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.