My last night in Santiago. Where did the time go? Time flew by. I've really been busy studing Spanish. Omg, it is hard to learn a new language. After 3 weeks taking an intensive course I kind of feel that I haven't made much progress. It is not that I don't feel motivated. Barely anyone speaks English here. Knowing some Spanish is a must. It was a shock at first that this is one of the coutries where it is hard to get by in English, even in the bigger cities. I might be picking up slowly as Spanish words are not sticking into my memory but I am not going to give up. I want to learn Spanish whether I need it or not in the future. I just love the sound of it.
To be honest, I haven't been to too active here during the past 3 weeks. I've been living in a really nice neighbourhood, Providencia. It is green, safe and beautiful here. There are loads of cafes, restaurants, American style giant malls to choose from. I didn't need anything else. I was really lucky with a family the school placed me. I've been spoilt to rotten. The lady and her daughter are lovely and she is a brillant cook. I have gotten a chance to taste all sort of typical Chilean dishes. The only thing I feel a bit sad is that I haven't able to talk to them that much. I sort of escaped into my private room to study in a theory as I didn't feel too confident or understand any of the conversations in practise. I simply felt thick. All the Spanish words, grammar, conjugations of the verbs are in a big mess in my head and I am barely able to utter a word in a real situation.
But in general I've had a great time here: tried Pisco sour: a word of warning: they make it strong here, took a salsa lesson. walked up to the hill of Cristoban There was a pretty nice view through "the smoke" on that day. As in NZ the bad weather was the reason to bad visibility from the lookouts. Here it is the contamination. I spent my very first summer birthday here even my local family remembered me with a small gift and a glass of champagne. After all the hardships in NZ, I feel like back alive and enjoying travelling. The climate might play a small role as well. Finally I ws able to wear my favorite summer dress, eat outside and dance. Roll on Christmas and SUMMER.
Tomorrow I am going to hop of the bus and cross the Andies to Mendoza, Argentina. Mendoza is much smaller than Santiago but it suppose to much hotter and their wine amazing. Kind of mixed feelings to leave Santiago but but always ready for new adventures on the other side of the Ands. Who know maybe Argentinian accent works for me better. (You can always hope) and I'll make a breakthrough in learning Spanish,
