Mullets and Mohawks

This past week has been Orientation Week. Woop Woop. I met all of my fellow intercambistas (exchange students) and have been having a pretty awesome time so far. I have done a lot of stuff, for lack of a better word. Orientation consisted of various activities and lectures. We talked about how to live in a foreign country, focusing on Chile (uh duh). We talked about living with a host family and how its not nice to eat all of their food or take forever in the bathroom, or burn their house down (shout out to Corey). We also talked about Chilean daily life, like how to avoid being mugged and other important things, like what a taxi looks like (black and yellow black and yellow), how to take money out of an ATM (+/- 500 pesos to the dollar!), where to buy wear sunscreen (you have to ask for it at a pharmacy because they keep it behind the counter, and its expensive!! I had to pay almost $40! But I have already been sunburned twice and Vina is close to a hole in the ozone layer so...), what a colectivo is (a group taxi), how to avoid gypsies (run away) and what to do in case of an earthquake (head for the hills).

My school seems really cool. Last night I ran a marathon with some other kids from our group. Check out the pics on my facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/kaci.l.greatorex

It was only 3km. Don't ask me if I ran the whole thing. I will lie and tell you I did. I have explored a lot, walked around, gone into stores, talked to people. Vina is a pretty small city, now that I have been around I can usually find my way around from anywhere. The streets are easy to follow and my host mom has taught me which ones to avoid at night. I have officially touched the Pacific Ocean the other day when my mom took me to the beach. It was cold, but thrilling. After we watched the sunset over Valpariso. The farther the sun went down, the more the hills glittered in the evening dusk.

I'd say we are a nice group of kids, about 25 or so of us, mostly girls and we are from all over the U.S. Argentina, Spain, Germany and Brazil. I like that each one of us Americans is very different, but how could be not be all being from a different region of the U.S. We all talk differently too, you can tell who is from the north, south, midwest and everything. I like that us kids from the states are all different, we have our own stories, backgrounds and will all have different futures when we leave here. I think we defy the stereotype of what some outsiders think it means to identify as an American. It also changes your sense of self identity because I think that we all, whether we would like to admit it or not rely on the image of a stereotypical American to identify ourselves abroad. Part of our identity is to be judged as something that usually isn't true. And yea there is also the view of everyone being different in America, the great melting pot, but thats not usually what people think of first.

While along the lines of talking about things Americaish, it is incredible how many American stores and restaurants are in this city. It is something that I was not prepared for and could not have expected. And it is not just that globalization has this city by the balls, this city is westernized, or more specifically Americanized. There are American fast food chains like McDonalds, Starbucks, Dunkin Doughnuts and Subway, and retail stores like Nine West, Hush Puppies, Lacoste, Oakley, Scott and Aldo. To me its strange, but they don't look out of place here. I asked my host mom why there were so many American stores here and she said that its what people here want to buy, American brands. Oh the irony, I have come to study abroad for difference, to be thrown out of my comfort zone and I get a grande mocha frappachino.

Amidst all of these American stores and fast food eateries (which by the way are way better here) I still am in Chile and I do feel out of place. I am happy about it though. When I saw all of the stores from the states I was worried that I wasn't going to get what I came here for, but after a few days I realize that that was so silly of me to think that. Naive even, to think that here would be remotely like there. Since I am here and not there. Chilean Spanish is extremely difficult to understand. People keep telling me that if you can understand Chilean Spanish you can understand any Spanish. Wish I knew that before I signed up for this haha! Among the brand name stores are artisan fairs selling all sorts of mementos from Chile, leather walets, cloth and knitted bags, mini statues of animals, knock off Ray Bans (I intend on getting a hot pink retro pair). I got a wallet and a change purse for about $10 USD. Certain things here are a lot cheeper than I expected them to be. The other day I went to the farmacia to get deodorant, facial cleansing cloths and body lotion and it all cost me under $10 USD. That kind of stuff would have cost probably around $25 in the U.S. and they were all the same brands. Incredible. I feel like I should stock up before I go home.

So, some strange things about Chile... no one is ever on time, except for exchange students, because we don't know better yet. We eat lunch at around 3pm. The milk is weird, like in Brazil, it comes in a cardboard box. The fashion seems to be stuck in the 80's, some girls have big hair wear bright colored leggings, high top nikes and big chunky colorful jewelry. The cool guys have mohawks or mullets... or mullet mohawks and skateboard. We would think of it as terrible style (which I do) but I appreciate their confidence and forms of self expression. Drinking in public is legal. People can still smoke in public places. Stray dogs are everywhere... and will follow you if you give them any attention. Chile is cool. I like it. And gypsies are very very sneaky.

Tonight there is a party at a nightclub for all new students, nothing like partying with the freshmen... all too familiar.