My mom and Aunt Lisa made me realize this week, I never said anything about my classes or daily life! Que horror! Well to start, I live right across the street from the international office, lucky me because some kids have to talk a long bus ride to get there. I just walk out of my building, up a staircase to the street, and dash across (drivers here are CRAZY) and I'm there. The international office is not part of the main campus, and doesn't look like any university office I've even been in. It's an old salmon-colored house converted into the office. It has two floors, a basement and a nice sun deck upstairs. This is where all of my classes take place, I never need to go to the main campus, and don't know what it looks like.
I'm taking four classes. A grammar class, a Chilean culture class, phonetics, and Cultures in Contact -- with Chilean students to learn about each others' culture. The first three classes I take with the same people, there are 3 German students, and 4 of us Americans (it started out just American's and the Germans each were added one by one). I hope there will be no more additions because I like the small classes. The classes are all in Spanish except when we need more explanation (which is a lot of the time).
Cultures in Contact I've only had once, and it is a once-weekly class. We get 2 credits for the class, but 3 if we volunteer. I signed up for the "English Open's Doors" program, which I will go to a high school in the area and sit in with a teacher for 4 hours per week during English classes and help explain things in English or banish American stereotypes if they need me to. ("No, we do NOT put ketchup on everything," side note: Cecy -- the mom -- bought me a HUGE bag -- yes bag -- of ketchup the other day. I didn't ask her to, but I do feel better knowing it's in the house...go fig.)
My classes are usually done by 2 and I don't have class on Friday -- party! So usually after class I will either go downtown to window shop, or really shop, or go home for lunch with Cecy, which she appreciates. Fridays I usually lounge around the house, if it's nice go to the beach, or over to a friends house. I found a blockbuster downtown and get a couple movies every now and then.
Wednesday night is the night to go out. I have no idea why, but it is. Since I have class until 7 on Wednesday I can dash back across the street and eat or get ready and then hit the town. Since my apartment building is so central, I don't ever really take public transportation and can walk everywhere, more money for the bars. Weekends are for family at my house and lunches are a big deal since that's when Enrique, the dad, is home from Santiago.
That's my sched. I'm going to post pictures this week of my building and such and next week I'm going to the Atacama Desert -- the most arid in the world -- exciting!