Highlights of the day:
1)my host mother greeting me in a bright purple knitted sweater coat, which, after being told/witnessing repeatedly that Chileans in Santiago tend to dress in drab colors (thus my bright pink flannel and orange/red scarves are like huge neon signs saying “TOURIST”) was such a pleasant surprise
2) Following closely on the heels of my host mother, literally, was a seven month old beagle named “Tofy” or in English, “Toffee”. We’ve already bonded and I think he might be as cute as Waldo.
3) My host sister is 17, loves music and political science, likes Obama and wants to vote for the leftist president in the upcoming elections. Did I mention that I’ll be in Chile for the Presidential elections?! So cool.
4) My host family has half a dozen American students (all girls) before me so they know exactly what to expect, helped me hook up Skype and expected to speak to me slowly, but were delighted when I could keep up with their fast Spanish. They said I spoke beautifully! The only thing is, I’m a little worried they’ll compare me to past students, because they’ve had so many and loved them all, and the last one only left three days ago!!! Also, as one of my thank you gifts, I brought a picture book of California, but when I was in the living room I noticed they already had one from Boston, Philadelphia, and Rhode Island! I guess I just need to get over the fact that little of what I say/do will be surprising. But that’s not necessarily bad….I mean they obviously love having Americans or they wouldn’t continue to host people, right?
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I can just picture your bubbly host mom in the purple sweater. Amazing highlights! Any no matter how many past American students they've hosted, not a single one will have been anywhere near as wonderful and unique as you. ;) Please, don't spend too much time worrying about your "impression".. I worried about this constantly in Mexico, wondering about the town's past American volunteer... and it was a waste valueable, carefree-time!
ReplyDeleteHey Allie, it's Hope. Reading your blog ahead of time is a very nice relief. I was just wondering- when are the presidential elections? That sounds so exciting! I kind of forgot about the hostess gift... um... I should probably get on that. Glad to hear you're having a good time. I'll be in the same country in two days!
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