GOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL

A few hours ago, I was sitting in the car with Alejandra (my host mom), her father (as well as his puppy Golden Retriever, Tomi), Catalina and Nacho. Suddenly, I heard screams coming from all directions. Not knowing how to react, and thinking a fight had broken out or another crime had been committed, I looked all around. Within a few seconds, I realized that they weren’t screams of fear or anger, but that they rang a different tone. Everyone around me, from apartment buildings and businesses, were yelling out in excitement, and I could make out that many were screaming “GOOOOOAALLLLLL” for as long as they could sustain a yell. Chile was playing Peru in futbol, and the entire city (minus those of us in cars) was tuned in to watch. Chile had just scored, pushing their lead to 2-0. A few minutes later Peru scored, and I could hear angry yells coming from around me. It’s been hours since Chile won the game 3-1, but only just a few minutes ago did the cars stop honking in celebration. I can’t wait to get a fill of this Chilean futbol spirit myself, and to make my way down to the Estadio Nacional at least a few times in the next few months to watch a futbol game, cheer along with the Chileans, and scream “GOOOAAAAALLLL” for as long as my breath can hold.

I spent today with the host family as we ventured to the grandfather’s countryside home about 30 miles west of Santiago. It was a very relaxing day playing with his 5 dogs (and Nacho), seeing a bit of the countryside and the more traditional Chile, and meeting some family friends. I spent most of the day completely confused as to what they were talking about, usually just responding with a “Si” when I didn’t understand, but trying my best to follow along. My Spanish really isn’t as bad as I thought it was, but boy, do I have a long way to go. During one of those times that I did follow the conversation, we talked a bit about the music that was on the radio station. After hearing a Britney Spears song come on and noticing that the previous 2 songs had also been by American artists, I asked them if it was normal for the majority of songs to be from the US. They said yes, that most all of the songs they listen to are American songs, even though they don’t understand the words at all. They listen for the melody, and although there were Chilean and Spanish songs coming on every so often, English songs completely dominated the Chilean radio station. To follow this up, we talked about the movies they watch, and they remarked that again, the vast majority of movies coming into Chile were from the US. In fact, they’ve seen more American movies in the past few months than I have.

The amount of American and European presence in Chile was very surprising to me. My host family is white and blonde, and half of the television stations are US channels dubbed over in Spanish or with Spanish subtitles. There is a McDonalds and a Blockbuster within 2 blocks of my house and a Starbucks down the street, and I’ve seen multiple billboards and other advertisements that were never changed to Spanish by the American companies. It was easy to accept in India because nearly everyone there, at least all educated people, were fluent in English, or at least had some command of the English language. Here, while many have taken English classes for a few years, most only know a few words or phrases. I’m just now beginning to see the true effects of globalization, and am wary of what this culture may look like 20 years from now.

This is not to say that English is everywhere and I do not have to use Spanish. On the contrary, I’ve spoken very little English the past few days, and 99% of the words to come out of my mouth have been Spanish. As I said, I remembered a bit more Spanish than I thought, but I still have a long way to go before I’ll consider myself at an advanced or fluent level. Chileans are known in the Spanish speaking world for how quickly they speak, how they merge words and sounds together (much of the time just leaving off the ends of words) and for their huge amount of slang. Half of the problem is discerning the words that come out of their mouth before I even begin to translate in my head, and I know they are speaking slowly for me. If there’s something I hope to achieve soon, it’s a better ear for Spanish. Before I improve my grammar or increase my vocabulary, I really need to improve at simply understanding the words that come out of their mouths.

So ends my second day in Chile. Tomorrow, we have our program orientation all day, and I’ll be starting classes on Tuesday. I’m excited to meet the rest of the Stanford students and staff at the Stanford center here, and for the chance to see more of Santiago in the next few days. Let’s just hope I don’t get lost taking the bus to orientation tomorrow...

