name game.
(Grrr! This didn't post when it was supposed to again! Sorry!)
Brittany is not an easy name in Spanish. In order for people to understand me, I can’t pronounce it the American way (Brit-nee), I have to make it sound Spanish: Breeeetani.
An example? Once I forgot to add the accent when the Starbucks barista asked for my name so he could write it on my coffee cup. I just said “Brittany” the normal way. He gave me a perplexed look and then handed me the cup and his sharpie marker.
Brit is even harder. Again, Starbucks provides a perfect example: This time I told the barista my name was "Brit." It’s what all my friends call me and I said it without thinking. Apparently "Brit" was incomprehensible to him. I ended up with “Ert” written on my cup.
A few more examples of the butchering of my name as evidenced by Starbucks coffee cups:
This one is pretty darn close. Starbucks has actually been doing a lot better lately. I think they’ve gotten used to my name (at least at the location near my apartment) since I’ve being coming fairly often for the last 4 months.
But that's not to say that my name doesn't continue to be a hard-to-pronounce mystery for most of the Chileans I meet!
-Brit
PS: I hate that I go to Starbucks so much. There are tons of little coffee shops around, and I try to support those too, but the reality is that Starbucks is the only place I can a) order a black coffee made from actual grounds and b) sit for hours doing homework without feeling like I’m being rude.
Also, Emily is flying home tomorrow morning today. : (
midweek.
Emily only has a few days left here in Santiago! We’ve been busy, busy, so it will be a few days before I post all our photos. But in the mean time, here is one quick pic:
Emily’s first night here we went to Barrio Lastarria with the roomies and a few friends: Café Utopia for happy hour Pisco Sours and then over to Casa Lastarria for Sangria and live music.
Loving having Em here!
-Brit
the clinic: frase del día
(Sorry this is being posted late! Not sure why it didn't go up this morning like normal...having Internet issues. As usual).
Remember how I said I was going to start posting the “frases del día” from Bar The Clinic? Well here is another one:
Translation: “I do not believe in anything.” -Nicanor Parra
Nicanor Parra is an extremely famous Chilean poet (and mathematician!) in the Spanish-speaking world. He’s from the famous Parra family; his sister was Violeta Parra. He describes himself as an “anti-poet” and writes in a way that breaks with traditional poetic form. See some examples here.
In April, he was awarded the Cervantes Prize, one of the most important literary prizes in the Spanish-speaking world. It's often seen as equivalent to the Nobel Prize in literature.
-Brit
PS: Mom and Dad, he lives in Las Cruces. Remember when we drove through there?
PPS. Definitely plan on taking Emily to this bar!
Things I'm loving right now.
- Sharing Chile with my childhood friend.
- Soy lattes.
- Watching a movie in bed before going to sleep.
- A day off from school.
- Cooler weather.
- More opportunities to speak Spanish.
- Making summer plans.
What are the things that make you happy lately? Have a lovely Monday!
-Brit
internship.
I mentioned a while back that I traded one of my classes for an internship. Here’s what happened:
I had 2 classes at La Católica. I really liked them, but they were definitely challenging. Knowing that I might not do that great in them, I had planned to take them both pass/fail. But then (very belatedly) I found out that wasn’t an option: I could only take 1 pass/fail. I wasn’t willing to take the gamble with my GPA, so nearly 2 months into the semester, I changed things up:
I kept my "Sociología de la Salud" class (at La Católica) and my political history class (at IES), but I dropped "Arte, Cultura y Sociedad" and hopped in IES’ internship class instead.
The new schedule was really crazy at first. I worried I had made a mistake, but now I’m really happy with the decision.
So now, in addition to my 3 classes, I am working 15-17 hours a week with Ciudadano Global: Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes y Refugiados. It’s this fabulous organization that works with immigrants in Chile. They offer lots of services from legal support to job searching assistance to mental health help.
During the week, I’m in the office with the communications team. They are trying to educate the public about the organization’s work and immigrant issues in Chile. On Sundays, I’m working with Hermandad de Santa Rosa. It’s sort of like a support group for women immigrants. It’s a day to come together and regroup before the workweek starts again. It’s technically independent of SJM-R, but one that the org supports by supplying volunteers and organizational help.
I’ve been working for 2 weeks now and I love it. Everyone in the office is so nice, as are all the women at Hermandad de Santa Rosa. Annnnd, I’m speaking Spanish so much more! I’m really excited about that. Taking on an internship has certainly made things more hectic and busy, but I am so happy I made the change.
-Brit
PS. Emily is still here! And luckily I've been able to take a few days off from the internship while she is visiting.
