Just keep swimming... in the streets of Chile.

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I’m so fortunate to have such a great bunch of friends from school. I am having a ball with Sayuri, her boyfriend Juan, and the rest of the guys: Luis, David, Milton, Gonzalo, Sergio, Cristian, and Narciso. I’ve gotten to go out with them a couple times now, and I always learn a lot. Over some pollo marinera (delicious chicken, sausage, and shellfish cooked together and served in a massive family style casserole dish) we discussed my life’s love story and then the state of Chilean education. I know – intense dinner conversation. I got a little more insight to the brokenness of the educational system… for example, Politecnico has many resources that go unused – 2 smartboards and a handful of laptops for one! They sit in storage for fear of damage. <span><span><span>This country has money, but it doesn’t always spend it in the smartest ways.



When the restaurant closed, we opted for a few glasses of wine at the chic Rompeola (breaking wave) across the street. I got to enjoy a most wonderful red,<span> carmenere that was made in Talca! Some local Maule wine finally! Now I know why this region’s famous for it! Juan told me that this particular type of wine, carmenere, was a French wine whose recipe was previously thought to be lost. When it was discovered here in Chile, this Chilean wine became very popular. We danced for a little while, me and Luis, Sayuri and Juan (and few others) before calling it a night, and driving home through the rain.



I'm pretty sure the rainy season has set in. It's about time. People keep saying how strange it is that the weather has stayed dry for so long. While this is probably not the best thing for the environment, I’m quite happy to have warmer, sunnier, weather. I feel like I deserve it after I experienced the wettest fall in Sherbrooke History when I was at Bishop’s in 2010.



Saturday morning, I slept in and woke to tremendous rain and wind outside. Soon after, the electricity went out. I tried to wait it out before showering but ended up giving it up and doing it by candle light. I then tried to wait it out more to dry my hair but ultimately gave up and hit the road for Talca. Bags on my shoulders, purple snow/rain boots on, and bright blue poncho covering everything, I began to forge the river to the terminal. The streets were absolutely filled with water. Since much of the city sits on a hill, all of the rain water flows down towards the river… where my apartment, school, and the bus terminal are. On top of that, as I had heard from the locals, the wind was tremendous. Needless to say, I was very wet when I made it to the bus. The weather was no better in Talca where I caught a colectivo in a river/street as well. Each car pulled up to the curb to allow passengers to board without stepping into the 5+ inches of water on the street.



Despite the rain, I went out that night with Francisca and 3 of her friends. I was surprised at the turnout at the bar. People actually got out! I enjoyed the time more or less, but I really hated the smoke inside. I also was disappointed that it took until 4am for guys to start asking me to dance. Lame. But when they finally did, it was a ball! Both of the two guys that I danced with told me in English something of the sort, “my English is terrible.”



Back to school this week, and I continue to be frustrated by the way students make excuses, do crappy work, and do not follow simple, clear directions. But then at the same time, these warm people continue to make my every day. I’ve decided that I was never meant to be a celebrity because I relish the attention too much. Every day I hear “I love you” at least once, and weekly, I’m receiving gifts from a 16 year old student who swears he’s in love with me. One of my most loving classes, a fourth year (senior) class, has this one kid that on the first day, another kid pointed to him and said, “pineapple!” and it was obvious why. His hair was styled in such a way that was very reminiscent of a pineapple. More recently, this pobrecito showed up to class with a buzz cut. He was then deemed, “kiwi fruit!” What am I going to do with these kids?

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