The Halfway Point

It has officially now been three weeks since my last blog post. My lack of blogging may be a combination of me becoming more comfortable and trying to spend as much time away from my computer as I can, the nice weather that we have been having which has drawn me outside more often, or my incredibly busy schedule over the past few weeks. Either way, I can happily say that the past several weeks have been great. I am continuing to enjoy my time here in Los Alamos which is already more than half over! With that being said, the past few weeks have been a time of reflection for me as I have recognized the short amount of time I have left here in Los Alamos.

Fiestas Patrias

  It seems like ages ago, but my stomach is just now recovering from the ridiculous amount of food consumed over Fiestas Patrias. September 18^th, also commonly known as Dieciocho or Fiestas Patrias, marks the beginning of Chile’s independence in the early 19^th century. As a result, the entire country takes time to celebrate the holiday over about a 5 day span with parades, traditional music and dancing, and a ton of food.

            In Chile, an asado is a traditional social practice in which family and friends gather around an open fire and cook various types of meat. If you removed the ridiculous amount of salt rubbed on the meat, and the all the beer and wine poured on the meat, I would, to some extent, compare it to a traditional BBQ in the United States. Lets just say that our family had an asado every day for about 5 days straight. After consuming the montañas de carne (mountains of meat), I definitely had to loosen the good ole’ belt a notch or two. Other traditional foods that are prepared for Fiestas Patrias are empanadas (which my host mother takes great pride in), sopipias, and anticuchos (shish kabobs) along with the infamous Chilean wine and chicha which is pretty much an apple wine. Fiestas Patrias is also a time for everyone and their grandmother to dance the cueca which is the national dance of Chile. Yes, even I got roped into dancing the cueca a few times.

            After going through the Fiestas Patrias experience here in Chile, I have come to realize the incredible amount of pride that Chileans have in their country. For the week of Fiestas Patrias, there was not a single house in town that did not proudly fly a Chilean flag in front of their house. 

Only a Slice of the Pie

           After Fiestas Patrias, it was time for a little traveling. In the past three weeks I have made a few trips that have allowed me to explore only a small slice of what Chile has to offer. Through my WorldTeach program, I have made a lot of great friends, and a few weeks ago a group of 11 of us rented a cabin in Saltos del Laja. This small town in central Chile has flourished due to its close proximity to two large waterfalls or saltos, which are beautiful. It was a great time for us to get caught up again after living in separate towns for the past two months.

            A week later, I traveled about 9 ½ hours in a bus to a city named Valdivia, which is located in the southern lake district of Chile. There, I met three other fellow volunteer teachers and we spent the weekend exploring what the town and surrounding area had to offer, or at least as much as we could in two days. My favorite part of the trip was the 1 hour ferry ride that we took up a river to a town that could only be accessed by boat. The town had less than 100 residents, and seemed to be a bit frozen in time. The time we spent wondering up and down the only road in the town was incredibly relaxing as it was significantly more quiet and tranquil than all of the other places I have been in Chile. It was a perfect time to slow down a bit, and take a nice big breath of fresh air.

 

Little Bundles of Joy

  While I’m on the topic of quiet and tranquil, I might as well talk about the time I have spent volunteering at a local kindergarten school! About 3 weeks ago, I began teaching a class once a week to about 35, four and five year olds. This has become one of my favorite parts of my week and I always look forward to it. In the time that I have spent with the kids, I have taught them “Duck duck grey duck”, “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”, and a song to help them learn colors in English. Their little brains are like sponges, and they learn incredibly fast!

            For the hour that I spend with the kids, there is almost always at least one child hugging my leg and yelling “Tio Matthew! Tio Matthew!” (“uncle Matthew!”). It is refreshing to see the energy that these little ones have, but I always leave exhausted.

 

Time for Reflection

  The day after Fiestas Patrias, my host family took a little day trip to a village located on an island named Isla Morguilla, which was one of the most beautiful places I have seen since being here in Chile. Sitting on the rocky coast of this isolated fishing village, watching the perfect sun set, I began to reflect on the time that I have spent here and the two months that I have left here in Los Alamos. Sitting there, I made three goals for myself for the time I have left here in Chile.

            My Goals:

                        -Live every day to the fullest.

                        -Take pride in the small victories

                        -Cherish the relationships that I have made

I quickly came to realize that these are goals, not only for the time I have left here in Chile, but for the rest of my life.

I hope this blog post finds all of you and your families happy and healthy. Until next time…