Day 10 Update

This was supposed to be a One Week Update.

I apologize in advance for how I jump from topic to topic in this post.

I've been in Chile for 10 days. It's been a great, exciting, exhausting 10 days. I'm starting to feel at home here.

I've now been into Santiago twice- once to register my visa and once to do touristy things. Santiago is a big, beautiful city. It's going on 500 years old, and one could probably guess that by looking at some of the architecture, which is mixed in to more modern parts of the city. We went to La Moneda, where the President lives, a couple museums, the 17th best ice cream parlor in the world, and more. It was a nice day.

"You are in one of the 25 best ice cream parlors in the world."

La Moneda

I feel bad for the stray dogs. It’s cold and rainy here, and for the most part, the dogs don’t look like they’re ok on their own. They look cold, wet, and very hungry. They don’t look feral; they look like they want someone to take care of them.

The birds here are interesting. Some look similar to U.S. birds, some look identical, some are very different. I’m a fan of Vanellus chilensis Valdivia, which has a body similar to that of a pigeon’s, long legs like a seagull, and a beak like a duck. I did a double-take the first time I saw one.

It's hard to tell, but there's a duck bill in there

I really felt more confident in my ability to talk today. I had actual conversations with classmates, not just the standard “hello,” “goodbye,” and “I don’t understand.” I still have a long way to go, but speaking Spanish is feeling more natural.

I’m a fan of how close Chileans are with each other. It’s a very warm, welcoming country. When a man or a woman meets another woman (for the first time and most of the following times), they kiss on the cheek. Men shake hands, often hug, and sometimes do a cheek kiss, too. I like this because it tears down walls that other cultures keep up for a long time, if not forever. It’s a very intimate culture.