Fiestas Patrias: Dieciocho de Septiembre (Celebrating Chilean Independence)

The entire month of September has basically been devoted to Fiestas Patrias: Chilean Independence. Dieciocho de Septiembre de 1810 (September 18 1810) was when Chile gained independence from Spain. 202 years later Chile still knows how to celebrate. I had heard about this holiday when I first arrived in Chile and was excited to have a few days off from school.  A few weeks ago, I found out I had not just a few days but the WHOLE WEEK off from teaching! I was THRILLED. Everyone was starting to get ready for the week off. Almost every house, store, school, etc. has had a flag displayed the entire month. In fact, when Pinochet ruled, if you didn't put up your flag during dieciocho, you would be fined a pretty hefty amount. During one of the weekly ferias I bought a Chilean flag to feel patriotic. Chileans are proud of their heritage and I am proud to be part of this cultural event.

A week before the break I was invited to go to Pelluhue, a beach town in the south. I immediately wanted to seize the opportunity to go with Chileans who knew how to celebrate their independence. Seven of us (3 "gringos" and 4 Chileans) left on Saturday to drive down to the beach. Normally a 4 hour drive turned into a 7 hour drive because of "TACOS" (traffic jams) and getting lost. We stopped for lunch and I began a 7-day streak of eating nothing but meat, meat, more meat and carbs. We arrived to Pelluhue and unpacked our stuff in 2 wonderful cabins on a hill looking over the Pacific Ocean. It was perfect. Then we began the first of SEVERAL asados on the parrillas to grill meat and empanadas. Then our Chilean friends tried (key word "tried") to teach the gringos La Cueca: The Chilean National Dance.

The next day we slept in and let me tell you it was great to sleep outside of Santiago because the only noise I heard were roosters instead of car alarms, drunk people, quiltros (dogs), trucks, etc. We drove to Curanipe, the next town over from Pelluhue. We walked along the beach, saw Huasos and Caballos (Chilean cowboys and horses), ate Fried Cheese Empanadas and drank Chicha and Terremotos, and took a nap on the beach. We scoped out the "Fonda" (Festival) that we would be going to that night and enjoyed the sunshine and the beautiful day. We had another asado with more meat (Choripan, Chicken) salad and rice and exchanged Chilean and American drinking games. Then we went to the Fonda and danced to Chilean music and watched people dance Cueca. It was a fun second day of celebrations :)

The next day was the day before Independence Day so we decided to take it easy and just relax in Pelluhue, go to the beach, and eat more empanadas and meat. We played some old school games such as Mash and Chilean games that predicted love (1313). We called it an "earlier" night and went to bed to prepare for the big day. On Tuesday (September 18!) we woke up to a beautiful day with lots of sunshine. We walked toward the beach and saw mini-Huasos (mini Chilean cowboys). We indulged in some Queso Macha (Cheese and Clam) empanadas and began to drive to Chanco to go to the "rodeo." While it wasn't a real rodeo, we still saw horses and Huasos doing a show and tricks to entertain the crowd. It was super "campo" which made me feel like I was authentically in the Chilean countryside. Then we went to the Fonda and played some games, ate Anticuchos (meat and veggies on a stick), and shot a BB-gun at a Pisco Bottle. What better way to celebrate Chilean Independence than another asado! We grilled some more meat (chorizo and ribs) and ate some salad and fries. To finish off the night, we went back to the Fonda and danced until 4 in the morning. We slept in the next day and drove back to Santiago in 4 hours instead of 7.

The 5-day vacation to the beach away from Santiago was just what I needed. I was so relaxed and happy to be with friends and in a new place. I was glad to get back to Santiago and see some of my other friends who I didn't see during the break. I went to Parque Bustamante (The workout park that has multipurpose machines to do exercises) and went to a salsa club. I went to the Feria on Friday with Holly and we bought Reineta fish and vegetables and her Chilean roommate made the DELICIOUS fish with garlic, cheese, onions, tomatoes, lemon and rice. The next day I went to an asado on the rooftop to celebrate Chadd's birthday. He ordered a keg, grilled LOTS of meat and veggies, and we were able to use his pool and dip our feet in as the weather was GORGEOUS. We came back to our apartment to continue the celebration and had a fun night. Today was the last day of break even though I do NOT want it to end. Holly, Trisha and I went to the Feria and bought Reineta Fish again and fried it and made potatoes and a fresh cucumber, tomato and pepper salad. This break is what I consider to be the "spring break" of Chile (as it is Spring down here and I did get a whole week off from school! Although multiple Chileans have told me that it is SUPER rare to have a whole week off for Dieciocho so I guess we just got lucky!) I hung out with great people, ate DELICIOUS food, and went to some wonderful places :) Feliz Fiestas Patrias CHI-CHI-CHI-LE-LE-LE!

