Lo Empieza

Tuesday passed as the one week mark of this, my Chilean adventure. I am enrolled at two universities in Santiago, but classes did not start until Wednesday at La Pontifica Universidad Católica de Santiago (PUC), and not until next week at La Universidad de Chile (UCH). Although formal instruction hasn't begun, you could say that I have already learned a great deal about various aspects of Chilean and Latin American life, myself, and the wonderful friends I have started to make.

First of all, I can't imagine what my experience would be like without my fellow companions Garrett and Carol. The three of us, plus one returning student comprise the GW program of Chilean Fall 2011. Although we were essentially strangers when we first met last Tuesday, as of today we have become extremely close. I can't exactly say that our friendship is a testament to the power of cultural-ties, nor solely a testament to how awesome Carol and Garrett. Rather, I believe our quick friendship is a strong combination of both aspects. It helps having friends from GW not just because we share the same native language; moreover, it helps because we keep each other company while we are still newcomers to this large city. The dynamic of the group is one characterized by lots of laughter, inappropriate college jokes, a large dose of California beach-bum Spanglish, adventurous spirit, and the common desire to integrate and become multicultural. I could not ask for anything more.

As the least proficient Spanish speaker of the group, I often feel frustrated at my inability to convey certain thoughts and my inability to understand conversation. As I mentioned in my first post, it frequently depends on who is speaking, but in general people I have become attuned to I can understand with greater and greater thoroughness each day. Speaking is still difficult as I find myself tongue tied with the different verb conjugations. Sometimes I wonder if all this self-analysis while speaking actually slows me down and/or hinders my development. Is it better to try and avoid mistakes, or to make them and reflect later on what was said incorrectly? Overall I am pleased with my development considering that I have been in Chile for just a little over one full week. I owe a lot of credit to both Carol and Garrett, Lise-Anne, and my host family for really helping me out as I struggle.

In many ways Santiago is every bit as modern as US cities. Sure, the parts I have been exposed to thus far are the safer and more modern neighborhoods but it is amazing how far you can travel and never really leave the familiar world. They have McDonalds and Starbucks, plus more banks on every street corner than you could ever imagine. They have modern shopping malls that frankly put some US shopping centers to shame. The only thing I have yet to see is the conventional American strip mall, and I hope to keep it that way. The Chileans love US sitcoms. When it was announced that CBS was canceling 'Two and a Half Men' many Chileans were quite displeased. Furthermore, instead of dubbing the shows, they are broadcast in English with Spanish subtitles. This makes the process of immersion even more difficult, because frequently the TV is playing shows that I would watch from the comfort of my own home in the states, and in English.

I am quite excited about all the opportunities that I have here in Chile. However, I would be lying if I didn't tell you the number one thing I am looking forward to is the start of my ´fútbol varones´ (men´s football) class. It meets M, W, F for 80min each day. It has been a long time since I have touched a good soccer pitch, and I can't wait to get back to the sport that I once enjoyed so much as a little-tyke.

That´s it for this post. If you have questions or comments feel free to leave them in the comment section on this page or on my facebook page www.facebook.com/cmguinn. Also, if you have a particular topic you would like me to address just let me know!

Ciao,
Charlie