(re)orientation

i'm not going to lie - i was pretty stressed yesterday about starting school. no one had contacted me about when my orientation was or given me any directions as to find it. i didn't have an email, or anyway to access my classes to find out where they were and when they would begin. i had hitherto not been stressed, because i thought that i would find all this out at orientation "novatos" (new students"). but yesterday i discovered that that orientation was for all students (who had confirmed their schedules moths ago) and was told that the orientation for intercambio students was the 10th (classes start the 5th). oh, and i should go to the casa central campus (a 20 min metro ride) but their office closes in 10 minutes. oops. fortunately, God is sovereign. after making the metro journey this morning to san joaquin campus (where the novatos orientation was) , which involves 3 changes of metro lines. i left after about an hour of disorganized crow following which brought me to a mass (which i could hear and not see) and a student organization fair from which all i was able to gather was that theatre people are the same in every country.

i then trekked it back to casa central, feeling a mixture of self pity and pride (because i was totally rocking figuring out where i was going in the metro!) where i ran smack dab into.... intercambio orientation! after talking to the director i found that there had been a memo lost in the information transfer from UC to UAB to me (it happen a lot to kids from alabama, she said) but all was well because i could go to the last session at 3 (it was now 11:30) and i wouldn't miss anything as they were all the same (b/c of this frequent problem). 

so with about 3 hours to kill, i ambled around the block, documenting some of the creative stencil graffiti (see flickr) and snacking on a hot dog smothered in avocado and mayonnaise and a cone of chocolate softserve (healthy, i know, but it was something i knew for sure how to order). i then wandered around to the lovely san lucia park which is right across the way. they have a daily indigenous craft fair, where i was wooed by a charming old man to listen to and later purchase an ocarina (a round flute handmade from clay and its printed history AND 2 songs ALL for ONLY 1.000 pesos! about $2). i then made my way through the charming winding paths up the hill to castle like turrets from where you would be able to see the whole city, but for the smog. the only downside is that all the nooks, crannies and benches in the park make for a hot makeout spot and there were pda-ing couples at every other turn. nevertheless, it will be a nice place to do reading for school and stretch my legs between classes.

orientation went well, with the majority of students in my group being from germany, france and bolivia. i have about three weeks to settle on what classes i want. i also signed up for a volunteer program called "english opens doors" to help with english tutoring/classes in some of the cities poorer areas. i have my first class tomorrow afternoon - i'm a little nervous but i think i'll like it a lot - its a class on chilean culture, specifically for intercambio students, so it should be a good transition.

(and the note in the photo reads: chelsea you eyes alone are more beautiful then this view.)