Election time

It's election time in Chile. Well to be fair, the first round of voting was last weekend so I am a little slow with this update, but it is an ongoing process here.

The way they run their elections is significantly different to in either Australia or New Zealand. They have two houses, deputies (of which there are many and they basically filter out the poor bills in the first round) and then the senators (of which there are fewer). This doesn't sound too different to an upper and lower house system to me, but I am still a long way from understanding either of these systems! They also have a president who they elect usually in two rounds of voting. If in the first round no one candidate obtains a majority they have a run-off vote the next month between the two mist popular candidates. This is usually what happens as apparently it is quite difficult to achieve a majority in the first round. This year there were 4 candidates, of whom three were strong. This is in contrast to other years when usually there are only two strong candidates (one centre right and one centre left). There was a split this year in the centre left coalition, and therefore two centre left candidates ran. Because of this, the original candidate for the centre left (Frei) actually ended up more on the right... very complicated but quite interesting.

Anyway, the most interesting thing in this story is that the first round of voting is finished, and Piñera (right) and Frei are in the run off election. This election takes place on the 17th of January, when many of the supporters of the right are on holiday. You can only vote in your electorate here, which means that a significant number of the voters on the right simply won't vote, because they are on holiday. The second run-off election is always held at the same time of year and the party on the right always has the same problem. Does this make it a truly democratic process? Isn't the whole idea of modern democracy that every person has an equal opportunity and right to vote?

Voting takes place on a Sunday, and all establishments serving alcohol close at 12pm on Saturday night, and you can't buy alcohol for the entire voting day. Apparently you have to be sober to vote. Actually, nearly everything is closed on voting day, supermarkets, restaurants, even the corner shop only opened in the afternoon. Made it difficult to find somewhere to eat... not only do you have to be sober but also hungry apparently.

Anyway, that is my take on the Chilean political system. There are of course many more ins and outs but I don't think I can explain them without a diagram (yes I have truly become a TESOL teacher - everything in diagrams).

Gotta go,
Chao y nos vemos pronto
KiwiKaz

An interesting weekend, filled with laughs... Was Eduardo's 30th birthday weekend in Pichilemu. I won't outline the whole weekend... but we managed to go for a ride in a row boat, that was fairly overloaded and looked a bit like the Titanic about to sink... I went swimming in the estuary and was able to easily outswim the boat with two boys paddling (much to their embarrassment and consternation). When we went to return in our boat we discovered it had floated out into the middle of the estuary, and I was sent to retrieve it. The water was cold too. I didn't see any of the boys volunteering! Everyone was very greatful though and the story was recounted to every new person at the party, and I was well paid in Churipan. My telephone also went for a swim in the puddle in the bottom of the boat and is no longer functional.... Lovely.

On Saturday night we went out dancing after we had had a massive feed of fish, was lots of fun, though I could have done without the strange guy who was obsessed with my hair and insisted on touching it. Then back to the cabin with some new friends in time to see the sun coming up. More talking and a some dancing until the sun was well and truely stationed in the sky -time for bed.

Sunday was a nice quiet day in the sun. We also had to get the water fixed, the plumber paid in beer of course. Had a look at the market in town, and got a ride back to the house in a horse and cart (the weekend of random transport!) Didn't get back to Santiago until really late and then I had to prepare classes for 8am on Monday morning. But it was a lovely weekend, with really good friends, lots of sunshine and no stress. I even managed to forget my chronic shortage of money for nearly the entire weekend. Back to reality now though. Only about three weekends until the long weekend in the country for the wedding though so I have that to look forward to - bacán! (Awesome).

The boat rescuing cueca dancing flightless bird.

Cueca as a metaphor for Chilean life

Cueca as a metaphor for Chilean life

I won’t profess to being an expert Cuecera, but since arriving in Chile six months ago I have devoted a substantial number of nights and a large portion of my pride, to learning the national dance of Chile.

On first sight, about three months after I arrived, the Cueca was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen. A repetitive wailing song with a similar melody for every song, and a man and a women waving their hankies at each other while dancing in apparently random circles, stomping their feet, and not touching except for miraculously ending arm in arm at the end. But it grows on you, like heroin.

Oh how my perception has changed! Now I see the cueca as one of the most sexy, powerful and symbolic dances I have ever known. The rhythm courses along my neurons well after the pandero has ceased, and the music and words have a significance of time, place and general nostalgia that I have not experienced before. Its not my own nostalgia (how could it be when I have only know it for a few months), rather the representation of a torrid history and the resilience of the people that have kept its spirit alive. The more I learn the stronger the addiction grasps.

The basics of the Cueca as I grasp them are as follows. It is a dance with arguable origins that became very popular in the country and bordillos of the mid twentieth century. It depicts the act of seduction, using the metaphor of the rooster and the hen. The rooster is showy, dominant and at times aggressive, while the hen is coy and coquettish with her pursuer. It is basically divided into three parts separated by the partners swapping places on the dance floor and briefly making a turn away from one another. In the first part the dancers describe a rough semi-circle, with the rooster pursuing his interest. The second part has more give and take with a pursuit and retreat, and the hen can take more power here. The final part is characterised by stomping on the ground by both the hen and the rooster and after the final turn the hen ends up on the arm of the rooster, as his prize. However, the hen ultimately holds the power as she decides whether she will accept her rooster or not. The most important thing in the cueca is not how well you twirl your hankie, or the fancy footwork, but the eye contact and intensity with which you dance.

The style of Cueca varies immensely, depending on whom you are dancing with where. Watching some people it is like sex on the dance floor with all your clothes on and no touching, super slow, with their eyes only breaking at the times when it is required to turn away. Others dance a more fun bouncy cueca, with less aggression and more of a feel of a country picnic. The historic cueca is somewhere in the middle, with sliding movemoents of the feet and loose knees, but a generally fairly erect posture of a proud chilean dancer. And this is only the urban Cueca. Traditional Cueca is much different, but also has differing connotations. Dancers in traditional dress still dance a highly choreographed and structured cueca after national parades, as mandated by Pinochet during the 70’s to try and raise national patriotism. I don’t know how Pinochet would feel about the “sex on a stick” cueca that can be seen in the clubs of today!

Perhaps the most powerful part of the history that I have learnt since I have been here is the legacy of the Cueca during the Pinochet years. In stark contrast to the regimented cueca of the Pinochet mandate, women of the “disappeared” men danced the cueca solo as a protest, in front of government buildings around the city. The idea of forcefully stopping innocent women dancing alone was too much even for Pinochet and his men, and it was the only form of protest during those years that didn’t end in bloodshed or disappearance. They quickly became celebrities, and this was possibly the only thing that did save them from disappearance, as they surely must have been a deviation in the clean parallel lines of right and wrong that were drawn (1).

September is the month of Cueca and general chilean patriotism. Everywhere you turn the city is draped in red white and blue flags and banners. It is actually a law here that you display a chilean flag outside your house for the national independence holiday and the two days flanking it. It is not however, a national requirement to love cueca. In fact, many Chileans look upon it as the dance of the country, and don’t appreciate the revival in its popularity.

Cueca has been my window into Chilean life. Quite literally, it has been the primary way that I have been learning Spanish. From those first days bumbling around the dance floor with my very patient teacher, flicking people in the eyes with my hankie and not understanding a word of the instructions, to today dancing reasonably well and understand much of the conversation around me. It has been a slow process on both fronts, but every Thursday I turned up religously to cueca. This devotion to the national dance (and willingness to make a fool of myself while learning), has facilitated some strong friendships, from people who were at first somewhat wary of me. It is necessary to prove yourself to some extent in all countries, and Chile is no exception. The people here while warm and friendly once you get to know them, can at times be very suspicious of foreigners, especially the women. They are under the impression that we are here to steal their men. The similarity to the rooster proving his worth to the hen is strong, and I feel that I have done my time as the rooster and am now allowed to sit back with a glass of rum and be a hen for a while.

In cueca, the hen ultimately holds the power. That is the way that I see the chilean family situation too. Although it is a masochist society, with men making come-ons in the street frequently, ultimately the women hold the power. Their coquetish ways aren’t restricted to the dance floor, and while they appear demure while dancing cueca, there is fire hiding not far from the surface. It seems (solely on observation), that the women make the men chase hard, (like the rooster), and once the man has snared them she doesn’t let him forget it!

