First week of school

This blog is a joint effort so it is told by two different perspectives.....sorry if this causes any confusion.

(Kim)

It has been almost a week since we have blogged so we have a lot of catching up to do.  After five consecutive days of Spanish classes, mini fields trip around the city, eating out, and socializing I think we have a better perception of Santiago as a whole.  Before we break down the weeks events,  here are some of our general thoughts and opinions about the city.

Some parts are beautiful, quaint and extremely clean; other parts are filthy, smelly and overcrowded with people, garbage and stray animals.  Basically we have learned to only make a right when leaving our apartment building.  We are on the cusp of two different worlds in one big city.  The weather has been beautiful all week.  In the 70's and sunny, but the infamous smog continues to loom the city and sometimes obstruct the beautiful view of the Andes.  We are looking forward to a good day of rain.  Apparently, the view will be spectacular afterward.  Overall,  we feel very comfortable and safe.  The metro is very simple to use but rush hour is absurd!  Sometimes we wait and watch three trains come and go before we even attempt to push through the crowds and demand a place for ourselves!

Our Spanish Classes

Monday, May 2 was our very first day of class.  Lizzy and I were split up for the first time since we've been here!  However, I was accidentally placed in advanced Spanish and couldn't understand a word that was spoken by my fellow classmates, one being Russian and one Brazilian.  "What country am I in again?" By the second day of class I was correctly placed in basic spanglish, part B and was reunited with Lizzy - "sigh of relief".

We have two different classes each day with different professors.  Our favorite class is taught by Sebastian - Lizzy has a huge crush on him ;).  He is a Spanish teacher by day and could possibly be a comedy act by night.  In addition to being hysterical with his accent and mannerisms, he never misses an opportunity to make fun of what we say.  For example, today he asked us what we will be celebrating on Sunday.  I quickly blurted out "Feliz de Mamas!"  Apparently, mamas are breasts.  We are actually celebrating "El dia de Madre."  Needless to say, we laugh all through class and have never had more fun at school.

(Liz)

Our Field Trips

Los Mercados  After school each day we have the option to participate in a mini field trip.  Tuesday, we explored Los Mercados.  Our teacher, Senora Lydia, talked me into trying a Terremoto, which is a common beverage in Chile made up of white wine, brandy, and grenadine then topped with a scoop of pineapple ice cream.  Mmm, Mmm.  We were taken through Mercado Central and La Vega.

They're both markets where you can buy fish, meats, vegetables, fruits, candies, even dog food.  (Having been to La Boqueria while in Barcelona in 2009 I had high expectations and Kimmy, loving her fruits and veggies was excited to purchase some fresh Chilean produce).  We were highly disappointed and simply grossed out by all the markets.  There were stray animals lingering everywhere, the places were smelly, dirty, and overcrowded.  Of course I'm glad we saw it because it's always interesting to see other cultures and lifestyles but we don't need to go back...there's a good 'ol supermarket across the street!

 

La Chascona
The following day we went to La Casa de Pablo Neruda.  Pablo Neruda is well known poet in Chile who needed a secret hideaway to spend time with his mistress, Matilde Urrutia, so he built La Chascona.  It really was a very interesting home because of the way it was built and the piece of land it sits on.  The only setback was that because this trip was with our Spanish class, the tour was in Spanish and we'd probably learn a lot more about him and his home if we took the tour again, in English!    

Y que tanto...

*Lunch one sunny day - 2 apps, 2 entrees, 2 deserts, 3 glasses of wine, a basket of bread with yummy salsa - 20 bucks!  

*It's very common, that businessmen find there way to "special" coffee shops during there lunch break.  Sra. Lydia pointed them out to us during our tour of Los Mercados.  They're next to restaurants, shops, at metro stops - pretty much very open to the public.  The only form of camouflage is tinted windows, however you can see the neon lights through them.  Sra. Lydia encouraged the college kid and only male in our group to take a peak and then all the Japonese ladies wanted to sneak a peak as well.  It was very comical.  Needless to say, these place are packed out with men in suits around 1 in the afternoon and we have heard they don't even sell alcohol.