Happy Friday!
All is well here, and my life is continuing with normal patterns. I've been busy teaching (my port classes ended on Tuesday, complete with homemade chocolate chip cookies- I baked!), and convincing students that they won't want to have classes the week of las fiestas patrias, so that way I can travel! Though bus trips to Valdivia are pricier than I had thought (it's the high season because of the holiday), it's hard to be here without traveling, so I'm going anyway. So far, my convincing has been successful, and those students who actually thought that they might want classes have been kind enough to realize that they suddenly have an office appointment on that day, so my students will be all cancelled by Wednesday, so I'll probably leave late Tuesday night (after my class ends at 8:30pm) of next week.
I've started teaching a new student who is preparing for the TOEIC test, a test of mostly workplace/business English skills that is commonly used in Asia. She's from Korea, and it's an interesting change- I hadn't realized how many cultural examples I used, and how much English and Spanish have in common- cognates are impossible for her. She's also very quiet (I feel like I'm making a ruckus any time I take a while to explain something to her), but I've been learning about some of the major differences between Chile and Korea, and (of course) about her local food (mostly fish, soup, and rice).
Yesterday I took a tour of the Congress building with another teacher who teaches several students who work in the Cámara de Diputados (kind of like the Chilean House of Reps) as either secretaries, guards, or even deputies themselves. It was a pretty cool insight into the Chilean political system, and I learned some interesting things. For instance, behind the "board of directors" (the leaders who call the sessions to order, secretary general, etc.) in each room (the Senado- Senate- and the Cámara meet in the same Congress building) is copper panelling, and the copper in the Cámara goes from a fairly natural state to a more refined, smooth state in the Senado. This is supposed to represent the state of the laws- they are developed and first pulled out in the Cámara and then refined and polished in the Senado. Pretty cool, especially because copper is one of Chile's most important exports.
After my tour, I headed up to the Consultorio where some of the women that I work with were doing a presentation about breastfeeding (again) and about weaning (new). Although this theme doesn't particularly interest me (as I am neither a mother nor am I particularly passionate about the theme), I really like the conversations that arise. Some of the mothers talked about the social difficulties of continuing to breastfeed their children, and other women offered suggestions, advice, and various techniques that had worked. Other women who were struggling to breastfeed were given advice, and other women who were hesitant learned about the benefits. I liked the sense of solidarity that was created, and I learned a lot too. It was nice too, so I was able to enjoy a nice lunch out and then relax in a plaza in the sun before walking around Valpo and Viña for a while.
OH! And I went to Quintay last weekend. Quintay is one of my favorite places, and I'm never quite sure why. It's a small beach town (pix soon), and it's super calm and peaceful. I always feel like I'm really relaxed when I go there, and there's a nice little hill after walking through a forest that gives you a nice view of the ocean from the top of a cliff, and it's really nice to sit in the sun there. I went with a gringa friend who teaches with me, and with a German girl that she knows, so we were extra-international.
In my last updates, I made falafel! And it was INCREDIBLE! I know, right? Who knew that there were spices in Chile to make good falafel? But I combined lots of spices in the cabinet and ground up the garbonzos and they were delish, or, as Maia says, mortal. I even got to use fresh cilantro and parsley from my garden! (OK, OK, so I know you're not supposed to use parsley but my parsley is growing OUT OF CONTROL!) A major success.
I hope that you're all well and relaxed before school starts (or maybe it's already started?). Besitos from cloudy Chile (with hopes that it becomes sunny soon)
Edit: I just realized that this post repeated some things that I had already shared. My bad.
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1 comment:
I MADE FALAFEL TOO! With a homemade tzatziki and salad. It was bomb. No parsley, though.
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