Ahh, Christmas Eve. This is when the magic of Christmas happens in Chile. All of it, in fact. Whereas in the states Christmas is nearly a month long, beginning just after Thanksgiving for most people, with lights, movies, songs on the radio you can't escape, etc., in Chile it only seems to last one day. And that day is Christmas Eve. Everybody shops (and I mean, EVERYBODY), goes home to be with their families, opens their presents at midnight (hey, it's technically Christmas), and goes to bed. Most people have the day off for actual Christmas, and then it's back to work on the 26th. It's a little brief for my taste.
Cute story though, Rosie told me that instead of Santa coming over night while the kids are asleep, they go outside to look for his sleigh in the sky at midnight. Somehow he manages to slip by them and get the presents under the tree while they are out searching for him. Santa is very tricksy.
Anyway, on Monday my classes were cancelled. Bridge was still open and there were still classes, but my students cancelled their classes for the holidays. After Rosie got done with her class, or her office work, or whatever she was doing, she met me at my apartment and we headed out shopping. It was crowded and very hot. Rosie picked up some cool Balinese instruments for Andres, before he met up with us to go to lunch. Sorry, no pictures of lunch. It wasn't very good. We did a little more shopping, and I managed to get gifts for the ladies of my family. I did a pretty good job, so get excited ladies!
Spent the evening at home as Rosie and Andres had to go back and do family stuff at home.
Tuesday, Dec 25
Merry Christmas everybody! I slept in and woke up to a bright, sunny, hot day. It felt very bizarre. Rosie's friend Anna was hosting a Gringo Christmas dinner at her apartment, so I mosied over there around 3 to join them. Check us out, good food, good people, and Santa wine!
Thai chicken meatballs and zucchini with a spicy chili sauce on top
Christmas, America style
Me, Rosie, Sara, Sara, and Sally
Being the only male, Andres gets to cut the turkey. Ha!
Pecan pie, apple pie, and an Anna Pavlova (I swear, that's what she called it). Meringue crust filled with cream and topped with raspberries! Delightful!
I ended up having such a nice time that I stayed all evening and didn't even Skype with my family or my boyfriend. Holiday fail.
Wednesday, Dec 26
Well, I wanted to stay in bed all day and nurse the remnants of my feelings about wine, but alas, I had to teach a class at 12.00. Took the opportunity to snap a couple of pictures of Escuela Militar (the military school) on my way. Sorry about the pole.
The class went pretty well, and I took the rest of the day off of effort. Oh, and did finally get to Skype and say Merry Christmas with dad, Carol, and Bruce :-)
Thursday, Dec 27
On Thursday I went to meet Rosie at Bridge and got to cash my first paycheck! I'm rollin' in the Arturo's, haha!
So, of course, the best thing to do after getting paid is to go shopping! Rosie took me to Los Dominicos, which has a little artisan village in it. Here is a picture of the outside:
But I didn't get any of the actual shops. Mybad. I did get a picture of the delicious raspberry juice I ordered at lunch though!
Friday, Dec 28
Had my noon class at Soprole again, which is a big dairy company here in Chile. Last class my student was trying to tell me about this dessert that they make called Manjarate, but I couldn't really understand what it was, other than that it was chocolate flavored. So I told him he should bring me some at the next class. He did. And a Creme Caramel too.
As you can see, it looks kind of spongy, almost like cake. It is not cake. When you eat it, it kind of has a moussey texture, but the Spanish word for mousse is mousse, so I'm sure he would have just said that if that's what it was. In conclusion, I'm still not sure what Manjarate is, other than delicious.
The Museo de la Moda (museum of fashion) is just across the street from Soprole, so I took the opportunity to check it out. They were having an 80's fashion exhibit. Yikes.
Wall o' tapes
The actual jacket that Michael J. Fox wore in BTTF 2
May or may not be the actual Delorean from the movie. I couldn't figure it out, though the sign said something about it being restored. Did I ever tell you about the time my cousin Jay and I went to the movies in Colorado and there was a Delorean in the parking lot? That was pretty sweet.
Barbie Rockers! Sorry about the quality of the photo--there was no flash photography and the place was really dark
Exerpt from a magazine
Ok, so I accidentally took one with the flash on.
Man, Prince Charles is goofy lookin'
The crown they made for Michael Jackson's funeral
After the museum I headed over to my 3.00 class, but the guy actually wasn't there. So I got paid for a class I didn't even have to teach! Would have been nice to not have to go all the way over there though. Anyway, there are these creepy statue guys outside the subway station that I thought were pretty cool.
Later that evening Rosie and I went to a seafood restaurant for dinner. It was delicious!
giant whale skeleton replica
cream corn (not like US creamed corn, but delicious cream corn) on the left, scallops in cheese and butter on the right
crab-stuffed fish with steamed vegetables
Saturday, Dec 29
Nothing. Seriously. Worked on my business plan for a little venture I'm thinking about starting, Skyped with Matt, played video games at night. The end.
Sunday, Dec 30
Nothing again, really. I'm reading Small Businesses for Dummies and writing my blog. Skyped with some friends. Worked out. Mostly just chilling. Don't know my plans for New Years. I might not have any. I'm not really big on New Years anyway.
So, it was a pretty good week. I got to do fun things and didn't have many classes. Next week, I will have a surprise for you! But you'll just have to tune in next time!
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