Cueca reflects the history of discrimination in class and socio-economic standing in Chile as well as any social lecture ever could. Originally popular in the more dangerous areas of the city, and the country, it was originally shunned by the upper-classes. The cueca brava, a more organic form of the dance virtually disappeared during the Pinochet era, when the regimented version was embraced by these upper-classes. The cueca brava is undergoing a revival now though, with the youth of Santiago embracing the music and themes as their own. To me, this reflects a change in the discrimination of the class system also, with young people influenced more strongly than ever before by western culture. In a way, the revival of the Cueca is a rebellion against this westernisation by some of the youth, and a strengthening of the national unity and patriotism, but not as Pinochet ever imagined it. It is now becoming more recognised as a symbol common to all socio-economic classes too, which to me also reflects a softening and increasing acceptance of people of a lower status within the society, and a realisation that it is often solely circumstances and not through any fault or flaw of their own, that they are less educated or privileged than others. This is strengthening in the youth of today, though it still feels that other generations may be struggling with this realisation.

For me, Cueca has allowed me an open door into Chilean life. With my somewhat improved Spanish, and my pandero in hand, any given night at a Cueca fiesta will bring conversations with many new people. Mostly they are curious as to how and why this gringa dances Cueca, but I don’t mind explaining it, as it always leads to conversation, and usually new friends. This way, I am not left on the sidelines, rather embraced by people interested in reviving and moulding the culture of this country, and that is what the Cueca is all about, the rooster and the hen, dancing together to discover what makes the other unique.

1) A documentary by Mark Corcoran explaining more about the history of the Cueca, especially during the time of Pinochet, can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moq88oQC-pM

Los Porfiados de la Cueca - Cueca meets rock. Look for the singer in the middle playing the pandero.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gku5HVdCRh8

Glossary

Cueca - the national dance of chile

Pandero - the chilean version of a tambourine

Yes it has been months...

Hmmm, September, October, NOVEMBER! What has happened here - have I fallen off the face of the earth? It is possible... Obviously I have been busy, and now I am going to recap the last two months in one line; take a big breath! Was working, got sick right before I went to Perú, my friends threw me a surprise leaving party that went all night and then dropped me at the airport minus half the stuff I needed, traveled in Perú without anything particularly bad happening to me, made millions of new friends and was able to converse with the locals because Spanish in Perú is much easier than in Chile, walked the Inca trail and visited Machu Picchu, amazing is too small a word to describe the experience, traveled on Lake Titicaca which is really more like a small sea at 4000m in the middle of the Andes, came home with some sort of parasite which gave me problems for about 3 weeks and the doctor charged me $250 and never found out what was wrong (and he made me produce a lot of different samples into about 9 different jars which wasn't a fun experience with my limited Spanish), a friend from NZ came to visit and I had to translate everything for a week, my head got shut in the door of a bus, went to an amazing Cueca party and got interviewed for a documentary about it - in Spanish, and don't really have enough work at the moment so I am having to curb my enthusiasm for having fun. I think thats about it. The photos are on Facebook and probably tell a better story than I can here. Especially for the trip to Perú. Right now I am off to the market, we have no food in the house (normal), and the rabbit is hungry (to be fair he is always hungry, even when he has just been fed).

Will try and write a bit more often. I seem to have time on my hands at the moment, though that is time I should be focusing on trying to find more work!

Besitos!

Super fast recap of a couple of busy weeks

OK, I have come to the realisation that I am probably never going to catch up, and that it is never going to improve, so I need to do a very fast recap of the last couple of weeks, and maybe if I have time in the future I can elaborate.

The weekend after Valparaíso, I went back to the beach (but a different one - Ritoque, north of Valparaíso, Viña del Mar and Con Con) with the teachers. More correctly I was with my boss Jo, her three dogs and her boyfriend Filipe, Shawn (another teacher), and Mickey, a guy that plays in Filipe's band. It was really good. The house we were staying in is set on quite a substantial piece of land that is all planted in trees. It is only ten minutes from the beach, and was lovely and quiet. The whole weekend was in English, so I could actually understand and it wasn't nearly so tiring as a normal weekend away, because I didn't have to listen so hard, and we went to bed at the respectable time of 3.30am. We had a big BBQ on Sunday, with lots of fish and shell fish, and some delicious meat. It was a really nice weekend away even if we did get back very late on Sunday night.

Then this week I went out for a coffee on Wednesday night with a guy who was off to NZ for conference. He has been doing a crash course in English with a teacher friend of my Spanish teacher, and wanted to hear a real kiwi accent. So I oblidged for the price of a cup of coffee. Was very interesting actually as he is a vet and is off to conference at Te Papa in Wellington to learn about ways to control (or better still to eradicate) the spread of TB. Being from a farming background that is now highly reliant on the dairy industry I learnt a lot about dairy farming in Chile and hopefully gave him some of my limited knowledge about the industry in NZ. I had only just got home when another friend rang me to say he was coming to pick me up and we were going to watch some music. It was all very Chilean organisation (as in I had no idea it was happening and then it was happening right now), but the music was very good and it was worth going. Thursday night was Cueca, always a lot of fun but only a little sleep as I now have an 8.30am class on Friday mornings. Friday night was all about sleeping! I was in bed early, though people started ringing me about 12.30am to see if I was going out.... Chileans and their late night hours!! We were supposed to go to the snow on Saturday, but as usual our organisation fell through, and I didn't really understand what the plan was when it was made on Thursday night so couldn't do anything about it.

Didn't really matter as the girls and I went house hunting. Saw a couple of places, but really only like one of them - a house in Bellavista. The lady was a bit neurotic, but the house is good in a great location, with a good sized patio out the back - and it is nearly BBQ season! The kitchen is tiny, but everything else is pretty good. The girls signed the lease this morning and we are moving at the weekend! It takes time for things to happen in Chile but it seems when they do they happen very fast! I told Bruno tonight, and although he knew we were looking I don't think the reality had sunk in, as he seems quite upset about it. He gave me a lecture on why it is sometimes bad to live with your friends, which I know can be the case. However, I think it is probably better than living with Bruno.... So it will be all Spanish all the time as neither of the girls speak English..... fun times!

The area is fabulous. If in doubt, have a look back as some of the first photos that I posted. The ones of small brightly painted houses are in Bellavista, my new 'hood. My house is not like this, rather in a gated alley, which means that it will be safe and quiet, but still near all the action. I am really looking forward to moving. It does mean that I won't have the internet at home though, so you can be sure that the blog posts will become even less frequent - sorry. Will look into getting the net, but will take me some time I am sure.

OK, thats it for now, I am off to bed. I haven't gotten around to telling you about the strange guy who touched my hair and kissed my head at Cueca on Saturday, or the 80 year old old lady with the Pandero's who insisted that we play with her while everyone stared and then invited us to her house to play some more... but I am tired. Maybe another day I can elaborate on the interesting characters that I am constantly encountering in this most diverse country. I might also enlighten you all on how it is possible to learn everything you need to know about Chile through the metaphors and literal meanings of the Cueca... though that might take some time and thought.

Hope all is well with everyone and everything.
Love and hugs,
KiwiKaz.

A weekend in Valparaíso

And now I am two weeks behind.... oh it is difficult to keep up with my life. Sometimes I really do have trouble...

I went to Valparaíso two weeks ago, as I mentioned in my last post. It was so much fun! There were four of us who sent over on the bus on Friday night. We went straight to Claudio's apartment, a small studio apartment in a very nice part of town, on the hill in the very historic sector. The building he lives in is an old restored place that is gorgeous inside and out. It isn't very big though... Met up with a couple of other friends, had some bevvies, and headed out. Went to a pub called "La Playa", which is one of the oldest establishments in Valparaíso. It reminded me of the Somerset in Ashvegas, a little dodgy with a questionable choice of music. We had lots of fun though, dancing all night to rock, salsa, cumbia, hip hop and everything else. It was one of the first times that I have really felt that I was pleased to have a number of male friends around me though as I was attracting attention with my blonde hair. Luckily my friends are excellent and I always feel completely safe when they are around. They look after me. We had a bit of a tour of some of the sites in the dark and headed home to bed around 7am. Sleeping was a bit of an issue because there really wasn't enough floor space for all of us... Me and one of the other girls scored the bed, which was wonderful until one of the guys crashed in and proceeded to snore between us.... Chile. They sleep anywhere, at anytime, and they sleep hard. I don't think I will ever get used to it!!

