Submitted by Nicolas Caceres on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in Chile sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures…
We have arrived at February and the days are counting down until our return back to the United States. This past weekend was our free weekend where we had four days to travel and do what we wanted. To fill up my four days, I contacted a lot of family in the Santiago and Reñaca area to see if we could meet up and we did in the best ways possible.
On Friday, I was picked up by my Aunt to head over to Las Condes in Santiago for a quick lunch with my cousin and grandmother. This is about the fourth time seeing them and our conversations have been getting more detailed and with less pauses in them, as my Spanish fluency has improved immensely. On that Friday night, I am brought over to my other cousin’s new apartment to have a meet up with all the cousins in Santiago. This is something that rarely happens and it was a great time. The whole night was filled with good time, good conversation, and a lot of laughs. The next time I traveled with yet another cousin, her husband, and two kids to Reñaca. Here I was greeted by a dear cousin named Cote, where we finally had conversations where I spoke in Spanish and he practiced in English. From there, we headed to a “quincho” or BBQ at a family’s friend’s house with even more family and friends. The food was great as we ate lots of grilled meats and smoked lamb. To one up, the previous quincho, the next day we had another one at my cousin Cote’s house, where yet even more family came out from Reñaca and Santiago. The amount of familiar faces and new faces was a bit overwhelming, but all in all, I am so grateful that they organized all these events to spend some time all together with family. The way all my relatives were so hospitable and willing to accommodate me in any way was something really special and as I was told by my Mom, something very close to the culture of Chile. Family is a very important aspect here in Chile and I was sure shown that importance this past weekend.
