A week and a half ago, I got a shock. My sister´s exchange fell through because the US consulate wouldn´t give her a visa (don´t I know about problems with consulates...) and she had officially pulled out of Rotary. Because school here is not free like in Canada, and my sister wasn´t going on her exchange, my host parents now had an extra student to pay for. They told me that my host dad would be going to a meeting that night to talk to the president of my Rotary club in Ovalle, to decide what would happen. My mind of course went to the worst possibe option, that I would be sent home. When my dad got home from the meeting, he told me that no, I would not get sent home, I wouldn´t even have to change schools, but I would have to change familes. I was relieved that I didn´t have to change schools, because, even though I have only been under two and a half months here, I still have made a lot of really good friends. My school here is really small, so everyone is really close, and changing schools would have really sucked. I was still sad though, because I really liked my current family, and felt like I was really starting to feel like a part of it. I was supposed to stay with them for a whole year, and was looking forward to getting to know them even better.
But on Friday night a week ago, my new host dad and older sister came to pick me up. It was really sad. Both me and my host mom were crying, and it made me think about how sad it will be to actually have to leave after a whole year. We were both acting like I really was leaving, even though the city I live in is small enough that when you go out, there is a good chance that you will see people you know. Not to mention the fact that I still see my younger sister, Ferny every day at school. But it was still sad, like an ending of some sort.
But, when I got to my new family and met everyone, I realized it wasn´t an ending. It was just a change, a new part of my exchange. I have a 15 year old brother, Jesús, a 20-something year old sister, Daniela, her son, David who is 5, a brother, Pedro, who is 18 and in university in Santiago, and an older sister who also doesn´t live at home. My new host parents are Alejandro Rodríguez and Rosa Laro. My new host mom is the complete opposite of my other host mom. She´s a little crazy, very loud and likes to throw big dinner parties with her many friends. My dad is somewhat of a celebrity in Ovalle, because he owns his own Pharmacy, and also owns Cruz Verde Pharmacy, which is a big chain Pharmacy in Chile. My older brother also used to go to my school, and was a classmate of my other brother, Luis. All my friends know my new family, and know where I live.
I miss my old family a little bit, but I also talk to my mom and older sister (who has now gone back to her apartment in Santiago) on the phone, and to my younger sister at school. I think it was a very good change for me, and added a little excitment to my exchange. Also, because I now know a lot of Spanish, getting into the groove in this family was a lot quicker, and I already feel perfectly comfortable with my new family, after only a week. And the best part is that my first family still wants me to go with them to Santiago to meet the rest of the family sometime this year. I am really exciing to get to know my new family and have new experiences with them.
The photos are of a birthday party I went to for my friend Camila, and of my last weekend with my first family, when we went to Ferny´s baptism. Also in the picture are Ferny´s godparents, Monica and Renato.
