Chao Chao, Chile!

Currently, I'm sprawled out on the sofa of my old apartment still recovering from the huge plate of gnocchi with arrabiata sauce I consumed at a popular Italian restaurant in Santiago. I worked through about half the meal with a large helping of bread before I had to give up and request for a take home bag. All this to say, it's good to be back in Santiago. In fact, it's been too good. Thanks to Easter weekend, I haven't had to share my friends with their jobs and such. The weather has been particularly warm, too. Ironically enough, if you would have asked me three weeks ago if I was ready to go back home, the answer would have been a definite YES. However, walking through the beautiful neighborhoods of Bellas Artes, Providencia, and Ñuñoa, I'm reminded of the incredible year I have spent in Chile. Last night crowded around a table on the rooftop of Becky's apartment with the token wine bottle half empty, I realized what amazing people I've met here and how difficult it's going to be to leave them. I said good bye to Grace last night as she's adventuring down in the Patagonia for the week, and I'm not looking forward to saying my other farewells.

I've come to a few conclusions. 
First, change is hard (obivo po!).
Second, I would feel this same sadness if I was leaving in two months or in two years.
Third, the part of Santiago I'm seeing right now is not the part that I've also complained about for the past year.

Final Note:
I've only been in Santiago for the past four days and I leave to two! I've had a wonderful time traveling in Peru and Bolivia, and I plan to post with pictures and descriptions slowly but surely.

Mark your calendars. April 11th, 2012- The day Texas rejoiced because Katie came home. I'm pretty important.

Of course there was Katie/Grace photo action taking place on our last night in Santiago together.

The year of perpetual summer.

I've returned to hot, sunny Santiago after spending three weeks in Texas. Teary-eyed, dazed, and groggy, I opened the door to my room to find it covered in a think layer of black dust. Welcome back. It's definitely taking more time to adjust back to life here that I originally thought. My heart took a second beating as I left my mom and grandmother in the airport for the second time. Now, everything feels so temporary since I will be leaving in May, but nonetheless I'm excited about traveling in February and again in April. Between the lack of permanency and the warm weather, I'm not nearly as sad about cancellations and end dates for classes as I was a couple months ago.

The student population will be dwindling for the summer months and so will the pesos in every teacher's pocket, but summer is so wonderful. And this will be my year of perpetual summer. I will catch the beginnings of a Santiago fall before I head home to my Texas summer. While fall has always been my favorite season, summers are simply filled with fun. So I will be having so much fun for next eight consecutive months.

Currently listening to: Emmy The Great. Check her out.

Some things you should know about me
1. I will never cease to be weird.
2. That's it.

Good News Bad News: Living in Santiago

Although teaching English in Santiago may have its many downsides, the few positives outweigh the negatives by far. My time here has only been sprinkled with a few bad experiences. When I finally decide to leave Santiago, I will take home the greatest souvenir- perspective. Living abroad truly enriches your life and instills in you a strong sense of confidence. If I can jump on a plane to South America, then I can do just about anything. Life is never without its bumps, but hands down, teaching and consequently living in Santiago has been the greatest part of my 24 years on this earth.

Bad News - Relax, there isn't much bad news when it comes to living in Santiago!

1. Expenses- Alright, everything here is very comparable to Texas (and I say Texas because it has a lower cost of living than other states). A trip to the grocery store costs about the same. In reality, this is only bad news if you have planned on lower expenses in a South American country. However, clothes and shoes run a bit high for the shoddy quality.

2. Less Amenities- I don't have a dryer, dish washer, indoor heating, air conditioning. To me, this is perfectly fine. Actually, I enjoy putting a little extra effort in hanging up my own clothes. Unless you want to pay a lot of money for all the comforts of your cushy life back home, enjoy this so called "suffering." It makes you a better person. 

Good News

1. Rent- I rent a room in a fairly large older apartment in Providencia. I pay about $260 a month and it includes electricity/gas/internet. My roommate situation is ideal. After I was hired at my institute, I had grand plans of finding my own apartment. However, compared to my month earnings, the feat is fairly unfeasible for a single person. Plus, if you do not have an i.d. card, I hear it's difficult to contract  internet service and it opens up more opportunities for someone to take advantage of your bright-eyed gringo-ness. On another note, finding a room to rent is another great way to meet people and practice your Spanish. It cuts significantly cuts down the amount of loneliness of the first month.

2. The City Itself- When I first arrived in South America I jumped off a plane in Buenos Aires. It was huge, the people were beautiful but cold, the downtown was a little dirty, the transportation was a nightmare, and I couldn't receive change anywhere. So, I was immediately relieved when I hit the streets of Santiago. There is smog and it may not be as fascinating as other cities, but it's the perfect first-time-living-abroad city: different enough to be interesting but similar enough to be comforting.

