A partial list of things you can buy on the bus for 1-2 bucks:
1. A miniature tool kit.
2. scissors.
3. A very nice pen.
4. A little wallet.
5. A straw bell-shaped hat.
6. A lovely fan.
7. A performance from a crazed clown.
8. Ice cream.
9. A "miracle" foot cream
(It should be noted that the above list is just the meager remains, I've heard, of what you could get on the bus before the shiny new, super problematic Transantiago bus system was introduced)
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Dancing in a cage, in cellophane or with a crutch!
What's up everybody?
So, I wanted to use this thinger to complain and complain about the new ball of negativity that rolled into class this morning, but instead of doing that, I am going to talk about stuff I really like about my life (slowly becoming more interesting) here in Santiago.
I ended up going out with Benja´s friends Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I can't say enough how lucky I feel to be included. Friday night we went to a bar where "Los Cariñocitos"- or "The Carebears"- played Creedence, Stones and James Brown covers. Also that night someone at the table accidentally called my brand new cellphone, and the next day I heard a recording of my own voice- it was horrifying! From now on I'm trying to read my book out loud to improve my pronunciation but, as Benja pointed out, the gringa accent is hard to shake! Saturday I ended up going out dancing (we got there at 3:00 am, natch). Unfortunately the only girl in the group (Rose, who is so awesome and sadly moving to the US tomorrow) decided to go home on the way there, so it was me and about 6 guys. I would dance with one (one had just had knee surgery and was dancing with his little crutch, hilarious) while the others supervised from the bar to make sure he wasn't acting like a "jote" (a bird of prey/sleazy guy). The most ridiculous part of the night (aside from the 9 dollar cover) was the dancers on the stage, men and women, all covered in glitter and zebra print and a few in a cage! One of the guys I was with gestured to one of the zebra men and pointed out just how "gay" the dancing was, probably to assure me that he was not, in fact, gay. The homophobia here still gets under my skin.
Sunday I saw another kind of dancing with Stebrushka at the 165th anniversary for the University of Chile- modern dance by students there covered in cellophane outfits! They were truly spectacular, although the funk/rap band playing outside was more my style.
So anyway, life goes on here! Can't say enough how much it helps to read emails or even just look at the pictures on my wall.
So, I wanted to use this thinger to complain and complain about the new ball of negativity that rolled into class this morning, but instead of doing that, I am going to talk about stuff I really like about my life (slowly becoming more interesting) here in Santiago.
I ended up going out with Benja´s friends Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I can't say enough how lucky I feel to be included. Friday night we went to a bar where "Los Cariñocitos"- or "The Carebears"- played Creedence, Stones and James Brown covers. Also that night someone at the table accidentally called my brand new cellphone, and the next day I heard a recording of my own voice- it was horrifying! From now on I'm trying to read my book out loud to improve my pronunciation but, as Benja pointed out, the gringa accent is hard to shake! Saturday I ended up going out dancing (we got there at 3:00 am, natch). Unfortunately the only girl in the group (Rose, who is so awesome and sadly moving to the US tomorrow) decided to go home on the way there, so it was me and about 6 guys. I would dance with one (one had just had knee surgery and was dancing with his little crutch, hilarious) while the others supervised from the bar to make sure he wasn't acting like a "jote" (a bird of prey/sleazy guy). The most ridiculous part of the night (aside from the 9 dollar cover) was the dancers on the stage, men and women, all covered in glitter and zebra print and a few in a cage! One of the guys I was with gestured to one of the zebra men and pointed out just how "gay" the dancing was, probably to assure me that he was not, in fact, gay. The homophobia here still gets under my skin.
Sunday I saw another kind of dancing with Stebrushka at the 165th anniversary for the University of Chile- modern dance by students there covered in cellophane outfits! They were truly spectacular, although the funk/rap band playing outside was more my style.
So anyway, life goes on here! Can't say enough how much it helps to read emails or even just look at the pictures on my wall.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Chillin', po. ¿ Cachai?
Hello loyal readers!
First let me say what a treat it was to have dinner and lunch with my stepsister (and fellow blogger) Amy and her pals on Monday. It was really awesome to see three girls like me traveling all over the place and doing just fine. And now, an update on my Spanish classes (for those who don't know, I'm taking four hours of Spanish a day for three weeks, and then two weeks of TEFL certification after that). The good news is that the teachers (we have a ton who rotate in) are almost all really nice and I'm learning and reviewing a ton of important stuff, plus getting to watch (at an achingly slow pace) the super-steamy and weird "Como Agua Para Chocolate." The bad news: the class where I was planning to meet all of my charming and adventurous friends turned out to consist of two people: Stebrushka*, a 24 year old Russian gal, and Arnold*, a 65 year old bag of bones, complaints and bad grammar. On the second day of class Stebrushka was absent and Arnold freaked out (after not being able to pronounce the word abofetear, or to slap, ironically), shoved his notebook across the table and said "Me cansé! Esa pelicula no me sirve! Lo siento!" (I'm done! This movie doesn't help me! I'm sorry!") and then left the class! Now he lurks outside waiting for his wife to finish her beginner classes, but at least he's out of our hair! Stebrushka, on the other hand, is very nice and has become my lunch partner. I kinda feel like she's my shy Russian mom, but hey, I'll take what I can get.