Saturday was beautiful. I decided to stay in Valparaíso (I was supposed to go back to Santiago). We walked around some of the city, had some lunch and walked a bit more. It really is an amazing place. It is a city of contrasts - the centre is quite dirty, not safe at night, and really nothing to write home about. The hills are absolutely amazing, packed with brightly coloured houses in impossibly narrow (and steep) streets, art, mosaic, graffiti art and stunning views popping up from nowhere. There seems to be someone with a guitar or a sketch pad around every corner. It isn't hard to see why it is world heritage listed!

For dinner we went to a clandestine restaurant, that only had one dish - some combination of fries, egg, onions and cheese all fried up and topped with meat. Only comes in one size too - enough to feed four. After this very worthy feed we headed off for a night of Cueca. The place where it was held was not a proper bar, rather more like a very small rugby clubrooms, that was packed with families, and everyone seemed to know everyone else. Luckily I actually did know quite a few people there (well maybe 10!). Was fair to say that I was the only gringa around, and I actually felt quite priviledged to be there at all. Was a night for "homenaje el rey del pandero", or a tribute to the king of the chilean tambourine. The chilean tambourine (pandero) is essential to the cueca, and I find it an amazing instrument. It is impossible to describe exactly how it is played, but it is very unique (and quite difficult). I have ben practising, but as I don't have my own pandero, it is a bit difficult. Anyway, there were 3 cueca bands, a couple of very good documentaries, some theatre and comedy, a cumbia band, and then a lot of impromptu cueca until the small hours of the morning. Was an amazing amount of fun, with plenty of dancing, and lots of panderos. The boys were all over in Viña that night, so there was plenty of room for sleeping at Claudio's house which I really appreciated.

On Sunday Naty and I got some breakfast and caught a colectivo to the beach. We had a lovely afternoon reading the paper and generally soaking up the sunshine. We had a big feed of paila marina (hot soup full of shell fish and fish, fresh and delicious) from the market and a walk around the outdoor market that was happening. I bought some earrings and an ocarina, a small andean wind instrument that I am driving my housemate crazy with as I learn a few songs on it. We got back to the apartment around 6 to find the boys looking a lot the worse for wear, and headed back to Santiago on the bus shortly after. Was a wonderful weekend and I can't wait to go back to Valparaíso and explore a whole lot more! The photos are on facebook, but I will put a sample up here too. The photos from top to bottom are: Valparaíso by night, a typical street, Ceci and I in Plaza Sotomayor, Mauro and Karen playing Cueca (she is playing the pandero), and some cueca dancing following the theatre skit. Note the use of the hankies....

OK, thats all for now,
KiwiKaz.

As I suspected would happen, I have gotten slack at updating my blog. Oh well, you can safely assume if I am not writing on here I am doing something VERY important. Important jobs include, teaching and preparing classes, partying, and sleeping. Most of the time they come in that order of importance....

So I have been teaching quite a bit. Had a quiet week two weeks ago but I have picked up a class to replace the one that finished, and an additional private student so I am back to quite busy everyday. I am enjoying it, and only have one student who I have problems with. He just isn't really that interested in learning anything, and can be a bit of a jerk some days. The rest of my students are lovely, and really make me want to do a good job.

I have been partying about as much as usual, which is a lot. Every Thursday Friday and Saturday night I am doing something. It is really good. Last weekend on Saturday I was out at the girls house for an asado because it was a beautiful day. Later we went to the most random restaurant / entertainment place ever. I would have thought it was a tourist trap if I hadn't been the only gringa for miles. It was full of chilean families. There was a couple of good groups playing traditional folklore, but there was also comedy, karaoke, and an Elvis impersonator who clearly didn't speak a lot of English even though he was trying to sing in English. I thought it was hilarious. This was probably aided by the fact that we were drinking something called "terremoto", literally "earthquake", which is white wine with apple juice (a little) and ICECREAM - yes plain old vanilla icecream. Sounds horrible, but is surprisingly easy to drink... though I did feel like I had an earthquake in my head in the morning... haha. Anyway, we danced cueca and cumbia, and played our instruments along with the band (from the back corner much to the amusement and surprise of those around us as Mauro can play the "plates" (a bit like those old ladies who play spoons but with china saucers), I can play the tambourine (this may surprise you but I have been practicing and I can play passable cueca on it now) and the girls were on the morraccas). The guy I was dancing with even asked me if I was Chilean, he hadn't discovered how bad my Spanish is, but was impressed at me being able to dance cueca and play the pandero. Ended up a group of six of us, two guys from the band who were dancing with us and our original group of four. When they turned the music off it turned into an impromtu jam session with the boys playing guitar and singing cueca and the girls on percussion and dancing... the owner of the place was loving it as were the 2 or 3 people who were left, and it was so much fun. Actually that was probably the highlight of the night.

Tonight I am off to Valparaíso with some friends. It s about 1.5hrs away, on the coast. Its a really historic city, and is quite spectacular with large parts of it heritage listed. I will probably only be there in the dark though.... will try and remember my camera but who knows how successful that will be! Anyway, I think I am jsut going over for the night as I need to come back to Santiago for a birthday party tomorrow night. It will be tempting to stay though as our friend Mauro is playing in a big Cueca party tomorrow night (Saturday) which will be so much fun. Anyway, I have no idea where I am sleeping tonight, actually I am too afraid to ask in case the answer is that we are not sleeping... which I suspect is the case.

Spanish is slowly improving. I am able to speak on the phone with a select few friends who know how to speak slowly and clearly enough that I can understand them. Still looking for a house with the girls, it is proving to be a little difficult, but we will get there. Am starting spanish classes once a week with one of the girlfriend of another teacher which hopefully will help me out. Maybe I will actually get my head around the multiple past tenses that they use here instead of being stuck in the present simpe forever....

Anyway, need to get myself organised. So much else to put up here, but I am too busy enjoying life to be tied to the computer - sorry!

Chaochao
Kiwikaz.

Waiting....

Been a while since I wrote anything on here, and this won't be a long post. This post is simply about waiting. Chilean time is like island time - a bit slow and variable. I am leaving now sometimes means I am leaving now, but also sometimes means I am leaving in an hour, or I am actually not going but don't want to tell you that. On time is actually early, 10min late is on time, and half and hour late isn't really a problem. I am not sure if it is due to this that everything starts late, or that everything starts late so no one is ever in a hurry - chicken and the egg styles. I do know that at midnight on a Friday night I should probably be tucked up in bed instead of waiting for my friends to get to town so we can go out dancing. Of course it doesn't help that I am one of the most impatient people that I know.... Hmmmm, good old Chilean time. Waiting waiting waiting!
K

The week of never ending parties

Oye, its been a crazy couple of weeks! I have become some sort of nocturnal party gringa / latina party animal... and I love it! Where to begin? With the entire weekend of partying and not sleeping in three different locations, or the three nights straight that I saw the sun come up, or the fact I am moving, or the new kinds of dance and music I have discovered?! Life is one big whirlwind at the moment!

Started last weekend on Thursday (yes that is the weekend) with the despedida (leaving) of one of our friends. He is off to Panama for a year. Thursday we went out dancing Cueca as usual, tons of fun, late night. Friday I had to work (at 9am arrgghh), and then met up with the girls in the evening and travelled down to Curicó for Pancho's despedida. We were at his parent's house which is in the country, and really big. We had asado (with churipan and pebre mmmmm), and generally there was a lot of singing and dancing. Pancho is a musician so there is always lots of guitar and singing etc. So much fun! And we saw the sun come up which was very pretty... Got a tiny bit of sleep and talked to his parents for a while, explored the hills a bit, had a siesta, and then back to Santiago, 6 of us in Zeli's little car (about the same size as the laser), for 2hrs. Lots of fun as we had moraccas and a tambourine and had the cueca turned up loud, lots of singing, general madness.

After a quick trip to the supermarket it was asado time again, and more people started turning up for more party... Quite a few of Pancho's friends are also muso's so more singing, dancing, rum, etc etc. I had to crash early (7am), as I was done, but when I got up at 9am everyone was still going. I think everyone went to bed finally at 11am, and we had a few hours sleep. Then it was off to Cajon del Maipu, the valley up in the Andes to see the snow. And they have really good empanadas up there too. So we went up there and mucked around for a few hours, in the light and the dark... Got home finally about 11pm on Sunday, exhausted and with no plan for my classes on Monday. Oppps, luckily they were all fine.

