Is that American Football, skadoosh in my pants

The last week has been pretty sweet. Last Wednesday I went to a Cueca competition that two of my students from my school were in. Of course we came home with first place but that was the first time I had seen real Cueca. It was friggin' awesome. Cueca is the national dance of Chile and why the States don't have a national dance is beyond me. Being able to dance like those kids would be so sweet, and sexy like. And the guys have to do more work than the girls so if you are good you look like a player boss pimp. The way the dance goes is the man woos the woman by strutting his stuff and givin' her the eyeball. Then they walk together and pretend to talk and I think its the man asking the girl if he can dance with her. Then they start dancing and its like a figure eight with awesome stomping and cowboy spurs and handkerchiefs and even cooler music. I am definitely taking dance lessons when I get home, I need to improve my moves, the stupid foot shuffle thing just isn't cutting it in Chile anymore, and if you know how I dance you know what I'm talking about. Anyways USA should have a national dance.

Then revisited Valdivia for the weekend. And when the weather is good, Valdivia is the bomb. First night went out with Luisa and Jeff, another hombre from NYC babay. And if you got out in Valdivia go out with Jeff, he is the mayor of Valdivia, knew everyone and everywhere to go. For dinner we had Pinchaba, I think it's called, which is fries with meat, vegetables and other food on top, it was delicious(nacho voice). Then as we were looking up at the big screen they were changing the channel and there it was, Colts vs. Packers, Monday Night Football on a Friday night. It was like seeing colors for the first time, or a moth to a flame, hard to look away. Was quite the treat, drinking beer, watching american football, listening to the back street boys, talking english, I felt like I was home, until I walked to the bathroom and forgot what meant Men in spanish....I remembered. After the game we went to a different bar and got dancing and drinking. The next day was super sunny and gorgeous. Sat outside the hostal window for some minutes tried to soak up some rays in my hangover. We woke up got 3 empanadas for a mil, great deal. Walked to the center saw another gringa friend, Sara, reading her Sara book. Walked down to the fish market which was so cool. Tons of fresh fish, shell fish, pelicans, and SEA LIONS! huge sea lions, or lobos marinos. Got to go on a private coast guard boat cause Jeff speaks fluent spanish. Then met up with Rob, another gringo and his host brother and his friend who took us to the beach, and some awesome views next to a old fortress. On the way back stopped at the Cervezaria De Kuntzmann got a column of the Boch which was also delicious, Nic you would've loved it. Later we got some beers and hung out at Rob's brothers friends place where some more gringo friends met us, Dave, Corey, and Steve. Went out gringoly hard again that night, drinking tequila, friggin tequila, turned into a wolf, so there I was... was a fun night. And for some reason on Sundays Valdivia doesn't have electrcity until like 3 or 4. Ha so there was no running water, and when you need that hangover shower it sucks, and need to poop. We all got up and went down near the fish market again and got some great sea food. I shared a bag or shellfish with Sara, forgot what it's called, then had a salad with tons of fish, I ate until I couldn't breath, and then drank three fantas. Walked around a bit more and then headed back to Pucon. As soon as I sat down to watch my host dad watch TV because I understand nothing, I started to pass out. Felt good to have no sleep party weekend with the gringos.

I am at the halfway point of my program now and although I am not one big on reflection I can't help but think how fast it has gone, and it is hard to believe I have been in Chile for so long. The winter is just about over, I hear friends are going back to school and the weather is changing. My Castellano has improved mucho and I have seen many amazing things. Just hope the next three months are as good as the last. Hope everyone is happy and healthy.

Love,

Franks and Beans

El Jefe

This past weekend Genaro took some friends and I to these amazing termas in the mountains, called Tolhuaca. We stopped first in Curacautin to pick up the keys to the house we were staying in and to thank the people who were letting us. Genaro used to work at these termas and the old bosses were letting him stay in their small cottage next to the termas. We walk into the bosses home and are greeted with open arms. Instantly I fall in love with this couple, they are hilarious and always joking and being nice. They look like they were created from a book or something because they has so much character on their faces. Not only did they give us the keys and told us everything was free for the weekend but the mother than took us out to lunch at their restaurant they just opened. At we ate a shit load, I don't think I've ever eaten that much meat were I didn't know what animal or part of the body it was coming from. Some that I can remember were blood sausage, someone's intestine, goat's throat, other sausages, steaks, etc. The restaurant was gorgeous also, the dad was Arabic so it had a little eastern vibe but had nice tables, music, bar, and even better food. I'm taking notes for when I open my restaurant. After being stuff to the max we thanked the mother and went to the hot springs.

The place we were staying at was awesome, like a little house next to the main restaurant and next to the kitchen. The first night we chilled at the pool and couldn't believe how ridiclous it was, right in the mountains next to a river, heated by a geyser that you could sit in, in a cave. The Araucana trees would grow straight out of the cliffs up above us. After the pool we chilled at the house and played cards, taught the old man how to play Rummy 500. Was pretty fun and of course I crushed, guess all those games in OBX payed off.

