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
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
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!
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!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, August 17, 2009
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 har
d 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 a
nd 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.
Friday, August 7, 2009
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.
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.
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