AND THEN, on Thursday was a feriado (public holiday). On Wednesday it was Zeli's birthday so we had a bit of a party at the girls house and then went out dancing. Was soooo much fun, dancing cumbia and salsa mainly. Cumbia comes from Columbia (apparently), and is super fun. Don't need a partner or anything (which makes it easier as the chances of me actually stepping on anyones feet is therefore greatly reduced), and the music is really fun. When the club closed we all piled into the car (perhaps I won't tell you quite how many of us as my Mum reads this... but it was a record for me) and headed out to an after-party. Most of us weren't that keen when we got there though so headed back to the girls' house and slept instead. On Thursday I came home around lunchtime, but had only been home about an hour when the girls called me. Talking on the phone is super difficult for me, I hardly understand anything, and while I was almost getting what they were saying the call of "churipan churipan" was enough for me to say I would be back out there pronto! Seriously it is like calling a dog for food - churipan Karen, come and get it... So after yet more delicious asado (this time with actual salad), we went to Cueca and I got home late. Luckily all my classes had cancelled for Friday as everyone was taking a sandwich day (which I think is the best concept ever).

After a lot of sleeping on Friday I met up with Naty and we went to a random bar with no name or sign. To get in you have to say the secret password 'viva chile', and it is fair to say I was the only blonde for miles. Great place though. Apparently quite historical, a meeting place for the leftists during the Pinochet regime, and had some pretty cool graffiti on the walls. I liked the fact that they sold 1L bottles of red wine for 3 luca, about $Aus7.50. They had live music, cumbia again, and the place was totally packed. Other pepole turned up, and we danced until it closed around 5am and came home. Was fair to say that the red wine didn't agree with my head in the morning!

The most exciting thing of the weekend was that the girls are moving and have asked me to move in with them. It will be really good I think. They only speak Spanish so it should be really good for me. Now we just have to find a house, but Naty and I spent some time today looking on the net and in the paper so they are going to get onto it this week. I have told Bruno and he seems to have taken it well which is good. They are both teachers and have school holidays at the moment (hence the amount of partying), so they want to get it sorted out pronto before going back to work. It is likely that I won't be quite as close in to town, but I think the change will be worth it, and the improvements that it will make on my Spanish overcome any added inconvenience.

But there are no more feriado's until September (when they have national day), so life is going to need to return to normal a bit more I think, classes and partys only on the weekend (Thursday Friday Saturday that is!)

I didn't remember my camera for Curicó and only took one photo the rest of the time. Yes I am hopeless. Its not really that important though.

Lots of classes to plan for the week and quite a bit of paperwork to catch up on so I need to go.
Chao chao,
KiwiKaz

Serviettes, sleep-deprivation, and don't even think about touching the make-up!

As a continuation of the theme from the last blog (and because life is pretty much the same pattern of work work work stay out too late and drink too much and be tired at work, and then go to another party and take most of the weekend to recover the sleep you have lost) here are some other observations of this crazy country.

The first one is serviettes. I don't know if it is just that I am uncouth (not my mother's fault) or if this really is a valid observation, but it is a necessity to have a serviette at ALL TIMES when eating. This means if you buy a drink on the street they give you a serviette, even though you are drinking out of a straw. Every meal you eat MUST have a serviette, even though I thought the whole point of a knife and fork was to transport the food to your mouth without making a mess of either your hands or your mouth (yes yes I know that I do not always achieve this but we are talking about the principle). Buy a piece of fruit, get a serviette, buy an icecream and get 5 serviettes, cup of coffee with a serviette. In fact, they get quite upset if you try to turn them down on their offer of a serviette (yes I tried it in an effort to save a tree or something). So, I now eat with a serviette always at hand.

Sleep-deprivation is a way of life. It seems that while Chileans have retained their late night party hours, they no longer have a siesta or flexible working hours, which means that they sleep less. In fact, they work hard (as hard as people back home anyway), and then party all night. It is not uncommon for people to go out until 3am and still be at work at 8am the next day. And then to repeat this the next night... The weekend starts sometimes on Wednesday night, and sometimes on Thursday. It is very common to see people asleep on the metro, sitting, standing, nodding off, doesn't matter. Any when I say common, I mean probably 1 in 10 are asleep, without exaggeration. I don't cope so well with this whole lack of sleep lifestyle to be fair, though usually I only have to get through Friday incredibly tired, and I don't have too many classes.

Last time I talked about the "people in jobs" principle. And this week I came across another shining example of it. Things are different here. In shops, there are many items that you are simply not allowed to touch. Depending on which area you live in this can include sanitary products, shampoo and soap, deodorant, all forms of face care and make-up and perfume. Actually, you are NEVER allowed to touch the make-up or perfume. These precious items are stored behind a counter with very helpful sales assistants (arhem) carefully watching over them. This week I decided I needed some new eyeliner (as I lost my very good MAC one that I am still quite upset about). I went to one of the department stores to have look, and of course wasn't allowed to touch anything. Was standing at the counter with another lady who was talking with the shop-assistant about eye-liners and eyebrow pencils and the tester jar was on the table for her to look at. I waited for a bit, and then decided that seeing as the shop assistant was there it must be OK for me to try the testers too. I put my hand out to take one and the shop-assistant SLAPPED MY HAND LIKE I WAS A CHILD! I was aghast. So I asked if I could try it, in fairly passable spanish (I had been practicing), and she ignored me. The other lady finished her transaction and the shop-assistant took the testers, put them back under the bench and walked away, completely ignoring me. I wanted to cry. I left the shop very quickly. I took me 3 days to get my courage back up to go to a different place to try again. I chose a large chemist, and it was a good choice as the shop assistant was really nice and very patient with me (though I pretty much aggreed to the first one she showed me as I was still in fear of having my hand slapped again). The funniest thing was that you choose you product, and get given a receipt. Then you take the receipt to the cashier and pay, and recieve a different receipt, which you present to a third person who finds your product again and gives it to you (after it has been put in a bag by a fourth person). So yes, back to my original point, people in jobs. 4 people doing the job of one.

This weekend I am off to Curico with my Chilean friends. There is a despideda (farewell) for one of our friends who is off to Panama. I am getting a ride down with the girls, I think there will be four of us so it should be an entertaining trip though I will likely understand nothing as they turn the music up loud and then all talk flat out at the same time (girls road trips are the same the world over) which is fun but means I can't undertand anything. I haven't been to Curico before and it is where most of my friends are from so I am quite looking forward to it. I have been told that there isn't usually much going on there, but I suspect that this will be a big party that will make up for any apparent apathy in the town. It is also right in the heart of the wine district which can never be a bad thing....

Anyway, need a nap before another night of "grande fiesta". The only instructions I have been given are bring your "saco" (sleeping bag) and "panuelo" (hankerchief for dancing cueca). I hope we have Churipan and asado....

Hablamos pronto,
KiwiKaz

And here is a couple of pictures I took out of my bedroom window in case you have missed them on FB.

Observations of Santiago

So I thought it was about time that I actually wrote something about what I have learned about this country since I got here, apart from the fact that they speak "machine-gun" rapid slang-filled spanish and have a tendency to protest and party.

One of the first things that a foreigner has to notice about the streets of Santiago is that they are nothing like what you might expect. They are generally fairly clean and on a nice day the city has a European feel to it (if it is somewhat rundown in places). It is busy and noisy, but certainly no worse than Rome. The metro runs efficiently (most days) and the bus system is fairly well organised and extensive. The streets have many vendors selling their wares (mostly illegally on blankets on the sidewalks), but they don't hassle you like in Vietnam. There are tons of kiosks all the way along the streets, probably at least two per block and sometimes as many as 8, selling drinks, lollies, newspapers and other bits and pieces. This brings me to my second observation - there are an awful lot of people doing jobs that seem almost useless to someone like me.

By this I mean there are a lot of "parking attendants", official people who help you park your car and then supervise it while you are gone. They are basically human parking meters, though sometimes if you are lucky they will wash your car, and in summer some provide cardboard shades to keep the sun out. You are obliged to give them some change as you leave, even when they are obnoxious as the one in Pichilemu was the other week, insisting on kissing me and questioning the guy I was with as to whether this "guapa gringa" was his "pelola" (whether the cute gringa was his girlfriend). We saw this phenomen in Vietnam too, the "very busy" security guards. I guess it is all about people in jobs. Other such jobs include the people who sweep the pavements, by hand, when probably a machine would put 40 people out of a job. There are also tons of street entertainers, juggling, doing theatre, or acrobatics at the traffic lights. You are pretty much obliged to give them some change too, whether you liked the show or not. There are people who pack your groceries at the supermarket, whether you want it or not, and again you are obliged. There is the conductor on the long haul bus, who is actually quite helpful, but he needs some change, and the guy who puts your bag in the bottom, more change, even if you offer to do it yourself. I don't know much about the welfare system here (or lack of), but it looks to me that people will willingly do just about anything for a bit of change. People in jobs, people in jobs.

