Check In

I have arrived in Santiago safe and sound and I am feeling much more confident than I was before. Danko, the coordinator of my program came with me to Santiago and not only did he show me much of the logistical/necessary things, we also had some lovely conversation and he reminded me of how well I am taken care of here. During on our conversation on the bus, he told me how he was kicked out of law school because he was a communist during the dictatorship. He was in the best school in the country, getting the best grades, but never finished his career because they expelled him and then changed his records to say that he was not allowed to attend any public university in Chile.

He took me to my new home, where I met my host dad and 12-year-old sister; took me to the office of my advisor; and showed me around Santiago some. Although I did not meet my advisor today, being in her office reminded me so much of my internship this summer. There is just a certain environment in political offices. Also, both offices are currently suffering the same problem where they work in a system controlled by a different party, in both cases, parties way to the right of them.

So far, I am loving this family. They are super easy to talk with and they remind me so much of my own family. My sister is incredibly well-informed for a 12-year-old and so opinionated and sounds a lot like me when I was her age. Within the first hour I was in the house, she told her dad that he was not allowed to smoke cigarettes, which reminded me of how I told me dad that he wasn't allowed to chew tobacco anymore at the exact same age. She makes fun of the right-wing government and reads political cartoons. It is hilarious to see her interact with her parents because so much of what she does reminds me of myself. The family is quite similar to my real family in other ways too. For example, my host dad is super attached and protective of his daughter (and I am not saying that is a bad things). I am really looking forward to getting to know the family more and discussing all kinds of things with them. I am becoming less sure of how often I will visit Valpo, not that I will even have the time to do so. I really need to get to work on a whole other level than I have been. Tomorrow's meeting with my advisor will help.