personally, I would say "hill" is an understatement. On this hill there is a zoo, a pool, lots of places to grab a bite to eat or buy souvenirs and a nice long hiking trail. All of these activities appealed to us so we took the bus to the red line and then took the metro to a stop called “Banqudano”. As soon as we surfaced from underground, we could see Cerro San Cristobal. There is a huge white statue of the Virgin Mary at the top and as one of the tallest point in the city, it pretty obviously sticks out.

Barrio Bellavista

While walking towards it, we stumbled upon Barrio Bellavista, the most popular tourist "area" in the city. We had heard about it in travel books as well as from both of our host parents. We were cautioned from hanging around there at night but during the day it is perfectly fine. It was full of trendy restaurants and boho shops. We spent an hour or so wandering through (and stopping to purchase a few trinkets) before moving on towards San Cristobal.

Personally, I had no idea what we were in for. I knew about everything that the hill offered but I didn’t imagine the hike to be that difficult. So, I wore my gold boat shoes. We were approximately half way up the hill when I started to get terrible blisters and decided that we would most definitely take the Funicular (similar to a gondola) back down. I will say, the blisters were worth it once we made it to the top though. The view from the top of the hill was amazing!

View from the top

The city occasionally has a little bit of a smog issue (similar to California) so we couldn’t see the mountains as clear as they usually are, but we saw the general idea of them. There were a few stray dogs at the top, but they didn't bother anyone. They just laid in the shade or drank out of the fountains. It was nice and breezy at the top, which was a refreshing feeling after sweating and hiking our way up in 85 degree weather. It was a great experience - I definitely want to go back. Next time I'll be prepared with the proper footwear. The funicular just as fun as the hike though – I definitely recommend it for those who decide to wear their boat shoes!

The Flight

The night before my flight to Santiago, my parents surprised me by taking me out, just the three of us, to a nice dinner at one of their favorite restaurants. That may not seem like a big deal to most, but when you have 5 kids in your family, trust me, it’s huge. The next morning, I woke up and did my final errands before struggling to get both my suitcases under 50 pounds. My stepmom, Sharon, made my favorite lunch – a homemade roasted tomato soup with grilled cheese. It takes her about 5 hours to make that soup (she hand roasts the tomatoes herself!) Combined with grilled cheese sandwiches on Italian bread, I couldn’t have dreamt up anything better.

            After lunch, the whole family drove into the Logan International Airport to drop me off. (Everyone except my sister Niki, who had to work). We drove in around 4 pm, which with a ridiculous amount of traffic, got us there around 5:15 pm. We then proceeded to park the car and all six of us marched into Terminal B in search of Air Canada.

The whole crew at Legal Sea Food's

 At the Air Canada baggage check, I met up with Kyle. He had taken  the bus from Maine to Logan so that we could fly together. We checked our bags and then realized we had about an hour and a half until boarding so my dad offered to take us across the terminal to Legal Sea Foods for a quick bite before they left to go home. I wasn’t very hungry but I wasn’t about to pass up my last few moments with my family so Kyle and I happily joined them. After our meal, we walked back to security and Kyle and I got ready to board our flight!

About to go through security!

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Our first flight went to Toronto, Canada and from there we got our second flight to Santiago, Chile. It’s interesting because most people assume Toronto is super north (I was one of those people at first) but if you take a close look at a map, it’s actually at almost the same latitude as Boston. So really, we just happened to go west, not north, before heading south.

 It was a 2-hour flight to Toronto followed by a 2-hour layover before our daunting 10-hour flight to Santiago. The flight to Toronto was nothing special but the Toronto airport was really cool. They had this restaurant that had iPads set up at every chair at every table (including the bar), all completely hooked up to the internet that you could use for free or if you were hungry, while you ate. That passed the time waiting to board our flight to Chile, along with my first ever trip to Tim Horton’s, which I would compare to America’s Dunkin Donuts for those who have never been (DD’s is obviously way better). 