The third thing that is very obvious on arriving in Santiago is the number of street dogs. There are tons of them. And people don't seem to mind, in fact they are generally well cared for looking. As it is winter many of them now have coats on (often made of polarfleece and with a neck warmer like a mini scarf), and they have cardboard boxes to sleep in which often has some food next to it. Seriously, the dogs are better cared for than the homeless people! And these dogs know it. They sleep anywhere. It is very common for there to be a bottle neck at the metro exit in rush hour because there are a couple of dogs blocking the way and everyone is going around them. They sleep on the sides of the street and the cars and buses simply avoid them. They also sleep in shop doorways, often on the welcom mat, and people just step over them. They are experts at crossing the road. I thought dogs were colourblind but these ones know all about the little green man, and wait patiently to cross when it is their turn. Quite often there seems to be a sort of dog convention in Plaza Italia, the main roundabout on the main st, and you can see up to 20 cavorting around having a lovely time. Even the scary looking policemen stop and talk to them. I think in my next life I would like to be a Santiago street dog.


While I said earlier that the bus system was very good (which it is), it can also be a bit feral. A couple of times I have gotten on and there has been a full on latin band playing (5 people), with people dancing in the aisles. Yesterday I got on a bus full of football fans. They were singing and dancing and jumping and the entire vehicle was bouncing. There was also half a dozen people riding on the roof.... The buses are an education....

Another thing I was not expecting, was BAD BAD coffee. I thought with the proximity to Columbia that coffee here would be fabuous. How wrong I was. The drink of choice is nasty Nescafe. To be fair, there are grades of Nescafe here, and the gold standard I can actually drink. However, most Chileans drink the cheap cheap nasty burnt tasting stuff. They drink it strong, super hot, and often with 5 teaspoons of sugar. Its truely awful but as a nation they are totally addicted to the stuff. About the only place I can get a coffee that tastes like a decent coffee and doesn't make my tastebuds recoil in horror is Starbucks, and this makes both my wallet and morals recoil in horror!

And moving onto food... it is all about the meat here. When we were at the beach the other week we had asado (BBQ). Unfortunately we didn't know that one of the girls coming was a vege, and the only thing that we could find for her to eat was potato chips. I am not kidding. She had a choice of beef, chicken, pork, or potato chips. We didn't even have any salad or bread. We had a few onions.... Also, the food is generally not spicy, at all. The only spicy thing they eat is pebre, a combination of tomato, onion, garlic and chilli, which I find totally delicious. Nothing else has anything like chilli in it though. Generally, it is just basic meat and veg, or pasta. Dad would love it (well the meat and veg part anyway).

I am sure there are lots more things that I want to put in here, but right now I can't remember them. Another day. Just thought I would share my observations so far.
K

Another week, another new experience

Another week of working, trying new things and general confusion. Actually it has been a good week, though it was quite busy.

I had another new class this week, on Monday afternoon for 3hrs with an intermediate lady at El Mercurio, the newspaper. This is all good but it is in the middle of nowhere. No metro or bus route - that means I had to tackle a famous Santiago colectivo for the first time. Colectivos are communal taxis, which travel on fixed routes for fixed prices. Basically it is a guy with a car, and when the car is full he goes. It is quite a good concept really, though timing is always a bit dodgy. Luckily Mercurio is on a fairly popular route. It does require a basic level of spanish though to communicate what you want. Luckily Jo had told me the number of the car I was looking for and it turned out to be quite easy. The ride out there was fine, I was holding onto my seat the whole way and was the only one in the car with my seatbelt on (they drive like madmen), but we made it in one piece. Coming home was more difficult, as you basically have to flag one down. I was first waiting outside Mecurio, then a couple of old ladies came, and then a man. Finally a colectivo showed up, but already had a person in it, so there were 4 of us wanting three seats.... At this point I expected the usual latin manners to kick in and the man to give way to the ladies, especially as we were all there first. How wrong I was! I forgot that when it comes to public transport all courtesy goes out the window, when usually these are the most polite people in the world. The man runs to the car and jumps in the back. I arrived about the same time as the old ladies, but I wasn't about to be rude and make them stand in the cold for another 15min, or worse still, split them up. So I ended up standing on the side of the road for another 10min until the next one came along. Apparently I have a lot to learn about colectivo ettiquette! And the second colectivo was filled with men, and I ended up in between two very fat men. Couple that with very fast crazy driving that doesn't slow for corners, and it wasn't the most pleasant ride. But it was good that I have finally tackled the famous colectivos. And class was good. Three hours one on one is fairly demanding, but she is a good talker so I think it will be OK.

So with this new class I have a lot of hours, I think including my private students I am up to about 28hrs a week which is quite a lot when you account for planning time as well. I look forward to the weekend! This weekend is a long weekend too (we haven't had a public holiday for nearly a month!) so I am planning on relaxing and organsing all my materials which have gotten quite out of control over the last few weeks!

I am of course going out to a party tonight. It was Naty's birthday (one of the Chileans) on Monday, so she is having a praty tonight. It is a fancy dress party (I think) but I don't know the theme, something about masks (I think). I (think) I have a ride there lined up, but absolutely no way of getting home as it is miles away. Hopefully it will be a big party (I suspect yes) and I can get the metro home tomorrow morning at 8. Otherwise I am crashing on the floor uninvited... The invitations were all verbal which is impossible for me as I can't compute things fast enough in my head. At least when they send me messages I can use my dictionary to figure it out, and I can read it three times until I understand. Anyway, I have a homemade mask, and if I wear all black I will look a bit like something out of the Mask of Zorro, so hopefully I will fit in. Won't matter what I look like after a couple of rums I guess.

Went to Cueca on Thursday, I am improving but its a slow process. Wasn't as fun as the week before because there were less willing male partners and our table was extremely female heavy. Thats OK though, us girls dance together too. I haven't managed to flick anyone else in the eyes, and I didn't stand on anyones feet, so I guess that is improvement. Its always a fun night out, though Friday morning is aways difficult. Luckily it is an elementary class who are working from a book so it doesn't require quite so much thought or preparation.

So not the most exciting week. Will see how this party goes tonight. It might be interesting to see how accurate my translation has been (or inaccurate!).

Chaochao,
KiwiKaz.

The not so nice side of living in the developing world

So this afternoon on my way home from class I witnessed something that really made me stop and think. Since arriving in Chile I have seen many things that have made me open my eyes, but I have been genuinely surprised by the lack of glaringly obvious poverty. To be fair, I live and work in the nice part of town, and do not venture into the other parts (because I have no reason to and my friends have warned me that it isn't particularly safe). I see homeless people on the street, but you see them in Melbourne too, and they are much less aggressive here than in Melbourne. However, everyday for the last three weeks I have been walking past this protest camp down by the river Mapochu. It is to protest the poverty of the poorest people, and has been steadily growing for the last few weeks. There are maybe 70 people living there - its quite big. It is a bit of a novelty, and while I suspected it would be very cold, I didn't really think very hard about the true implications. There is always a cordon of police supervising their activities and apart from banners and the like it all seemed quite orderly. Until today.

Today it started to rain. And it has been raining fairly solidly all day. Again I didn't really think about this on my way to class, though there were definitely more police around and more barriers. When I left class and was attempting to come back across the bridge the roads were all closed, the riot police were out and two water canons had arrived. This isn't really much to get alarmed about either. However, upon standing a bit longer I realised that they were evacuating all the people because the river was flooding. This in itself is a good thing, but the people they were bringing up to the road were clearly extremely distressed. At this point one women went running across the road and tried to jump over the wall back down to the river - its a fair drop of probably 6-7 m. A policeman managed to grab her but we watched as a tent with shoes and clothes tied to the roof went hurtling down the river. I guess that was almost everything she owned. She collapsed in the policeman's arms and was loaded into an ambulance. Other people were burning everything, I guess as a last sign of protest before it all got washed away, and were generally fighting with the riot police and refusing to come up from the river. The people looked cold, wet, and defeated. I just felt so sorry for them.