A great first day of my next great journey

As if India weren’t enough, I’ve embarked on my next journey. I’m currently sitting on my bed in the Las Condes comunidad in Santiago, Chile, tired after 20 hours of traveling, living on 2 hours of sleep, and exhausted from trying to speak Spanish all day to my host family.

I arrived this morning at 7 AM Santiago time (3 hours ahead of California), and arrived at my host family’s house around 9 AM. The Delta flight from Atlanta to Santiago, although a red eye, was actually quite enjoyable. I sat next to a young Chilean man, and we spoke in a mix of English and Spanish about our native countries. He told me some great places to go while I’m in Chile, told me about his favorite soccer team (Universidad Católica) and told me the best way to get from the airport to my host family’s house. Upon arriving in Santiago, I was immediately overtaken by the smell of smoke. Santiago lies in between two mountain ranges, has liberal laws restricting pollution, and it thus filled with smog. You could feel and smell it in the air as we got off the plane, and it overtook you. Luckily, the area near the airport has the worst of it, and my house is far from there, so the pollution won’t be as bad. However, it’s the worst city I’ve ever seen as far as smog goes, and even though we’re very close to the Andes, they are sometimes completely masked by smog.

For the next 10 weeks, I’ll be living with the Isarn’s, a family living in a fourth floor apartment in the upscale neighborhood of Las Condes , which lies at the base of the Cordillera de los Andes. I’m living with a host mom, Alejandra, who is in charge of sales at a local vineyard, her three children-Cristobal (18 years old), Felipe (15) and Catalina (13), and an 8 month old puppy, Nacho. Cristobal works as a volunteer firefighter at night, so he usually sleeps at the fire station, but comes over for most meals, and he studies Civil Engineering at a local university. I’m really glad I have a host brother my age, and Cristobal is great. He drove me to see where my classes will be, told me how to get there on the bus, and introduced me to some of his friends. He’s busy this weekend with fire fighting, but he’s going to show me the city next weekend, and I’ll get to see the fire station, meet more of his friends, and hopefully my Spanish will be decent enough by then so that I’ll be able to make some Chilean friends while I’m here. Not that I don’t love Stanford students, but I’m really hoping to spend a lot of time with native Chileans here, and to not confine myself to the Stanford bubble. I’m really excited that Cristobal is going to help me meet some Chileans, and I think he’s going to be a great friend while I’m in Chile. My other brother, Felipe, is a tennis player, and according to Alejandra is currently #2 in Chile for the under-16 age group. He travels all around South America playing in tournaments (he’s off to Mendoza, Argentina this next week to play in a tournament), and is completely obsessed with the game. He attends a special school that allows him to only go to class 2 hours a day, and he spends 8 hours a day playing tennis. Catalina is great, too. She’s been around the house a lot today, so I’ve been able to talk to her a lot, and she seems very happy to have an American brother. She’s been very helpful all day, and is always a great person to talk to. I’m really looking forward to spending a lot of time with my host family these next few months! Tomorrow, we’re off to the countryside to spend some time with the grandfather, which I’m really looking forward to.

I really wanted to come to Chile instead of another Spanish speaking country because of how hospitable I heard the Chileans were, and I’m so far loving how kind they are. My mother is always offering me food, Coca-Cola, and any help I need, Catalina is always there to talk to, and Cristobal has already introduced me to the city and to his friends. I’m really looking forward to meeting a lot more Chileans in these next few weeks, and not limiting myself to the Stanford bubble. I can’t wait to push myself out of my comfort zone and to make friends who don’t even speak my same language. I’m excited for the beautiful country I’ll get to explore these next few months, for the people I’ll meet, for the Spanish I’ll learn, and for another great journey! As for right now, I’m off to bed, a great but tiring day behind me, and a wonderful day tomorrow in the countryside to look forward to. ¡Hasta mañana!

One week to go!

To do this week: Learn spanish. T minus 7 days.