So Much To Say
This past weekend was a crazy one- a leadership conference, Rotary dinner, Rotary symphony, school work, life.... So much to do and so little time...amd so much to say.
All in all, it was a VERY good weekend for me for various reasons- most of all it was eye opening. I don`t have much time to write a long blog today (writing in here is usually my excuse to not do homework) so I will just share a few things that I learned these past few days...
1. Chileans eat a lot of bread.
2. I am now accustomed to the loud noise that my refridgerator makes.
3. I need to learn to listen better.
4. My nephew (he is two) is very friendly.
5. I should do half of the amount of things that I do, but do them wholeheartedly.
And one more phrase that I wrote today-
"Define Yourself, Refine Yourself.
But first you have to Find Yourself."
Please feel free to post comments (new feature with the new template that I am using for this blog!)
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Today (well last night I suppose considering it is about 4 am) I went to a despedida (going away party) for Katie, one of last year`s Rotary scholars. She is returning to her small town of Homer, Alaska to work for the re-election campaign of one of the State Representatives. So in order to bid her goodbye, we went to Peñaflor, a small town outside of Santiago where her boyfriend`s family lives.
Like climatized gringos we arrived only about two hours late- they were just finishing dinner (at 11 pm). But we were served some good meat hot off the grill (except for Adrien since she is vegetarian) and fresh, home-made bread from an adobe-brick oven. The guests were mainly Matias´(her boyfriends´) family and me, Adrien, Jorge (my Australian-Chilean friend- more about him later), and his friend Jóse (yes, that is an accent on the first part of the name).
After dinner, the family began dancing the cueca (the national Chilean dance) in pairs. I think that it is a requirement for anyone from a small town to be able to dance it, because everyone (but the gringas) knew how. But we definitely did get a lesson. I was able to hang prety well- it actually isn`t that difficult: each person in the pair dances with a white hankercheif that is twirled in the hand in a flirtatious manner with three basic steps in varying half-moon or twirl movements. I think I need one or two more lessons and I will be a pro... :-)
Then came the goodbyes...boo. Kaite is a very talented, smart girl with amazing Spanish that I am incredibly jealous of. I can only hope to have my language skills be half of what hers are when I leave. I told her that I have to read her thesis (studying the postion and role of women in power in Chile) when she finishes it- hello!?! she got to interview Chile´s Minister of Defense (yes, a woman)!
But tomorrow she goes on to a new chapter of life...it is a bit scary to think that I am almost half-way through this year and I will be saying my goodbyes in a short while to my friend... pero así es la vida- here today, gone tomorrow.
Who Does That?
Yesterday was the birthday of Andreas, the German guy who was in the group of us that went to Ovalle. On Sunday, we had planned to get together in Domingo`s house (Domingo is the Mexican that went). I wasn`t going to go because I was really tired, but I had already bought him a bottle of wine as a gift, so I dragged myself out and went.
When I showed up, almost everyone in the group was there plus two more guys. After waiting for about half an hour for the birthday boy to show up, we finally called him. And guess what? He told us he was sleeping and wasn`t going to come- to his own birthday party!! Who does that?
Driving Me Crazy
So I had always heard people use the word campo and translated it in my mind a bit differently than it actually is. It refers to any place in a rural part of Chile, and nothing more. The campo that I went to this past weekend happens to be right next to a vineyard (apparently owned by the Church that uses the grapes to make the pisco that people get drunk off of). We ate grapes. A lot. Thanks be to God.
On Friday, we had an asado (BBQ). Saturday we drove FOREVER on a bumpy dirt road to go see a plastic dinosaur. I am not joking. Apparently, some bones were discovered in this area of Chile a long time ago and they built a figure that replicates what they think it looked like. But there were no bones on display, no musuem, nothing. Just a big plastic dinosaur in the middle of nowhere. Not even the name of the type of dinosaur.
Oh yeah, there was also a big rock. It was a little more impressive because it was a cave dwelling from 4000 BC. There were some faint pictures painted on the roof/wall and due to its concave shape, it is possible to have a conversation with someone in a normal tone of voice when you are 200 meters apart. That was better than the dinosaur.
Afterwards we drove another hour to La Serena and Coquimbo and had lunch (at 5 pm) on the beach. That night, we drove back to Ovalle and went to a club that is on top of the grocery store in the town. We danced until about 4 and then (more driving- this time it was my turn because I was the designated driver) went to a small river that was near. Finally we ended up at home and in bed about 5:30ish. Long day.
Sunday we got a late start and drove about an hour to Park Nacional Fray Jorge, where I had already been before. It was still beautfiul. This time, the weather was a lot different and we were given a beautiful view of the ocean from the lookout in the forest. It was actually a really good view from where our car was parked too because we were able to see the extremes of Chile- the snow-capped Andes on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.
