Hola Rotary, ¿Cómo están todos?
This month has been a busy one! I've had a month full of interesting people, great food and intense Spanish practice. To list everything I've done this month would make this report into an essay, so I'll tell you two of my personal highlights:
I was invited to perform in an upcoming Rotary conference with a band of about 10 people. The first rehearsal was going to be organised in Santiago and it would be my first time in the big city! After getting permission from my YEO and buying some bus tickets, I hopped on the autobus leaving to Santiago and headed for the meeting. I was a mix of nervous and excited, I didn't really know what to expect and only had a vague idea of where I was supposed to go. But, embracing the kiwi idea of ´She´ll be right´ and the Chilean idea of 'Mañana, mañana', I arrived at the bus terminal in Santiago looking a lot more confident than I felt. The terminal was packed full of people and it was a lot hotter than the coast, around 27-28 degrees Celcius around midday and hitting a peak of 32 that same day! I met up with another exchange student at the terminal (who was also part of the band) and we both took the underground metro which, like the rest of Santiago, was hot and full of people. After wandering around aimlessly for a bit we arrived at the house of Roberto Silvia - the governor of my district here in Chile. He was remarkably welcoming and we had almorzar (lunch) together on his balcony. The rest of the day was a lot of fun, we had rehearsal and played through the song we would be performing. Afterwards, we had tea together then I returned to the terminal to take the autobus back home. For my first time in Santiago, it was really successful and I had a wonderful time!
My second time in Santiago I travelled with two of the exchange students in my town (Mila and Safi) to meet up with my friend Florencia Aldunce who had just arrived home after her exchange in New Zealand. We met her at the terminal and drove to her house in Peñalolen where we would spend the night before returning home the next day. We spent the next two days exploring Santiago and meeting up with the other exchange students in Santiago. One discovery I found was a small plaza in Central Santiago called ´Plaza Nueva Zelandia´. It was neat seeing a piece of home in South America. I got to meet one of the exchange students from Australia (Hearing a similar accent to mine was wonderful!) and it was cool meeting all of the students from the US. Seeing my friend again was also awesome, talking about her experiences on exchange and using a little kiwi slang (Sweet as!) was a lot of fun.
My first full month here in Chile has been a difficult, interesting and wonderful mix of experiences. From asados to trips to the city to quiet days with my host family. I've made some really good friends here already, both local and exchange, and have become really comfortable with my lovely host family. My Spanish is also improving, I understand more every day and can almost understand everything. The real struggle is responding back but I have plenty of time to improve! I'm excited to meet with my host club in march and will make sure to keep you all in the loop about how Rotary is here and how I'm getting along!
Un abrazo y hasta pronto,
Lachlan