Casi un mes!

So I've been in Chile for almost three and a half weeks and I'm finally starting to feel like I have a normal life here. I am adjusting more to my host family, who are still so great! I am also feeling more comfortable going places in Vina and feeling like I know where I am -- yesterday I traveled four times to places completely by myself, which was a first. Feeling like I could find my way around on my own was a great personal accomplishment. I am also starting to immerse myself a big more in the culture, hanging out with more Chileans and meeting more new people.

Last night I went with a few other gringas to a party at a Chilean's apartment with a bunch of other chilenos, and it was so much fun! I spoke Spanish essentially the entire night and got to know some really cool chileans. All the people I met and talked to were really nice and had a lot of insight to share with me about chilean culture, politics, etc. What was really interesting as well was the way in which we talked to one another. A few of the chilean guys that I was talking to knew English pretty well and wanted to practice speaking in English, so they would speak to me in English and I would respond in Spanish. It was such an interesting language experience, especially when I step back and think about the complexity of what was going on. The mixture of English and Spanish that has been occuring in my brain since I have been here is absolutely astounding. I find myself switching between languages while speaking, while thinking, even while writing this blog entry. Spanglish seems to be my new official language. I also find myself talking to people from home and actually struggling to think of words in English, which is never something I expected to experience, but is an interesting development. I am so interested in the way that these two languages are relating to one another within my brain, and I am excited to see what kind of developments will occur next.

I also started classes last week, which contributed to my developing feelings of normalcy. My Spanish classes are absolutely amazing. I am taking a grammar class and a Chilean culture class, both with amazing professors and both of which seem extremely interesting. I am also taking traditional dances of Chile, paper making, and Latin American history of the 20th century. The only class I have with Chileans is the paper making one, which is a little unfortunate, but I am participating in volunteer work and an intercambio buddy program (in which I am matched up with a Chilean buddy and we speak Spanish half of the time and English the other half so we can both practice), so those should provide opportunities to interact with chileans more.

Overall, things are going well! The tremors have calmed down, as well, which is always nice.