Mi familia

21 July 2006
Hola todos,
I have been living with my family since Wednesday. My father´s name is Luis, but everyone calls him Lelo. He is a professor of education at La Universidad Catolica. My mom´s name is Maria Fernanda. She was a religion teacher, but I don´t think she is teaching anymore, but I don´t really know...everyone is on vacation right now. I also have a brother and a sister, Nico and Alvira. It is kind of crazy, because they are the same ages as Ben and Tim, my biological brothers. Nico is a law student at la Catolica...he has had a really big test to study for all week, so I haven´t had a chance to get to know him or really talk to him at all. I have been talking a lot with Lelo and Fernanda, and I think my Spanish is really improving, while my English is getting worse! We live in an apartment, which is small, but just the right size. I feel kinda bad because Nico had to give up his room for me, so he is in a room the size of a walk-in closet, but I think he has another place that he lives sometimes, or can go to get away (his cousins apartment in Valparaiso). The apartment is on one of the main streets in Viña.

Yesterday we (the CIEE group) went out to el campo, the country, to learn about the way of life out there. We got there and ate a lunch of empanadas and fruit, which was an amazing lunch. After lunch we learned how to dance the cuaca, the Chilean national dance. It was quite difficult, I really struggled with it, mainly because I thought it was like the grapevine, but it wasn´t, so I was doing it really incorrectly, but I think that I got it figured out. After the dancing, we went to a flower plantation, and learned about growing flowers and creating seeds. After this we learned how to make empanadas, and then looked at animals.

Then we went to a viña, where they grow grapes, both for export (plain eating) and for use in wine. It was really cool, I wish we could have seen it when there were leaves on the plants, since it is winter, there was no green on the plants, but a few grapes that were decomposing on the plants.

When we got back to the camp, there was a little soccer game between the gringos while the Peruvians watched and laughed at us.

After we got back to Viña, Emily and I went back to my apartment and had some té and then went for a walk around Viña.

Today we took tests for placement...not sure how well I did, I should have reviewed before I took it, but I had no idea what would be on it, I thought that it would be more of a writing exam, but a lot of it was which word should be used in this space...I got really confused, so I will see how I did a bit later.
It is really quite cold here, but I am living with it and in reality it isn´t COLD, but chilly like in October. I have to get going because it is almost time for my oral exam.

Love, Kathy