Orientation and my Homestay Family

During our 5 day orientation, my group of 21 stayed together in a hotel. I think it's safe to say that we're a fun group with diverse personalities and interests from all over the country. It's nice to know that we're in this together. We were privileged to get perhaps the funniest sex talk that ever happened from a local doctor. We spent a large part of the week on the beach and at bars. By the weekend, we were sleep-deprived, sunburned, a little hungover, and hopefully STD-free. On Saturday, we moved in with our host families.

For some reason, I thought my Chilean family would be more conventional than my North American family. In the last couple days, I have thrown that notion entirely out of the window. My host family consists of a couple named Mabel and Emilio who own a bar named the Rincon Bolivariano (after Simón Bolívar, of course). They want me to come eat lunch there every day during the week while they're working. I literally could not make this up if I tried. Their house is absolutely gorgeous and is complete with a framed Che Guevara poster, a piano that is purely decorative, and perhaps the most interesting bookshelf I have ever seen.

They also have a dog named Cerati who tried to eat my bra right after I washed it and went to go hang it up to dry. I'm going to assume it was a welcoming gesture and he hasn't decided that he hates me already.

 At this point, the only thing I can say with certainty is that I have no idea what comes next. Your guess is as good as mine.