It’s been a few days since I last wrote an update and already it is the end of my course! I have a certificate that says I can now speak Spanish…. incredible considering we’ve done a different tense each day (some days 2 or 3) and were meant to learn about 100 vocab words a day, and I can’t remember anything! But it has been a fun experience and I liked our teacher who was very entertaining with his improvised stories that follow the drama of “Juan”, “un amigo” of the teacher, and his infidelities and other adventures. It seems our teacher invents these scenarios on the spot but I find them highly amusing, if not educational. Another long morning in a hot class room labouring over indefinite something’s and past tenses… then this afternoon it was all over!
We had a cooking class in the afternoon where we prepared a traditional dish called Charquican. Traditionally made with horse meat but thankfully it was substituted with beef. It wasn’t really a cooking lesson, we just prepped the vegetables, drank red wine and were forced to discuss the names of vegetables in Spanish, but the outcome was a tasty dish and some good chats with my fellow students, who all scatter tomorrow.
There is a saying (I don’t know who said it!) “when travelling never talk religion or politics” to which I say “bo@**ks! Always talk religion and politics”. It’s all most people want to talk about when you’re new in the country. I went on the school tour to the “general” cemetery in Santiago. I thought it might be boring, hearing about dead Chileans, and I admit I got lost with all the presidents, dictators and assassinations. But it was a fascinating place, some mausoleums are bigger than houses are in London these days. But it was really the conversation in the bar after that was most fun. Our guide was a very entertaining man who also teaches history at high school, and the conversation turned to everything from the rise of right wing politics across the globe to the meaning of Eurovision and everything in between. Plus a discourse on the joys and woes of marriage vs polyamory. All of course conducted in Spanish. I was the only one who said nothing, mainly because my vocabulary barely extends beyond “mas vino por favour”. But I think I understood most of what was said.
Also yesterday I braved the shopping mall once more to find a replacement coat and some groceries. It amazes me the highlight for so many people at this time of year is to trawl a shopping mall. It is actually my idea of hell, especially as I had trouble escaping (there were two sets of escalators and one set was broken so I ended up at the wrong door). I opted to buy a cheap jacket on the basis that my insurance will never pay up and I am stuck with a jacket I don’t really want. Then I rushed home but I had missed most of the salsa lesson, which was a real shame because the last 10 minutes that I did catch was really fun and all my class were finding it hard, so I would have been in good company.
It’s really hot here now, and I am finding sleeping hard, with restless nights filled with vivid dreams.
I went to yoga on Thursday night. The confusion started with the price. Advertised at 1500 CLP (about £1.20) I was confused when the receptionist apologised because it was only now 1000 CLP and did I want to buy a better deal? I thought I might have missed a zero, but no the class was 68 pence! It was quite an experience. The studio was really nice and it was a small class. The class followed a very traditional teaching method and we did four asanas before sitting and doing a lot of, well, I don’t know what to call it. Contemplation? It wasn’t meditation as the teacher didn’t stop gabbling in Spanish and (from my limited understanding) the discourse was about spiritualism and had many similarities to Catholicism which of course dominates Chile. It wasn’t a bad class, but it didn’t really suit me, with my lack of the language.
There was a after-school pool party on Tuesday at a really nice old hotel on the other side of town. I was a bit nervous to go at first, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a pool party before (what do you actually do?) but as there were free drinks (wine mixed with fruit juice) and my class mates were there to talk to, I had a good time in the end. It actually got a bit cold in the pool and I ended up coming home and falling asleep. I guess a combination of “vino tinto” and “sol” will do that!
It’s easy to forget all about Christmas, there is not really a whiff of it in most places, but I did feel a little homesick in the shopping centre, where they insisted on belting out Christmas songs and I realised I will be missing Christmas back at home. Apparently I will be having the “worst day of my life” (see below) when you all sit down for turkey.
I’ve noticed a few things since I have been here. My eyesight has improved. I can read a book again without classes whereas on Monday I couldn’t even read the title of the course book. Also I have not missed television or used the Internet except for essential things. I don’t have back pain or other aches. So being away from the computer is obviously good, and interacting with real humans is also good (excepting these posts!)
I am always impressed how friendly and helpful everyone has been here. From the people to the school to the bus drivers, I have not had any bad feeling from anyone yet. I hope this continues.
Luna has been hard at work searching for horses and we think we have found a place to stay in Patagonia. At least we are in contact with people down south, so it looks promising. There are a lot of people here in Santiago driving motorbikes or camper-vans either across the whole continent or the length of Chile. It only makes me wish I had more time. I would love to go north and gaze at the stars in the Atacama, explore the many hikes in the lake district, or do the super-touristy Torres del Paine walks (that cost a small fortune and require booking months in advance) but I have two big projects to do and the first one starts this weekend.
Adolofo, my guide, has just been by tonight to lend me some equipment and check I have everything for the big climb on Sunday. He also just told me that “you will be very cold, miserably cold, but you won’t die. The summit days will be the worst two days of your life but you will remember them forever”. I just can’t wait – I can’t believe it is now only a day away!
Here’s some pictures from the cooking class and the cemetery visit. Also showing how I make coffee and filter the water in the morning!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.