Vina del Mar

The countdown is almost over and tomorrow I'll blast off for Chile. I've always dreamed of visiting Chile known as "paise de los poetas" or country of the poets, due to being the only South American country to produce any Nobel pize writers, let alone two! ( Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda) Not only am I driven by the romantic culture, but also its rich history, and hey what's better than getting to live by the beach?

However, I'm not just going for a visit. As a Spanish student (I studied Spanish for three years in Mountain Home and two at University of Idaho) it's almost necessary to study abroad and I ended up with a full ride scholarship to spend a semester in any Spanish speaking country. I won't be back in the States until early December.

I'm really excited to experience a new culture and way of life, but the fact of the matter is, I have NEVER traveled before in my life! I've never even flown on an airplane before, so I'm freaking out in anticipation of 22 hours of traveling tomorrow. At least I will meet up with fourteen students from my program in Atlanta for the red eye down to Santiago.

While abroad I'll be living with a host familly, the Campusanos- but that's about all I know. They live in a costal town called Viņa del Mar (translates to "Vineyard of the Sea"), which is walking distance to the beach, driving distance to visit the Andes Mountains, and a twenty minute bus ride to Valparaiso ("Paradise Valley") where I will be attending the Pontifical Catholic University.

Packing for five months is one heck of a task and that's on the agenda for today along with an early birthday party my mom insists on throwing me. What am I going to do five months away from my cell phone? Will I be able to understand a lick of the Chilean dialect of Spanish? I guess we'll find out soon! Hasta Pronto Chile!