Then we drove home. Five more hours. I can`t remember the last time that I spent that amount of time inside a car. But I had a really good time. The company was quite international- two Chileans (brother and sister whose house we went to), two other Californians, a French couple, a German couple, a Mexican, and a Grecian. And me. And two other Chileans, Jorge and Michael, whose families live down the street from Victor, made an appearance or two. We had some good times.
House Warming/Warning
Last night I had a house warming party. At first I thought that no one was going to come. Boy was I wrong. I had a full house! So full that the police came at about 2:00 am to tell me to be quiet. They wanted to take down my RUT number (identification number) but I told them that I just got here and didn´t have one. They wrote down my name and gave me a warning that I needed to respect my neighbors and be quiet. As it was a Wednesday night, they had reason to be bothered. Oops. What a way to start relations with the neighbors...
But back to the party- I had no music which automatically made it a gringa party. Claudio told me that he was going to bring me a radio at 9:30. Yeah, he showed up at almost midnight without any radio. Oh well. At least there was good conversation. And food. And beer. And wine. And whiskey. And pisco.
I got to bed at around 4 I think. Luckily I woke up in time to go to class and sign in. Now I have to pack for my trip. It is raining right now and the drive up to Ovalle is going to be loooong....
My Other New Roomate
After a week of being in the new place and everything going well, I got
another roomate- a mouse (rat- whatever. i don`t know which). I think it came in through the window because there was rat poop on the windowsill and outside of the window in the planter.
When I came home on Monday, Adrien was closed up in her room and told me that there was an animal in the house. I didn`t know what to think until I pulled the couch out and saw it shoot into the kitchen. That night, we slept with all of the windows and doors closed.
Last night, the dueña of my apartment sent two guys to come kill it, but they couldn`t find it. They moved all of the furniture and everything. But if it came in the window, then how did it get out? I guess I have to wait to see if more rat poop shows up to know if it is still here.
This Weekend
Going up north to Ovalle where my friends have a campo (not quite a farm, just land and some animals and stuff). Will report when I come back. I am probably going to freeze though because it has been pretty cold around here. And almost no houses have heat- especially in a campo.
Life As I See It
Despite the disgusting layer of smog that prevents a person from seeing more than five hundred meters ahead of oneself, the sun is shining in my world. I am sooo much happier in my new place than where I was at before. I didn't complain too much in this blog so that people wouldn't worry too much, but I was not in the best spot while living with my Señora. Her negativity and depression was starting to rub off on me and I had to get out of there.
Speaking of Getting Out
Adrien is now living with me and will stay until she can find a place for herself. Now she is trying to get back her deposit money as well as some other money that Reneé, her old roomate owes her. But he is trying to avoid talking to her. And now is he complaining about how little money he has and how many bills he has to pay. Basically, he doesn´t want to giver her money back. However, I think he should have thought of that before telling her that she needed to find herself a new place (in other words- before kicking her out).
Although these roomate problems stem from various causes (one of them being me-or so says her old roomate Rene...we got in a fight one day the he now cites as "the last straw"). But the main problem I think is that he and Adrien didn't really know each other before deciding to share an apartment together. As a matter of fact, they had barely met and had only spoken a select number of times.
Plus, he is a Chilean bachelor who is very set in his ways and doesn't know how to communicate (ie- he isn't interested in listening, only in being listened to and believes that his point of view is the correct view; he also doesn't give any respect and speaks down to her and anyone else who doesn't share his thoughts, besides the fact that he is arrogant and trash talks the American culture although he dates an American and teaches American English at Bridge-Linguatec where we had our language lessons).
Language and Communication
So Reneé speaks (nearly) perfect English. But it seems to me that the fact that he does speak English so well may also be a factor in the problems that they have had. Language skills decieve- the ability to speak a language doesn't necessarily mean that the person is able to communicate well, nor does it mean that they can be trusted.
First of all, if he hadn't spoken English so well, there would have been no way that Adrien would have lived with him in the first place. He would have been just any other Chilean- an unknown and therefore questionable. But because he has such a good handle on the language, I think it was a lot easier for Adrien to trust him- even though he had in no way earned her trust.
Lesson Learned- When you are in a foreign country and meet some who speaks your native language, but is not from your country and doesn´t share your cultural background, problems may arise. Don´t assume that a common language is a good enough reason to let your guard down. Because we all know what happens when we assume- it creates an ass out of u and me.
