So, and another week passes... I have slipped into routine of English teaching + my volunteer work and a few Spanish lessons in between. Luckily Carlos my boss has lived up to his word of giving me more hours and October should finally be a full pay where I at least break even... that will be a shock to the bank balance! lets hope my life continues in this vain...as these past few months have been tough!

I almost accepted a job in a shop I was getting a bit worried, but alas, I didn´t have to (I really didn´t want to work there!) Its stressful enough on my brain to speak always in Spanish is ALL my free time, work is my little break.

Yesterday afternoon, a few teachers and students went out the the Viña Concho y Toro, one of the hundreds of vineyards within driving distance of Santiago city. Its one of the most expansive and impressive vineyards I´ve ever seen, right next to one of the poorest and saddest little towns I´ve ever seen. I was confused that none of the riches of this winery has even touched this little town. The tour was 7000CH (about $20) and I felt was a bit of a rip off, but being that I have never done this type of tour, maybe this is normal? I´m so used to travelling and doing stuff with others generally on our own we kind of avoid this type of mass tourism. In saying that, it was fun to hang out with other teachers and spanish students and also to see one of the top 10 viñas in the world in action. Part of their biggest seller is the "Casillero del Diablo" wine, so named because the grapes were known to be so amazing that when the wine was stored it was done in an underground cellar said to be watched over by the devil. Now, Karlee and I brought a bottle of this wine at New World a couple of months ago for 12 bucks so really can´t have been that great.

From there, off I went with my housemates and another friend to a party that included a traditional ´curanto´ barbeque stew type thingee. Curanto is shellfish, meat, chicken and sausages and steamed in a soup. Obviously, I didn´t eat it due to the seafood part but I ate lots of little bread rolls with yummy salsa stuff that would rival Mums(!) to make up for it. During the day it was a balmy 25 degrees, once we got to the party it was below zero. There was a bonfire, but I´m a wimp in the cold. Staunch Chileans have no problem with this freezing weather and take it all in their stride. I, however, freeze and spend the entire night trying to get warm by the bonfire, resulting in all my clothes now smelling like a bbq. The one hard thing about being at a party where you are only learning their language I find, is the first few hours are fine, but after general small talk its bloody difficult! So the last few hours are hard and being the grandma that I am, I look forward to my bed. Luckily, this wasn´t an all nighter like a usual Chilean party. I crawled into bed at 3am happy with my effort!