El fin de semana

Yesterday we went to the TeachingChile reunion.  The party was held at Bruce's (the man who started TeachingChile) apartment and over 85 people attended!  All of the people at the party were either present TeachingChile participants or have been in the past.  The majority of them were from the United States but some were from the UK and Australia.

It was a beautiful day! (The weather has been fabulous since we've been here.) We were almost 20 stories high on the apartment rooftop mingling around the in-ground pool; overlooking a beautiful view of Santiago. There was live music and amazing food.  Two Chilean women were cooking burritos to order behind the grill...they were the best burritos we've ever had. We also tried grilled arepas for the first time, which are flat unleavened patties made from corn meal and are considered a traditional, national food.  We also enjoyed a plethora of Chilean beer and endless bottles of delicious Chilean wine.      

We met a lot of fun people, but we were told not to befriend them.  Having gringo friends isn't conducive to learning the language....Their loss :)

Today is Sunday, May 1st.  We noticed that the majority of the city was closed and assumed that Chileans truly honor the sabbath day; but then we found out that May 1st is a National Holiday.  It's Labor Day here.  

We went to Las Condes, an area of Santiago where Patricia and Herman live.  Patricia is the mother of a friend from Denver (yes, it's a small world).  Kim has been keeping in touch with her since before we arrived and we were invited over for lunch today.  Everything was spectacular!  We had pisco sours, which are a traditional Chilean aperitif made with pisco (a brandy-like liquor) lemon juice, sugar, and other spices depending on who's making them.  We also had home-made empanadas followed by more food and more wine!  Before we left we told Patricia and Herman we'd cook them a traditional Italian dinner before we head back home to Denver.

Kimmy and I start our Spanish classes at Bella Vista tomorrow and we are very much looking forward to it!        

 Y que tanto?

* The women's fashion is stuck in the 80's; acid wash jeans, scrunch socks, and tons of high-top sneakers!

*Everything smells good!  From soaps to the subways!