The whole situation was a real eye opener for me, especially as I have been walking past these people for weeks without sparing them a thought. I guess the reason there are so many protests and they do get so heated is because the conditions are worth getting upset about. It became clear to me today that this is about more than just water canons and tear gas.
K

Lack of sleep

Well it has been a little while since I updated this. To be fair, I have sort of been holding it ransom in the hope that my Mother might send me an email, but seeing as it is nearly the weekend again I thought I had better get around to doing it (though I am still without said email...)

Last week was a standard teaching week without any major dramas. I was late to a couple of classes because there were some crazy protests going on in town and the metro station I needed was closed so I had to walk. And I managed to walk INTO the protest instead of away from it... But they were clearing it from the other end of the plaza so while all the people were heading towards me, the water canon and the riot police and horses were still a wee way off. And there was no tear gas so it wasn't too much of a problem. It was very noisy though, with lots of whistles and sirens and yelling and things... Anyway, that is all pretty normal now. And there seemed to be a bomb scare or something near the office another day and they closed the main street and I had to do a massive detour to get to class. Again, lots of police and plenty of rubber-neckers, but not a lot of action from what I could see as I scampered past.

Thursday night was Cueca dancing (see a previous post on Cueca). There was quite a large group of us as one of the girls from the office came with her friends, Shawn brought a couple of gringas who are staying with her, and there was the usual suspects there too (my Chilean friends). Every time I go I improve, and other people apart from those at our table are starting to ask me to dance which means that maybe I look like I half know what I am doing! Was a fun night as always, and I got home very late, and had to struggle out of bed for my 9am class..... Though I shouldn't complain as Naty is a teacher and she doesn't teach in town. Her classes start at 8am in Maipu, so I am guessing she probably had to be on the metro at 7am, which probably means a maximum of 3hrs sleep....

I had class all day and then we left for Pichilemu straight after my last class. We arrived at a reasonable hour, and after doing the shopping other people started turning up. We had asado (BBQ) and quite a party. Shawn brought her two girlfriends with her on the bus, and they actually speak less Spanish than me (one of them none), so I could see just how much I have learned. About 5am in the morning we decided to go to the beach. Everyone will be pleased to know that I managed to remain fully clothed and (mostly) out of the water. My pants got a bit wet.... Probably for the best because I had a ridiculous cold that meant that I had had next to no voice all week. I don't imagine the cold air and water (think Dunedin styles) would have helped it too much... I think we went to bed about 7am, and I was up again at 9.30am because the kids wanted to play with me. I tried unsuccessfuly all day to have a nap, but could not sleep. It was annoying. We went to town and had some fresh ceviche by the sea. It is a peruvian dish which is very popular here in Chile, made from fish and lemon mushed up together with a dash of Chilli (if you are really lucky - Chileans don't eat hot food). This ceviche was clearly really fresh and quite delicious. We went to the feria and bought a whole lot of veges to make an enormous pot of soup to feed everyone, always fun shopping with the chileans. Everything is so disorganised and it takes about half an hour even to make the most simple decisions. Seriously, its like working on island time. Lucky I don't have a problem with island time!!

Saturday night was another grande fiesta. We had Churipan (chorizo sausage and delicious maraqueta bread) with pebre (garlic, chilli, tomato and onion pureed and it actually is spicy) just for me. It was my special request, and I had about 3 or 4.... We had navegado, a type of mulled wine, with orange in it heated on the BBQ. LOTS of people turned up, I think there were probably about 30 people, and it started to rain. I don't really know what happened then because I went to bed (around 3.30) as the lack of sleep and naps totally caught up with me and I found myself no longer able to comprehend either Spanish or English. I believe the party wound up about 7am again... When I got up there was mud everywhere and they were using a tractor to pull the cars out. Reminded me of a one-day event we had up a Quigley's actually... So I felt right at home wading through the mud to take my bag out to the car! The car driver was a bit tired so I had to talk to him all the way home, in Spanish, with no voice (my voice had disappeared again by this stage). It was amusing for him I think. It took me until Thursday to catch up on sleep... everytime I sat down I fell asleep. I was late to my class on Monday morning because I slept through my alarm (but my students were later so it didn't matter), and late to my evening class because I fell asleep on my bed and didn't wake up...

Seriously, I don't know how these Chileans manage it. Take Nataly for example. She was out dancing Cueca with us on Thursday night - around 3hrs sleep. Friday night she went out in Santiago and danced all night then her and two friends got in the car at 6am (without going to bed) and drove 3hrs south to Pichilemu, pitched a tent and had a couple of hours sleep. She was up again at 11am though - 2hrs sleep. She managed to party much longer than me on Saturday night, and was heading to bed around 6am, but was up again at 9am when everyone started to leave - 3hrs sleep. Then she had to work on Monday at 8am in Maipu, which means leaving her house at 7am, which I assume means getting up at 6.30.... And they wouldn't have gotten back to Santiago any earlier than 10pm on Sunday night.... I do not know how they do it!!!

Anyway, talking to the others last night it seems I wasn't the only one struggling to stay awake this week so at least I know these people are human! Last night was Cueca again, and it was the most fun I have had yet. I am actually getting the hang of it, and I danced with lots of different people. It helped that our table actually had an even number of males and females rather than being female heavy as it usually is. We danced until the place closed (around 3.30am), and I hardly sat down all night. I am finally understanding something in this crazy country! For so long I have been useless at everything - the language, the dancing, the customs... but it is beginning to become clearer to me, though I still wouldn't say I dance well!

Anyway, I have to go to class. There is a whole lot of other stuff I want to put in here, but I don't have time right now. And the photos will ahve to wait until the next post too because I don't want to be late to class, and it is pouring with rain so I have to find my jacket etc.

Mas pronto,
KiwiKaz

Just another week

And its Sunday again. It seems to come around so fast!

I have had a good week, just teaching during the week, and trying to stay warm to fend off the impending cold. Teaching is quite busy for me at the moment, especially as I had quite a few classes changing around their times for various commitments this week. Am getting more used to the workload, and am getting more organised with my preparation. My chef cancelled his last three classes and then wanted a 3hr marathon session on Friday afternoon before flying out to Malaysia on Saturday. Given that our 1.5hr classes are usually quite difficult as he loses interest quickly, I was quite surprised by the request, and overjoyed about having my whole Friday afternoon taken up with potentially the most difficult class of the week... It turned out to be better than I expected, though I was still exhausted at the end of it and in need of a very large beer!

Friday night I joined Shawn and Tyra to see some friends of Shawn's play. They are in a Led Zepplin cover band, and I was dubious heading into it. They were pretty awesome though, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. After them was a Doors cover band, who were also good, so we spent most of the night singing along. Then we went back to the band's house and continued on singing etc... until I had nearly no voice left... at which time we retired to Shawn's to sleep (7am). Was a great night with lovely people.

I was woken at 10am by my housemate calling to ask where I was. I am not sure if I should be flattered or worried that he cares so much. I don't remember any of my previous housemates keeping such close tabs on me.... He also spent most of last week trying to convince me to go to the doctor because I had the beginnings of a cold - but was't actually sick... I think he thinks he is my mother, except he is more annoying (sorry Mum - your only annoying sometimes). Anyway, I answered the phone "Halo", and only a squeak came out, so I tried again with not much more than a whisper. Oh dear... no voice, that's a small problem. So I spent Saturday trying not to talk. Then on Saturday night one of my Chilean friends called to ask if I wanted to go and watch the football at a friends house. Picture this, we are on the phone and I don't understand what he is saying, have no idea what I want to say, and can't say it anyway because I have next to no voice... It would have looked (and sounded) like a comedy skit show, but was really quite frustrating. Eventually I managed to get the details sorted, and joined the others for a spot of football (Chile beat Paraguay 2-0 so it was celebrations all round). I am always the entertainment, but last night it was even funnier for everyone because my voice was so squeaky that everytime I opened my mouth we weren't sure what was going to come out. They were delighting in the fact, but we had a really fun night with just a small group of people.

