My first day of orientation in Santiago

Okay, so since I don't know what this whole blog thing is about, I found out from another volunteer down here and now here I am. I couldn't keep writing 10 different emails to everyone, and this seemed like the best option.
So here I go...
We have been staying at a hostel here in Santiago, the capital of Chile, where I also flew in to, for the last 3 nights. Today is the first day of actual orientation where we get to learn about what we will be doing. The last few days I've spent exploring with a few awesome people I've met so far. The first night I got in, we went and ate at a place called the fat cow. Finding foods that are vegetarian friendly (or at least fish-only friendly) is a seemingly impossible task but hopefully it will get better once I go to my host family's house. At the Vaca Gorda I got shrimp, so that was good. After dinner we came back to the hotel and hung out for a little bit before bed. The rooms are 3 sets of bunk beds, with 6 lockable closets along one wall. I am on the top bunk closest to the door, where it sometimes lets me have wireless :) I am sharing the room with 3 other girls, named Lindsay, Emily and Jen. They are all awesome and I am actually going to be teaching at the same school as Lindsay in the town of Santa Maria.
I feel like I am not typing in a logical way at all, but I guess that's because there is so much to spit out :)
So the second day we went shopping in town and poor Lindsay got her camera stolen from right off of her neck. I volunteered to go with her to the police, or carabineros as they're called here, and 4 hours later, some crazy driving down pedestrian-only streets, a trip to the closed US embassy (it was a Sunday night), and filling out a million forms, the carabineros dropped us back off at the hostel and we ate dinner and filled in the rest of the group about the insanity of the day. That night, Clayton, the director of the program in the region where 5 of us will be placed, came in to the hostel and answered some questions we all had. He is American and super helpful, so it'll be nice to have him in my area if I need him.
Yesterday was another touristy day. We went and took this elevator/escalator type thing to the top of a mountain, San Cristobal, where there is a giant Mother Mary statue. It was beautiful, with a view of the city and of the Andes. Then we got to take this cool little pod-like thingy down to the bottom of the other side of the mountain. After that, a few of us took the metro (which was JAMMED at rush hour) to a popular mall. I got a Chilean cell phone, which you can call me on whenever, and it is pay as I go. I'll leave the number at the bottom of the blog in case u want to show me some love over the phone :)
Today we got up and had to be at the college down the street at 9ish. The 20 of us that are volunteers sat in a chilly room and got to hear more about the program. We got messenger bags with the Chilean Ministry of Education logo on it, a notebook and a pen, so I feel a little more official. After 2 Chilean women talked to us for a while, another lady from the states took over. We're now on lunch break from her power point stuff on what to expect, so I have to start wrapping this up.
I will try and write at least a paragraph everyday just to let everyone know whats going on and once I get to Santa Maria, I will attach pics and videos to this thingy too. Alright, well I miss home but I'm loving it here, and here is my cell & feel free to call (it is 3 hours later here than SD)
My cell: 01156 78276345.
Much love,
G