And so it begins!

Today was the first day of orientation!! We had to be in the Los Condes barrio by 10am, so everyone with The Language Co. took the metro together this morning. It was a little nerve wracking, but the lines are color-coded which helps a lot, and you just need to know your stop and the direction (last stop) that you want to go towards. We all made it there with time to spare.

The offices of The Language Co. are beautiful!! We finally met Emily Beck, who I was surprised to learn was British; I guess her accent doesn't come across in emails haha. The office takes up the whole fifth floor, complete with a kitchen, two bathrooms, and some puppy mascots! The morning was spent with ice breakers and get to know you games, as well as an introduction to the company and our jobs. They gave us a lunch together, after which we went to a small park to relax and returned by 2pm. During the afternoon we talked more specifically about classes and what sort of activities to include in our lesson plans. We were all set by 4pm but we have four more days of orientation after that.

Next, Jess and I ventured out from the office to the big mall a few metro stops away. We took an escalator from the middle of the street to a suspended tunnel bridge to a mall! It was huge!!!!!
and so American (read: disappointing). We were hoping for cool Chilean and South American stores, but mostly saw American and a few European ones. Mango and Zara were happy finds however! :) We happily discovered that there are in fact some free public restrooms, contrary to what TeachingChile told us haha. After getting lost quite a few times, and with aching feet, we made our way back to the hostel. Sadly, our journey was FAR from over.

The metro was insane at 630ish in the evening. As in, absurd. As in, there were attendants on the platform pushing peoples' arms, legs, shoes, and bags inside the doors so they would fully close. As in, we missed the first train because we couldn't both fit inside one set of doors. As in, the next time, we had to step on people to both fit. And every stop after ours, somehow more people squashed themselves inside! It was ten times more insane than I have ever experienced in rush hour in Manhattan (NYC). We were quickly separated and shunted towards the opposite door (which never opens) and then spent the next four stops trying to get near enough to the doors to get off again. It was almost impossible to shift position, let alone move in a certain direction. The people never let anyone get off before shoving themselves on, so we were a little nervous we wouldn't make it off at our stop. The girls nearby told me a few more people would get off at our stop because it was a bit more central but I still wasn't sure I could make it off. Poor Jess was no longer even in my thoughts haha. Finally, it was our stop and I tried to squeeze in behind the lady who was moving out next to me, but there was somehow STILL no space!!! She saw me trying to follow her, grabbed my forearm and pulled me right off the train behind her! It was so funny and crazy I couldn't help but laugh. Then I turned around and Jess made it too and we dragged our tired selves to our favorite empanada shop and then home for showers and bed.
Whew, if that's what the metro will be like every day at that time, I'm more than a little nervous how I'll get to my classes on time without being entirely wrinkly and sweaty and gross. Hopefully I'll have time to leave early for them all. More orientation tomorrow, so I'll update you again then.