Get Inspired

The English Opens Doors orientation was surprisingly organized and helpful. One morning, we had a foreign language class. The idea was to show us how it feels as students learning a new language for the first time, and to prove that it is possible to teach/learn in a class completely immersed in the target language.  I learned Portuguese. It was a really cool experience and makes me want to teach not only my English classes in Chile, but also my Spanish classes in the US using immersion style.

On the final day of orientation, the EOD Volunteer Coordinators (who were past volunteers themselves) gave presentations about their experiences. It was nice to see what they went through and to see how much impact we can have here. Several of us were actually tearing up at the end…We were just so inspired to start teaching!

Knowing that I was about to leave Santiago, I decided to take advantage of the cuisine and nightlife. In other words, I ate. A lot. And went to a salsoteca to dance with chilenos.

A group of us went to a Salsoteca (a club where they teach lessons and then have an open floor where everyone dances salsa, cumbia, rumba, etc.). When asked to dance, I accepted, but immediately explained that I had no idea what I was doing. Fortunately, all of my partners were good leaders, so I didn’t have a problem. It was fun dancing to music with “ritmo” and speaking Spanish with chilenos in an authentic situation.  One guy asked me if I was Chilean. If he was feeding me a line, I don’t mind. It was flattering none-the-less.  After a while, a live band started playing. It was a large group of young Chileans. They were incredible! It was a smooth blend of musical styles. After researching, I discovered that a few bands had actually gotten together to put on the show that night: Rumba Maestra con La Moral Distraída y Compañía del Diablo. 

And for the food…my favorite subject, as many know.

Empanada pino: This is just one of countless types of empanadas available. Pino consists of beef, hard-boiled eggs, and olives (with or without the pits), and various spices. It’s like a pot-pie.

Mote con huesillo: This is a very common drink/snack. Peaches are soaked in a sugar, cinnamon, water mixture that has been caramelized. Then it is chilled and served with wheat.

Completo y Italiano: These are hot dogs loaded with toppings. The buns are typically toasted. A completo has sauerkraut, tomato, and mayo (and mine tasted like it had some sort of giardiniera . An italiano has tomato, mashed avocado, and mayo. You can then put condiments on top, such as mostaza (mustard) or aji (a smoked pepper sauce kind of like BBQ and sriracha mixed). These are actually better than I expected.   

Calzones rotos: Literally translated to “torn underwear,” these are kind of like doughnuts. A slit is cut into the middle of a strip of flat dough, then one end of the dough is fed through the slit, making a twist. The dough is fried and then dusted with powered sugar. 

Pisco sour: A very popular cocktail made with pisco (basically a whiskey made from grapes), lemon juice, sugar, and traditionally with egg whites beaten into the mix to make it frothy (not all people include the egg, however).  These are very strong. You can adjust the lemon/sugar to taste…good, but I hear the Peruvian version is better.

Terremoto: (earthquake) This is a cocktail made with wine, fernet, grenadine syrup, and pineapple ice cream (like sherbet). It’s extremely sweet!