Tijerales

On Monday I was discussing the weekend with some of my adult students and one of them mentioned a party that they gave for the workers that were doing some construction on the house. I inquired a little more about this custom and in turn I learned about the fiestas tijerales, a traditional party given for the workers when the support structure of the house is completed and a symbol of good luck.
The name comes from the Spanish word tijeral, which is framework or support trusses for the roof.  From what I gathered by reading and asking around a bit, the tradition seems to date back to the type of support beams that were used in the construction of churches, with the shape being similar to tijeras, or the Spanish word for scissors.
Typically when the workers finish with this phase of the construction, a typical Chilean flag is placed at the top to signal the homeowners to start preparing the feast, usually an asado, (barbecue). I asked Ita if she had a party when the casita was built, and she said "Obvio po!"

Roomies

It had been a long while since I had lived with a roommate, and sharing a small space with someone again was a concern of mine in coming to Chile after having lived on my own for so long. When Ita told me that my roommate was a 22 year-old chemistry student from the Ukraine, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but in the last 4 months I have really come to love and appreciate my little S.
Those of us around the house are always telling her how funny she is and I don't think she understands why. She tells stories in Spanish with the same speed and enthusiasm that speaks Russian, and her insights are usually a combination of someone worldly, optimistic, and a little naive all rolled into one.
I love that when I come home from class at night she always asks me about my day, and when I reciprocate she tries to explain her chemistry formulas to me since she gets so excited about the work that she's doing. She talks about molecules and reactions and probably doesn't realize that I haven't studied anything chemistry related since my junior year of high school.
Most of all, I appreciate her sincerity. Nothing that we talk about feels like an effort to make small talk. She asks me about whether I miss my family or the USA and tells me that if I'm sad and I need to talk to anyone that I can talk to her. She inquires as to what language I will learn next (since she speaks 4) and to whether or not I have ever considered writing a book. (Not because of my tremendous writing skills!) The other morning in the kitchen she asked me "So, what did you dream about last night, Heather?"
Precious!

Futbol

A couple of weekends ago some friends and I attended our first soccer match here in Santiago. Of the two possible games to attend that day, we chose the one that was easier to get tickets for, the Colo-Colo vs. Universidad de Concepcion. Colo-Colo, named after a Mapuche Indian chief, is one of the teams in the Primera Division. This day closed out the second half of the season, and a new round will be starting up again sometime in January after a short break.
There is a ton of hype around Santiago for 3 teams, Colo-Colo, Universidad de Chile, and Universidad Catolica. You can even see the fans camped out near the metro stations with their team's flag on the ground, asking you to contribute coins so that they can buy a ticket for the upcoming game to support their team.
On this particular day, the Universidad Catolica game happening on the other side of the city was deemed the championship game. (unless they were to lose and Colo-Colo was to win, then they would have been locked at an even number of points and a 1 game tie-breaker would have been needed.)
When I told people that I was going to the game, a lot of them looked at me with a quizzical expression, since a gringa like me should proceed with a certain amount of caution and respect for the Colo-Colo. The games and fans are notoriously rowdy, and I went into it knowing that anything that wasn't a part of my body could disappear, but feeling confident that I would be with a group of friends and that we would stay far from the mayhem. Thanks to S and A for being brave enough to bring their camera and take the shots below. I'm already down one camera and wasn't willing to risk losing another.
Our adventure was suddenly all the more interesting when the subway line that goes in the direction of the stadium was closed that day due to a Metro strike. That meant we either had to take a cab or get on the micro (bus) with all of the fans. Because we were pressed for time, we opted for the cab down there and braved the micro on the way back. We were actually befriended by one of the fans who asked us when we were getting on the bus if we were sure that we "didn't want to go get something to eat at the mall first and wait a little while..." Yikes, I think that sums up what I was explaining above!

Estadio Monumental-The Black-Eyed Peas just played here too. Too bad I had to work that night!

This is what happens when the police charge the fans in their riot gear to try to get them to calm down, even more flares and fireworks!

