Well...much has happened since my last entry. I'll try to make this one a relatively short summary :)First things first, I started my volunteer program. It's called Inglés Abre Puertas. Basically, I spend 5 hours on Wednesdays helping an English teacher in a high school without a lot of resources. I LOVE it. The kids are soo sweet and very happy to have a gringa in the classroom. I thought the piropos on the street were bad, now I'm getting them from 16-year-old students!! The program people told us to try and speak English only, which is nearly impossible as a lot of them hardly speak it. So...it's turning out to be great practice for my translating skills!
Two weekends ago I went to a Cueca competition with my padre. He is in a folklore group and they were asked to sing. I didn't realize what a huge deal it was!! It was called the Primero Concurso Nacional de Cueca Chilena and have 15 pairs come from all over Chile to compete. The Cueca is the Chilean national dance. It is supposed to represent the way a rooster conquers a chicken. If it sounds kind of funny-looking, well, it is. I would call it the chilean version of the chicken dance. But...this competition was actually really cool. Each couple was dressed in typical clothes from their region and they all have very different ways of dancing. Plus there were all these other traditions wrapped into it, like the music and chicha and ponchos and...well, it was quite the show. And, to top it all off, my padre's group is really really good! His hermana sings lead and is absolutely un encanto! She has such stage presence. And they play and sing beautifully. It was so fun to watch. I can't wait for the 18th of September (Fiestas Patrias) to spend more time with my padre's talented family!
This last weekend, we had a trip with our director to San Pedro de Atacama. It is located up in northern Chile and is all desert. It was amazing. Probably the best weekend I've had in Chile so far, if not in my life! We did so many things in 3 days I can't even believe it! First we went to the salt flats and saw some flamingos. Then we went to Valle de la Muerte and Valle de la Luna. There we watched the sun set over a smaller mountain range as the full moon rose over the Andes. I don't think I've ever seen anything so gorgeous in my entire life. The next day we got up early (4 am!!) to go see the geysers. It is the 3rd largest geyser area in the world (Yellowstone is first). It was amazing and soo beautiful and sooo cold! But it warmed up quickly and we spent the afternoon driving through the mountains, looking at vicuñas (a llama-like animal) and eating llama meat. Then we went to some termas and spent the rest of the morning soaking up some sun.
That night, we went to a cafe with pretty much the entire town to watch the Chile-Venezuela soccer game. It should have been a great game, but it ended up as a tie. Fortunately, Chile is still in second place in the South America bracket and still has a good chance of getting into the World Cup. It was a blast to watch the game with all the crazy Chilean fans. And we spent the rest of the night dancing salsa and cueca (and pretending to eat when the police came because dancing/discotecs/bars are illegal in San Pedro!). Sunday morning we went sandboarding, which was way more fun than I'd even have thought, and spent the afternoon looking at archeological sites left behind by the indigenous people of the area. I felt like a real anthropologist!
Well, this weekend I go to Chiloé, so I'm sure there will be more to tell when I get back.
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