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Published: September 30th 2006
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INVENTORY OF ONE MONTH IN CHILE
Maraquetas eaten countless
Resumes sent by email 40+
Flea bites 20+
Skype contacts 10
Interviews 3
Very much part-time job 1
Blockbuster Chile membership 1
Major life goal achieved 1
Stolen wallet 1
Despite having my wallet stolen yesterday, even factoring in the flea bites, I am weighing in on the positive here in Chile. I was daydreaming in a crowded part of Santiago. An hour before I left the last of the three interviews inventoried. During the interview I was hired and assigned two classes. One class consists of three nine year olds and in the other I will be tutoring a thirteen year old boy. It was not my intention to teach kids, but I accepted this work with the chance of acquiring more classes and the opportunity to work with adults in the future. As I walked I was sorting in my head what games would be fun for the nine year olds and what could I possibly think of to catch the interest of a thirteen year old whose parents are forcing him to study English. I had been carrying my bag at my side and then put it all
the way on my back. At the crosswalk a girl commented, "Hace calor (It's hot)" and after responding I began to cross, felt a tug at my backpack, looked to see it open, and a girl walking quickly away. I knew it immediately, but could not think quickly enough to act. At the police station I noticed other reports detailing similar situations. The woman before me had written about having her digital camera stolen. Her report read, "I didn't see a thing." It made me remember how much worse it could have been. The contents of my wallet were replaceable; it was my pride that hurt the most. Please no lectures from readers on what I should have done differently; I have been hard enough on myself.
And moving from worst to "not as bad, but still glad they are gone". Call them what you wish, pulgas, fleas, bed bugs, the results are all the same, itchy bites. And I had them. But fortunately, a mild case. First they nibbled around my waist, creating a connect- the- dot waistband. Then a few got ambitious, leaving the mapped path and chomped me a few times on the arms and around
the knees. It was no wonder really, after all Lonely Planet South America on a Shoestring said this about Valparaiso, "Large gangs of dogs roam the streets. While you may want to show them affection, refrain." With the large gangs of dogs come gangs of fleas. But they are gone now, no new bites since I left Valparaiso.
With those topics aside, it is on to what is going right in Chile. Name one, a major life goal achieved. As I was hiking in Parque Nacional Campana with Simon and Merete, I thought back to some time I spent a year and a half ago on the Beaver Brook Trail in Genessee, Colorado. I would hike for three hours each visit there, enough time to resolve many of the questions in my brain. Multiple times I thought, "I need to learn Spanish and the only way I am going to do it is to live in a Spanish speaking country and force myself to use it." I wrote these goals in a special journal I keep for life goals. I wrote something like, "Move to a country in Central or South America" and "Learn Spanish already!" While I hiked
this time I remembered those goals and felt proud that I picked up and moved to Chile. I set a goal and carried it through. And my Spanish is coming along as well. Edgardo and I have a deal that while we eat we only speak in Spanish. The day he proposed that deal my first thought was, "today I become a fast eater". But most know that is just not possible for me. So instead I am learning more Spanish.
The job search continues at a slow pace. I knew I was arriving at a time that is not best for hiring. After doing all I could to find work on the coast, sending my resumes and going to each institute in person, I came back to stay in Santiago and replicate the search here. After the first interview on the coast I was informed that at this time there is no available work. The second interview revealed the institute to be paying an unreasonably low wage for the hours of work. The third, as mentioned earlier was a success. I will travel to the coast twice a week to teach the classes. Basically my salary will pay
for the bus fare. But it is a start that I was anticipating. Today I visited two institutes in Santiago and arranged another interview for next week.
In the meantime, while I was in Valparaiso, I tagged along with Simon and Merete (from Denmark) for a day in Parque Nacional Campana, 2 hours by Metro and bus from Valparaiso. We escaped the exhaust and noise of the city for a day and got some exercise in the process. As you can see in the pictures I used my former experience as Zoo Club Co-Advisor to spot a large spider, similar to a tarantula. Bowes should be proud!
On the beach in Viña I observed how spring and the celebration of Dieciocho brought out the kites in full force. Kite-flying is a serious pasttime in Chile. I walked down the street and saw a small boy with an extremely large spindle of string. I thought, "Who is he kidding? On what occasion will he use all that string?" Later, at the beach I watched a man fly a kite with the assistance of his sons. One held the large spindle and the other helped to release the string in
an orderly manner. The kite flew above the apartment building, then in between buildings, and just when I thought it was a goner, it was rescued by the pilot.
Over the course of the holiday weekend (18 de Septiembre) I had my first taste of the Chilean nightlife, or morning life I should say. In order to prepare to go out I slept from 11 PM to 12:30 AM. Then I met some friends for dancing that later ended at 4:45 AM. I will never adjust to the late Chilean hours, but I will try every once in a while. I also had the opportunity to celebrate Fiesta Patria with a wonderful BBQ at the home of Marcelo and Orlando (friends of my friend Monica in the US). The pork ribs and grilled chicken with lemon - que rica! On the morning of Fiesta Patria I went downtown to see the military parade and in the process was pooped on three times by birds. The woman next to me said it was good luck. After the third occurence I knew it was time to leave, no matter how much good luck would come my way!
And las maraquetas,
Araña Pollito (Chicken Spider)
Because it's the size of a small chicken. un tipo de pan en Chile. (A type of bread in Chile) They are rolls similar to French Bread in the US and for some reason I just cannot get enough. There are so many panaderías that it makes it easy to buy them fresh all the time. Yum, the smell of fresh bread. Monica, are you drooling yet? Chao, chao y besos grandes por todos.
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Shawna
non-member comment
Wow
Sara-sounds like an adventure over there, Brayden is our adventure here, he is 13lbs already and has his 2 month check up on monday-yikes time flies, I wish i could experience Chile w/ you but your blogs at least allow me to see it through your eyes. Keep living life girlie, I miss you