Packing :)

This weekend was absolutely crazy, and now I get to pack everything up for my trip to Chile! This is a picture of my room right now - it's a real mess! Almost everything is packed in a suitcase and a backpack - YAY FOR LIGHT TRAVELING!

I've been trying to research things ahead of time - like staying safe, using transit, tipping appropriately. My professors at school warned me "Don't drink the water!" and "Don't wave around your phone or someone will steal it!" which initially freaked me out, but after even a little research I'm not so concerned about it. Obviously I'm going to be careful, but it seems their advice was a bit outdated - the drinking water is safe (just treated heavily) and the crime rate has dropped significantly in the last 30 years. Like any city there are safe and dangerous parts of town.

The tipping culture in Chile is really funny! Apparently, most places will add 10% onto your total for the tip. Taxi's will round up the fare for you, so you always pay for exactly what they ask. The part I found most surprising is tipping at grocery stores. The people who bag your food work for tips - so you usually tip them 2000 - 3000 CLP (About 2-4 dollars)! The currency in Chile is called the Chilean Peso (CLP) and the exchange rate is kind of ridiculous. 1 Chilean Peso is only $0.0015 US Dollar! When I went to pick up my CLP here I felt super loaded carrying around 100,000 CLP, but it's really only about 150 dollars haha! I find the best way to convert CLP to USD is to take off three 0's and round up a bit - it gets you in the ballpark.

I just got some info on my host family and it seems to be a perfect fit! The mother is a Spanish professor (YES FREE HELP WITH HOMEWORK), the daughter is a health worker (YES ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE), and the brother is my age and is a musician (HALLELUJAH THEY WONT HATE ME FOR PRACTICING CLARINET AND SINGING ALL THE TIME). I'm really excited to meet them! Apparently they've traveled around the world and have spent extensive time in Germany (und ich kann Deutsch!).

Well, that's the current update! I'll try to write a post on here every few days to keep y'all entertained :) ALSO. If you have any ideas for a bread-and-butter gift for my host family, let me know!

Love, CHAR

#photo #packing #studyabroad