Just wishin...

Just wishing my English grammar were somehow better. I teach English right now and my understanding of English grammar is awful. I think I know more about Spanish grammar to be honest. I have this big grammar book which I read but I can never remember exactly what the rules are, I know what sounds right. I know when something is just plain wrong, but trying to explain it all is another matter completely. All these people that come to study English, I wonder what they would think if they knew their teacher was just studying the same lesson to figure out what the hell it means shortly before class. Maybe it would be easier if I didn't know anything period, if there was nothing that I was knowledgeable about. Then I wouldn't have this feeling that I enjoy teaching, but that English just isn't the subject where I should be the one trying to lead the class...

Getting some sun...

Really nice day today, the kind that makes you want to stay outside. I wish I could just enjoy it but I have to go to work a little later. We are doing all these workshops. Pretty much the same thing we did while I was in their ¨training¨session. I am looking forward to being able to teach, talking about teaching when I'm not doesn't seem to do a lot for me.

The last few days it has been raining a lot, at least once everyday. Santiago doesn't get too cold in the winter, by Iowa standards at least, but it does rain all the time. It should lead to a nice clear view of snow capped Andean peaks afterwards. I am so confused about the weather, doesn't feel like it is almost May. This will be my first winter in a year and a half! I think it will be a little different from an Iowa winter. Maybe if I can, I'll try to get up into the Andes for some skiing. Though I'm not sure if I'm up to it.

So it goes...

Can move a little more now...

Ever since I moved out of my last apartment here to Nuñoa, I lost access to a bicycle. At firs it didn´t seem like sucha big deal, there were other things I could do. I had new places to explore with new people and for the time being it was sufficient. Slowly though, I began to crave the feeling of moving on two wheels. I started to feel out of shape, had less energy, and felt bored with my surroundings. I realized that I needed to buy a bike last week, when it just became too much and the craving was on the forefront of my mind. I had found another job and was ready to focus on other aspects of life.

So I went this weekend to the neighborhood that has all the bikes. It is jam packed full of bike stores. There is also a market that has lots of bikes for dirt cheap, however most are stolen and I didn't feel right buying one. So I went looking through the stores, bargaining for the best price. Carolina came along with giving me more of an bargaining edge then had I went alone. Finally I decided on a Spitfire, some cheap bike with all kinds of flashy stickers that I immediately removed after buying. It has front shocks and is fun to ride. Yesterday I went up to San Cristobal, which is even more of a ride now that I am further south in Nuñoa. It was a good ride, but wore me out, which is something I have been longing to feel ever since I moved.

So it all moves a bit...

It wasn't too long ago that I was living next the daily chaos of Vicuña Mackenna, one of Santiago's arteries of communter traffic. My window overlooked the parallel road, General Bustamante, which from 7am until late resembles a NASCAR track. I was living in an apartment that was always changing, the other room that was available for rent usually went to a Spanish student at the Senora´s institute. So I had roommates from Austria, Germany, Brazil, and Japan. It was interesting of course, but didn´t make the place seem stable by any means. It is sometimes strange for me to talk to someone who is only in Chile for a short time weeks. Their minds are in a different place then mine.

It wasn´t the smoothest transition to the place in Nuñoa, I spent a week sleeping on the floor of a friend´s apartment. I had tried to extend my first place until I could move, but the month I had paid for ran out, and she wanted to charge me more then a week´s worth. So I just left.

I finally moved into my new place about two weeks ago, it was quite nice to have a closet, a bed, and a key to get in and out once again. It also made it possible for me to move my thoughts to other matters, such as my employment situation.

I wanted to leave Bridge, then I learned that my boss was quitting, so I had to leave Bridge. It is more of a business then a school anyways, I hardly had any classes, and I wanted to get a sense of other working environments here in Santiago. So I wait now, in a training session at a Chilean run school, hoping it will work out. This institute is called Tronwell, and it full of activity. Many students at all times of the day. The halls have a feeling of energy that Bridge lacked. I just hope that I get the job.

Maybe after I have that lined up I can focus on some of the other things in life. I can refocus my effort to learn Spanish. Start to make some books again, play some music, get a paycheck, some of the basics that I haven´t been able to enjoy since coming back to Santiago.

I´ll just have to wait and see...

Changes coming soon...

Got out of Santiago this weekend. Wandered with Carolina to the Canjun del Maipo, walked and walked until we reached the foot of Mt. Colorado, with the San Francisco Glacier lining it's towering peaks. I haven´t been out in the Andes enough, there is nothing quite like them. From what I've seen, now Santiago to the Ausengate, I can safely say that they are a force that can change the way you think about yourself and this awesome planet we inhabit. All sense of human scale is diminished in the face of these structures. The scrape the sky, are more rugged then one can imagine, and have a silence to them that will clear your mind of all the human jumble that lurks in our cities. My mind felt so peaceful when I was there, even though many questions were waiting for me when I got back to Santiago.

I think that I need a big change here in Santiago, I have some new options opening up, nothing for sure, but just enough to give me some hope that my work situation will change. I feel my time with Bridge slowly winding down, tomorrow I will know more. Today, I just think about those mountains and nothing can take me down for now...

day to day...

Just living it day by day for now. Still not too many classes, wondering whether we will ever get more. Feels like I might need to look elsewhere because all this inactivity isn't fun at all. Plus I would like to earn some money so I can eat, pay rent, travel a bit, nothing to grand. Chile's focus slowly has started to return to more daily activities after the death of the Pope. For awhile it was all that one could find on television.

My new apartment is nice, the only downfall is that there isn't a metro stop nearby, making the commute to those few classes I have quite ugly. I like the place though, so I will stay for now. A good living situation is worth the micro ride every mourning. There are also some good places to hangout nearby as well, not that I have gone out in a while, once I get some more work I'll be able to afford such luxuries. So for now I just try to practice my Spanish, read the newspaper, hang out with friends, and make the best of these times...