San Pedro de Atacama

Friday night Sandy, Melanie, and I took the bus to San Pedro. We stayed in the International Hostel and the night we arrived went there for pizza and beer. Saturday morning we slept late, had brunch at Todo Natural (!!!), and then spent the day wandering around the town, shopping and eating great chocolate ice cream. It was hot hot during the day, but it felt nice to be in the sun. Saturday night we ate dinner at Export, where we split a bottle of wine, and then moved on to Adobe, and then back to the hostel's bar for a few more beers. It's the firs time lately that I've been in the mood to stay out socializing and drinking, and we had a great time. This morning we took the sweltering bus back to Anto.

shopping

Adobe

good bye San Pedro

Las Colonias

Today was sunny and beautiful and in honor of that, I left the house before dark. Lindsey and I headed to Parque Croacia for Las Colonias and the surrounding street vendors. Each country represented has a section with tables and chairs, a food booth, and a stage, where dancers periodically appear in traditional costumes. The food isn't hugely vegetarian-friendly, but I did have an excellent cheese roll sprinkled with sugar from Bolivia, and french fries with a delicious garlic dip from Greece.

A Beautiful Night

The parents of my 7th grade homeroom had a cookout for me tonight. Five out of six of my kids were there and their parents, and it was a nice mixture of English and Spanish. The majority of parents who don't already speak English fluently are taking English classes at night at the school.

They were told at the last minute by the kids that I'm a vegetarian and pulled through with an amazing array of delicious salads...haba beans; curried potato salad; curried rice with green apples and raisins; Spinach and walnut salad with Roquefort dressing; pineapple, pea, almond, and celery salad. Amazing. I brought a lemon pie, which looked a bit sad next to the meringue/strawberry covered confection offered by our hosts. Pisco sours (I stuck with juice), wine, and after-dinner drinks.

Just before dinner they all gathered to thank me and force the (rather mortified) kids to say a personal thank you before presenting me with a beautiful lapis luzuli watch. I almost cried, the whole thing was so thoughtful and nice. It worked well for them too, because they said it's the first time in they've all been together like that, even though they're kids have been in class together for two years, and they are going to try and do it more often...not only did they all seem to love each other's company, they think it will bring the kids together and help lessen the conflicts between the six of them. I think that's a great idea and sentiment.

While I didn't take any pictures tonight, here's a picture of them in the t-shirts my dad brought when he visited last week, sent by my mom and her friends at work. They're from a soccer tournament in my hometown and I had 34...one for every student in 8th grade and my six 7th graders. They all seemed to like them and put them on immediately, so half of upper school that day was glowing green.

in their new t-shirts

my new watch

Mariachi Band in Korlaet!