La Familia

So, I recently had some new people move into my house (which isn't usually a big deal since there have been about 5 or 6 people who have moved in and out of the house since January) and I thought I should share info on my family as a whole to give you all an idea of who I'm living with.

Raquel

-my mom, 55, a very sweet woman who loves to laugh, is good at cooking, speaks very clearly and slowly for me, and loves to tell funny stories

-unfortunately she suffers from all sorts of physical ailments, like sinus issues, thyroid issues i think, she's in remission from cancer, and she's always tired and/or hot so that slows her down a bit

-but yeah, she's pretty much awesome

Carlos

-my dad, 63, a really nice guy, very tall and German-looking which is interesting, he does a lot of work around the house which is apparently not what most men do here (according to other students in my program when discussing their families), he's very friendly and loves to crack jokes with us at the dinner table

-he knows english which helps a bit but i try to only consult him when i really can't think of a word in spanish

Erick

-my host brother, 25, he's really friendly and has always been nice to me and good about making me feel included in conversations at the dinner table, he was also the only one who remembered to wish my mom and sister and i a happy international women's day, 

-he's a med student and so he's always working for long shifts at the hospital

-he also has a girlfriend so he spends a lot of time at her place

Egon

-my host brother, 18, he started out really shy and wouldn't really talk to me which was frustrating because I wanted someone in the house who was about my age and would talk to me and help me with my spanish and with the culture

-however, as of recently (like a few days ago), he opened up to me and has been talking to me, joking around with me, and being super friendly, i'm not sure what happened but it's appreciated, that's for sure! :)

-he just started at some university here in Santiago (i still don't understand him when he tells me the name) and is studying engineering

-in his free time he likes to play on the computer so he has picked up a ton of english and understands it pretty well- he just refuses to speak it because he's too embarrassed

Peter

-my guest brother, 21, he is a Stanford University student from Reno, Nevada, i think he studies economics

-he spends a lot of time with his Stanford friends and lives on the second floor of our house (i live on the first floor) so i don't usually see him except at the dinner table

-he's very friendly and easy to talk to which is nice, but like i said, i hardly ever see the kid

-he's leaving this saturday because Stanford is on a trimester system so he'll be returning to the states really soon, leaving space open for another Stanford student to come and live with us for the next trimester

Valeria

-my guest sister, 19, she's from Antofagasta, a small beach town in northern Chile, and has come here to study for the year

-she studies engineering, i think commercial, at some university here (not the same one as Egon), and loves to go out and party with her friends

-she's super friendly and i enjoy talking to her whenever i see her, we sometimes watch tv together and she has invited me to go out with her and her friends a couple times

Karin

-my guest sister, 20, from Rancagua, a small Chilean town 1.5 hours south of Santiago

-i forget what she's studying because she hasn't actually moved in yet, her classes haven't started yet, but i know that she goes to the University of Gabriela Mistral

-when i met her last week she was really nice and easy to talk to... well, she wasn't easy to understand but she was really patient with me when i was talking instead of cutting me off which some people like to do

-she is the oldest of 5 kids (20, 18, 15, 10, 6) so we relate on that level too

Javier

-my guest brother, 18, from Rancagua as well, he's one of Karin's little brothers and a pretty interesting guy

-i think he actually studies engineering as well but i could be making that up, and i forget what university he goes to as well, but i know that it's distinct from all of the other universities attended in this household!

-he is addicted to smoking and constantly runs out of the house to get his nicotine fix (which he does right outside of my window so i get the yummy fumes a few times a day if i'm in my room)

-he is either super shy, super antisocial, or super stuck up and i can't figure it out

---example: he came into the house a few days ago while we were eating dinner and of course my mom invited him to eat with us, he accepted, sat down with his baseball cap practically covering his face, answered a few questions directed at him, took two bites of food and then said he wasn't hungry and ran away from the table without clearing his place or anything

---i've also run into him on the street several times as he's leaving the house and i'm coming home and one time he saw me and tried to hide in the crowd so that he wouldn't have to say hi.  i of course yelled out "Hola Javier!" but it was funny how timid and awkward he got about seeing me, i guess that adds to the case about him being shy

-he's also a bit messy and we share a bathroom so it's frustrating when there are towels laying all over and huge puddles on the floor, but it's all good i guess!

So, that's my family.  I really like them all although it may not seem like it.  I think we have a good dynamic because my mom doesn't treat anyone differently or specially and now that we all speak spanish (the other people living here before were from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland and had never taken spanish), conversations at the dinner table are a lot more smooth.

Hasta luego when I hopefully get up the energy to write about school which started two days ago! :(

Laura