What Luck
Sunday night I began my search for an apartment. I called and made appointments to see two places- one at 10 and one at 11:15. I arrived a few minutes before ten and couldn`t find the place- I could have sworn that the lady had told me the street number was 527, but there was no 527. Just when I was about to chalk it up to the typical Chilean business dealings, she showed up (the landlord- well, dueña, the person who owns the apartment).
She said she is punctual (wow!) and knew that I would be on time since I am from the US (which usually isn`t the case but all Chileans think that all North Americans are always on time only because they themselves NEVER are).
So we looked at the apartment and I LOVED it! It is a lot more expensive but it is furnished and has two bedrooms (so whoever comes to visit me can stay with me- and I will charge a lot less than a hotel or bed and breakfast! ;-) )
I have already moved in and am actually about to get a roomate for the month (Adrien) because she has had a lot of problems with her Chilean roomate. I had to buy a few things, like a skillet, spatula, strainer, sheets, etc., but it is all worth it to be happy and comfortable in the place that I am living.
And best of all- I have hot water now!
Moving Time
Leah is moving today into her new apartment (which is actually Aimee´s old apartment). And guess what? I am going to move too. I am over the situation that I am in right now and I really need my own space to relax. Plus it would be nice to have a television and a radio. And hot water. No, I am not kidding. I don´t have hot water (as of yesterday). That is really the main reason why I gotta get out. And since things usually take about five years to get done here, I figure that I can probably find an apartment and move before the hot water heater will get fixed. So the search begins today...
BINGO
No luck. I didn´t win a thing. Boo hoo. I really needed the television that someone else won...
Another Reno-ite
Yeah, so I went to Peter´s (Rotary scholar) on Friday and I met
another
person who studied at UNR. He lived in the dorms right next to my dorms when I lived there. And, he kept a blog while he was there, just like I am doing here. Coincidence? No, I don´t believe in coincidences.
His name is Enrique and he writes for a financial paper here in Santiago. I need to go buy it- it will help me with my Spanish business vocabulary. But I can´t remeber what the darn thing is called, even though I must have asked him like ten times. But I think I remember him telling me that it is salmon-colored. Enrique, when you read this, please email me and tell me (again) what it is called...
Día de la Mamá
Happy Mother´s Day to all you mom´s out there. But especially my mom, grandma, and two sisters. I love you guys! Although this is only one day of the year, know that the hard work you do is appreciated. Especially with putting up with children like me... :-)
Meetings That Don`t Meet
This morning, I was supposed to meet my friend Claudio at his office (read previous blog) at 10. He was late, of course, like all Chileans always are, but he had a good excuse- he is a lawyer and he was in court, so he couldn´t just get up and leave. It was good seeing him- and although it was suprising how this meeting came about, for some reason it doesn´t really suprise me. I knew I was going to end up running into him. My friend Leah says "It´s fate! You have to marry him now!" I don´t know about that, but my horoscope today says-
"You may bump into an old friend who'll suddenly look a lot more like a potential sweetheart. Even if you're both available, you should take it slow. Changing speeds will be a big adjustment for you both."
Ha ha. Wouldn´t that be funny?
Next meeting- I was supposed to meet with the coordinators of the English program that I am volunteering for. Our meeting was scheduled for 12 and all of the volunteers were supposed to be present. Well, when Leah and I were on the bus on our way to the meeting, at about 11:40, she received a phone call and guess what? Meeting canceled. Yeah, it might have been nice to know a little bit sooner. I just checked my email right now and I received an email from them notifying me that there would not be a meeting at 11:30-
I love the advance notice.
Speaking of advance notice- Leah was supposed to meet with the landlord of her new apartment today at 4:30. We got there on the dot, even though we knew that he would be late. After waiting about 40 minutes, we called his office and his secretary apologized and said that she had forgotten to call us to tell us that he wasn´t going to be there. Typical. I have started to get used to it by about now.
Last "meeting" of the night- last weekend I was invited to go to the "young club´s" meeting tonight, but declined the offer because I thought I wasn´t going to have much to do or say, since they are doing last minute preparations for the BINGO game. But today, I called my friend Juan Pablo and said that I wanted to go in order to buy some more tickets for my friends, the Castillo family. He then proceeded to uninvite me to the meeting because he said that they were going to fight with the president of the club tonight, he didn´t want me to be uncomfortable.
Well, so at least he canceled in my interest. And I am not that upset, because I think Adrien and I are going to go to a wine tasting event tonight. What a typical day in Chile- try to go to meetings, have almost all of them canceled, and end the day with wine. What a good start to a weekend...
It`s a Small World Afterall
So last year in Reno, I met three Chileans who were studying at UNR through the exchange program. One of them, Omar, lived with my friends and I and I have seen him numerous times here in Santiago. Another, Eric, wrote to me on New Years of this year- I told him that I was coming and he promised that we would get together, yet we still haven´t. The other, Claudio, I tried to send an email to before coming down here, but I had the wrong email address and I never got a hold of him.