My "Central Perk"

I love how lush and green it is in Santiago now, a complete change from when I first arrived in August. There are some really nice parks around, and now that it's rather warm outside I've also become one of those people who prefers to escape to a bigger outdoor place rather than bake inside my tiny room in the casita that suffers from direct late afternoon sun.
Parks are a great place to people watch, and I've witnessed many different things while passing by this particular park. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of a Saturday morning exercise class or ride by on my bike when they're watering or sweeping up trash from the night before. I've seen both people and dogs swimming in the "pool" out front and boyfriends and girlfriends engaged in PDA that might make you folks back home feel a tiny bit uncomfortable.
There's a cafe literario in this particular park, and it's a great place to go when Starbucks isn't calling my name. It's a library with an indoor/outdoor cafe with wifi and I love the relaxed environment compared to the libraries at home. Yes, I can actually sit and drink a coffee or a soda here and not be scolded for bringing in a water bottle like I commonly was at my old library. I actually remembered to bring my camera the last time I decided to take a stroll, and yes, I have been watching a lot of Friends re-runs here!

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La Moneda

I spend 6 days a week in this area, so I thought it was time to post some pictures and information about Palacio La Moneda, or more simply called La Moneda. Its original name comes from the Spanish word for coin, since the building originally opened as a mint and produced coins there from 1814 to 1829. In 1845, it became the seat for the government and the presidential palace. However, it no longer serves at the presidential residence.
It was here that Salvador Allende allegedly killed himself during the military coup, and the palace was partially destroyed and reconstructed in the early 80's. A more recent development has been the addition of the Centro Cultural, a cultural museum which offers guided visits, art exhibitions, and films. There are often special exhibits presented outside of the Palace as well, including the display of Fenix II, the one of the metal capsules designed for the rescue of the 33 Chilean Miners that was on display at La Moneda in late October.

 

A little boy chasing his dog around the lawn

Fenix II, and the lines of people that waited to have their photo taken next to it

Plaza de la Ciudadania, on the other side

Winding Down

On Monday I finished my early morning class and by the end of next week my schedule will essentially have been trimmed from 6 classes down to 3, which includes saying adios for awhile to a Saturday class. It's amazing how much of a difference waking up early on that sixth morning makes. I used to do extra things at school on Saturdays a lot but it was always by choice or for "extra money" which made it feel a lot different. However, I'll miss those Saturday morning bike rides in to the institute which always provided some early morning entertainment since I seemed to always catch a glimpse of a few people stumbling home from the previous night's adventures.

The schedule changes bring obvious positives and negatives, the positive being that I will have more time for weekend trips again and can return to exploring the city and traveling around on weekends a little more. The last time that I had the opportunity to do this was back in early September, and I obviously know my way around a little better now so that's a huge plus. Another positive is sleep...I was definitely struggling with the late nights and early mornings, so now I will continue to work M-F until 9pm but the earliest that I'll have to be at class will be T/R at 9:30.

The negative is now that I work an hourly job, less hours obviously means less money. It has definitely been a big transition for me and I miss earning a salary as well as the paid breaks and vacations. Now if I don't work I end up owing the institute more time since they usually end up paying us in advance for things and then we owe them back. It's definitely different than what I was used to, but I've learned a lot and it's been great to work with both teens and adults.

It's also been fulfilling to teach two business related English courses and I like discussing the "corporate" side of things. I've always worked in a school and have never had experience in any sort of company. I was reading a little the other day about how so many former teachers go on to become corporate trainers, and former corporate trainers go back to school to earn teaching degrees. Could it lead to a career change for me? We'll see what happens...

Sending home my love

Too often we are reminded about how short and fragile life can be. So take an extra moment today to contact the people you love and tell them that you love them. Hug and kiss your family, children, friends, and everyone who is important to you. Right now I can't be home to do this in person for everyone I care about, so this post is dedicated to all of the ones I love, and especially to my dear friends who need all the love and support in the world right now.
I love you!