Arrival Alas

So. I have already learned that the more often you write the easier it is to keep up with things and get in all that you want to say. So here we begin.
LEAVING
Friday morning I woke up in complete denial about leaving the United States, it just didn't feel real. I said goodbye to my sisters at home and then me my mom, Charlie, my brother Kendall, and my best friend Amber took off to the airport. I met my oldest brother Cullen there for a short goodbye, and the waterworks began there. After checking my two huge 50lb suitcases (my mom doesn't call me princess for nothing) and carrying my 20lb carry on duffle I began to say goodbye. Hugging Amber and Kendall was sad knowing that I would see them both soon and talk to them tons, but my mom is another story. She's the only parent I still have and she's a huge part of my life. So saying goodbye to her was really hard and of course naturally we cried. Saying goodbye to Charlie was a complete struggle and yeah there were many, many tears. I walked through the security and waved goodbye with a smile on my face and after nobody could see me I cried. A lot. Some man on a golf cart saw me struggling and brought me to my gate (once again, princess). I met with another girl going to Chile and we boarded soon after. The trip to Atlanta was quick and then we spent the night on the plane to Santiago where I couldn't sleep. We met 18 other exchange students and drove to Vina del Mar an hour and a half from Santiago to stay for the weekend.
VINA DEL MAR

 We had a few orientation meetings about rules and such and got to know each other well over the weekend. We had some free time to explore the city and we also went out to eat a lot. The city was super pretty right on the ocean and had millions of hills. The hills were really extreme and people had houses sooo far up the hills and really close together. There were houses as far as I could see. It was a really cool city and there was a lot to look at with not a lot of time. It was really strange to see a "Ruby Tuesday's" there as well.
DRIVING IN CHILE

Well basically there must not be rules and you don't wear seat belts if you're in the back seats, because then that you means you think the driver is bad. Everyone drives in the middle of the road, literally right through town over the lines on one ways. You just move over if someones faster then you and there's honking every 3 minutes. Our bus driver was passing someone but a car was coming the opposite direction but we kept on passing the person and the car went into the ditch and continued to drive on. It's very strange, but apparently everyone here is just more relaxed about this.
FOOD
People here eat SO MUCH, I'm definitely going to gain a good ten lbs if not more. The food in Chile is constantly meat. We have had it at every meal that I have had here and it's usually beef for lunch and dinner and then ham for breakfast. Water is not free at restaurants and all the pops (coke, diet coke, sprite, or orange fanta) comes in a glass bottle and so does the water usually. At most restaurants you have an appetizer, main course, and dessert. The desserts are usually ice cream and are very delicious. The wierdest thing I have had yet is a COMPLETE TACO, it was a soft shell taco with avocado, mayo, tomatoes on the inside with a hot dog in there. A HOT DOG. I was expecting taco meat, but nope and it was surprisingly really good. Well, as most my friends/family know I am a french fry addict/expert and the fries here are barely cooked and never really warm, something I miss a lot. They do eat a lot here, however they eat generally healthy I have mango juice fresh pretty much everyday.
HOST FAMILY
Meeting my host family went super well, at the airport they had  a huge sign and I was picked up by some guys from rotary, my host dad (the rotary club pres.), my host sister Maria, and 4 of her friends. We went to there house and had a small welcoming with snacks and drinks, it was very late so we pretty much went to bed soon after. My room here is pretty big and my family has a nice house. My dad drives a Hummer, which is pretty sweet (probably not on gas). The bathroom I use, has a shower, a pink jacuzzi, a pink toilet, and two sinks. My house has the sweetest porch that is outside, but still is concrete walls and such, we have no yard really, but in the back they are in the process of building a bigger pool. My mom and dad are super nice and my sister has been very helpful, she will go to Wisconsin next Tuesday. The twin boys that are 9 are afraid of me and have yet to speak with me.... We also have a live in nanny from Peru, her name is Cruz. My Spanish has been pretty good and I have managed to have no major problems with my family. I will start school on the following Monday.
MISC.
Random things that I have to say, Chile has stray dogs EVERYWHERE. Literally per city there is thousands, I've asked. They aren't starving or super skinny either, they are normal dogs and they just live on the streets. They know how to be in the city and they cross the streets like humans, it's super bizarre and nobody pays any attention to them either. There are these parks that look like they are for little kids and they are out in the open and the "toys" are work out machines that adults just go and use, they are outside near the beach. Little kids are playing on them, but adults use them as an olyptical and things, it's weird I need to take more photos. In between the big cities are a lot of pueblos. These areas make my American life seem extremely well off. There are run-down shacks and places that I can't believe are even liveable. The strange thing to me is that some of them have really nice cars, even though they barely have walls. Another thing I noticed is outside the city there is A LOT of garbage, everywhere. There are mounds and then there are just scraps everywhere,  in the bushes, the trees, on the ground, it's very extreme. I think these are some things that are definitely common in a developing country. I did expect to see this of course, but it's crazy to actually see with the human eye.
FRIENDS
I have managed to meet friends through my host sister, aka all of her friends, which I really like them all. On my second night they took me out to the disco and that was super fun. We sat around and talked and got ready at a girl's house til 1am then FINALLY we wen to the disco and we didn't get home til 430. This is common in Chile so I better wake up. They had some American music and a DJ and there was some famous Chilean reality TV show person there too. Anyways, I'm excited to start school, and make new friends.