Ok, so, apparently I have this thing called a Blog...sorry I completely forgot about it! I'll try to update...
So, I teach English class (No way!), and I have to mention that I saw a woman curling her eyelashes with a spoon on the bus this morning coming home from class. Now, this may not seem too strange (yes, a little odd with the spoon), but riding the bus is something similar to a morning aerobic workout. you must have all hands and feet ready and warmed up for your daily bus rides (a large contrast to the metro rides where you just need to prepare yourself beforehand by drinking a gallon of water to make up for the gallon of water you will sweat while on said metro, though thankfully, no aerobics are involved).
Ok, so I don't remember if I've updated past Thanksgiving, so here's what's been going on...
Meg came to visit right before Christmas which was fun, but sort of a whirlwind tour. Went to the Concha y Toro winery...super cool. I think it's the biggest winery in Chile, maybe in South America. We got a tour and tasting along with a cheese plate and then I went to the gift shop and bought another bottle of wine for us to share (Jon Bacon came with us too). It was pretty good wine, it was a lovely day, and it's always nice to be able to relax and drink on said days. In Santiago we went to Cerro San Cristóbal and had a beer at the top restaurant before heading down on the gondola. We also tried a seafood restaurant near my house that turned out to be...interesting (Meg, I remember that I had thought it was a different restaurant, one thats on that road but a little farther up...oh well...next time maybe).
Anyway, Meg and I also went to Viña del Mar and Valparaíso (pictures are in my Picasa album) where we visited Pablo Neruda's house (we walked up the hill after various protests by the local taxi drivers and various whistles by the local truck drivers). He had a really pretty house--it was basically all windows (I'm guessing he didn't clean them himself) and had a gorgeous view of the city and the balcony was humongous and wonderful. Looking at that, I imagine Mom decorating it with Christmas lights and plants and tiki torches, just to have that great party effect. Then we walked to a restaurant nearby and had beer and fruit with whipped cream. The place we stayed at there was owned by this dude (a friend of Patricia's--Patricia is my roommates' friend but I went to her birthday party, so I guess we're friends now too...) who had kinda just bought the place and had decided to start fixing it up. Lucky for us we came before the fixing up had been done...but the beds were nice and clean. You'll have to ask Meg about the shower...On our way back, the bus driver forgot that we were there and accidentally took us to where they park all the busses. They discovered us and another driver offered to take us to the main station because he had to go there. Pretty funny though...pretty standard for a family trip.
So her trip was very short, but nice. She left just before Christmas and then I had to buckle down and finish my translations. I've been doing some to make some extra money because it pays pretty well, but they were due 4 days after she left. Since those days were holidays, I was unincumbered by classes and could focus all my energy on thos 100 pages. or 150..I don't remember....I seem to be blocking out the painful memory. So Christmas was uneventful for me (the gringos grilled out on Cerro San Cristóbal Christmas day, but I couldn't go) but fine. It didn't really feel too much like the holidays because it was so hot and there was no big family dinner or presents or anything. It's kinda like I just skipped it.
For New Year's Eve, Adoum, Mark, and I went over to Bacon's apartment because he lives the closest to Torre Entel, the place where everyone gathers in Santiago to see the fireworks. We hung out there for a bit and then made our way to the tower. It was insane when we got there. Confetti littered the streets and there were people selling hats and headbands and everything you can imagine, all that lit up (these people were literally spaced five feet apart, maybe less). Adoum and I bought meat on a stick, Mark bought a Terremoto (famous Chilean drink, look it up for ingredients, but it's very alcoholic and contains ice cream), and we headed on towards the crowd. By the end of the fireworks, we were drenched in champagne with confetti stuck in all parts all over our bodies (reminded me of Easter confetti egg fights, though much wetter).
The next event was my birthday. We (me, Adoum, Bacon, Rodrigo, Ronald) went to the Giratorio, a revolving restaurant. It was really nice to have a real meal for once, and it actually wasn't too expensive. We took pictures there of our reflection in the mirrored ceiling. Then we went to a bar and after that came back to my apt...it was a school night, so we didn't want to stay out until the wee hours of the morning. My birthday party was on the following Saturday, at Amy's house (she works at Bridge with me, so do Adoum and Bacon). That party was CRAZY. The cops came twice (that's how you know it was a good party) but we all had a lot of fun. It was great because it was a pretty good mix of gringos and Chileans. Funny though, because at first when people got there they would kind of huddle in their own group, the group they came with, and not really mingle. Luckily that changed, but I think it took a couple of drinks...
Had some Couchsurfers from London stay with me a couple of days (they are spending something like 3 months traveling all around South America). 3 people: 2 sisters, and a boyfriend. It was kinda fun to have them here because I felt like a local, being able to tell them where to go, where not to go, prices, etc.
Since then I haven't been doing much. Just teaching class. Right now I have translations due on Sunday, so I'm working A LOT to try and finish them. Hopefully I can get enough done today and tomorrow so I can actually have a weekend. We'll see...
P.S. I got my RUT...crazy!
