I am so thankful and excited to finally be in Santiago. I had a great flight this past Tuesday. I was able to sleep a good bit on the plane as well. I think 5 or 6 hours, so I felt rested the next day. I also met a guy that I was able to talk with a good bit. It was a good way for me to practice getting ready to use Spanish all the time.
When I got in to Santiago in the morning, I dropped my things off at the apartment where I’ll be staying and then went to the El Oasis house. That morning we had a team Bible study and then later that afternoon a guy’s lunch at the house. I knew a lot of the students from last year, and so it was great to be able to see them again. I’ve also been able to meet quite a bit of new students.
Oh yeah, I knew it was going to be winter here, but it is a bit colder than I expected. I have plenty of clothes, but it was strange going from the heat of Hotlanta to winter here.
The second Bible study of the year was this past Thursday. It was great! I really enjoy worship music in Spanish. I was able to meet quite a bit of new people there as well. Lukas introduced me to the students and did sort of a mini interview. He asked me a few funny questions like which do I prefer,
Chick-fil-a or churriana (a Chilean food consisting of french fries, onions, and beef). There was a great group of students there, and a lot of us went out to eat at a place nearby after Bible study.
The people of Chile are incredible. The students are very welcoming, patient, and willing to help me learn Spanish. One of my favorite things so far has been the musicians that play music on the micros, which are the bus portion of the public transportation. The buses are crammed full of people shoulder to shoulder, and there are some people with guitars who play music and sing for tips.
For some reason, I’m having trouble uploading photos, but I hope to have some up real soon from my first week.
My focus for the week is to:
-spend time getting to know students
-help out with all the events and go to team meetings in order to really learn the ministry and catch up with the team
-find a place to live. I will be sharing an apartment nearby with another guy on the team
-learn spanish. I took a placement test for a language learning school that I am going to visit on monday
-get a cell phone
Muchas gracias y hasta pronto!