First day of class and more exploring

Hola chicos!
When last I wrote, Annie and I had arrived in Santiago and had just come home from a day of exploring the city. The past 2 days have continued to be a fun time. We woke up early for breakfast and an 8am placement test and met 2 other girls in our house who were also starting their first day: Lily and Fiona. We all walked over together and were shuttled into the exam. I am embarrassed to say how much Spanish I forgot (por ejemplo: la significa de "fecha"), yeah - on the exam I wrote my name and then could not put 2 and 2 together that I should also write the date! Oh well - it was off to level 1A for me!
My class and private lessons were schedule for the afternoon, so Lily and I decided to explore the area west of our neighborhood. We went to the Plaza Italia which is part of the park that Annie and I walked in and there was a rainbow!

beautiful fountain


fountain with rainbow

Back to school for my first lessons - it all went by very quickly, but I already feel like I'm learning/remembering a lot. There are 5 of us in my class - a guy from Britain, 2 girls from Germany and another girl from Austria, and we're all around the same level. The teacher is a young Chilean guy and very nice - it's supposedly one of his first weeks teaching but I think he's very good. I'm really happy with our program choice - the staff (from the receptionist to my tutor and professor) are all patient and helpful - and strict about speaking only Spanish!

The day ended with a walk to an artsy neighborhood, Bellavista, which is right across the river from where we live. We ate at a yummy Peruvian place that was recommended by a few of our travel books and had our first Pisco Sours - the national drink of Chile. Pisco is Chilean brandy and they mix it with lemon juice served chilled. The drink was delicious - tasted like a really strong margarita - but we were all feeling it after the first sip or so! It was such a fun dinner full of lively conversation; Lily (pictured with me) and Fiona (with Annie) are awesome and will also be here for a month or so with us.




Pisco Sour (yum!)

To answer your questions, Summer:
(1) The house has about 13 rooms (some singles, some doubles), but mine is the cutest (in my opinion). Annie's room is also great - it's one floor above mine with eaves and a private bathroom. The house is called "La Casa Loca" but I haven't found that at all - people are mostly friendly and considerate.
(2) The obelisque/obelisk (Washington Monument) is for Jose Balmaceda, an aristocrat and President in Chile. There are actually quite a few similar structure honoring other pple throughout the city. This one reads: "La Patria Balmaceda. Porque la amo sobre todas las cosas de la vida. - The Founding Father Balmaceda Because he was the master of all the things in life." From wikipedia: José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández (July 19, 1840 – September 19, 1891) was a Chilean political figure and President.
(3) I'm so glad you like the blog!

love,
co