I feel like I have had a bit of a breakthrough with the language. I have managed to actually have short conversations where necessary, and I understand a lot of what goes on (though definitely not all). The ferria is easier because I usually understand what they are asking me, and even the supermarket isn't so daunting. I even understand about a quarter of what people are saying to me on the phone (which is a quarter more than three weeks ago). It is so frustrating that I can never say exactly what I want, but at least I can say something. Even if it is as ridiculous as "Shawn wants to eat Mauro" which was completely not what I meant to say and has all sorts of overtones that weren't lost on the Chileans... (and was the joke of the night last night).

This week I am going dancing Cueca again with the same friends - they are determined that I learn before September. I wimped out last week because it was cold and I worked until 9.30 and was trying to hold this cold at bay, but they made me promise I will come this week so I guess I have to. And at the weekend I am off to Pichilemu again with the whole crowd which will be tons of fun. I don't think that Shawn is going, so I might be the only English speaker, which will mean a gruelling weekend, but lots of practice. And I love getting out of Santiago, and I love Chilean asado so there is no way I am not going!!

Anyway, I hope that my voice comes back soon, as it is going to be very difficult to teach without it - lots of listening exercises maybe... Luckily I only have one class on Monday and it is in the evening, but it better be OK by Tuesday because I have 7hrs of talking that day...

I think these posts are probably getting less interesting as life falls into some routine. Things like the riot police cordoning off streets and closing the metro station I want to go to seem quite normal to me now, and not really worth mentioning. The people having a road-rage fist-fight in rush hour with cars whizzing past don't really rate talking about, and the undercover police officers who pulled a gun on the guy just along from me on the metro the other night were merely a passing interest. One of the Uni campus' has been closed for the last month because there is a big student protest going on there, and there are about 50 people camping in tents down by the river in the freezing cold protesting the impoverished conditions that the poorest people live in, but because I walk past both sites at least twice a day it all seems quite normal. I guess by NZ or Aus standards both these things would seem fairly outrageous to me, but by Chilean standards if it isn't a riot with a water-cannon it isn't worth mentioning.

Anyway, I am going to spend the day NOT talking trying to stay warm.
Chao chao,
KiwiKaz.

Chilean government have it all under control

The work minister for the Chilean government clearly has the financial crisis and rising unemployment all under control. On Saturday La Tercera ran with the headline quoted directly from said minister:
"If you don't have a job, but don't need one, please don't look for one".
A smart man I tell you....

Cueca

Hi all!

This week hasn't been that exciting, I am getting into the routine of teaching now and it takes me less time to plan classes. The week was pretty full on, as I did't finish class until 9pm (or later) three nights of the week. But I guess it keeps me out of trouble.

On Thursday night I went out to dance cueca, the national dance, with three of my Chilean friends. Well to be fair, I didn't really know that we were going out dancing as the message was pretty much, "what are you doing, come have a drink, take a taxi to this address"... but I soon found out when I got there. They tricked me really, but it was all good.

Cueca is a strange semi-choreographed dance to strange 6/8 music. It is meant to depict the rooster chasing the hen, and the hen being evasive and elusive until he eventually catches her at the end. The rooster displays his affections by advanging on the hen twirling a hankie high above his head while the hen uses her hankie more like a shield to be coy with him.

It started in the mid 1800's in the barrios or Chile and was very popular. Then when Pinochet was in power he declared it the national dance to try and raise patriotism for the country, and apparently until recently many people have associated it with his regime. However, it was also used as a form of protest during those years, as groups of women would dance it solo to represent the many men who 'disappeared' under Pinochet. There are regional variations according to where you are dancing it too apparently. It is back to being fairly popular now though, especially on national independence day and other national holidays.

Anyway, its harder than it looks! And we were in a bar where everyone knew what they were doing (and apparently they learn it at school). My friends tried to teach me, but I wasn't the fastest learner. It doesn't help that they are teaching me in Spanish, and of course with it being loud, I am trying to understand and translate what they are saying in my head, while keeping my legs, hands, hips and hankie all under control and listen to the music. Its a bit tricky! I had fun though. We had a bit of a problem that we were one guy and three girls at our table, and you really need a partner. As I was left alone at the table some unfortunate fellow asked me to dance... they do this by waving their hankie at you which I find extremely amusing. Anyway, I tried to explain in my wonderful spanish that I would like to dance but didn't really have a clue what to do, and I think he understood (poor chap). Anyway, I was concentrating so hard on what my feet were doing and trying not to run into anyone that I got a bit over-zealous with my hankie waving and flicked the poor guy in the eye with the corner of it - which really hurts! Oopps. At least I didn't stand on his feet I guess.... So I had a lot of fun. And my friends tell me that I have to practice so that I can dance at dieceocho (18th Septemeber - national day with a massive party and lots of cueca in the street). We will see. First I need to learn to keep my hankie under control...

Had a despidida (farewell) for one of the teachers last night. Conner is going back to the states to do a graduate degree in something. Was nice to go out and understand what was going on (all in English) and be able to make conversation with new people really. I had almost forgotton what it was like to no have to sit in the corner concentrating like crazy and only ever understanding about half of what was going on.... So I had a fun night.

Anyway, I have quite a bit of class planning to do for the week ahead, and a test to write (oh joy).
Chao chao!
The uncoordinated flightless bird who cannot make conversation with anyone (really what have I got going for me?!).

Public holidays and parties.

Hola all,
I don't really have that much to write this week! It has been fairly quiet really with no good stories to tell. Routine almost....

Classes this week were good. My new classes are going along really well and the students seem to be enjoying them which is the main thing (oh and learning something along the way which I guess is also somewhat important). Thursday was a public holiday as I have previously mentioned. I think it was some commemoration of a naval battle at Iquique in the north, but I couldn't be totally sure. There are a lot of public holidays here... And then two of my three classes cancelled on Friday to take a "sandwich" day. I kid you not, that is what they call it. I think it is a genius term and encourage everyone to use it! Basically it then becomes a 4 day weekend which is pretty cool.

On Wednesday night we had a teacher's party at Joannes house. Not everyone was there which was a little disappointing, but it was good to put faces to names of the partners that I keep hearing about. Was a nice night, with good food, wine and company.

On Friday night I went out for a drink with my housemate, and then to some music with Shawn and a couple of other people. We saw Federico Wolf, and he was amazing. Talk about a human instrument! Beat box, scat, trumpet and trombone, rain sounds, as well as beautiful singing and playing guitar. He isn't well known in Chile, and it was a pretty small intimate crowd, but it was really amazing music. I would buy his CD anyday. It was certainly a contrast to last weeks mad music!

Yesterday, (Saturday), I went to a asado at Anne and Rodrigo's house with all Rodrigo's cousins and a couple of other teachers. Was really fun, and of course the food was amazing (have I mentioned how much I like Chilean asado?!). Was a lot of Spanish talk of course, and I understood a lot which was good. Conversation is still ultra frustrating though, and all my stories have to be modified into something I can actually say, which usually means they aren't so interesting! People are fairly patient though which is lucky for me. I was exhausted after 8hrs of Spanish though, so came home at the very respectable hour of 11pm.

I have a full week of classes this week. It looks like I might be going to pick up another private class with a friend of a friend too which would be good. From what I can gather (in my limited Spanish) it is helping her 7 yr old son with his English homework and generally trying to improve his learning in English. Could be quite challenging, but hopefully fun. And once you have one or two privates word starts to get around, and the money is much better!

My trip to Peru has been postponed. They couldn't get me a pass for the Inca trail, and decided that they really want to give me the opportunity of doing the Inca as that is what I won. So I am going at the end of September instead (hopefully - pass permitting!) It was a bit awkward though as I had bought non-refundable plane tickets (ie the cheapest that I could get), so Intrepid have agreed to refund those too. In the end it might end up cheaper for me as I will be able to watch for cheap flights. It is all good, and probably suits me a bit better as I will have some time to save a bit more money etc.

Today I am off to the shops to try and hunt out another pair of shoes and some more work clothes. With the weather getting colder one pair of work pants just doesn't cut it. Some of my classes I could get away with jeans, but not with any of the new classes so I really need business clothes arrgghh! I pretty much have three black or white tops, one pair of pants, and just change the color of the scarf or jewellery that I wear. It works out well and means that everything matches which is important when you are working on a wardrobe out of a suitcase as I am!

Better go, as shops probably shut fairly early on Sunday. Might have to venture out to the bug mall with the other million people who will be there. Fun times. I just love dealing with crowds of really slow moving people (not!)

Chao chao,
The adventuring kiwi.

Work concerts and parties.

