New Beginnings

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It's been over 2 months since I last wrote here and that is inexcusable! So I'll try to include as much of a recap/overview of that period as I can without writing a novel. When I last posted I had just returned from winter vacation in the US and was readjusting to life here in Santiago, but I was thrilled to be back. And I am still thrilled and excited to be here. So excited, in fact, that I am planning on staying here through June, 2015, rather than leaving in January as I had originally anticipated. So now I am working on securing full time work for March - June so that I can afford to remain here. But after coming back from vacation things were just great. Work was fun, I found part time work teaching at an institute in the evenings, I was meeting new people and going out more often. But a problem quickly emerged with my roommate and I. I'm not going to get into details, but he just became cold, aloof, and extremely disrespectful. The fact that I paid rent to him meant nothing. I didn't have my own private space (he even went so far as to sleep in my bed while I was on vacation when he had friends over), and I felt uncomfortable in my own home. I spent much of September looking for a new apartment and I am happy to say that I moved into a beautiful new place, in a wonderful community just this past weekend. It's calm, closer to work, and my roommates are wonderful. So I just couldn't be happier with my living situation right now and I am so happy to be rid of my previous apartment, and my roommate for good.

Aside from the change in apartment, I've been slowly getting closer to the reality of finally applying for law school. I took the LSAT two weeks ago and felt good when I left the exam. I still have another week and a half until I get my score, but I have been busily preparing all of my applications so that when I get my score I can hopefully applying by the first week in November. I think I know what to expect from my score based on all of the practice tests I took, but I am confident in myself and my abilities and I know that no matter what my score may be, I will feel proud because I did the best I could, and that's all I can ask of myself. But I am excited and anxious and scared all at the same time to see my score and then to finally submit the applications. I think it'll be a big weight off my shoulders when I finally send them all out.

As far as life here in Chile, aside from the new apartment, things are relatively the same. I am working a lot more, both with private classes and with the institute, so I have a lot less free time but right now I am really content with that. The weather is nicer so I don't mind riding my bike to and from my different places of work everyday and I like keeping busy. And, of course, the extra money helps, too. Life at the colegio is the same, but I'm enjoying talking with my students much more and find myself taking more time to talk and get to know them. I really will be sad at the end of the school year to leave some of them.

Lastly, I do need to write a little about independence day. I didn't know what to expect leading up to September 18 (independence day here). In the weeks leading up to it, I had a lot of people tell me that there typically is some unrest in Santiago. September 11 is the anniversary of the military coup in 1973 so I had a number of people tell me to stay home that night and not go out because sometimes there can be violent protests. I don't know if there were, but regardless, I stayed home. Leading up to the 11th there was some unrest due to a fare hike on the subway. It was a meager increase (10 pesos more for a rush hour ticket), but even so there were protests. And, there was a bombing in a metro station (one that I frequent regularly) just a few days after. Fortunately nobody was killed, but there were some serious injuries. I've heard a lot of different things from different people about the circumstances surrounding this, and I'm not going to expound upon them here, but the suspected bombers were caught (on independence day, coincidentally) and are now awaiting trial. Since then, the government has been trying to crack down more on suspected "terrorists" and has evoked some of the same laws used by the military junta to imprison suspected terrorists without charging them of a crime. So that was the experience here for me leading up to Sept. 18.

As for the actual week of the 18th, I was lucky enough to have the week off from school so 3 of my friends and I took a vacation to Valdivia, a beautiful city in southern Chile. The city itself is similar to Santiago, although much smaller and much cleaner, but the atmosphere is just so much more relaxed and calm. The city lies on a river and the countryside around it is just gorgeous. We drove all around the region visiting little towns where my friend had visited as a child, visiting friends of her family, and stopping at some of the most beautiful places I have seen here in Chile. And, of course, we ate good food and drank delicious beer. Chile has a large German immigrant population so that have a strong brewing culture there and the microbreweries are wonderful. Much better than the cheap stuff you find in Santiago. We returned to Santiago on the 18th and then I truly got to experience Chilean independence day. I went that evening to a fonda with my friends (a fonda is kinda like a big party, with food, drinks, music, dancing, etc.). You pay a fee to enter, they have a concert, and tons of food and drink to purchase. Terremotos (earthquakes - a strong drink that is typical of independence day), anticuchos (kebabs), empanadas (empanadas), cerveza (beer), asado (barbecue), and lots of other delicious things. But the difference here is that they don't just celebrate on the 18th and then they're done. They celebrate for days. After the fonda on the 18th, I went to a bbq in a small town outside of Santiago and have never seen so much meat at a family bbq in my life. But boy is it good. And then I went to another fonda on the 20th, and nearly went to another on the 21st. It really is a giant party for days here, and it's so unlike any experience I've had in the US. And it's so much better than any 4th of July bbq I've had in the US (sorry, America). But really, Chilean independence day is one of those once in a lifetime experiences for me that I will always be glad I had the opportunity to enjoy.

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Photos

Independence Day
Huasos (Chilean cowboys) lining the street