Home Away From Home by Gieric Laput

I will be here in Chile for 12 weeks doing research with Dr. Miguel Arredondo in the Institute of Nutrition en la Universidad de Chile! I am staying with a host family in La Reina. The neighborhood is affluent, and La Reina could just be like any Western urban town. Fast food chains stretch on major traffic arteries like Ossa Avenue, and the roads, in grid-like patterns, are filled with neons, buzzing public transpo, and people popping up on the street . My host-mom, Mabel, is so nice, welcoming, and caring. My room is small and the walls are white and drab but it's still cozy and homey. It´s just me and her at home, and I can see how a lovable grandma she is as the house is heaping with grandchildren paraphernalia, from a photo-filled foyer to a fridge covered with caricature. I think I won´t be missing what ¨home¨feels like while I´m here in Chile, in a good way.