Sorry life isn't more eventful...

aI know its been a week since my last post, but I don't have much to update on...life is becoming pretty normal and I feel like I live here...


Things I am used to:
1. I have acclimated to my commute to and from work. However I really do not like changing metros in Baquedano. With the nicer weather, I have been getting of at Plaza de Armas and just walking home for a longer period of time.
2. I know the majority of my students' names.
3. Running my own classroom and really being the teacher even though the novelty of my gringaness has worn off---not the greatest, but still I have acclimated to it.
4. How to squeeze myself onto the metro even though it doesn't look like there is any room.
5. Riding the metro without holding onto anything
6. Not having internet in the apartment
7. How to pretend that I don't know ANY Spanish when beggars ask me for money
8. Being able to wander around the city without actually feeling or being lost
. Ignoring the gross guys cat calling on the street


Things I am not used to:
1. How creepy people can be when they hit on you
2. How relaxed and disrespectful some of the students are with me. The types of questions some of them ask me is beyond absurd.
3. Bruce's (my lunchtime dog) haircut. He looks like a rat with large ears and you can see the gross ticks and things on him now, it is pretty gross!
4. When some of the streets are closed by cabarineros for no obvious reason
5. How slowly people walk
6. How quickly money can disappear and how cautious I have to be with money so I can travel later on


Some highlights of the past weeks:
1. I went to a jazz club, which was my first one ever listening to live jazz. It was good, but I wish there was some percussion or brass incorporated. I didn't like that the singer and bass player had sheet music and a stand, I expected jazz to be more free-flowing and improvisational. 

2. I went to La Vega and Patronado with Karen and Laura. La Vega is an extremely large marketplace for vegetables, fruit, meat, and etc. for pretty cheap. Patronado is the barrio in Santiago with a very large Asian/Korean influence. I would like to explore that barrio more, and also go when I don't have an extremely large and heavy bag full of groceries.
3. Karen and I spent a day wandering around the city and finally went to the church in Plaza de Armas. It was gorgeous inside and such a random stumble upon thing that day. I have forgotten how magnificent and beautiful churches can be.

Entryway of the church

4. Karen, Ronna, Cristian, Karen (Ronna's roommate), and I went to Cerro Santa Lucia again. I love it up there and it is really close to my apartment. We just spent a relaxing day, talking, with good company, and with Mote con Huesillos. That drink is so much better on the top of hills rather than anywhere else!

Me and Cristian at the top of Cerro Santa Lucia

5. It was Cristian's birthday on the 16th so we hung out and had dinner with his mom, aunt, and grandmother. Cristian made dinner and as always, it was phenomenal. He made this red wine reduction with some meat and yes mommy, vegetables. I am definitely eating more vegetables now... you can thank Cristian for that and making sure I don't go hungry. He loves cooking and also made dinner before for me, Megan, and Regina with the red wine reduction. I felt like I could have closed my eyes and been in a fancy restaurant. Yum!

Restaurant Cristian: 201B

Vegetable risotto with meat and red wine reduction

Ice cream and pineapple with the red wine reduction

Oriental Cazuela

Chef Cristian

In other news, Kristin and my cousin booked their flights to Santiago, so yay, visitors! I am just a little scared of how hot it will be in Santiago in the summer. Also there is a 4-day weekend coming up in the end of October, and I am pretty sure I am going to Vina del Mar and visiting a winery!!! Hopefully then I will have more to update on!

Vida es mucho mejor cada dia!

Not that it was ever bad before... it is just so much better. This past week I have been happier and I credit it to three main things. 1) the weather. 2) my school. 3) changing apartments. There haven't been many milestone things occurring since I last posted, just a lot of little changes. 


Megan just moved to her new apartment, which is literally maybe 3 blocks away. She lives so close, I can see her room from my balcony. I really enjoy her company, so I am glad I have her so close--also this means we can share taxis and metros home after going out.


Spring is here! When it is sunny with cool and warm air, I just get happier than I normally am. It definitely lightens up my mood. I love it, but some days really feel like summer and it can be HOT. I am excited for pool weather. At Megan's new apartment, there is a rooftop pool and jacuzzi. Even though I have a pool in my apartment building, I still can't wait to use hers!


School is ridiculously better for me! I have my own class and we split up all of the students. I just actually feel effective now and feel like I am creating real relationships with a lot of my students. I definitely have some more troublesome classes, but for the majority of the time, I really enjoy myself. The students that come after school for advanced speaking don't want to leave. It is sweet, but at the same time I sometimes want to say, "this is my free time, I don't get paid, we have already been here after school for two hours, it takes me an hour to get home, and I have things to do." I went to Colegio Alma Mater last Friday to work on a powerpoint presentation. Christina, Kyliee (new gringa at Hannover school), and I are going to trade schools for a day and do a presentation about our lives. It is a really corny presentation since it mostly uses vocabulary that they have learned. I think it will be fun for the students to see pictures and see that gringas come from all different places, we are human too. After working on the presentation for 2.5 hours, the computer shut down on me and I had to restart. No one told me not to save anything on the desktop. Lastly it is funny that some of my cuatro medio students are trying to set me up with their teacher. They wrote notes "from me" and "from him" to us. It is really cute, but a little old. I don't even know what his name is... they call him pigeon. Therefore I think his last name must be Poloma (name for pigeon). To sum it all up, going to school is good again!


Living with Cristian has improved my life 10-fold. I actually feel like I live here, and not that I am just occupying space. We went grocery shopping the other day and are actual real roommates. It feels comforting to go home and not stressful, which is necessary. Cristian is very easy-going and friendly. We have somewhat opposite schedules, but at the same time, we spend a lot of time together. I usually see him during his break after I am done work for half an hour, and then again after he is done work. We just sit on the balcony and listen to music. I get to practice my Spanish and he practices his English. It is also nice that we are comfortable enough with each other that we don't feel the need to talk all the time. We can both do our own thing in each others' presence without the awkward silence. He also likes to cook, which is nice. Within the week and half of living here, he has already brought me home dinner, made me dinner twice, and this morning he prepared me cereal, made me eggs, and got my thermos of tea ready for work. Very thoughtful and considerate! I met his mommy, who is also ridiculously sweet. She was impressed with how much I knew about the city and how much Spanish I knew considering how long I've been here. Sweet! 

Apartment eating and drinking

I had the TeachingChile2011 dinner at my new apartment this past Saturday. I would say it was a success with tacos and about 20 people over. Good company and food, and then out dancing. 

Rooftop Chillin

Not much to update now, just living normal life now. I forgot my tea thermos in a store where I was buying a new dry erase marker since my blue one burst in my face during class. It was sad since I thought it was gone forever. Then I went back to the scene of the crime and retrieved it, reunited and it feels so good! Jorge still cancels a lot and I haven't seen Maria de la Luz in a while.... oh well. Next Monday and Friday there isn't school... I should take advantage of the time off and go visit some other city. Who knows, but I am still trying to keep it on the cheap side since I don't get paid in the summer and want to travel then. I also want to buy two pairs of Aldo shoes and might have to buy a new camera since mine is spastic. :o( But on a brighter note, I think my cousin and Kristin are booking the flights to Chile soon!!! Can't wait! I miss you all so much, thanks for all your love and support!