Kirstin Abroad

Hola! Having a few cervesas during siesta at the empanada restaurant in Ville Allende. Grabbing wifi here because all the kids are back from travelling for the weekend so wifi is sketchy at the house. Yesterday was placement day with some dancing, and at the house we had salsa lessons from a couple that won first place in some competition. They were phenomenal! I had Lorna for a partner, so suffice to say we were not phenomenal. And not because of Lorna! Although her back does not quite bend enough for her head to touch her heels when dipped.

We spent the day yesterdy meandering the village and helping the economy at the boutiques. I'll do my part if I must! I got a sweatshirt from a worker at the elderly center. I asked if I could buy one, and he brought me one from his home. So I gave him the maple syrup I brought from home and a bag of good mate from the grocery store. Everyone is so kind and generous here.

On our way to the waterfall hike Sally told us of something called a "chicken bus" in (I think) Chile. They get old school buses from the U.S. and convert them into party buses. Each will have its own theme (e.g. disco) and pick people up as it drives around. She said they are a bit sketchy and was told to leave phone, money and ID at home. The cops often stop and search the buses, and when the bus picks you up they don't come to a full stop. People on the bus kind of grab you as they go by. Crazy! No chicken buses in Ville Allende.

Finally, the weather has been sunny and warm. Last week after walking to placement (appx 1 1/2 to 2 miles away) we were given warm mate upon arrival because they all commented on how cold we were, and now we're so hot in pants and t-shirts.

Air quality is horrible here. I have been sitting out in the village with my tablet for a bit over an hour and it is covered in dust particles.

Here are some pics from the past couple of days.

Dogs on the way to placement:

Santos at placement. He used to be a traditional dancer and was sharing his pictures of dances he was in and his family. Muy guapo!

Some of the ladies at placement:

Notice Santos waving behind me!

Krystal from the center who was a former art teacher. She taught me some form of carving on a piece of cardboard. She drew the picture, I carved around the lines, and today we painted. She also brought a piece of hard wood to do the same technique. It's a bit more difficult on wood. I told Ginny she gets us volunteers at placement to do the hard manual labor then paints and sells them in he street markets. Lol!

Me and Nila from the center. She is so cute! It's funny how you can read the nature of a person even without understanding a word that is said. When it's time to dance, she pulls out her flowing flower print skirt to put on over her pants and hits the dance floor! She always wears a big, colorful fake flower in her hair.

Ginny giving Theresa a bit day hug at the center:

Darn, I forgot her name..... but she loves to draw!

Dancing at the center. Lorna is in blue top.

Ginny watching dancing while giving massage:

Santos and Nila dancing:

Adorable Nila and her dancing skirt:

Two of the ladies. For the life of me I cannot remember all of their names! As long as we come in and greet each one with a "Buen dia" and a kiss, everyone seems happy. It helps too that my Spanish vocabulary consists of about 20 words, so they expect little from me. That's right... set the expectations low and everything that comes out is super impressive!