I say this because last night after dinner and drinks, the "kids" all went downtown to Club Blondie.
(The "family." From left to right- Elizabeth, Marie Jose, Juan, Raul, Rodrigo, Gringo)
All I knew was that we were going to a discoteque and figured it would either be reggaeton or classic US hits. But I was wrong once again here in Chile. When I say "kids" I mean my sister Marie Jose, her boyfriend Juan, Raul, the old roommate, and Rodrigo, my "brother." And actually I found out Rodrigo is actually the nephew to Elizabeth, but I still call him my brother. Right when I was doing a little mental math about the difference in taking a taxi home, or getting another drink, Raul beckoned us onto the dance floor where I started talking to some people. Maybe they came up to me because I stuck out. This time I don't think I looked different because of my fair skin and light brown hair, but more because of I had on a polo shirt, and khakais on instead of cut of jean jackets, tight holy jeans or a mohawk. Talking in a bar is hard when speaking English, but in Spanish is even more fun. Who knows if I was making sense, but I think I understood a little hear and there.
Back to dinner: It was a Chilean Mexican fiesta, so it was everything you'd expect minus the spices. We had a kind of chicken fajitas and beef fajitas mix, with guacamole, and a home made salsa, onions, and tortillas. Dinner was fun and I got to meet Raul who is a jolly ball of energy just waiting to explode. I say this as a compliment, he is always ready to laugh and follow with a joke. I think he got up during dinner three times to dance.
(Raul, not being shy about the fajitas. When asked if he wanted chicken or meat, he laughed and said why not both? I knew right there he was a good guy. It reminded me of "taco day" at Camp)
I was the DJ and played Tito Puente, and then Orishas which were the only Latin artists I had on my ipod. We decided to go down to the city center and took off at a normal time of 12:45am, and that's when I found myself at the center of punk, indie rocker's dreams.
Friday night after work I was tired and didn't feel like going out, so I just hung out at the apartment chatting with mi madre until Rodrigo came home and I presented a problem to him. I told him I have two new wine glasses from last weekend, but no wine to fill them with. Being the problem solver he is, we got a bottle and spent the night, along with my mom, and later downstairs neighbor Cata talking about all sorts of things, including where and what I thought about the 9-11 attack. A pleasant night.
Wednesday night I bought a plane ticket to Buenos Aires. I'll be there 4/25-4/29 and will visit a friend from UW-Madison who is teaching English over there. She said she'd be my tour guide because there are things she hasn't seen yet and needs to see before she leaves.
I also gave my first round of tests last week and it was interesting how even though I wasn't taking the quizzes, I still felt nervous going into the room wondering how much my students studied, if they learned anything, how well they'll do, etc. Overall, they did well.
(Rodrigo and Raul making Cata dance)
Thursday is Rodrigo's birthday. He turns 31, and at lunch on Saturday I told Marie Jose and Elizabeth that I could bake a cake for him, that it's not that hard, especially with the cake mixes. They then asked where I learned how to bake and I told them on my camping trips, and tried to explain the concept of the dutch over. I think I did, but then a little while later they thought that was the only way I knew how to bake, so I had to explain that I use an oven when I'm home. It was classic when we all realized what happened. They had this image of their gringo house mate baking a cake with a big fire in their kitchen. That was one of many misunderstandings.
(Perusa wanted in on the action too)
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