Third day in more detail/Aviso: I have never been good at writing concisely, so proceed with caution

After some more orientation, which included finally buying a cell phone (Hurray!!!) and an adapter, our host families were scheduled to arrive and take us home!!!
Picture: All 30 American students standing outside the hotel on the curb with their suitcases, while one after another, cars pull up chock-full of expectant kids and grandparents, each with a picture and a name, searching for their respective Gringas. It was one of the most adorable, and nerve-wracking experiences I’ve had in a long time.
My family was one of the last to arrive, but the mom, named Ximena (prounounced Jimena), jumped right out of the car, clad in the aforementioned bright purple knitted sweater. I knew that I had a sister around 16 and a brother around 12, but instead there were two older teenagers. I found out that the girl’s name was Constanza, nicknamed Coti, and the boy was Sebastian, nicknamed Seba. Coti is 17 and Seba is 18. Then the mom told me that they had a younger brother Ignacio, nicknamed Nacho, who was 12 but on vacation. So, I assumed that Seba was just a third brother who’d been left out of the picture I’d received of my family ahead of time. Later, when Seba and Coti started to kiss on the couch, I realized they were dating and Seba was not part of the family!
However, the best part of the welcome was that Ximena and Coti brought Tofy, the 7 month old beagle!!! I immediately told them that I had a huge 60 kilo dog at home and they loved that and were very relieved that I loved dogs. Tofy has already explored my room and taken a nap in my lap, so I know we are going to be close friends.
We had a wonderful conversation on the drive back to their house, and they are incredibly sweet. Coti is very friendly, smiley and talkative and so is Ximena, my host mom. This was a big relief because apparently its really American to smile a lot when you’re nervous, whereas Chileans, no matter how nice they are, would never smile at strangers nervously. Also, because Chile is so isolated-Andes to the East, Pacific Ocean to the West, desert to the North and South Pole to the South- Chileans are known to be timid and distrustful of strangers/foreigners. Thankfully my family is very warm, easy to laugh and grin. They even make faces at each other!
I got to their apartment around 4pm and they showed me my room right away, which I have all to myself, plus a bathroom! It’s very nice, and has a lot of closet space, which I appreciate. Each kid has their own room, and there’s a very nice living room and a sizeable kitchen. The family does have a maid named Tia Pati, or Aunt Pati, who’s worked for them for almost 14 years and is considered part of the family. Because Ximena doesn’t like to cook, Pati does all the cooking and cleaning. We had a pretty long only semi-awk conversation in the living room and then they asked me if I wanted to pack, which was a welcomed suggestion because it’s really quite exhausting speaking in Spanish all day, especially with strangers you’re trying to impress!
At around 6pm we had “onces” which is like afternoon tea, except later. In Chile they have lunch around 12 or 1, then “onces” around 6pm, then dinner around 10pm. Onces is basically tea/coffee, cookies, bread, cheese, fruit and maybe some spreads. We had delicious mashed avocado with salt, bread, tea, cookies and cream cheese. I love onces. During onces we somehow ended up on the topic of religion and they asked me if I was Catholic, I hesitantly said no, since I knew I’d have to tell them eventually that I was Buddhist- since they were going to hear the chanting and see my alter- but I’d seen crosses in a lot of the rooms and Chile is a pretty strongly Catholic country. When I admitted I was actually Buddhist, they were surprised, and but knew a little about it and asked about the whole releasing all attachments to earthly desires. I told them that Buddhism has many sects, mine isn’t quite like that, blah blah blah and that actually I found a community center in Santiago I wanted to visit. It turns out the family isn’t really catholic, and Ximena is open to all religions! Coti even said she was really interested in Buddhism and really dislike Catholicism! When Tia Pati asked me about the fat Buddha, I tried/failed to explain that Nichiren Buddhism teaches all people have the potential to achieve enlightenment and be happy, just like the Buddha, but Coti totally saved me and basically finished my thoughts in much better Spanish! Ximena joked that Coti would probably be stuck to my side if I went to Buddhist meetings, to which I responded “great!”
It’s now 10:30pm, so I think it should be time for dinner soon, but I’m not sure. Coti and Seba went out to a party and probably won’t be back till 2 or 3am, but Ximena’s brother, my “uncle” came over for onces and is still here, so I’m guessing he’s staying for dinner.
As they say in Santiago,
Ciao!