09-11-08

The past week and a half has been quite busy here in small town Patagonia. I've been meeting a lot of nice and interesting people--a lady called Anne in my yoga class is dueña of a vegetarian restaurant in town that has been here for some time. "El Living" got a great review in my guidbook, and I can't wait to try it once it opens for the season. Norma is the nana who works at our house during the day. I've had many nice chats with her in our kitchen, some of them surprisingly deep (she is a Jehova's Witness, so she was telling me about the "suneño profundo" (profound dream) that comes after death, waiting out the second coming.) She is petite and shorter than I am, but is the mother of 6. The most adorable thing, I think, is that she wears a screen-printed tuxedo t-shirt! I have also been playing tennis with our demure janitor at school--he seems deperate for partners, as not many Natalinos know how to play (no courts). (Many also can't swim--no pool!). Also have been biking a lot on Ruta 9 heading north. I'm very happy with the bike I got from El Rey de la Bicicleta, Andres. It's light and quiet. The ride is usually feast or famine, it seems--either an effortless sail with the wind at your back, or a tear-streaked battle against the wind, when you have to pedal hard even downhill, but it is so enjoyable! I learned that Chile is the number-once consumer of white bread and soft drinks, but have been managing to enjoy some excellent food lately, including centolla and even locos. Also had a chance to squeeze in a quick cueca class--which was not easy for me! My ten-year-old partner could outdance me any day. My host dad assured me it won't be too much of a problem, come the fiestas patrias next week--he was lamenting that most people drink to much to dance or go for cumbia instead.

Here's a (hopefully) quick update of what else has been going on. I am heading out of town this weekend with two other volunteers, Kate and Casey, to go to the big city, Punta Arenas, population 120,000--and there are only 140,000 in this entire region!

• 09-01-08 El Señor de la Querencia Se Termine - The telenovela finally ended, in one of the goriest finales I've ever seen, with the señor killing most of the people on his estate. Lots of blood everywhere. There has also been a lot of news regarding the actor who plays the senñor--apparently he is now undergoing treatment in a mental institution because his role was so difficult. I met someone who went to high school with him many years before he was famous--apparently he also has a beuatiful singing voice. Now I just have to get into "Hijos del Monte..."
• 09-03-08 Perito Moreno Glaciar, Parque Nacionál Los Glaciares, Califate, Argentina - My friend Diana, who works in tourism, invited me on a trip to see Perito Moreno Glaciar, which was utterly breathtaking, over 30 km long, and perfectly blue on a gorgeous, sunny day. The only downside was that the journey to Calafate was really long. Five hours each way on a road that was largely gravel...hopefully I will have a chance to go back and spend much more time at the park!
• 09-05-08 Competencia de "Public Speaking" - I was so excited and nervous for my alumno Coni. In spite of her lasseiz-faire attitude about English, she pulled it together and really nailed her speech about JK Rowling. Unfortunately, we did not take home a place at the competition. I didn't feel that the outcome was fair, but Coni seemed far less irked than I was! I thought she was going to be devastated, because she had worked so hard, but she really just wanted to go to this math festival at the high school and play games with her friends when all was said and done. I'm happy that I had a chance to work on this project--and I think that she is going to do really well once she gets to high school.
• 09-06-08 Torres del Paine - This past weekend, some friends were in town from Porvenir, so we made a quick trip to Torres del Paine...way too fast, of course, but I will be back. We had quite a bit of time to wait for the bus at Lago Gray, so we wound up just lying back on this black pebble beach, which was actually quite comfortable, and munching on glacial ice--hielo de milionario (and, according to my host dad, meant to be enjoyed with whiskey!) There are some photos the park, and guanacos and foxes on Flickr. Later that night, I found myself back at Las Canalles, the karaoke bar, with Kate and our Chilean friend Rodrigo, who, like every Chilean at this very local establishment, loves to croon. I just have to give credit to Srta. Harmon--her "grandes éxitos" CDs, gave me a basic, but crucial understanding of some Latin artists that still resonate--Carlos Vives, Elvis Crespo, and of course, Alejandro Sanz, who has a great new duet with Shakira. I think that translating those lyrics in class may have been the most valuable thing I learned in high school.
• 09-07-08 Navegación 21 de Mayo - Kate, mi compañera de Canada, obtained some discounted tickets for a boat ride to Balmaceda and Serrano glaciares, which are located several hours up the sound. There were a lot of estancias along the way, accessible only by water--we had to stop at one and drop off a few sacks of potatos.

Abrazos,

Elizabeth