I really miss the napkins back at home. They just don't make napkins like in the good ol' US of A. So soft, so big, so absorbant. Here, the napkins are thin and small. I go through three or four napkins every meal (I tend to spill things often, no shocker, I'm sure). I might as well rip out a piece of paper from my notebook and use it as a napkin.
Another thing: I miss having toilet paper available whenever I may desire to use it. Every time I go to a public bathroom here, it's a gamble. I hesitantly enter the stall. My heart rate begins to increase...my palms become clammy. Adrenaline rushes through my body as I think, "Will there be toilet paper?" But don't worry, Kristen, I say to myself. If there's no TP, you can simply open your purse and pull out your own roll. Yes. It's true. I've started to carry around a secret stash of the good stuff in my purse just in case. Right next to my cell phone and my wallet, I have a teddy bear covered roll of TP (I stole it from Cata and my bathroom).
In addition to quality napkins and available toilet paper, I also miss Subway. And Panera. And Sonic ice. Oh what I'd give for a Large Diet Coke with extra ice from Sonic. Speaking of missable beverages, I also
miss non-instant coffee. I haven't seen one household with a coffee maker here. It's not a matter of a lack of money (my parents here have plenty but still no coffee maker). It's just cultural, I think. All the coffee I've had in someone's house has been instant. There is espresso
though. My favorite restaurant here in Iquique, Cioccolata, has amazing espresso. And the best torta (cake). I've already been there three times
in the two weeks I've been here. Eesh!
I actually visited Cioccolata last weekend to buy some cake for a fellow volunteer's birthday. John, volunteering in a desert town called Calama about 5 hours away from Iquique, came to Iquique last weekend to visit (along with three other Calama volunteers). On Friday, I met up with John and Cat in the plaza in the center of the city. We all went back to my house for an asado (b-b-q) with my family. We hung out with my family for awhile, ate tons of food, and then went for a walk on Cavancha beach (the best and most popular beach in Iquique). Around 10 PM, we went to the center of town to eat pizza at a place called Telepizza (a few of my students recommended it). At this point, we were pretty hungry. We decided on a large pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, and olives. I stepped up to the counter and confidently ordered a pizza pizza with pepperoni, champinones (mushroo-
ms), and atun (olives...or so I thought). You see, the words for olives (aceituna) and tuna (atun, with an accent over the "u") are pretty similar. So, half way through our first piece of pizza, when we realized that our olives were missing and in their place was tuna, we were quite surprised. Actually, what my friends didn't know at the time was that I ordered tuna pizza on purpose. It was merely a Spanish lesson in disguise. Now they will always remember that olives are not "atun" but rather "aceituna." I'm such a giving person... ;)
Then, as the clock struck midnight, we celebrated John's birthday at Telepizza. He turned 24! There's nothing like pepperoni-mushroom-tuna-pizza indigestion to ring in a year of life. After the mini-birthday celebration, I went home, slept for less than 6 hours, and then met up with the same friends in the plaza the next morning at 8 AM. We hopped on a 2-hour bus ride to Pica, a nearby desert oasis town filled with fresh fruit, warm springs, and a cute old church. Four other volunteers from Calama, me, and a German dude named Yenz (we picked him up at the bus station in Iquique) enjoyed an afternoon in Pica. We ate lunch, swam in the natural warm springs, and then returned back to Iquique around 8 PM. In Iquique, we bought wine and cake (from Cioccolata) and had another birthday party for John in their hostel. You can only imagine how exhausted I was after two adventure-filled days in Chile. I got home Saturday night late...around midnight...and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Sunday, I went to Mass with my family (no Mickey Mouse this time). After church, we went to this awesome Peruvian-style fancy schmancy restaurant for lunch. I ate fish, this bean/rice stuff, and some peas. After lunch we went to
Pinguinos again for ice cream. It was perfect. Rejuvenating. Exactly what I needed...
<-- My host family above (Catalina, Yannett, Juan)
That brings me to the start of this week...
Monday was one of the hardest days of my life. My students were unmotivated, rambunctious, and disrespectful. The worst class I had was a class of sophomore boys. Can you imagine? Me trying to teach a class of only boys...boys who were more interested in whispering, "I love you teacher," or "You're so beautiful teacher," than paying attention to my lesson. They were awful. Absolutely awful. I took them back to their teacher before the class period was over. I felt defeated and disrespected. I almost started to cry. Yesterday afternoon, I came home and plopped on my bed...completely drained. I medicated the bad day with a good dose of chocolate and Gilmore Girls. I felt much better after that, so Cata and I decided to work out. I ran on Yannett's treadmill. A solid 30-minute run. The best exercise I've had since I arrived in Chile. I exercised away my frustration from the day. When I was done, I felt like a new person.
Today was better than yesterday. My classes ran a little smoother, and I went to CHOIR practice after school! Yes, I joined the high school choir! We have practice every Tuesday and Thursday from 4-6. Practice was so fun! We're learning this song in French. It was surreal standing in a Chilean choir, singing a song in French, getting instruction from the teacher in Spanish.
I'm also going to be helping out the with English debate team here. The students are juniors and are very motivated. That will be refreshing.
So, that's about all the updates for now. I hope life back in the USA is wonderful! Please let me know how you are!
OH! If you want to write me a letter, here's my address:
Kristen Mascarenas
Avenida Arturo Prat #3582
Iquique
Chile
Bye for now!
PS: If you're interested in viewing more of my pictures from Chile, just go to the links below (copy and paste in a new window). I have 3 albums on facebook so far. More pictures to come...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2295855&l=1e7c0&id=10206224
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2298479&l=86d02&id=10206224
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2300371&l=d9ef9&id=10206224
1 comment:
I´m jealous and want to visit you!
Another thing I have misses...black pepper...or anything spicy for that matter!
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