Week 2!

Hello friends!

Well, this week I finally did get up to some sight-seeing. Mostly free stuff—Chile is more expensive than I expected and I accidentally spent a lot during my first week! Spent this week trying to lay low with the money and get back on-budget. It helps that I've got a job, but I would like a couple more classes as Rosie and I have got some trips planned pretty much every weekend! A random thought before I get to the daily play-by-play: When Chileans greet each other, they kiss once on the right cheek. This includes when you meet somebody for the first time. I think it's fantastic and I would like to try to implement this practice when I get back to the states. You have been warned!

Monday, Nov. 26

I had my first class at Tata Consulting at 8.30am, and was not prepared for the adventure in store for me. (Just a side bar, I work for a company called Bridge that supplies business English classes to companies, but a lot of the classes we teach actually take place at the various companies, not at Bridge.) I was on time and just waiting for my students to come in. They were about 15 minutes late, but I was already told that this is not unusual as they can be very busy with their jobs and sometimes just can't make it on time. So I'm waiting and reading my book when the woman who originally showed me to the room came back and said, “Uhm, we have to go outside. There is an emergency.” I grabbed my bag and booked it out. Soon I begin to hear sirens getting louder and louder, until suddenly four fire trucks show up and park outside the building.  

Yes, on my first morning of classes, the building caught on fire. I guess it wasn't a big one (4 fire engines really must have been overkill) because they let us back in the building about half an hour later, 4 of my 7 students showed up, and we went ahead with class. How's that for an intro to teaching in Chile?

I also finished filling out my visa application and got it sent in, making me eligible to work. I should be getting my id and the paperwork that makes it so that I get paid...yeah, just before I leave. Oh well, at least I'm legal!

That night I went out to dinner with Tess and got back to my roots.

Oh yeah, Korean food in Chile! We got some chapchae (the noodles) and some ojingeo bokkum (spicy squid mixed with vegetables and rice). It was good and authentic, except that it wasn't spicy enough. I wanted to order in Korean, which is WAY easier for me than Spanish, but we had a Chilean waiter so Tess ordered instead. All-in-all, I approved of the Korean restaurant and may have to go back for some tteokbokki.

Tuesday, Nov. 27

Tuesday morning I started another new class at 7.30 am, yeowch! Luckily it's at Bridge, so I can walk and not pay the ridiculously high subway fee, and the guy (it's a one-on-one) was really talkative and nice. It would be horrible to have to get up that early for a class that I don't enjoy.

I took advantage of the opportunity from getting up early and then having an entirely free day to go around the city a bit. I went down to see the Palacio de la Moneda, which is the site of the Chilean government. 

Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed inside on account of me being a dirty American. No, I'm just kidding, nobody that doesn't work there was allowed inside. Gotchya!

With Cerro Santa Lucia (Saint Lucia Hill) just two stops away I decided to go ahead and walk down there to check it out, instead of going another day and having to pay for the subway again. Yes, I'm cheap, but I resent having to pay so much for public transit. Ok, so it's only about $1.25 (or nearly $2.00 during rush hour), but when you have to ride it 4 or more times a day, it really adds up. The Iglesia de San Fransisco (Saint Francis Church)

 also happened to be between the palace and the hill, and I hadn't been planning to visit it, but it was marked as a place of interest in my little Santiago guide book, so I decided to go ahead and make a stop there. I am so glad I did—it ended up being my favorite site of the day! There was actually an art gallery of lots of paintings from the late 17^th to early 19^th century, as well as artifacts like old furniture, clothing of the brothers and sisters of the order, silver chalices, and statues. The church itself was really beautiful. 

Big, old Catholic churches like that summon up strange feelings in me. The mix of beautiful and sometimes striking imagery along with the heavily silent reverence just feels...eerie? It's a little overwhelming for me.  Also, enjoy a thought from a random passerby/vandal:

After that it was on to Cerro Santa Lucia, which was beautiful

 and had a good view of the city from the top. 

The day was hot and I had had quite a walk, so I headed home, stopping to get some ice cream on the way, and had a relaxing evening.

