Oh refrigeration. I wish we could do without you, but meat is just something I'm not willing to risk it for. I love you mama, but I don't love Salmonella. It is kinda crazy when you think about the status quo in Chile. I think you could consider this a major metropolitan area, with all the same bells and whistles as New York City, Paris, etc. They have malls, supermarkets, public transportation, everything you need to accommodate the grand population. But what baffles me is the fact that the toilets can't handle toilet paper, the houses don't have air conditioning despite the rising 90 degree temperatures and even the lack of a trash can around here. I'm not complaining because I've had my fair share of roughin' it. I guess the juxtaposition of the growth and wealth of this city against the poor sewage system and lack of technology in households (such as hot water heaters, dishwashers, and stoves with pilot lights) was surprising to me.
In response I've grown accustomed to the noises of the night (music, drunk arguments, car alarms, dog fights...ya know) in my sacrifice of leaving the window open so that my room no longer feels like a sauna- it makes it feel more like a hot yoga class- if you lie perfectly still you won't sweat(;
This recent heat wave has been pretty brutal, especially with all the walking around I do in the city to get to class and my bus. But I've embraced my sweaty look with a bun, a headband and a smile.
In an attempt to maintain our glistening glows, on Wednesday my friends and I headed to a bar that teaches free salsa lessons :0 It was way better than the television I've been watching lately- Let's just say that mama has a strange infatuation with the history channel and therefore I have seen a handful of informational documentaries on the French revolution, Chilean indigenous people and the salt flats of the south. We started off with a nice and simple salsa instructional lesson. The local chilean men scouted out the lovely extranjeros of their choosing and somehow everyone got a partner. Luckily for me, my partner had attended a few of these sessions previously. He was straightforward, nice and didn't do anything creepy (that's always a plus). I didn't step on his toes and he didn't drop me so I'd say it went pretty well(;
I counted my blessings when I took a breather during the next lesson which happened to much more SUAVE than our first glimpse into the lovely land of Latin dancing. I'm talking some nice hip rolls, sexy twirls and face to face interactions. I watched with interest and decided to join in later. Although I did end up swayin my hips to the beat of a more romantic tune, I left the sexy dancing to the locals.
Last but not least- this post needs some EduMacTional information. That is why I'm here...right?
The first day of class went- without tears! Mostly attributed to my beautiful discovery that my friend Sara was in my class. What a saint. It all started when I went to the classroom where my class had been listed on the original list (apparently an insufficient resource) and it was a political theory class. It took me approximately 10 minutes to confirm this because I tried convincing myself that maybe I was misunderstanding the professor...So now not only was I going to be 15 minutes late to my first class, I didn't know where it was and everyone was going to stare at me as I snuck in. Lovely. After a revelation, 10 minutes later- and slightly more knowledgable about where to find the schedule and what the heck the letter "S" in front of a room number means- subterreano, (also known as the basement- duh!) I found my room. The only gringa in the house- a blonde, late gringa. First impressions oye.
I would consider my experience in Ceramics slightly more successful. Hannah and I made it to the classroom that we had previously scoped out (plan for success!). We did not however successfully plan to have materials ready to make our own clay. Out of a 5 kg bag of pulverized "pasta de ceramica." Yes- you read that correctly. Espanol has deemed clay to be referred to as pasta de ceramica. Alright. During the five hour class we proceeded to help our new found Chilean friend Andrea (the third Andrea I have met here!) make her clay. With our expert skills stored away, we set of to find our very own 5 kg of powder to trek across the city, mix with water and properly store our precious supply of clay.
Today- in our free time on Friday (when everyone else went swimming..:/ ) we mixed up that pasta with some water and went to town. First supply of clay made! Unfortunately it appears to me that the next one is looming in our near future, as that 5 kg of powder didn't yield much. Maybe next time we can beat our finish time of ~45 minutes. Wooo competition.