Well, yesterday, I went to the Castillo Café (it is really called Café Florida since that is where they lived) and my friend Natalia tells me that she met some Chilean guy who thinks he knows me. I had no idea who she was talking about. She said that his dad always eats at their restaurant and his son came to lunch with him. While they were talking, he mentioned that he had studied in Reno, NV for a year and she said that she had a friend named Rebecca who lived there. He told her that he had met a Rebecca but that she was going to go to Spain for this year. Since Natalia wasn`t sure about my history (that yes, indeed I was going to go to Spain), she thought it was someone else. But when she told me all of this, I asked her if the son`s name was Claudio- and lo and behold- it is.
So today, I am going to go to her café to meet up with him. She tried to bring me to his office last night (he works as a lawyer with his dad in office that actually has a view of the Catillo Café- where I go practically every day) but he wasn`t there because it was already late. How random is that? In Santiago, a city of millions of people, I am going to re-connect with a friend from Reno who didn´t even know that I was here in Santiago....the world is a small place.
Teaching English
I am going to put my TEFL certificate to work- tomorrow will be first day of helping in an English class (well, that is if the teacher shows up- I tried to go last week but she was MIA). I will be helping in two different classes of high school students- it should be fun.
B-I-N-G-O
Woo hoo! I haven´t played BINGO since the time I took my sister (like three years ago) to San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino in good ol´San Bernardino. The "young club" is having a fundraiser this Saturday for their foundation which supports a home for children with metabolic diseases that prevent their bodies from absorbing the nutrients that they need from the food that they consume.
Presentation in my Intercultural Health Class
Yeah, I worked like ten hours on a Power Point presentation for my IH class, with many problems. I couldn´t fit the darn thing on to a disk, nor email it to myself, so I had to save it on the computer that I was working on in the computer lab in the Nursing building at school.
Today, when I returned to the lab to split it and save it onto seperate disks (because things like ZIPs and RWs don´t exist down here), there was a group of students working on a project- and they wouldn´t let me use the computer!! Mind you- they were using two computers in the lab and there are about 200 more computers on campus that they could have been using. But the one that they wouldn´t let me use was the only one I could use!!! Can you believe it? After waiting for an hour- yes, an hour- I finally approached them again and asked to use the computer (since my group had to present in less than 45 minutes) and I still had to put some finishing touches on the presentation. They (grudgingly) permitted me- but not without staring and breathing down my back the whole time and trying to tell me that the way I was saving it was wrong (although I knew it was right).
uuhh. What-ever! (Make sure and put the emphasis on that like a true so.cal girl would do.)
Needless to say, we presented the work. Well, the Chilean girls presented it because they thought they would be better than the other gringa or I. But since the other gringa and I were the ones that did all of the research for the project, half of the stuff that they said was wrong. However, since the country we studied was Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and is not very well known, even in a developing country, hopefully the prof won´t take note of the grave errors that they made while presenting.
Lesson Learned- Although I have an accent, I need to be assertive with the things I would like. Sometimes, I may get them (like the computer) and sometimes not (like presenting the right facts). But I guess we can´t always have what we want, right?
Last Week
So I have been blogging like my brother (which means that I haven´t been blogging at all). But I am still alive down here in Santiago, so don´t worry too much.
Thursday Night
Earthquake! Yes, we had an earthquake in Santiago that measured 4.something on the richtor scale (is that how richtor is spelles?). I felt it, but didn´t remember feeling it until someone asked me the next day if I had felt it. I have been told that Chile usually has a pretty big earthquake about every fifteen years and the last one was in the late 80`s, sooooo.... we are about due. Hopefully the cycle won`t continue while I am still in Chile.
Friday Night Rotary Meeting
I went to the meeting of the club known as "The Young Club" (because the average age of the members is under 35, while as the other clubs in Santiago average about 60). Young people, good ideas, plus the drive to actually get things done. What I really like about this club (besides the fact that they are not the same age as my grandparents) is that due to their youth, and lack of funds, they like to actually do things in the community rather than just donate money so that other people can do things (which I am not complaining about either, because this is the form in which the Rotary Foundation can give me my scholarhsip to be here). So next weekend, they are putting on a Bingo fundraiser and all of us Scholars are going. I hope I win the TV...
After the meeting, Adrien and I went with six of the Rotarians to a house on the beach for the weekend. We did a whole lot of nothing but eat, drink, and some sleep. It was fun. But I am tired now, and have a lot of work to do on a Power Point presentation for my intercultural health class, so I can`t really expound more on what else I have been doing in my life. Until next time......
