'Exotic' wasn't a word I would use to describe myself...

Yet it would seem that here in Chile, that is what I am.

It's very strange to get used to feeling like the foreigner. In the UK, many of our communities, particularly the big cities, are incredibly diverse (apologies for citing an over-used phrase). In Birmingham especially, as Carlos has observed, "everyone is a foreigner". I am used to passing a multitude of nationalities, ethnicities and languages every day in the street.

But in Santiago, it's a different story; the population is largely homogeneous in how it looks and Spanish entirely dominates conversation. So I stick out like a sore thumb.

For instance, on the Metro, I can easily see over the heads of an entire packed carriage. Women here on average rarely pass the 5ft mark. Men, perhaps 5'5 or 5'6. Some of the younger generation a little more.

Then the other day, when coming out of the ladies in a shopping centre, a small girl walking towards me literally stopped in her tracks and stared up at me in slightly alarmed wonder. I hope I didn't startle her too much.

Similarly, I was busy observing a family last weekend - who looked as traditionally South American as you might expect - only to realise that the mother had done a double take and turned right round to stare back at me!

So I have come to the conclusion that I am a giant here, all awkward limbs and gawkiness. Add to that my 'pasty' skin and you have the makings of someone apparently 'exotic'. Suddenly I'm a head turner - what a novel experience!

A day of small victories

Ok, I have a confession to make. I'm afraid I have spent the majority of the past week hiding in our flat, too scared to go out and feeling both isolated and frustrated by my inability to communicate with the world outside. I have found that I can increasingly understand a lot of written Spanish, I can even utter a few sentences of my own, but when someone responds? Not a clue!

However, this morning I have been extremely brave and forced myself outside the front door. And I am delighted to report the following small successes:

• I managed to ask to send a letter to England at the post office, understand the price quoted and pay
• I dropped in to a language school and enrolled for Spanish lessons - introducing myself in Spanish
• I topped up my travel pass at the metro station

These may sound like very small things, but for me they are a big deal, and I am so pleased with myself for tackling them. Hopefully now with my Spanish classes starting tomorrow, I will feel increasingly confident having a go at talking to people!

First impressions

I have now spent my first full 48 hours in Chile and it has been a time of mixed emotions and impressions.

As I flew in over the Andes I was struck with a sudden feeling of fear, thinking to myself "what on earth am I doing here?" Unexpectedly, I felt entirely unprepared for what lay ahead, as if I hadn't given it any thought at all, which in a way I hadn't.

But then I found Carlos at the airport and arrived at our lovely, cosy little flat. I felt comforted, pottering about to the sounds of Chile's 200 years of independence celebrations in the streets below and admiring the stunning view of the country's coastal mountain range from the luxury of our bedroom window.

Yesterday brought fresh challenges - venturing outside. Finding myself genuinely petrified by not understanding any of the words around me, the noisy underground, stray dogs, flies and other biting insects, I found myself wanting to go home and hide. I believe I was quite unbearable...

Then quite out of nowhere, the most spectacular scene I have ever been lucky enough to set eyes on. The whole of Santiago spread out before me, buttressed by the magnificent snow-capped Andes to the East and the coastal mountains in the West, all witnessed from the pinnacle of Cerro San Cristóbal. Absolutely breathtaking.

Just a third of the view from the top of Cerro San Cristóbal