P.P.S. A Chilean would sell their soul for an ice cream or yogurt cone. No joke.
So, I teach English class (No way!), and I have to mention that I saw a woman curling her eyelashes with a spoon on the bus this morning coming home from class. Now, this may not seem too strange (yes, a little odd with the spoon), but riding the bus is something similar to a morning aerobic workout. you must have all hands and feet ready and warmed up for your daily bus rides (a large contrast to the metro rides where you just need to prepare yourself beforehand by drinking a gallon of water to make up for the gallon of water you will sweat while on said metro, though thankfully, no aerobics are involved).
Ok, so I don't remember if I've updated past Thanksgiving, so here's what's been going on...
Meg came to visit right before Christmas which was fun, but sort of a whirlwind tour. Went to the Concha y Toro winery...super cool. I think it's the biggest winery in Chile, maybe in South America. We got a tour and tasting along with a cheese plate and then I went to the gift shop and bought another bottle of wine for us to share (Jon Bacon came with us too). It was pretty good wine, it was a lovely day, and it's always nice to be able to relax and drink on said days. In Santiago we went to Cerro San Cristóbal and had a beer at the top restaurant before heading down on the gondola. We also tried a seafood restaurant near my house that turned out to be...interesting (Meg, I remember that I had thought it was a different restaurant, one thats on that road but a little farther up...oh well...next time maybe).
Anyway, Meg and I also went to Viña del Mar and Valparaíso (pictures are in my Picasa album) where we visited Pablo Neruda's house (we walked up the hill after various protests by the local taxi drivers and various whistles by the local truck drivers). He had a really pretty house--it was basically all windows (I'm guessing he didn't clean them himself) and had a gorgeous view of the city and the balcony was humongous and wonderful. Looking at that, I imagine Mom decorating it with Christmas lights and plants and tiki torches, just to have that great party effect. Then we walked to a restaurant nearby and had beer and fruit with whipped cream. The place we stayed at there was owned by this dude (a friend of Patricia's--Patricia is my roommates' friend but I went to her birthday party, so I guess we're friends now too...) who had kinda just bought the place and had decided to start fixing it up. Lucky for us we came before the fixing up had been done...but the beds were nice and clean. You'll have to ask Meg about the shower...On our way back, the bus driver forgot that we were there and accidentally took us to where they park all the busses. They discovered us and another driver offered to take us to the main station because he had to go there. Pretty funny though...pretty standard for a family trip.
So her trip was very short, but nice. She left just before Christmas and then I had to buckle down and finish my translations. I've been doing some to make some extra money because it pays pretty well, but they were due 4 days after she left. Since those days were holidays, I was unincumbered by classes and could focus all my energy on thos 100 pages. or 150..I don't remember....I seem to be blocking out the painful memory. So Christmas was uneventful for me (the gringos grilled out on Cerro San Cristóbal Christmas day, but I couldn't go) but fine. It didn't really feel too much like the holidays because it was so hot and there was no big family dinner or presents or anything. It's kinda like I just skipped it.
For New Year's Eve, Adoum, Mark, and I went over to Bacon's apartment because he lives the closest to Torre Entel, the place where everyone gathers in Santiago to see the fireworks. We hung out there for a bit and then made our way to the tower. It was insane when we got there. Confetti littered the streets and there were people selling hats and headbands and everything you can imagine, all that lit up (these people were literally spaced five feet apart, maybe less). Adoum and I bought meat on a stick, Mark bought a Terremoto (famous Chilean drink, look it up for ingredients, but it's very alcoholic and contains ice cream), and we headed on towards the crowd. By the end of the fireworks, we were drenched in champagne with confetti stuck in all parts all over our bodies (reminded me of Easter confetti egg fights, though much wetter).
The next event was my birthday. We (me, Adoum, Bacon, Rodrigo, Ronald) went to the Giratorio, a revolving restaurant. It was really nice to have a real meal for once, and it actually wasn't too expensive. We took pictures there of our reflection in the mirrored ceiling. Then we went to a bar and after that came back to my apt...it was a school night, so we didn't want to stay out until the wee hours of the morning. My birthday party was on the following Saturday, at Amy's house (she works at Bridge with me, so do Adoum and Bacon). That party was CRAZY. The cops came twice (that's how you know it was a good party) but we all had a lot of fun. It was great because it was a pretty good mix of gringos and Chileans. Funny though, because at first when people got there they would kind of huddle in their own group, the group they came with, and not really mingle. Luckily that changed, but I think it took a couple of drinks...
Had some Couchsurfers from London stay with me a couple of days (they are spending something like 3 months traveling all around South America). 3 people: 2 sisters, and a boyfriend. It was kinda fun to have them here because I felt like a local, being able to tell them where to go, where not to go, prices, etc.
Since then I haven't been doing much. Just teaching class. Right now I have translations due on Sunday, so I'm working A LOT to try and finish them. Hopefully I can get enough done today and tomorrow so I can actually have a weekend. We'll see...
P.S. I got my RUT...crazy!
P.P.S. A Chilean would sell their soul for an ice cream or yogurt cone. No joke.
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