Wednesday, Nov. 28

Not too much to say about Wednesday. I had my Tata class in the morning, went to Bridge to do paperwork, picked up some various stuff at the store, and had an ice cream with Rosie and Libby in the afternoon. Later that evening, I went to an immersion activity near the Universidad Catolica (I don't need to translate that one for you, do I?).

 All I had to do was go, have (a free) dinner, and converse with a bunch of English students. They were nice, we had a good conversation, and I met the owner of the next-door wine bar, which Libby and her friends like to frequent. I'll have to stop by there some time and see if he's there to say hi. And, of course, sample some fine Chilean wine. Best of all, I got paid to do it! Well...theoretically. Since I've just sent in my visa application I'm eligible to work, but I can't get paid until they get it processed. So, cross your fingers on the company sticking to their word and paying me when I get my boletas.

Thursday, Nov. 29

Another low-key day. Class at 7.30, bought some sandals, and Rosie came over in the afternoon to hang out as her last class of the day got canceled. It was really great—I didn't realize how much I missed her. There are just some things I can say to Rosie that I really don't feel comfortable saying to other people. It's really nice.

Did another immersion activity that night and had a lot of fun! The people at my table were really funny and nice. They invited me to go out with them afterward, and I was really tempted as my early class the next day was canceled, but I had my mind on my wallet and headed home instead. I can't believe I'm going to get paid more than my actual job to go have free dinner and talk with cool people for 3 hours. Pretty awesome.

Friday, Nov. 30

Not much to speak of on Friday either. Got to sleep in because my 7.30 was canceled, and picked up a new class at 3.00. That went well, the guy was REALLY talkative and I got an earful about his company and the mining industry in Chile. Which is fine, the students should be practicing their speaking skills and it was good to learn more about the country I'm in. He is upper intermediate as well, so his English was pretty good. Rosie had late class, so I didn't see her. I went to bed early to get ready for an awesome day on Saturday...

Saturday, Dec. 1

Got up at 6.30am to get ready and head over to... 

Bellyxir! I have no idea what that means, anyone who speaks Spanish want to help me out? Anyway, it was a 10-hour (!!) bellydance choreography intensive with 5 different masters from Chile, Argentina, and Venezuela. That picture is me with Surimay, the woman who was hosting the workshop. It was a lot of fun! My foot has actually been giving me some trouble for the past couple of days, so I took it pretty easy for one of the sessions and completely sat out for another. The one I took it easy on was FULL of hair flips, which can be kind of dangerous for your neck if you're not experienced with them (as I am not). I looked around and searched, and I was literally the only person at the entire workshop with short hair, and there were a lot of people there. Also, think about where your hair goes when you flip your head up. Now think about my hair. Yeah, what little hair I have doesn't go back, it goes forward, so every time I attempted to flip it, it just got all over my face instead.  The teacher's hair, of course, looks like this

I also skipped out on the veil dance. My foot was hurting and I didn't get the memo about the veils somehow, so I didn't have one.  Maybe because all the communication was in Spanish.  I was a little disappointed actually, because I haven't done much veil work and it's something that I've recently been wanting to try out. Oh well, another time I suppose.

In the end it was a great experience and I got video of all the choreographies that I did, so I can still practice them. And I got this little certificate of completion

 Yes, they did spell my name wrong.

Sunday, Dec. 2

Finally got to sleep in on Sunday! Spent the day typing up this post and made myself a CV. Yeah, I look pretty impressive. Haha! That evening was part 2 of the Bellyxir event—the show! It was pretty good. There were a lot of dances by Surimay's students

 and all of the professional dancers from the workshop did a number or 2.

 The e-mail said that it wouldn't go over 2 hours, but it was all lies! 2.5 hours into it we were hungry and tired, so we actually skipped out on the end and went to get some food. Check this out 

Oh yeah, that is a big hunk of fried provolone cheese. You spread it on a roll, and there was some salsa-type stuff to put on top. Very yummy, but when Andres explained it I thought that you were just supposed to eat a hunk of fried cheese and I thought Chileans were crazy! 

Then it was home to bed to sleep up for starting the new week!