My dreams really came true last night, though, when my 26 year old bro Benja let me come with him to a friend´s apartment to watch the Chile/Paraguay soccer game (a humiliating defeat for my new home). Finally, I got to hang out with some Chileans! Granted they all talk super fast, inserting "po" and "huevón" (idiot, a play on huevos, not only Spanish for eggs but also testicles, obviously) between every word, but they were super welcoming. I was the first to get a refill on my piscola, and was constantly being offered seconds of some dip with bacon, beef, cheese, sour cream, green pepper and who knows what else! There were a few awkward moments in there, like when I asked Daniel, a.k.a. Enano, a.k.a. Gnome, if there were Chilean sports that were more popular with women and he said "planchar¨... ironing. Another guy piped up with "carrerras con la aspiradora," or vacuum cleaner races, but I'm almost positive they were pulling my leg.
I wish I could tell you guys more about Santiago, but the truth is I still haven't gone past Las Condes and Providencia, the two ritziest neighborhoods. On Saturday I think my host dad's going to take me to downtown Santiago, so I'll have more to report then. Chau huevones!
*Names have been changed to protect the innocent/super obnoxious.
First let me say what a treat it was to have dinner and lunch with my stepsister (and fellow blogger) Amy and her pals on Monday. It was really awesome to see three girls like me traveling all over the place and doing just fine. And now, an update on my Spanish classes (for those who don't know, I'm taking four hours of Spanish a day for three weeks, and then two weeks of TEFL certification after that). The good news is that the teachers (we have a ton who rotate in) are almost all really nice and I'm learning and reviewing a ton of important stuff, plus getting to watch (at an achingly slow pace) the super-steamy and weird "Como Agua Para Chocolate." The bad news: the class where I was planning to meet all of my charming and adventurous friends turned out to consist of two people: Stebrushka*, a 24 year old Russian gal, and Arnold*, a 65 year old bag of bones, complaints and bad grammar. On the second day of class Stebrushka was absent and Arnold freaked out (after not being able to pronounce the word abofetear, or to slap, ironically), shoved his notebook across the table and said "Me cansé! Esa pelicula no me sirve! Lo siento!" (I'm done! This movie doesn't help me! I'm sorry!") and then left the class! Now he lurks outside waiting for his wife to finish her beginner classes, but at least he's out of our hair! Stebrushka, on the other hand, is very nice and has become my lunch partner. I kinda feel like she's my shy Russian mom, but hey, I'll take what I can get.
My dreams really came true last night, though, when my 26 year old bro Benja let me come with him to a friend´s apartment to watch the Chile/Paraguay soccer game (a humiliating defeat for my new home). Finally, I got to hang out with some Chileans! Granted they all talk super fast, inserting "po" and "huevón" (idiot, a play on huevos, not only Spanish for eggs but also testicles, obviously) between every word, but they were super welcoming. I was the first to get a refill on my piscola, and was constantly being offered seconds of some dip with bacon, beef, cheese, sour cream, green pepper and who knows what else! There were a few awkward moments in there, like when I asked Daniel, a.k.a. Enano, a.k.a. Gnome, if there were Chilean sports that were more popular with women and he said "planchar¨... ironing. Another guy piped up with "carrerras con la aspiradora," or vacuum cleaner races, but I'm almost positive they were pulling my leg.
I wish I could tell you guys more about Santiago, but the truth is I still haven't gone past Las Condes and Providencia, the two ritziest neighborhoods. On Saturday I think my host dad's going to take me to downtown Santiago, so I'll have more to report then. Chau huevones!
*Names have been changed to protect the innocent/super obnoxious.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
sock salesmen and salads
Okay, let´s see if this baby works.
It´s Sunday, November 18th and I´m writing from the bedroom of my two brand new host brothers, Francisco and Benjamin. There´s a lovely breeze and the sun is super bright (don´t worry mom, I´m putting on sunscreen!)
So last Austin saw of me, I was near tears saying goodbye to my mom, pops and little sis (who was sad to see me go, but not sad enough to resist trying on all the clothes I left in my closet, according to mom). Luckily, fate intervened to cheer me up in the form of a 30-something surfer dude named Joaquin, my seatmate on the flight to Dallas. The one thing I forgot to buy before departure was athletic socks, and who do I sit next to but a sock entrepeneur ( performance toe-socks to be exact: http://www.injinji.com/)! I think that was a sign of some sort.
