Double Post: Mi Gastronomía y Mi Trabajo

I shall begin this blog entry with a brevísima relación (brief telling) of my gastrointestinal adventures--lo bueno y lo malo.

Since arriving in this wonderful country, I have been able to taste a sizeable variety of comida. Whether eating at restaurants or cooking up delectable dishes in the hostel (that I'll be moving out of this week), I must admit that I am spoiled here in Chile--but not without its repurcussions!...

The seafood here is second to none. My first taste came when my fellow teachers and I went to La Casona Limeña, an excellent Peruvian Restaurant in Barrio Bellavista, where I ordered un plato típico of Chile: ¡ceviche! Ceviche is kind of like seafood salad, for those who are unfamiliar. This particular order consisted of two types of pescado (fish), camarones (shrimp), and pulpo (octopus). Served with fresh onion, cilantro, a leaf of lettuce, and topped with lemon juice, aceite de aceituna (olive oil), sal y pimienta (salt and pepper), and there you have your cevishe. The dish blew my mind, needless to say. I suggest throwin' it down the hatch with chilled white wine. ¡Maravilloso!

Craving more seafood a couple days later, the crew and I decided to have our hand at pasta al mariscos, and we hit it right on the nail! Melissa Shaw, one of my soon-to-be roommates, definitely knows her way around the kitchen, and I can confidently say the same for myself (big ups to Drew Lopez, my former roommate, amazing chef, and culinary inspiration). Our first dish was pan-seared chicken with fried eggplant. I played the role of executive chef and had Mel and Trish (other roomie) by my side to help the kitchen gears grind smoothly. The second time around, I chilled in the background, focusing on the white wine sause for the shellfish and pasta, which was the bomb.com. Quick sidenote, we bought 3 kilos of the freshy fresh--black and white mussels and clams--at mercado central for 3000 pesos, which is the equivalent of just under 6 bucks. Ridiculoso. And if the value itself is not enough to whet your appetite, just imagine mowing down mussels the size of your ears! No joke, people, it's amazing. We outdid ourselves with that feast, and con certeza (with certainty) I tell you it won't be the last time!

And now I change the key of my food ballad to a sombering diminished minor. After a night at the karaeoke club, which was fantastic, and where tenía ganas de tomar cerveza (I drank a good amount), I came down with the stomach ailments somethin' fierce, what the Chilenos would call buitrear. I woke up in the early morning and felt as it some kind of demonio was raising cain inside my digestive system. As the sun rose, so did the contents within my tummy; I spilled my cookies about 7 times, and as I laid convulsing in my bed, I begged God to make it stop. Later that day, unable to hold down anything, not even water, I finally mustered up the strength to amble to the pharmacy, where I spend 10,000 pesos on two types of medicine in the hopes of alleviating the agony I was going through. I also bought 5 liters of water because the chlorine-tainted stuff coming out of the faucets was making me gag. Between those two items, that was probably the best investmet I've made for myself since arriving; I was ready to hang out with the amigos that same night (avoiding even eye contact with a drop of alcohol), and by the next day I was playing beer pong and eating food again, ¡gracias a Dios!

Continuing on, I change gears from food to work. I am actually writing this entry during my break here at El Colegio San Francisco de Paine, which is a preK-12 school in the rural pueblo of Paine. The commute from Santiago takes about an hour and 20 minutes, which I really enjoy, as I can read, people watch, enjoy the paisaje (countryside), and relax. I arrive most days by 9 a.m., some days más temprano (early) and some más tarde (later), and get right into my grind. My official position is Teacher In Practicum Specialist, or TIPS. I am not in charge of entire classes by my lonesome; I team teach (team teaching is the way to go in my opinion) with another English teacher at the school. At CSFP, there are two other English instructors, so I split my time between their horarios (schedules). I teach each grade level, from preK (preschool) to 12th grade, on an average of twice per week. This week, I'm just getting to know the students, so I'm doing a frisbee activity in which we pass around a cloth frisbee (thank you Colemans; that gift will be put to goooooooood use) and take turns saying our name and something we enjoy doing--in English, por supuesto (of course)! I am speaking a lot of Spanish for the first session to better establish my rapport with everyone, but from that point on I will give lesson strictly in Inglès. Outside of class, however, I speaking Spanish, which I am getting better at each day. It's fun. The atmísfero here is one of casual collegiality between staff and students alike (teachers go by their first names--excellent), and the teachers are very passionate about what they do, but they balance work and diversión (fun) very well, so it's a super chill place to be working. I love it! I am planning, however, to only work one semestre here in Paine, because I have been informed of an opportunity to acquire employment with El Instituto Norteamericano, which is a language service offered to adults, college age and above. I think it would be cool to mix it up, and also that position pays double what I'm making here at the colegio, so that's pretty enticing. I should be heading in for an entrevista (interview) sometime soon.

I leave you all with some good news: Melissa, Trish and I will be moving into our departamento tomorrow, which we are all very excited about. Okay I already said that in this entry but whatever I'm stoked. We make a good trio, we get along great, and it's gonna be sweet. Now, it's time for me to go chow down in the school cafeteria, where the food is 10 times better than school meals in the States, and I get hooked up for free!! How about them apples?

Ciao y'all,

Benja