Little by little

The last few days here in Santiago have been fun! I've been enjoying lots of Chilean food and espresso drinks. Claudio's family and I went to a restaurant called Copa Feliz. I had sword fish with chips and avocado; it was delicious. Saturday night I went to one of Claudio's cousins' house for a welcoming party for me. I got to meet a lot of his younger cousins there. Everyone was so nice and treated me like one of the family. I didn't talk a whole lot because for me it's hard to put myself in a conversation with so many people when speaking Spanish. I know I have the ability to do so, but I just need to get used to speaking confidently. We spent most of the night eating and just talking. Here's a picture with some of the group and me:

I can't wait to meet more of Claudio's family soon. Fun times!


Today we went downtown to Plaza de Aramas. I went there on my trip before but it was nice to walk around a little more and see other things. It's a very busy place with tons of people walking around. There are clothing stores, restaurants, cathedrals, and the main campus of La Universidad de Chile. We ate lunch in the Plaza and walked around a bit more. Here's a picture of the Plaza:

I have been getting to know the city a little more by taking the metro (subway) and micro (bus). This city is so huge! Thankfully transportation is pretty cheap, a little more than a dollar for one trip. The only bad thing is that if you need to go somewhere late at night you will have to walk quite a bit. After the party the other night, we took a micro to one stop then had to walk about 30 minutes to get to the house. This is because only certain micros run at night at certain times. So, if you hate walking, don't visit Santiago! It's just a way of life here, which I think is a good thing. That's about all I have for now!