First Day

So later turned into much later! Basically crashed yesterday evening so a full download is now necessary. The flight over was pretty straight-forward really. Had to stand in a line in Auckland for over an hour just to get my tickets. Wee bit of a panic when they raised questions about my departure date. My visa is only for three months so I will have to pop in and out again to renew it but the flight people wanted me to have a ticket out then and there. However, they decided to be nice and let me through anyway. Thanks heaps to Nigel (SIM director NZ) who stuck around to make sure I made it onto the plane all right!Struggled to sleep on the plane, just WAY too uncomfortable. I was also panicking because there was some Spanish being spoken around me that I had no idea what was being said. I was sure they must be the Chileans and I was going to be completely lost but it turned out to be Portuguese. No worries, different language so totally okay that I couldn't understand!

My host family are lovely and incredibly gracious and helpful with my language. The two adults are Filipe and Emy with their two boys Sammi and Pedro. Pedro hasn't managed "Anna" and seems stuck with "Nana" so I guess that will do! I slept for close on 14 hours and even managed to sleep through the constant barking of dogs and sunlight streaming through my curtains. The language is going okay, I'm making myself understood although much hand-waving and the occasional (or not so occasional) English word. People in shops however are so far impossible to understand!

This a drink/snack you can buy real cheap from street vendors. I think it is called mata and it is apricot nectar with an apricot and the grain at the bottom. The grain is kind of like barley I think. It tastes great, although a little sweet!

My guide and crash-course to Santiago was Fiona who is from Tasmania so today was explained to me in English - so that I knew exactly what was happening. She walked me to the train station and we bought a train and bus card then we caught the train into the centre of town; took about half an hour. We then followed my route to language school and got me enrolled there starting in two weeks. The rest of the day we walked around the centre of town and bought some stuff I needed and had lunch at a cafe so I knew how to order etc. Quite tiring and very overwhelming, plus quite intimidating. I stand out like a fish out of water. It wasn't so bad in the centre but in the suburbs and the public transport, people just stare at me. It's very disconcerting and frightening as it makes me a prime target for theft. Only the rich are white here and even they aren't as white as me! Perhaps a fake tan is in order...