Off to school, off to school...

Hoy fue mi primero día de escuela. Well okay, not really school, just orientation, but nonetheless it felt good to have something official to do. There are about 25-30 international students attending Viña del Mar this Winter II Semester, with their homes ranging from California, Ohio, Oklahoma, Hawaii, to Romania (I think) and Sweden. Wow!

I took both my written and oral placement exams today, and I felt like I did the best I could have asked for at this point. I actually enjoyed my oral exam because it was mainly me speaking, which is good because I really struggle with the listening and comprehending Spanish (and on top of that, Chileans talk incredibly fast).

I liked today because it felt like I had returned to my Elementary School days. I thought it was really sweet how mi madre gave me the home address and her phone number on a piece of paper before I left the house this morning in case I got lost and needed help. My schedule for Orientation (and I think most Spanish-speaking countries) gives me a couple of hours to go home for lunch, so I walked home with my new friends and even had one join me for lunch at mi casa. It was a fun trip down memory lane to recall walking home from Belmar Elementary and bringing friends along for and after-school snack. But probably the best thing about today was a rekindled determination. I’ve been extremely soft on my Spanish since I’ve been here, and I’ve been talking in English way too much. Today I decided to suck it up and really start pushing myself. I’ve spoiled myself and cheated a lot, but now it’s go time. And thus, the fun begins now.

My mom used to always take our picture on the first day of school, so Mom, this one's for you! This was taken just outside the International Students' Office. As you can see it was a foggy and cold day. I think it's funny to do the peace sign because a lot of the teenagers do it here. I thought it was just a Japanese thing, but apparently not.