Wow, I have had a busy week and an eventful weekend. The week was long because I had 4 new classes, which is always challenging! Especially when one was right on the outskirts of the city and I had to take a bus for an hour just to get there! Peñalolén is a really long way out of the centre of town!! But it is a good class because Joanne has given it to me as a private class, and its 2hrs (one hour with the daughter and one with the mother), so the money is pretty great and makes the long trip worth it. The other new classes are with two different banks in town, and Sanofi-Aventis a pharmaceuticals company. Each case is a one on one class with one of the high level managers, but they all seem nice, if quite ambitious! So I am officially on a fairly full teaching load of 25hrs a week. I am getting much more efficient with my planning that is for sure! There is also a public holiday on Thursday this week which gives me respite from the four classes I have that day which will make a big difference I think. They do have a lot of random public holidays here....

On Firday night I went to a concert with Shawn and a couple of her other teacher friends, and I have never laughed so hard. It wasn't comedy - it was rock! And I had tears streaming down my face. The lead singer of the first band came out dressed in LYCRA wearing a BICYCLE HELMET!!! I kid you not - these guys were like the village people on speed. There was a clown, a cowboy, a guy in a suit, an army dude, and a grandad. They were all completely unattractive and insisted on strutting around the stage wiggling various parts of their anatomy, or trying body rolls and hip grinds. The music was a cross between Sublime and some thrash metal, and only about 1/3 was even remotely enjoyable, but man it was funny! I of course forgot my camera, but the image of the lycra clad lead singer is a memory burned in for eternity I fear. I have ripped a photo off the internet so you too can share the joy. If you are really interested, try googling "Sinergia", there are some fairly amusing video clips on YouTube.


The second band was marginally better, and their costumes were normal. Their antics were fairly extra-ordinary though. The symbol of the band is this crazy pig thing, and lots of people in the crowd had their own pig. There was a sort of competition to see who could dress their pig the wackiest, and they hold them up high throughout the concert (which must have hurt their arms because these things are the size of a small 2yr old). Anyway, I saw a Batman and a red riding hood, a gnome, an alien and a magician, but the funniest was the normal looking pig with a swine flu mask on. Hehe, that made me giggle.

Was a fairly crazy night, and as usual it was done Latin style so the crowd was going totally crazy and the mosh pit looked more dangerous than at a Metallica concert. Everyone was singing and dancing and no one was holding back! It was tons of fun, even if the music and the sound was quite average at times.

Then last night (Saturday) I went to a birthday party of one of the guy's from the Viña's cousins (did I get those apostrophes correct - damn English teacher who can't even write apostrophes correctly. Please don't tell anyone). Anyway, only met the cousin yesterday afternoon when I was at his house for lunch, and when I turned up to the party at what I thought was a suitably late time (11.30pm), there weren't many people there and I knew only the birthday boy (and not well having only the afternoon's experience with him). Was OK though, as people spotted me as the odd one out, and came to practice their English on me, and laugh at my attempts at Spanish. The dancing started pretty soon after, and three other guys from the Viña turned up, and I had a great time. I have not danced so much in the longest time, and they played English music (think Guns n Roses and Michael Jackson) as well as Latin music. There was plenty of Salsa, which I still suck at, but luckily no Tango because I really suck at Tango! Some of the girls were again trying to teach me "Latin hips", and although I am improving (I think) I am always going to be the slightly wooden gringa at the Latin party! Hehe, I don't really mind, just wish I could dance with people a little better. I guess it is like language though, practise practise practise - and I seem to have plenty of willing teachers so it isn't a big problem. All in all it was a great night, and I arrived home when the party ended about 5am.

So today I have been to the ferria (vege market) and have some planning of classes to do. A nice quite day en mi casa not doing too much sounds just good. Who knows what this week will bring...

Love and hugs to all,
KiwiKaz.

Pichilemu

I was away again this weekend, to Pichilemu, a beach town about three hours south of Santiago. I was with Shawn and the people from the grape picking weekend, so it was lots of fun! We arrived late on Friday night and went straight to the beach to meet some of the others. The water was freezing but I still managed to get soaked, and generally had a lovely time frolicking on the beach like a child in the darkness... Asado for dinner was ready about 2am (as usual) and was delicious, and there was the usual chilean party involving guitars and the beat box and lots of singing. There was some talk of a swimming contest in the lake, though I was warned that there is a monster that lives in the lake, that only attacks blondes. To be fair they may have been alluding to the guy that I was going to be racing against... Anyway, the contest didn't end up happening so I didn't have to deal with any monsters.

The next day was a bit slow (it was quite a party), but we went down to the beach and paddled and built sandcastles with the kids. Pichilemu is a surf spot, with really long breaks, and apparently sometimes montstrous sized waves (last week they were 9m apparently). Pretty quiet while we were there though, with only hardy souls in full boiler suits, hoods and booties venturing out. I really was tempted to go swimming, but it was pretty damn cold. About the same as Dunedin in winter (though that never used to stop me - maybe I am getting old?!)

Lunch was at a cheap and delicious beachside restaurant. I have ceviche, which is a Peruvian dish of fish sort of mashed and pickled with lemon and lime juice, and possibly a bit of chilli. My description doesn't really do it justice as it is a taste sensation. Shawn had to go back to Santiago (thus abandoning me with a group of Spanish speakers) so after dropping her at the bus we headed out to Punto de Lobos - where the serious surfing is. We arrived at sunset and it was breathtaking. There were plenty of surfers out in the water trying out the more substantial looking waves, and it reminded me a bit of Dunedin, and the surf point not far from Aunty Trish's house that I can't quite remember the name of - Longbeach maybe?? Anyway, sunset was spectacular.

Was off to the supermarket to buy food for more asado, and I was impressed to watch the men take complete charge of the shopping. The night was a bit quieter with the exit of a few people, but really fun. There was a bit of salsa, and I was able to talk a little with everyone which was great. I am still hopeless, but I think they are getting more used to my hopelessness and finding it easier to decipher!

Drive home was interesting, as Eduardo speaks even less English than I do Spanish, but we managed to fill in the time, and had a real laugh trying to find our way through Santiago in the dark with no map! It didn't help that the driver was having trouble distinguishing right from left, and is a little short sighted, so I had to read the signs (in my appalling accent), and he had to try and decipher what I was saying. I got very good at saying "no otra derecha!!" (no the other right!!). Made it home fine though, and generally had a great weekend. I think this weekend I am actually staying in Santiago, though I believe I am going to someone's cousin's 21st or something on Saturday night.... I have been ultra lucky to meet such a nice, forgiving and patient bunch of people. I can only hope that I would have done the same in their position! Communication is seriously difficult, but they keep inviting me places and trying to help me. I have learnt that smiling and trying really does get you a long way!

In other exciting news - I won a trip to Peru. Yep, I won something! Its pretty amazing really. I entered a competition with Intrepid, the company that I went to Vietnam with last year, for an 8 day trip in Peru including the Inca trail and Machu Pichu, and I won! I have to pay for the flights, and the local payment, but given this is an experience I would have been paying for in total later in the year, it is pretty lucky for me (and is worth about NZ$1000). So flights are all organised and everything is confirmed - I leave on the 6th of June. The only uncertainty is whether they will actually be able to get me a permit for the Inca trail, as it is limited to 500 people per day and this quota is usually filled a month in advance. However, I will get to trek the Lares trail if the Inca is full, which still goes to Machu Pichu, so it will still be awesome. Am slightly worried about how I might cope with the altitude - the highest point on the Inca trail is 4200m, and Cuzco itself sits 3300m. Anyway, no idea how it will affect me, so there is really no point in worrying too much. I will see what happens when I get there!

Have a few new students in the last couple of weeks, business men. The latest one is quite high up in ScotiaBank, in charge of overseeing the economic investments section for Chile, so maybe I will learn something about this financial crisis from him. They are all really nice people and I get on well with them, and am really enjoying all my classes at the moment. Its interesting that I teach 13 men and only 2 women... Apparently women aren't in the high positions and therefore don't often get the luxery of learning English. I guess this is still a developing country even though it is difficult to remember that when you look around.

OK, better go. Got to go to the notary which is my least favourite job as they speak to me in rapid Spanish which I don't understand and then refuse to do what I want them to. And I am left guessing what it is I have done wrong.

Until next time,
KiwiKaz

PS. Pics are of Shawn and I on Picilemu beach, Punta de Lobos at sunset, and the lagoon in Pichilemu at sunset.