Well, here we are, halfway through July 2010! A LOT has happened since I last updated my blog (clearly)! So, in honor of my ONE YEAR in Chile, here's a brief update on my life as well as a list of things I love about Chile/ my experience (so far) in Chile.
(In no particular order...)
1. The palta. Seriously, I eat avocados straight out of the skin with a spoon. They are delicious and cheap and oh man...abundant. Last night, for instance, my chileno neighbor upstairs, put some avocados in a bag and lowered it down to my window. That was his way of luring me upstairs to hang out. He knows me well. All it takes is palta.
2. The natural beauty. Everyday on my way to work I see these massive snow-capped mountains. It never ceases to amaze me. One of my classes is on the 12th floor, so I always situate myself at the conference table so I can see the cordillera. Seriously, it's wow. I've been lucky enough to see Patagonia, el sur, and a little bit of the north. Chile is just so amazing. I'm looking forward to more backpacking adventures!
3. Public displays of affection. Okay, in the States, I HATE PDAs. But here, I find it heart-warming. There's something so adorable and oddly innocent about the way couples (young and old) will interact in the streets, on the bus, in the parks etc. It's nice to see so much love going around. Plus, when the weather's nice, it's kind of awesome making out in a park.
4. Dancing! Now, I've been told that Chile is not the best Latin American country to dance in...obviously, Brazil and Colombia are going to take the cake in that category. However, Chileans dance a whole lot more than Americans and I like this! There is a salsa club in Bellavista where it is totally not weird to dance the salsa with a creepy old man. People don't go there to "hook up"--they go to dance salsa! Y bailan salsa no más!
5. La Vega. So I don't know how I've lived in Chile this long without having gone to the Vega. The Vega is this huuuuge open air market next to the Mapocho River in Santiago. There, you can buy 2 kilos of tomatoes for 600 pesos! That's about $1.20! And, you can get every kind of vegetable and fruit imaginable there! And it's so cheap! It's also the place to go to buy peppers (thanks Peruvians!) So I am currently drying a bunch of peppers to then crush and use all the time. It's awesome.
6. The people I have met. Despite the fact that most of my teacher friends in the south turned out to be creepers, I have been extremely blessed with the people who have entered my life. From a super awesome Chilean family to my WorldTeach amigos and now to my incredible roommates, I am honored to know such a bacán group of people. I've formed unbreakable connections with people and I'm happy to add them to my collection.
Alright, life update.
Mid-May I left San Nicolás to attempt living and working in Santiago. I was feeling pretty rundown and lonely, to be honest. As much as I love the campo, being the only single, non-pregnant, twentysomething in an extremely small town finally started to wear on me. Not that I wanted to go out and party. I just needed people my own age to spend time with. Sadly, they all live in Chillán or are too busy trying to keep their families afloat. Aaaaaand, turns out all my teacher friends from the high school are pedophiles...
So now, I have been teaching business English to CEOs, IT guys, economists, and engineers in Santiago. Surprisingly, I quite like it. I've signed a one-year contract and will actually be making enough money to save! This means, I'll be able to travel! I am also living in a really cool apartment in the centro. I have the greatest roommates in the world! Right now, it's me, Ludette (from New Jersey), Lizzie (from England), and her fiancé Shander (from Ecuador). We all get along great--cooking for each other, watching movies together, and dancing until 5 am. I really hit the roomie jackpot. Plus, Shander's a doctor. So he's been treating my "almost" bronchitis. Success!
It feels good to be independent again. It's been over a year since I have lived on my own, so it is nice being an adult once more. Now if only Chile would stop being so freaking cold!
Weeeeeell, that's about it for now. Hopefully, more excitement will enter my life (good excitement! not bad excitement!) and I can update once more!
And, I also just wanted to say, thank you so much to everyone who has been supporting me endlessly these past few months. From writing letters of recommendation for me to listening to me cry (Erin Burke!), I cannot express enough how much I appreciate it. I'm so glad I have such a great support network. I know some cool people. :)
Cuidense! Y muchos abrazos!
Some fotitos...
Papa Scherer came at the end of May!
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New amigos!
