Would You Ladies Like to See My Stomach Muscles? -or- Soy Flaco y Flojo.
Happy Columbus Day everyone. Here's a fun fact. Did you know that Christopher Columbus recieves credit for having discovered all of both North and South America? He does, and since the Chilenos enjoy three day weekends as much as anyone, there's no work or school today. Literally everyone in our house has taken this opportunity to leave town, so Erin and I have been left behind to entertain ourselves.
We spent Sunday doing one of our favorite Sunday afternoon activities, sitting around at the park. Parks are huge on Sundays. Tons and tons of Chilean families grab their soccer balls, their kids, and a big blanket and find a spot on the grass around the playgrounds. All the vendors show up to sell stuff, and pretty soon the parks are full to overflowing. The best part is that monuments and fountains become a free-for-all for ten-year-olds, and you can watch dozens of elementary school kids splash around and climb on expensive statues. It's very pleasant and a great spot to people watch, play some cards, and read. We also did a quick walk through a couple of the nearby museums, one of which had a crazy weapons exhibit, featuring a full-size wooden tank and about ten rifles made out of car parts and nails. For me, though, the highlight of the day was making a giant pot of chili. Delicious...
As far as our budding careers in English are concerned, things are going pretty well. We've finished our last week of classes, and we're ready to start hunting for work. Overall, the whole thing was a great experience and well worth the money. James, our professor, has already recommended us to two of the best language schools in town, and one of the directors of one institute even personally asked us to apply. We're hoping to hear from them pretty soon. We've also got our resumes ready (complete with pictures, as is the custom in Chilean business), and we'll take them around town starting tomorrow. I've thus far resisted the urge to use the cartoon I'd drawn of myself as my CV picture. Aside from company work, James also gave me the number of a girl who had called requesting private English lessons for herself and possibly a friend. Her only specific requirement was that the teacher be male, and I was the only one in the class who fit the profile. Odd request, yes, but for private lessons you can charge as much as 20 dollars an hour, so it's a pretty easy way to make money (well worth the risk of being tied up in some woman's basement). If she requests a resume, I most likely will use the cartoon as my picture...
(Erin's editing note: I just got back from running to find Nate still in his pajamas, watching American football in English--he's figured out how to adjust the SAP on the TV--and still working on this blog entry. Javier immediately made fun of us, commenting on how I go out to run and Nate just sits in front of the TV. Then, when Nate was trying to describe himself as being skinny and not needing the exercise, he couldn't figure out which word to use for skinny--flaco o flojo. Turns out he's both. Flaco means skinny; flojo means lazy.)
We spent Sunday doing one of our favorite Sunday afternoon activities, sitting around at the park. Parks are huge on Sundays. Tons and tons of Chilean families grab their soccer balls, their kids, and a big blanket and find a spot on the grass around the playgrounds. All the vendors show up to sell stuff, and pretty soon the parks are full to overflowing. The best part is that monuments and fountains become a free-for-all for ten-year-olds, and you can watch dozens of elementary school kids splash around and climb on expensive statues. It's very pleasant and a great spot to people watch, play some cards, and read. We also did a quick walk through a couple of the nearby museums, one of which had a crazy weapons exhibit, featuring a full-size wooden tank and about ten rifles made out of car parts and nails. For me, though, the highlight of the day was making a giant pot of chili. Delicious...
As far as our budding careers in English are concerned, things are going pretty well. We've finished our last week of classes, and we're ready to start hunting for work. Overall, the whole thing was a great experience and well worth the money. James, our professor, has already recommended us to two of the best language schools in town, and one of the directors of one institute even personally asked us to apply. We're hoping to hear from them pretty soon. We've also got our resumes ready (complete with pictures, as is the custom in Chilean business), and we'll take them around town starting tomorrow. I've thus far resisted the urge to use the cartoon I'd drawn of myself as my CV picture. Aside from company work, James also gave me the number of a girl who had called requesting private English lessons for herself and possibly a friend. Her only specific requirement was that the teacher be male, and I was the only one in the class who fit the profile. Odd request, yes, but for private lessons you can charge as much as 20 dollars an hour, so it's a pretty easy way to make money (well worth the risk of being tied up in some woman's basement). If she requests a resume, I most likely will use the cartoon as my picture...
(Erin's editing note: I just got back from running to find Nate still in his pajamas, watching American football in English--he's figured out how to adjust the SAP on the TV--and still working on this blog entry. Javier immediately made fun of us, commenting on how I go out to run and Nate just sits in front of the TV. Then, when Nate was trying to describe himself as being skinny and not needing the exercise, he couldn't figure out which word to use for skinny--flaco o flojo. Turns out he's both. Flaco means skinny; flojo means lazy.)
posted by Erin and Nate at
11:07 AM
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