On the 16th of July, my friend Charlotte and I caught the red-eye flight from London Heathrow to Santiago de Chile, arriving bleary-eyed on the morning of the 17th.

After a two and a half hour taxi journey, I arrived in the coastal resort city of Viña del Mar, where my hostel was. It was there I got my first shock, the Chilean accent, known for being notoriously difficult, right enough, it was. But I have surprised myself by how quickly I have been able to adapt, although you often have to ask to repeat.

Chileans also use quite a bit of slang, not commonly taught at Spanish classes in the UK. A notable example would be the use of the word ‘Acá’ and ‘Allá’ for here and there. In Spain meanwhile, these are never used so I was a bit confused at first.

Another interesting word is ‘micro’, the cheap and fast but erratically driven buses that are the main way to get around the Valparaiso area. On the three-lane road that connects Viña and Valpo, buses drive well over the 50kph speed limit, cutting up, tailgating and peeping cars who dared to coast in the left-hand lane. When going around the corners, I often think of the Knight Bus in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Bus drivers are also the masters of counting fares whilst driving and changing gears at the same time, I still have no idea how they do it! When getting on the bus, everyone dreads being the last one on as the bus starts moving the second the last person is on the steps, with the doors wide open. Despite all the hair-raising shenanigans, I love them.

The university that I, along with my classmates Holly and Charlotte are studying at is the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso (or PUCV for short). It could not be more different from Heriot-Watt, being an old building of Spanish colonial architecture. Inside the university, there are two outdoor courtyards which are lovely when the sun is out. (but slippery and hazardous when it rains!) The university also has a beautiful chapel. Outside the building, there are stands waiting to pounce on peckish students for their custom, usually selling empanadas or fresh fruit and vegetables. There is also a café at one of the university courtyards which do brilliant mochas and completos, Chilean hotdogs with mayonnaise, avocado/guacamole and ketchup.

However due to some students strikes which are pretty common in Chile, the start of classes has been delayed until the 20th of August. Some of the guys at the gym told me this was due to feminist protestors. This means that I will have plenty of time before classes start explore the Valparaiso area and beyond.

¡Hasta luego de Chile!