Saturday morning I arrived to the apartment of my new host family, la familia Barros. I found out I am their 38th student, which means that I can do very little to surprise them. They live in a neighborhood of Santiago called Las Condes that is very ritzy- everybody has new cars and cellphones: plus the fact that I´m typing this on my family´s home computer says a lot! Yesterday I took two naps, ate a great lunch of chicken, rice (with raisins, my least favorite food ever, but I gulped em down like a pro if I do say so myself), and about 15 thousand different ensaladas- carrots, tomatos, lettuce and avocado, all in separate bowls, all very yummy. Ooh, and this salsa called pebre that was deliciosa. In the afternoon Francisco, el padre, took me to change my money and get a bip! card for the bus system. So here´s the dish, so far, on the family:
Dad, Francisco: Very kind older guy. Last night we got into politics a bit which was really interesting. I guess it´s a common gringo assumption that most Chileans didn´t like Pinochet, but as far as I can tell Francisco is a supporter, at least of his economic policies. When I mentioned human rights violations, Francisco pointed out that my dear madre patria has commited more of those than anybody. Point taken.
Mom, Bernadita: So cute! Met her in her pajamas. A sweet, hard-workin lady.
Sons, Francisco and Benjamin (28 and 26): Both of these guys are super welcoming and kind. Blondies with rosy cheeks and mustaches, Francisco is a chef and Benja a banker who works with agriculture (still trying to figure this one out).
Bueno. I´m going to have to figure out how much to include in this thinger- I don´t want to be boring or repeat myself in emails, and I definitely don´t want to spend too much time writing because there will be nothing to write about! Doing a blog definitely feels really one-sided and naval-gazing, so I think I´m still going to do much more emails and calls then this stuff.
So for now, I´m going to go have some lunch and then head out into the Santiago day (the familia´s at a family lunch). Tomorrow I´ll go to the language school, and hopefully meet up with my hermanastra Amy!
Hasta luego, mis amigos!
It´s Sunday, November 18th and I´m writing from the bedroom of my two brand new host brothers, Francisco and Benjamin. There´s a lovely breeze and the sun is super bright (don´t worry mom, I´m putting on sunscreen!)
So last Austin saw of me, I was near tears saying goodbye to my mom, pops and little sis (who was sad to see me go, but not sad enough to resist trying on all the clothes I left in my closet, according to mom). Luckily, fate intervened to cheer me up in the form of a 30-something surfer dude named Joaquin, my seatmate on the flight to Dallas. The one thing I forgot to buy before departure was athletic socks, and who do I sit next to but a sock entrepeneur ( performance toe-socks to be exact: http://www.injinji.com/)! I think that was a sign of some sort.
Saturday morning I arrived to the apartment of my new host family, la familia Barros. I found out I am their 38th student, which means that I can do very little to surprise them. They live in a neighborhood of Santiago called Las Condes that is very ritzy- everybody has new cars and cellphones: plus the fact that I´m typing this on my family´s home computer says a lot! Yesterday I took two naps, ate a great lunch of chicken, rice (with raisins, my least favorite food ever, but I gulped em down like a pro if I do say so myself), and about 15 thousand different ensaladas- carrots, tomatos, lettuce and avocado, all in separate bowls, all very yummy. Ooh, and this salsa called pebre that was deliciosa. In the afternoon Francisco, el padre, took me to change my money and get a bip! card for the bus system. So here´s the dish, so far, on the family:
Dad, Francisco: Very kind older guy. Last night we got into politics a bit which was really interesting. I guess it´s a common gringo assumption that most Chileans didn´t like Pinochet, but as far as I can tell Francisco is a supporter, at least of his economic policies. When I mentioned human rights violations, Francisco pointed out that my dear madre patria has commited more of those than anybody. Point taken.
Mom, Bernadita: So cute! Met her in her pajamas. A sweet, hard-workin lady.
Sons, Francisco and Benjamin (28 and 26): Both of these guys are super welcoming and kind. Blondies with rosy cheeks and mustaches, Francisco is a chef and Benja a banker who works with agriculture (still trying to figure this one out).
Bueno. I´m going to have to figure out how much to include in this thinger- I don´t want to be boring or repeat myself in emails, and I definitely don´t want to spend too much time writing because there will be nothing to write about! Doing a blog definitely feels really one-sided and naval-gazing, so I think I´m still going to do much more emails and calls then this stuff.
So for now, I´m going to go have some lunch and then head out into the Santiago day (the familia´s at a family lunch). Tomorrow I´ll go to the language school, and hopefully meet up with my hermanastra Amy!
Hasta luego, mis amigos!
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