Goodbye, Host Family, Helloooo Residencia! :)

As part of my program, everyone was required to live with a Chilean host family for our first 6 weeks in Chile.  That way, we'd be more adjusted to the culture and speaking Spanish daily.  I opted to live with my family for a second month after the required first session.  I lived in a really convenient location--3 blocks from the metro and the center of Providencia--and all of my meals, laundry, and utilities were included in my rent.  I lived with my host mom, Gladys, her two daughters, Carolina (33) and Roxanna (26), and their two daughters, Martina (6) and Josefa (2).  I also had two host brothers--Francisco and Nico (both mid-20's) who came over every day to eat.

My house (we lived in the flat up top):

At first, it was like being a little kid again--I would come home to a warm meal on the table and my host mom would wash and fold all of my laundry once a week.  I appreciated that, but after a while it got old and I was tired of eating the same things over and over (I can't even tell you how many times I ate lentils with bread for dinner) and I constantly felt like I was intruding on my family's space.  I also ate on a schedule (if I missed a meal there was no making it up--I either had to buy my own food or starve) and I lived with 2 small children--2 and 6--who always got up super early to scream and run around while I was trying to sleep.  There were two rooms adjacent to the living room (above) that another girl from New York lived in and I lived in, and then there was a door that shut us off from the rest of the house.  While I appreciated everything my host mom did for me, I never really felt comfortable there--it felt more like a boarding house than a family environment.  So, I moved out on the 1st of September to an actual boarding house for international students, and I love it!  I can cook for myself (YAY for portion control!) and I'm surrounded by other students--the majority of which don't speak any English, so I am still forced to practice my Spanish.  While I don't have any pictures of the residencia, here's a link for those who are curious:

http://www.residenciapvn.cl/

I'm going to be staying here for the rest of my stay in Chile until I leave to travel at the end of my semester!  As much as I love the residencia, though, I will miss my little buddy, Josefa (age 2) who I lived with at my host family's house :)