despite being sick, it´s been a pretty productive day (lunes, 16 agosto)

This morning when Artemio came to wake me up I was dead tired and felt like I´d just closed my eyes. The night before I´d been throwing up again due to bad vegetables (from now on if I eat any vegetables or fruit they have to be cooked, not raw, because most raw vegetables and fruits here contain a bacteria that Chileans are used to, but Americans are not). Although I wasn´t sick today, I couldn´t imagine having to get through an entire day of classes. I wanted to, but I wanted to sleep. My host mother told me to call in sick from school, so I did, and then I went back to bed to actually get some sleep.

A little before 12 noon I finally got out of bed, feeling slightly guilty about missing school, but mostly a lot more refreshed and well-rested. I sat down at the computer, determined to get some tasks crossed off my list. I was able to finish my online Spanish assignment, finish a poster for my classroom that says `Speak English`in giant blue and yellow letters, finish my last unit of the TEFL course (which involved watching a video of two classes and doing a lot of writing), and start the next Spanish assignment. I was also successful in catching up on some emails to people.

By the time my brothers came back from school I was feeling a lot better, and had been able to eat cereal, potatoes, and chumbeques without getting sick. I mostly just lounged around the house the rest of the afternoon, reading and writing, as well as planning out some of my trip to Peru, where I´m going for ten days next month. I actually felt so much better and was craving a long run along the beaches, but I decided not to go because it would look fishy if students or co-workers saw me out running, yet I hadn´t felt well enough to go to school.

I ended up playing the guitar and singing in my room for a while because my younger brother needed the computer for homework, which was nice because I haven´t had much time to play music either. I´m determined to learn at least a few songs in Spanish while I´m here...not sure which ones yet, but there is one called ´Cuando los sapos bailen el flamenco´that has a pretty melody and doesn´t seem too hard. I also want to learn a few traditional songs, like ´Gracias a la vida´ by Chilean folk singer Violeta Parra.

I hung out with my host brother and cousin for a while and then decided to call it a night. By 1am I was still wide awake but knew I should go to bed because of having to wake up at 7:30am the next day. Oh how I miss being a night owl (and yes, I do occasionally miss my nights working third shift)... But it is totally worth it being here.

written by

Sara Florecita on August 16, 2010 from Iquique, Chile

from the travel blog: año de dos inviernos (Chile 2010)

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