Learning Castellano Spanish, cooking Merkén Chicken, and teaching English. All in a days work of La Erudita Visitando.

So today marked the beginning of another phase of my Visiting Scholar experience at the Universidad Católica del Maule.  I met with Profesora Pilar Vivar of la Escuela de Lengua Castellana y Comunicación (the School of Catellano Language and Communication).   As I am going to be assisting her in English, while also learning the Chilean form of Spanish (Castellano).  I think I mentioned it before, if not here certainly on Facebook, and that is the Chilean form of Spanish is among the most difficult to learn.  In part because 1) Chileans speak very rapidly, and 2) there are so many common words and phrases you never learn in traditional US college courses in Spanish.

Castilian Spanish is a term related to the Spanish language, but its exact meaning can vary even in that language. The Spanish language term Castellano (Castilian) may refer to the Spanish language as a whole, to the dialects spoken in central and northern Spain, or to the medieval language which was a predecessor to modern Spanish (Castilian Spanish, n.d.).  Thanks Wikipedia!🙂 So I’m really excited about starting this aspect of my scholarly experienced on this Friday.

Also, I wanted to post a picture of my lovely dinner tonight (see above picture).  I have finally become more familiar with where things are in the grocery store so a sistah got her “cook-on” this evening.  The flavor of Merkén comes from a Chilean style smoked chili pepper and is among one of my favorite seasonings that I discovered when initially arriving to Chile.  Above is a picture of my dinner and the “Georgia-style Fried Merkén Chicken”© I prepared. My recipe doesn’t really have copyright.  I just wanted to use the symbol as I wish had time to legally claim this as my original creation. 😉  Nevertheless, it was delish!!

Finally, I must mention that some bad habits have followed me all the way down here to Chile.  Most of my professors know that I typically leave coffee mugs (and other valuables) all over campus (particularly in their offices) like the story of “Hansel & Gretel” and their breadcrumb trail.  Well yesterday was the first and last day of ownership for my preliminary new coffee mug.  I brought it to campus with me on yesterday and have no idea where I lost it.  Somewhere between my office and my Body Attack class that evening (I can only imagine).  Nevertheless, I found this beauty (pictured below) today and please notice the lovely UGA colors.  I am going to try very hard to make this particular mug stick around a lot longer than its predecessor.

Chau!

Castilian Spanish. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2013 from the Castilian Spanish Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castilian_Spanish

Friday, September 27th

My first day in Spin Class after not having attending a class for about 2 years.  I sacrificed bike riding class for more Zumba and Body Pump courses.  I know I’m going to be sore tomorrow.

My makeshift cushion (sweater) that I used to protect my “bum” during Spin Class today.

Today also was my first day assisting Profesora Pilar Andrea Vivar Vivar in her Castellana Language and Communications Course.  We both noticed very quickly that she was a little bit shorter than me. 😉