Volver a Chile

It's a month now since I've been back in Santiago. Things have been slow and un-blog-worthy since my return as I spend my days with few classes and little cash. It's been great catching up with friends, starting a new job and taking advantage of what's left of the summer.

Trabajo.

This year I am working with a company called E-Class English. They work with a couple Universities, a high school and a slew of corporate companies. I've started with 3 classes in an all- girls- Catholic- school called, "El Colegio de las Monjas Inglesas" (School of the English Nuns). I am not one of those nuns, FYI. I have classes with Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors. I love working with them because they are really smart and have a good foundation in English. I don't have to speak a word of Spanish (unlike in my last job) which is good for me- it keeps me as the most intelligent person in the class. Once students start correcting my Spanish it brings them up to my level and I lose all control as an authoritative figure. All hell would break loose in my classes last year and it would become "teach Rena crazy Chilean Spanish" time. Hah. My sophomores are my favorite so far. They are very attentive and are constantly smiling...the Juniors and Seniors are a bit rowdy and even wholesome activities turn "cochina" (dirty) in no time. We did a unit on technology and they had this activity of creating chat rooms. They began chats on a piece of paper with a screen name and then the papers were passed around to continue the conversation. The classroom was a frenzy of white papers and me in the middle serving as the internet exchanging finished chats. Topics like "parties" and "boys" were common and screen names included "Cat69" and "TheKissingMachine". I should have kept the chats...they were hilarious, inventive and concerning at the same time. Anyways, I am starting up some more business English classes next week so that should be a positive addition to my blank schedule. I wonder if I'll enjoy my adult classes or these classes with the teens better?

Warm & Sunny Weekends.

A couple of weeks ago Jorge and I went on a motorcycle ride past Las Condes, Vitacura and all that is considered "uptown" to the suburbs. Santiago is a really big city that for the most part just goes up (skyscraper style) instead of sprawling outward. Most people live in apartments. The very rich, who have no need of public transportation live in small neighborhoods just beyond the main part of the city. We drove up into the dry sandy foothills where city streets cluddered with mopeds and city cars were exchanged for well-watered suburban lawns and BMW SUV's. We were pretty removed from city life I kept thinking, "Man, what do these kids in the suburbs do for fun?". I guess I forgot that I grew up in an area similar to these where you have to get your parents to drive you everywhere. Now I am so used to living in the city and being surrounded by all that the city has to offer! After 30 minutes or so of driving in and out of these tiny communities we encountered one called, Chicureo. Here we ate Ceviche overlooking an artificial lake. Really artificial. I mean, it's in the middle of nowhere in deserty mountainy lands. Afterwards we went to Jorge's parent's house for lunch. His family is so sweet and surprised me with belated birthday presents even though we were supposed be celebrating his!

La Vendimia.

Last weekend I went down south with my friend, Carolina, to visit her hometown of Curicó. We left Santiago on Friday afternoon via train and arrived a couple hours later. She invited me to meet her family and also experience, "La Vendimia", a wine festival that was happening that weekend. In the main square there were booths set up with different kinds of wine, empanadas, brochettas (skewers)...the works. There were musical events, large concerts at night and a grape crushing contest. The "Plaza de Armas" (main square) in Curicó is absolutely gorgeous. It is much more lush down south than in Santiago which probably added to it's charm. Surrounding the square are tall palm trees brought over from the Canary Islands in Spain...it's impressive. For the festival, the place was decorated with hand painted wine bottles set over the gardens and hanging from the canopies over the booths.







I should mention that although beautiful, this town is still recuperating from last year's earthquake. The larger historic buildings including the church had scaffolding and tarps holding their weakened structures together. Aside from the festival, we spent time with her family, took siestas, had an asado, and ate delicious "typical Chilean food". Her father owns a produce business so the kitchen was full of crates containing grapes, peaches, tomatoes, green beans...the freshest of produce. Her mother made us fried pino empanadas upon our arrival on Friday! Yum. We ate so much, Carolina and I had to literally roll out of Curicó on Sunday morning to catch out 8 a.m. train. :)

That's about it for now. I have in mind a second trip to Valparaíso, a trip to "San Pedro de Atacama" up north and to Mendoza Argentina. We'll see how my schedule turns out and how much money I actually end up making. In my experience, especially here in Chile, things never really turn out they way I expect or plan. Así es Chile. This is my Chilean life.