Home

Casa: (n) house, dwelling, home

Hogar Dulce Hogar: (expression) Home Sweet Home

I'm finally home! To say that I'm lucky, spoiled, ridiculously fortunate would all be an understatement. During my pre-departure time back in Cleveland one of my many worries was that I wouldn't feel at home or welcomed by my Chilean family. I was afraid of tiny apartments, freezing temperatures, hostile host mothers, whatever irrational selfish thought I could muster. Silly me. My host mother is AMAZING. Americans overuse this word, just like "awesome" has lost its original meaning as well. My "mamá" greeted me with the customary kiss on the cheek but knowing the American way, gave me a big bear hug right then and there afterwards. She is warm, funny, chatty, and open minded. She thankfully drove me and my humongous duffels back to her house with a little white dog waiting inside! In her family description it said they had a "cooker spanish" (cocker spaniel?) but I later found out he passed away and the tiny cat-dog belongs to her daughter, but Vella is cute nonetheless.
We drove from the beach of Reñaca to her neighborhood, Cerro Castillo ("Castle Hill," literally a Georgetown-esque fortress in the middle of the city) high above the docks of Viña del Mar ("Vineyard of the Sea), passing the summer home of President Sebastián Piñera (who recently took office after Chile's first female president, Michelle Bachelet, a true champion of women's and children's rights)  and the sprawling personal residence of the city's police chief. Once we had driven almost to the top of the small mountain overlooking the ocean, we arrived home. Take a gander ladies and gents, that, yes THAT is my homestay house! I was waiting and waiting for an apartment building that never materialized amongst the beautiful churches and multi-colored Spanish style stucco homes with red roofs and  lawns decorated with fountains or garden art. Their home has three stories, with mine on the higher tier of the split level second floor, and once you are on the top floor the view of the ocean and the city facing you is stunning. It deserves the true sentiment of awesome. 
Setting aside the material aspects, the people I've been surrounded with are even more exciting. It is common for Chileans to have help in the home to cook and clean, and in our house she brings her granddaughter to play with Vella while she cooks (amazingly, with fresh kiwi for dessert and cheese empanadas for dinner...which if I continue to eat all the time I will definitely gain ten pounds). I got to meet my brother Daniel who is a extremely down-to-earth surfer type, very open-minded and easy going. I'm excited to get all of his suggestions of places to go and things to explore as a fellow student here. Sonia (mi mama) later took me on a drive down to the port to see where all the fisherman hang out and we tried to go see vendors on the docks but it was closed. She showed me the important centers of the city, like where the students are on strike for raised tuition costs, the fresh public market, collegiate (although in Chile you go to university, not college which is more like elementary school) hangouts and shopping centers (which she is so excited to take me shopping (oh yes, we were meant for each other) for more warm clothes tomorrow (after we both wake up late, per her instructions, "because its the weekend and who wants to get up early anyway?" Oh yes. The Gods truly intervened on my behalf to match me with such a kindred spirit), because she's worried about my "poor circulation," (thanks for those genes, pops) and I need a better coat anyway (reporting to you live from under my hot water bottle heated double comforters with a ski hat and 4 layers on).
We also visited with her son-in-laws mother who is 80 years old but was going dancing and needed outfit advice! I might as well start my plans to retire in Chile. I've found Spanish is coming to me better and better conversationally, I've been able to actually have opinionated discussions about music and current events already, which gives me hope for my Spanish becoming better and better, and Sonia has told me I speak very well and only have to work on conjugating harder verbs and learning the colloquialisms, so that gives me a little more confidence. I'm looking forward to these next 5 months, even though eventually the vacation period will end and I'll be getting lost and late on the way to classes, dodging all the stray dogs and freezing to death or sitting here working on homework entirely in Spanish, but at least I can see the ocean while I'm doing it. 

PS I'll post said view when its sunny and I have a picture worthy of the hype