My first week here I've spent at Spanish school and have certainly improved my Spanish in a very short space of time. I’m still realising more and more how bad my Spanish is like when only one of my lost bags turned up from the airline Sunday night. I’m staying with a host family while I’m at the language school as I thought it would be a good way to practice my Spanish and learn some things about Chilean culture and about living in Santiago in my first week while I’m settling in. My host-dad had to help me ring the airport to find my other bag. Luckily he speaks a little English for all the words in Spanish I don't know/remember so we can communicate just enough to get my luggage back.I arrived at the apartment of my new host family on Sunday and was warmly welcomed by everyone. They have two sons, Francisco and Benjamin, who are really friendly and polite. I can hardly communicate at all with the mother or the younger brother, Benjamin. I speak a little with the older brother, Francisco, as he wants to work overseas as a chef so has been studying English. It’s working out well as at least it’s forcing me to practice my Spanish! My host mum makes the effort to talk with me every evening after dinner but we are not understanding each other much at all. She is very lovely and patient but she has a very thick accent and speaks fast, as I’m learning is the case with lots of Chileans. I’m realising that learning Spanish in Chile is kind-of the equivalent of going to Ireland or Scotland to learn English - crazy! But then again, I've heard that if you can understand the Chileans, you can understand Spanish anywhere in the world. I hope so!The family eat together every night which I really like, although Francisco is studying to be a chef so is at school some nights of the week. They’ve been preparing a lot of traditional type Chilean food for me to try so I'm having fun being introduced to the Chilean cuisine such as cazuela (a kind of stew with chicken, potatoes, onion and rice - it's very plain like most Chilean cuisine - they're not fond of chile in Chile! - but very delicious), pastel de choclo (a kind of sweetcorn mornay that I love), empañadas (kind of like a pasty with meat, onion, olives, and egg, or with ham and cheese for example), a flat bread roll they call hallulla (one of my first introductions to Chilean rather than Spanish - they have lots of "modismos" here which are uniquely Chilean words making it even harder for me to understand what they're saying since I'm still struggling with basic Spanish!), lots of avocado which I love. I've been spoilt as they've been serving me avocado on bread for breakfast since I told them how much I love them! Avocadoes are so cheap here, you can buy at least 4 for the same price as 1 in Australia but street venders sell as many as a kilo for the same price - I already know I’m going to miss them when I go home!The strangest food, but certain to become a favourite, is the Italiano (having eaten one I have no idea where this name comes from!!). I’d recommend you try it! It’s a hotdog laden with tomato pieces and mashed avocado to which you add mayonnaise, tomato sauce and/or mustard as you like it. I only add tomato sauce (being an Aussie!). I can’t imagine ever eating a plain hotdog again.I was also introduced to the national Chilean drink, pisco, at my very first lunch. It's a white liquor (I don't know from what though), that they usually serve with lemon juice and call Pisco Sour. Anyway, it's really great, but potent - especially with the amount of liquor Chileans pour into a glass - about half the glass is liquor and then the mixer takes up a bit less than half - one glass was enough to make me tipsy. I wish I could send you all some to try! The other way to drink it (again with half the glass full of pisco) is to add coke. This is fondly known as a "piscola"!! (another modismo!)
Another wonderful thing about this homestay is my room. I have my own bedroom. It has the most amazing view of the Andes, which surround Santiago, and are at the moment covered in snow. It's absolutely beautiful and I think I've taken about 20 photos of them already including the one for this entry - that's from my bedroom window! Although the room is small, it has a closet and I have my own private bathroom - the water doesn't heat up though - it's freezing cold - I'm looking at snow on the Andes through the bathroom window and standing under cold water!! It is not the most pleasant experience! I don't quite understand the gas and hot water system here in Chile yet. They seem to have to light the gas every day for hot water, but then it all depends on how fast you turn the tap on to how hot (or cold) the water is as it’s heated on use not beforehand. I haven't mastered a hot shower yet - hopefully I will as there is also no heater in this house (or in lots of buildings in Santiago), so I've even been wearing my gloves while I sit on my bed and do homework from my Spanish school at night!