Mi Familia

Hi from Ñuñoa,
It is my second day with mi familia chilena. They are a great family and I think it is going to be a good match. The mother, Macarena, works with children with intellectual disabilities and language issues. We had a long conversation about the special education system in chile. She was told me some horror stories about certain homes for severly disabled children and the poor quality of care. It is also really expensive to give good care to children with special needs so a lot of the families and not involved with the children. Es muy triste la situacion de los niños quien necesitan educacion especial. Macarena will be a great person to talk with about the things I learn in my education seminar.

Mi padre, Fabian, works in a bank in santiago centro so I will be able to travel with him most mornings. He is very funny and laughs a lot. I also have dos hermanos. Martìn is 12 (not 6 like I was told) and Vincente is 4. He turns 5 on tuesday so it will be fun to celebrate his birthday. They are a little shy but are starting to open up all ready. They are both very wild and full of energy. It is funny to watch as someone new to the house but it drives the mama crazy. haha. I also met mi abuela, the mother of Macrena and her son (macarena's brother) cristobal who is 23. They are also muy simpaticos.

While I love my chilean family, the communication has been very frustrating. Chileans speak very fast spanish so I miss a lot of what they say. When they are talking to me I am able to understand most of it, but when they speak to each other it actually sounds like a different language. It is definitely going to take a while to get used to their form of spanish. It is frustrating and overwhelming to be focusing on language constantly-it takes all of my concentration to understand their words. When I was in Perù, they talks much clearer and slower, but here it all blurs into one word. It's kinda like when I talk in english haha. Hopefully I don't miss anything that important. I think it will get better after a while but it's exhausting.

Overall I am having and overwhelming but wonderful time get accustomed to life en Chile! Tomorrow I will brave the metro for my 45 minute commute into the city ( Ñuñoa where i live is still considered santiago but the SIT house and Universidad Alberto Hurtado are in santiago Centro, Santiago). I miss you all.

Paz y Amor,
Kim