Toronto Airport

             The plane to Santiago was one of the biggest one’s I’ve ever been on. There were 10 seats in a row, broken up into 3 then 4 then 3. The plane had over 70 rows broken up into Business Elite, Business Class and Economy sections. Passing by those Business Elite sections with the individual swivel chairs and foot rests really made me wish I had the extra $1,000 to splurge for a seat up there. I put my carry-on bag in the section before me because I could see there was limited overhead space in my section. Well, about 10 minutes before take off someone reported a bag left in the middle of the aisle. I got up to check since it fit my bag’s description and what do you know, someone has taken out my bag and left it on the floor! That caused a few moments of rushing around trying to find an open space. I couldn’t believe someone had the audacity to do that! Luckily, there was space closer to me so I was able to keep an eye on it during the flight.

            

I slept a majority of the time we were in the air, so I don’t remember much of the actual plane ride. The food was subpar, as to be expected for plane food, and I wasn’t particularly interested in any of the movies or TV shows they offered. I woke up just in time to see us gliding over the mountains preparing for landing. 

After going through passport control and customs, I finally met my host parents, Gaby and Sergio. They were waiting for me outside of customs with a big sign with my name on it. They were much younger than I expected (I was told they have 4 grandchildren – but they couldn’t be much older than late 50’s!) and Gaby embraced me right away. She hugged me multiple times with a beaming smile and told me I had a pretty face. She was kissing my cheeks and calling me her “hija” (daughter) before we left the airport and for the rest of the day kept checking in to bring me things or see if there was anything in particular that I needed. I unpacked all the essentials but was pretty tired so after lunch I was thrilled to go lie down in my quiet room for a while. After waiting what I felt was the appropriate amount of time to ask for the Wi-Fi password (approximately 1.5 hours) I hooked up all my devices and was able to contact my family as well as Kyle and Emily, my friends in Santiago. From there, Kyle, Emily and I made plans to meet up after dinner so Emily could introduce Kyle and I to some of her friends that she’s made here! Despite my tiredness, I couldn't NOT go see her and her friends and I'm so glad that I did.

Celebrating my first night in Chile at Emily's apartment!

Preparations

Going to Spain, I thought I was prepared. With two 50-lb suitcases, a duffle bag that was stuffed to the brim and a 30-lb NorthFace backpack, I thought that there was no way I could have forgotten anything.

My closet in Spain

Turns out, I brought too many flip-flops and not enough closed toed shoes. I ran out of DayQuil in the first month and somehow managed to lose every single one of my chapsticks before Thanksgiving. However, I was prepared with some other useful items. My portable battery for my iPhone saved the whole group when my director’s iPhone ran out of battery before we were able to call the bus driver to come take us home from Toledo. My filtered water bottle was brought with me wherever I went and the slippers I brought to wear in my homestay made me fit right in with my host parents.  When I left Spain, I actually had to leave behind almost a full duffle bag worth of stuff with a friend who was staying an extra week because all of the souvenirs that I had bought took up so much room.

            After my experience in Spain, you would think that packing for my second semester abroad would be a breeze. Although it definitely shed some light, it still isn’t something I would call easy. I’m a notorious over-packer whether I’m going abroad or to visit a friend at school for the weekend. The fact that I will over-pack will never change, but the items that I’m over-packing will. I read a lot of things online, from traveler’s blog posts to articles on Pinterest about suggestions for packing in general and suggestions for a trip to South America.

4 pills that I have to take every other day for a week

            Things in particular that I need for Chile that I didn’t need for Spain are mostly medical. They recommend a Hepatitis A vaccination shot, which I got, as well as a typhoid fever vaccine, which I am currently taking in the form of pills. 

 

Okay, I bought two.

  

  My friend Emily also informed me that there are no chocolate chips to be found anywhere in the city. (She looked!) Her and I live for Sunday morning pancakes and so this was a big issue for her last semester. To avoid that this semester, both of us purchased bags of chocolate chips at our local grocery stores to bring with us. Crisis averted. 

            I think the biggest reason that I struggle with packing is because I don’t know what to expect. I’ve always been a big traveler. When I was little, we went somewhere tropical for every April vacation that I can remember.  In February, my dad loved to take us skiing at mountains all over New England. But I had never been to Europe until last semester. While I was there, I traveled to 5 different countries all for the first time. Now, I’m off to South America, another place that I’ve never been before. I have to pack for every possible scenario, right?

             I have plans to travel to all four corners of Chile. I want to experience Viña del Mar on the coast, the Andes to the West, San Pedro de Atacama in the North and Pucon in the South. I still have 2 weeks left before I actually start stuffing suitcases so wish me luck!  Who knows, maybe I’ll have a little more self-control this time around!