The power of BS

The power of bullshit.

I made friends through cards. I'm school for the first two weeks, I, along with many of the other students, found ourselves with much free time. One day, I remembered that I had a deck of cards stashed in my bag since the plane ride over to Chile and decided that it was high time that I put it to good use. So, during one of theses extended periods of emptiness, I pulled out my deck. What started out as a game of cards between Alex, an exchange student from Switzerland and I grew to encompass almost the entire class. It didn't matter that our spanish was poor or that they could barely say hello in English we were all able to build friendship over laughter.  I have played more games of bullshit and spoons in the past month than I have in my entire life. This I found to be the perfect bridge over all problems. It was extremely funny to watch kids win and lose and reactions caused by this. I now have amazing friends, both chilean and other exchangers and I have cards to thank for that.

What to expect, that you are not expecting

For future exchange students hoping to travel to Chile, I write this for you.

10 Things you should know about Chile:

1. Dogs: There are so many stray dogs here that wonder around the streets. Some are nice, and some are not so be careful!
2. Bread: Chileans eat an incredible amount of bread, so now you will too. (and the bread tastes really good)
3. Hellos and Goodbyes: They take an extremely long time because you have to beso and abrazo EVERYONE, so plan accordingly.
4. Bring markers and a coloring book to school, this will save your life, or at least your sanity.
5. Milk is kept in a box on the shelf, not in the fridge, do not freak out, it will not kill you.
6. BRING SLIPPERS!!! Because if you do not wear shoes in the house your host mom will think you are going to die from getting a cold, same goes for having wet hair.
7. Chileans are late to everything, by at least a half an hour, so the notion of being early is ridiculous.
8. Avocado cures everything. You will eat it everyday at every meal, with bread of course.
9. Chilean Spanish is an entirely different language. There is so much slang and almost every word ends in "ito".
10. Once you arrive, you will never want to leave.

Sensations

My first few days in chile is difficult to explain in words, but I will say that this is a place of sensations. Touch being the most major one. Every time you see someone, no matter if you have known them your entire life or as a passing acquaintance of your friend’s friends you hug and kiss them on the cheek. A concept at first seems off to a teenage girl that has resided in the open yet simultaneously close minded world of the USA, where touch is a bond formed after an extended period of time. But as the hours and days passed, I began to yearn for this touch. This reestablishment of physical communication. Not a vague hello, or a hand shaken from multiple feet away, but close enough to feel the heat of someone else's body and the exhale of their breaths as the word “Hola” falls from their lips. It sounds romantic and in some ways it is, but as aforementioned, chile is a place of sensations and a place of kindness. 
On the second day I was in school, I found myself at a park slacklining with a new friend, but of course, he spoke no English and my spanish was horrible, so I wandered off to explore the park. It was like being a little kid again, I swung on a swing and climbed a tree, but struck me while I was laying in bed that night was that, I loved the sensations. The wind in my hair as my body surged toward the sky on the swing and the rough bark beneath my fingers while I grappled in the tree. In the states, I take all theses small things for granted, but here I try to treasure every single one of them, because I have a time limit. I have a limit on how many chilean breaths I take, a limit on school days, a limit on how many new friends I can make. And that is what scares me the most. The fact that I must leave because even now I know how hard it will be.