¡Estoy Aqui! (I am here!)

Hola from Chile! First of all, I would like to apologize for typing errors - the keyboard is different and I am still trying to figure it out! Also, I can{t write much today, but wanted to give everyone a quick update.

I had quite an interesting flight here. I took some medicine for motion sickness because I didn{t want to get sick during the flight. Well, apparently that was a bad idea. During the flight, I passed out, then threw up three times. Three separate times too - once right after passing out, once before landing, and once after landing. It was embarassing and I felt terrible! They made me leave the plane in a wheelchair, which I didn{t like at all. I haven{t really felt too great ever since. Usually I feel fine, but when I have to stand a lot or walk a lot (anytime I venture out of the apartment) I start feeling sick. Not fun! Oh well, I suppose it will get better soon. The good news about getting sick on the flight was that I got three seats to myself to lay down on, so I got a lot of sleep.

Chile is cold! It wouldn{t be so bad if there were heaters in the buildings. I miss the sun! When I landed yesterday, it was raining, but today the sky has been beautiful. I haven{t been able to explore much, but the basic impression of Santiago that I{ve gotten is that it is a BIG city! I have gotten lost every time I{ve ventured out of the apartment, which has been very frustating. It took me an hour to get to school this morning - luckily I left an hour early. I was so lost though! I can{t even get from the apartment to the nearest metro station. Once I{m on the metro, I{m fine, but then I can{t make my way from the metro station to school or to the apartment. I am pining for a map of the city and have heard that I can get one from some of the kiosks that line the streets. Woohoo! Also, the student who lived in the house before me left me his cell phone - all I have to do is add minutes to it. But I can receive calls for free, so if you feel like calling me I can give you my number via e'mail. Just let me know.

The food here is awesome! Its very rich and heavy and yummy. We drink hot tea with every meal and all the meals I have had so far have been served with soup. Very good soup too! Chileans love their avacados, bread, beans, rice, etc... I will have to write more about it later though. It{s dark and I need to figure out how to get home haha.

Thanks for all of the comments, they made my day! I have had some frustrating moments so far, but have been trying to stay positive. Classes today were great '- grammar! Woohoo! I feel more confident though, even though classes are taught completely in Spanish. I am taking classes with two guys from Korea, one girl from Germany, and Melissa, who is from MSU too. My family here is awesome and very very sweet. My papa is hilarious and I am lucky enough to have my own room with a connected bathroom. They are very small, but it{s nice to have a little bit of privacy. I learned how to use a gas stove and turn on the gas to get hot showers last night. Apparently I didn{t do it completely correctly because I only had about a minute of hot water. Oh well, I will ask my mama tonight for help. The family has two pets - a three legged dog named Benitoand a cat named Blanca. Benito reeks but is very sweet.

Well, gotta go! I{ll try to write more this weekend! Hasta luego!