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.
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