Second Semester and Spring is in the air....

Looking back on the day before classes started for first semester, I was a nervous wreck. I had NO idea what to expect. I didn't know if the students would like me, how the lesson plans would go, how to grade the tests, etc. The second time around, for second semester, I did a complete 180. I was not nearly as nervous and I felt much more confident in my teaching abilities. I was, however, not looking forward to planning for 3 SEPARATE classes instead of 1 class. This semester I am teaching 1 Basic 2 English Class, 3 Intermediate 1 classes, and 2 Intermediate 2 classes (Last semester I only taught 7 Basic 1 classes). So I am teaching completely new material with completely new students. Three weeks into the first semester and I think I have my planning down to an art. The typical things happened the first few weeks: I met some great new students, some students didn't even come to class and had no idea what was going on, I saw a bunch of my students from last semester, and I have taught all the material for the first test which is next week. For the most part, I really enjoy my new classes and most of my new students. I definitely miss some of my previous students but I still keep in touch and see some of them so that is nice. I have one class that has almost perfect attendance and who make class fun and entertaining. And they seem to understand what is going on for the most part. I have another class with students who failed the same class last semester so they are taking the class over again. Let's just say that a lot of them have the deer-in-headlights look. I try to give them assignments and exercises that will help prepare them for the test. I feel like I am preparing them better this semester for the test than I did last semester but I want to see how they do next week on the test. Once they are done with the test, then it is FIESTAS PATRIAS which means we get a whole week off from school for independence day! Can't wait for that!

Outside of school, I have found some good friends who I have enjoyed going to dinner or making meals with. About once a month a few of us get together to go to restaurants to get different types of ethnic food such as Sushi, Korean, Indian, Chilean, etc. If we don't go out to eat then we like to get together at someone's place and cook. We have had burger nights, pasta, lasagna, and spaghetti nights. A few weeks ago it was my friend Kimberley's birthday. Holly, another TIP at my school, decided to host a spaghetti lunch for Kimberley. I made a spinach, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and cheese salad, Holly made the sauce and spaghetti, and Trisha baked banana bread. It has been really fun going to people's place to eat and save some money. Not only did we eat good food, but we also had an INCREDIBLE view of the Andes and Santiago. It had rained for about 3 days and once it rains the infamous smog usually clears up leaving a clear and spectacular view of the mountains. It was the most clear I think I have seen it since I arrived in February.

Being a spinning instructor in the States and having run several races has always made me want to stay in shape. However, joining a gym in Santiago is expensive and my "gym" in my apartment consists of 1 treadmill that rarely works, a few indoor bikes, and a multi-purpose weight machine. I have tried running outside but there are so many street lights and hardly any running paths (and being "rubia" and extranjera definitely makes guys stare). Lately, I have been working out at an outdoor fitness park with Holly and Trisha. The park has some leg and arm machines and a nice area to run. It has been great to be outside and get some sunshine while getting some exercise. The smog is definitely an issue and I hope my lungs aren't taking a toll. I had been looking for races to run in Santiago but didn't have much luck finding anything. Last month, my friend Greg told me about a 10k race in Santiago. I instantly wanted to sign up. The Corrida Santander Techo race only cost $8,000 CLP (approx. $16) so I thought that was a great deal considering most of the races in the States cost at least $50. Also, I knew the weather was only going to get warmer so I thought it would be perfect to run in the start of spring. On Saturday, Greg, Trisha, Andrew and I went to the race expo to pick up our packets in Las Condes.  It was definitely a hot day and it was even hotter considering we had to take the metro and then a super crowded "micro" bus to get to the mall. We got a really nice Asics running shirt and some other goodies. We were also informed that the time was changing to "summer" hours so we would turn our clocks forward the night before. I frantically changed all my clocks and woke up early the next day to make sure I didn't miss the race. The race started at the Presidential palace (La Moneda) and made a big loop around the city to end back at La Moneda. It was a perfect temperature for running (not too hot and not cold). I hadn't been running as much as I do in the States so I was a bit nervous. I got a mild cramp at the 4km mark and then I drank some Gatorade at the 6km mark and felt GREAT after that. I saw the finish line and looked down at my watch and sprinted to the end. I crossed the finish line at 54:04. I have run the Bolder Boulder 10K 4 times and I have NEVER finished before 58 minutes. So I was THRILLED when I had a new PR. I felt GREAT. It was also great to have some friends cheering us on before, during, and after the race. We got some fruit, Gatorade, water, and a FREE MASSAGE after the race that felt incredible. Then, a few of us went to La Vega Chica market and ate a typical Chilean Chorillana (Fries, Steak, Onions, Eggs) and some Fried Fish. Later on that day, I went to Abby's boyfriends place for an asado with his family. Overall, it was a GREAT way to start springtime in SANTIAGO :)