In case you were wondering I'll leave you with the classes I'm currently enrolled in (I still need to drop one of the polysci ones so I'll keep you updated).
International Relations of Latin America
Latin American Politics
The Political and Economic Development of Latin America
Ceramics
and....
Advanced Spanish
-apparently I didn't score the lowest on the placement exam!!!! I'lll count that as one of my top successes of this week, in the running with my successful salsa skills, the adorable old man that helps teach my ceramics class and my plane ticket to Patagonia...more on that later.
xoxo
Carly
In response I've grown accustomed to the noises of the night (music, drunk arguments, car alarms, dog fights...ya know) in my sacrifice of leaving the window open so that my room no longer feels like a sauna- it makes it feel more like a hot yoga class- if you lie perfectly still you won't sweat(;
This recent heat wave has been pretty brutal, especially with all the walking around I do in the city to get to class and my bus. But I've embraced my sweaty look with a bun, a headband and a smile.
In an attempt to maintain our glistening glows, on Wednesday my friends and I headed to a bar that teaches free salsa lessons :0 It was way better than the television I've been watching lately- Let's just say that mama has a strange infatuation with the history channel and therefore I have seen a handful of informational documentaries on the French revolution, Chilean indigenous people and the salt flats of the south. We started off with a nice and simple salsa instructional lesson. The local chilean men scouted out the lovely extranjeros of their choosing and somehow everyone got a partner. Luckily for me, my partner had attended a few of these sessions previously. He was straightforward, nice and didn't do anything creepy (that's always a plus). I didn't step on his toes and he didn't drop me so I'd say it went pretty well(;
I counted my blessings when I took a breather during the next lesson which happened to much more SUAVE than our first glimpse into the lovely land of Latin dancing. I'm talking some nice hip rolls, sexy twirls and face to face interactions. I watched with interest and decided to join in later. Although I did end up swayin my hips to the beat of a more romantic tune, I left the sexy dancing to the locals.
Last but not least- this post needs some EduMacTional information. That is why I'm here...right?
The first day of class went- without tears! Mostly attributed to my beautiful discovery that my friend Sara was in my class. What a saint. It all started when I went to the classroom where my class had been listed on the original list (apparently an insufficient resource) and it was a political theory class. It took me approximately 10 minutes to confirm this because I tried convincing myself that maybe I was misunderstanding the professor...So now not only was I going to be 15 minutes late to my first class, I didn't know where it was and everyone was going to stare at me as I snuck in. Lovely. After a revelation, 10 minutes later- and slightly more knowledgable about where to find the schedule and what the heck the letter "S" in front of a room number means- subterreano, (also known as the basement- duh!) I found my room. The only gringa in the house- a blonde, late gringa. First impressions oye.
I would consider my experience in Ceramics slightly more successful. Hannah and I made it to the classroom that we had previously scoped out (plan for success!). We did not however successfully plan to have materials ready to make our own clay. Out of a 5 kg bag of pulverized "pasta de ceramica." Yes- you read that correctly. Espanol has deemed clay to be referred to as pasta de ceramica. Alright. During the five hour class we proceeded to help our new found Chilean friend Andrea (the third Andrea I have met here!) make her clay. With our expert skills stored away, we set of to find our very own 5 kg of powder to trek across the city, mix with water and properly store our precious supply of clay.
 |
| The beautiful art campus (bonus- it's right by my house!) |
In case you were wondering I'll leave you with the classes I'm currently enrolled in (I still need to drop one of the polysci ones so I'll keep you updated).
International Relations of Latin America
Latin American Politics
The Political and Economic Development of Latin America
Ceramics
and....
Advanced Spanish
-apparently I didn't score the lowest on the placement exam!!!! I'lll count that as one of my top successes of this week, in the running with my successful salsa skills, the adorable old man that helps teach my ceramics class and my plane ticket to Patagonia...more on that later.
xoxo
Carly
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