3. La Vega- This is wonderful. Just plain wonderful. The prices of fresh produce and everything else you could possibly want is sinfully cheap. It's about a 45 minute trek and a couple of hours of dedication. However, I leave with a bag (sometime a bag and a coche) full of beautiful vegetables, dried goods, and fresh eggs.

4. Wine and Pisco- Wine is good. Wine is cheap. Nothing is better than finishing classes a little early on a Friday afternoon, coming home, and pouring myself a little (or big depending on the week) glass of wine. As for pisco, the origin of this liquor is a huge debate between Peru and Chile. It's very difficult to find the US, but it's everywhere in Chile. Whether you like a sweet pisco sour or the ever popular piscola, you will have no problems ordering one at any establishment.

5. A Lot of Humans- I have met more people from around the world here than is anyplace in the US. Santiago is home to some very large university making it a hub for international students. I've met people from Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, Slovakia, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland, California and almost every South American country. Whether you take a TEFL course, study, work at an institute, or just bum around, Santiago is a great city to meet other people.

DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! Move abroad, travel, open your mind, and change your perspective. Stop living with your parents or off of their money, step outside of the comforts of home, and enjoy something that reaches beyond the horizon of what you know. Sometimes it's difficult to read through pages of pathetic facebook updates. "My problem is this. My problem is that." NO! The problem is yourself. Now, do something about it and stop littering my newsfeed! Please, of course. :)

Life Currently: Aside from the impending excitement of the September holidays, the weather is by far the best part of this week. It has been in the upper 60's to mid 70's. Nothing brightens your day more than a dose of sunshine. Me encanta Santiago en la primavera! For the next three months, my goals are to eat more veggies, think more positively and kindly, and learn more Spanish. Just practicing for my trip home... which I purchased my plane ticket this past Friday!

La Malena- bad kitty, doesn't come inside when I call her!

air dried

welcome home

My first bottle of Pisco back last fall!

Concha y Toro Vineyard

I can hardly believe it's August! As my friends and family are burning up in over 100 degree weather, I'm shivering in my non-heated apartment next to the a space heater. However, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Pretty soon I'll be showing off my sweating armpits and wishing it was cold again. Since arriving in a hot February, I had been told of the horrors of Santiago's winter. Half of me expected to return fingerless to the US after suffering frostbite, especially due to the fact I'm acclimated to Texas weather and central heating. I admit that some nights are pretty darn chilly (no pun intended). HOWEVER, I have not found winter to be the arch nemesis of my existence here. My advise: space heater, scarf, polar-wear, and some true grit. I may be about to go out on a limb, but try to follow me. I think that people (and especially expats) just like to complain and exaggerate. The worst part of winter isn't the cold and lack of heating but the copious amounts of pollution.

Anyway.... WINE.

I woke up at 8am on a Saturday to jump on the metro heading to the outskirts of Santiago to explore Concha y Toro Vineyard (Fact: it is the largest producer of wine in Latin America, thank you educational film). After a taking an unusually expensive colectivo from the Puente Alto stop on the metro, Nate, Tali, Grace, and I arrived at the vineyard. We each paid around $14 for an English tour which included two tasting and a wine glass. Even though we sold out for the English and not Spanish tour, it worked to our advantage in that it was a small, non-intimidating group of other foreigners. The second type of wine we tried was a 1995 vintage from one of their top lines, I do believe. I have to say that this is the most expensive wine I have tried in the my life and will most likely ever try. Unfortunately, I don't have $140 sitting around to spend on one bottle. I'll stick with my $3.50 bottle of Terra Andina Cabernet with twist off lid. I think I could possibly detect hints of cheapness with an underlying aroma of "I'm saving my money for traveling." What a delightful combination!

One final comment before I add the photos of my classy thirty minute wine tour. Grace and I said good bye to our fellow winos (Nate & Tali) last night. Although I am happy for their rekindled adventure in Vietnam, I couldn't help feeling sad as I left them in the taxi while I scurried home at three this morning. On so many occasions, we covered the table in empty wine bottles and cleaned plates while we discussed (usually very loudly) an array of topics from the types of conditionals to the US economy to attempting different accents to rolling hard boiled eggs own Cerro Santa Lucia. Saying good bye is not one of my favorite pastimes. Lamentably, it happens all too often when living abroad. On the bright side, I have quite a few new potential couches to crash on in the near future located around the world.

Tali and I in front of the winery.

Nate and Tali posing in front of the former estate's mansion.

Grace posing in front of the dead (and more expensive) grapes.

Casillero del Diablo

Don't ever doubt how classy I am!