Taking my personal day seriously

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So I have been planning and working non-stop since my return to Chile. I am happy to report with much success over what will mark two weeks on Friday. I returned with high anxiety about the fact that I needed a better response rate on my surveys and wasn’t quite sure how that was going to happen. I sought God’s direction (as I do quite regularly) and felt he was giving me some very creative strategies to employ over the almost two week period. I am very pleased by the favor he has given me with making inroads via academic faculty and departmental leadership who are supporting my research efforts.

I felt like I had been soft of burning the candlestick at both ends, because I also committed to teach English to some adult learners twice a week. On top of all that, we are not in fellowship/grant/scholarship application season at my university. So I am also writing a number of proposal and letter essays, along with having to update my CV. I went to go pick of my renewed student Visa, but the director said she needed another day to secure it to my current passport…that was last Wednesday and I have been trying to find time to get back downtown to pick it up. Sigh… the game plan is to go get it tomorrow morning.

Nevertheless, I decided last night that Tuesday was going to be my own “personal day” to just rest. I’m so glad I did that today as now I feel very refreshed. I was excited to get an email from a dear friend who told me she constantly follows my blog posts and loves the food pictures I include with some of the stories. So, that’s the reason I showed the soft tacos I made today for dinner. They were fantastic!!

Before leaving the US, I had adopted a pretty regular workout schedule at the Ramsey Fitness Center on campus. Those activities also included my group fitness class which I love better than working out on my own. I love the social aspect of group fitness and have made some of my most endearing friendships from those meetings. Unfortunately, there’s no Zumba on campus this semester. L Also, my friend Graciela has returned to complete her academic studies while also hold down a full-time job as our office manager. I miss our after-work chats and workout sessions in the weight room. So, I’m going to have to discipline myself to do my workouts on my own. I think I can do that until January when I return back to UGA. J I also think I am going to try to incorporate a little more distance running into my exercise protocol. I used to enjoy running with my Daddy in the early mornings as a kid. We’ll see how that goes.

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Well, it sounds like my students have arrived for the English lesson so I’m going to have to closeout this blog post. In summary, I want to give praise and thanks to God for helping me with my research and everyday life in general.  I am so grateful for the many blessings I have been given in life and look forward for the purposes and plans that are yet in store for me to walk into.  However, those tacos were so good that I am now kinda sleepy. I’ll get some coffee so I don’t fall asleep while trying to teach English this evening. Ha ha.

 

Making endearing relationships abroad

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Chuby and her novio Cristóbal Eduardo light the candles on her birthday cake.

 

My dearest friend (and Zumba teacher) Chuby Andia Gonzalez just celebrated her birthday on Monday and invited me to join her friends and family for he cumpleaños.  My presence (according to her Facebook post) made it an international birthday celebration.  How cute!!  I so hope upon my return to the US, and after I have graduated to begin my next career phase, to have my Chilean friends visit with me.  Living abroad in Chile  has been a life changing experiences that I will treasure forever. ❤

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These little biscuit-like cookies are common in the bake goods sections in Chile.  the have a creamy sweet milk filling that to me are a bit too sweet.  Nevertheless, folks here love ’em!  The other thing that is really big in Chile is mayonesa (Mayonnaise).  I never liked mayonnaise growing up as a child and only can tolerate Miracle Whip when its the dressing or chicken, tuna salad, or deviled eggs.  I was smart enough to bring me some sweet pickle relish back and am going to try an make some tuna salad and deviled eggs while here.  At one time I saw a bottle of miracle whip at the grocery story, but it wasn’t there when I visited this week.  A lot of imported American foods and products will surprising pop-up on the grocery store shelves here in Talca.  However, there is not guarantee you’ll see it in the grocery store on a regular bases.  Kinda frustrating at times for a woman who likes to make home-cooked meals like mía misma (myself).

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Chuby is such a sweetheart that she asked me what “I” wanted to eat at the party.  Of course, I requested empanadas, but only  if it wasn’t too much of an imposition.  Her mom made some especially for me (she lives in another city) and sent them to the party.  They were the best that I have tasted so far here in Chile.  ¡Muy rico!  Oh yeah, going back to the mayonesa.  Well it not only serves as a dressing for sandwiches and hotdogs, it is also a stand alone chip dip.  Our hosts Eduardo and Chuby were serving hotdogs (I had already had a bad experiences with some when I first arrived) to everyone.  Fortunately, for some reason, mine only had guacamole and diced tomatoes (no mayonnaise).  It was on a toasted bun and just tasted delicious!  I was so nervous as I didn’t want to insult my host by refusing the hot dog.  I certainly dodged a bullet on that one for sure! Ha ha :p

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Chuby told me that a lot of Universidad Católica del Maule (UCMaule) students at our university rent these apartamento during the time they are working on their degrees in Talca.  They reminded me of the types of apartments you would see in big city like Chicago, Cleveland, or New York.  One of the biggest surprises for me, when I arrived to Chile, was the fact that there were no on-campus residence halls or university managed housing that catered to undergraduate (or graduate) students.    So many things we just take for granted as common in the United States, simply are not true or the reality of another context when you travel abroad.

I recently submitted a manuscript where I make mention of this difference.  The research for the article allowed me to do a more in depth search about the history of residential college living as part of the US higher educational experience.  It was quite fascinating what I learned.  I hope that I will be able to post on this blog later that the manuscript was accepted for publishing.  I’ll be sure to provide the reference for anyone interested in reading it here on the blog when that happens.  🙂

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