I'm still slowly but surely adjusting to life here. I'm learning more every day and my expectations are changing each day too (and some are, a little stubbornly so, not changing).
My daily life still sometimes feels hazy, like a dream, or like I'm on auto-pilot. I can't figure out if that's just life here, or if my life would be like there no matter where I was, and this is just what it feels like to have a "real" job.
Last weekend I went out on Friday night with my roommate Jenni, and 2 of her friends from her program last year that are now living in Santiago again. We met up with Lizzi and Natalie and a group of Chileans that they know and a really cool underground karaoke bar. It was actually underground, and called Zotano, which means basement in Spanish. Go figure. We were the only gringos in the place and it felt pretty cool. The only songs they had in English were Adele, but honestly what more can you ask for? We requested it and belted it out, as best as we could and in our own true Adele fashion. On our walk home we found a group of street performers. They looked about our age (in their 20s) and there were about 8 guys playing instruments and about 6 girls dancing. There was a huge crowd surrounding them and watching, moving to the music too. It was really cool.
The next day (Saturday) I went with Lizzi, Hannah, and Hannah's visiting sister and brother-in-law to a vineyard on the outskirts of Santiago. We took a metro line all the way to the last stop, then took a bus about 20 minutes. It was BEAUTIFUL there. I've never been to a vineyard, and this one seemed pretty simple, but the day was gorgeous, the air was beautiful and cleaner... it was wonderful. We paid around $13 for an hour long tour of the place and tasting of 3 wines. I can't wait to bring all of my from home visitors there, it was really fun.
On Sunday, my church had services in parks across Santiago. My ministry met in Quinta Normal, a park I had never heard of or been to before. I was supposed to meet a woman from my church at my metro stop and go from there together. We missed each other and we each had the wrong phone number for each other so we never found each other. I basically knew were to go and decided I'd just wing it, and if I couldn't find it then that was God's plan. So of course I exit the metro at the stop I knew I was supposed to, and the park was right there. I walked in and it was amazing. The day was a little cloudy and cold, but I was loving it (reminded me of Ireland. Plus, it's a nice break from the heat). I didn't know where in the park to go and it was relatively big so again I just decided to wander and pray and whether I found the group or not, that was meant to be. There was a river, and benches, and trees, and little paddle boats, and fountains and grass and paths everywhere. I was loving it. I did find my church group too. The service was so nice and the message was super inspiring and encouraging. I was reminded a little bit of how I felt when I was first baptized... The new sort of excited feeling I had when I realized how much I loved God. It was refreshing to feel.
This past week I've been spending a lot of time with Marisela and Jenni. I'm so grateful for them. Jenni and I pretty much spend every waking minute together, besides when we're teaching our classes, which I had imagined would happen when I first moved in. I did also assume that if that happened it would be the most annoying thing ever. The truth is I'm not tired of her yet! We have a lot in common and we always have fun together. I hope it stays that way.
Mari has cooked for us (she made an Indian Daal this week... so delicious) and this week she helped me out with an issue I feel like I'm having with my students and their behavior. She obviously knows a lot about Chilean people and culture and she was able to give me a perspective on my students that I might not have otherwise had. She's also helped me to feel less stressed about my sleeping and eating habits, which have not been good or regular lately, because I'm stressed, and since I worry about it I'm therefore even more stressed out.
There are a couple named Roger and Marcia Lamb that were a part of my church in Chicago during my first few years there. They are older and had 3 grown kids in their 30s. Their youngest son, Dave Lamb, was a folk singer in a duo with his wife MorganEve Swain, called Brown Bird. I knew very little about their family or their children (I met their oldest daughter before), but I knew Dave was sick about a year ago. He had leukemia and was going through chemotherapy. He had a bone marrow transplant and was seemingly getting better. A few weeks ago his leukemia relapsed and on Saturday of this past week he passed away. I heard about his passing through Facebook and other people in my church (Mary was good friends with Marcia) and since then I've been reading and listening about his life and music. Through another friend, Paul Lutz, I found this song.
All of his music is deeply spiritual, though not in the way that some people would expect. I'm learning more every day about what spirituality can mean and am grateful for the chance to grow and learn and change through other people, experience and every day life.
You can find Brown Bird's music on Spotify, YouTube, Soundcloud, and iTunes. Highly, highly recommended.
Besos y amor,
Ally
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