Next day we chilled at another pool and just hung, ate hamburgers for lunch that Genaro made. Then we went to a small campo of some friends Genaro knows ate even more bread and drank Mati for the first time, was pretty good. They had three of the coolest dogs ever, and I helped the guy there cut some wood cause I want to be a hippie-farmer. Relaxed hard, made friends with the kitchen staff, drank some vino. Was fun. Sunday it snowed and it made everything super linda. We went again to the main pool when it was snowing and it was like being in a different world. Although we didn't want to leave it took us an insane amount of time to get out of there because my host dad might be the slowest man on Earth, sometimes annoying cause i could easily throw him over my shoulder and make him move. But all in all another amazing weekend in Chile.

A veces estoy inquietud y necesito vivir en la naturaleza

el gruñiendo lobo

Leccíon de Español

Went to the Trancura Canopy last Friday, was very cool. We did it at sunset so when I was flying 40 meters above the Earth looking over the hills to the Volcano it was muy linda. I went with some of my profesoras and Dermot. They got a kick out of it and it was even funnier watching them scream and cry for help when they got stuck or didn't want to go. It was also funny hitchhiking back to town with 8 women shoved into the back of a van. Friday night went out with Dermot went to our usual spot on the lake to drink and be cold then fuí Las Mamas y Tapas para carrete. Estuve muy barracho.

On Saturday after another delicious meal by Genaro we went to the National Parque Huerquehue for a good hike with some other volunteers and saw a pretty spectacular waterfall. I felt good in the woods surrounded by trees and the smell of nature. Right after, well not right after, I got lost for a little but some nice guy who we picked up told us where to go, cause Genaro let me use his car, we went to Las Termas Pozones at night. Was a trip looking up at the stars, and we saw like 5 shooting stars or satellites or UFO´s couldn´t tell what they were, spooky, but they were moving fast. Then we hung out at another Chilean friends house that night but I was tired so no barracho.

Last week I began intensive Spanish lessons with Genaro. One hour a day 5 days a week. Sometimes my head wants to explode but I think I am getting better. I read aloud, write down the words I don´t then Genaro explains them in Spanish. No English is spoken. I look up again the words I don´t know to make sure I understand. Then the next day I review what I read the last time and have to explain it in Spanish. Like I said sometimes my head feels like its going to pop. And after a long day in the school, then teaching a bunch of profesoras English it crazy. I am beginning to dream in Spanish though which is cool, ha more like nightmares.

Genaro is going to take some of my friends and I to these cool hot springs near Latauro this weekend and we are going to stay in his old bosses house. Should be sweet.

Hope all is well in Gringolandía,

patiperro

PS check out Bills blog he loves to surf and ski and do cool things too

http://billyhaas.wordpress.com/

Croni k Arriba La Vida

Chile´s theme song

Dobie gray- drift away

One for the bros.....

To the Funking Top

Yesterday was one of the most tiring and best days of my life. I climbed a fucking volcano, Vulcan Villiarrica. It is hard to put into words how I was feeling but I couldn´t lift my arms or walk afterwards and felt the greatest satisfaction of my life. Beer taste better than it ever had and the Snickers bar I was saving was like I was eating the Big Bang, each bite an explosion of beauty and life.

We woke up at 554 because I don't like to wake up on divisibles of five cause its bad luck. I went with my friend Tina because she really wanted to try the climb as well. I got dressed in about 30 seconds flat cause my blood was pumping. Homemade applesauce and bread was waiting for us on the kitchen table cause my host dad is the nicest coolest man on earth. We got into Tina's piece of shit car, and after the new method of fixing a car, hitting the ignition box with a rock, it started. Got to the tour place around 645. Packed our bags with ice picks and crampons, jumped in the van and off we were to the volcano. Got to the base lodge around 730 i would say. Tina was going with the walking group. I on the other hand I had to ski this bitch so I went with two guides and we skinned up. Just me and two other guys who had done this many times before. It felt good to slap the skins on again and do some touring up a place full of snow, makes you appreciate it more. The views were amazing, once we made it past the last chairlift and all you could see was snow, clouds, surrounding mountains and volcanos, and smoke from the top. The day was perfect nothing but sun, but when you have a big pack, and your skinning up you get hot hot hot. I was sweating a lot stripped down to two layers no hat no gloves, had plenty of water so I was ok. We pasted tons of sick cliffs, peaks, rocks, snow dunes, ridges, and an abandon chairlift. We were about 2 1/2 hours up about to go over a very high ridge and I looked at the top and it looked so close. But to my lack of depth perception it was another 2 hours away, a very hard two hours. Over the peak, I forget the name, we had to put all our layers back on because of how windy it was. It was like looking at nothing but white, incredible. We got about an hour from the top when we couldn't skin anymore. So on went the crampons. Carrying your skis on your back while trying to climb up an icy ledge when it is super windy is like having a sail on your back. I was inching my way up and getting light-headed taking many breaks when I looked up and the first guide was pretty much at the top. I don't think the guy took one break, mother was in ridiculous shape. Ha and the other guide who was hanging with me says, who could really speak broken english, but was french, "Don't fall because sometime if you fall, you fall all the way to bottom, not always but one man fell all way to bottom of volcano" its much funnier in a french accent trust me.

Then after I thought I couldn't go any further I could smell the toxic gases from the crater, and my superback Holiber/wolf instincts kicked in and I made it. Through my bag and skis off and sat down. Just soaked it all in. Speechless.

None the less it was beautiful but hard to breath, and it was time to crush some ski! Skins off, helmet on, chug some water, click in the alpine bindings, bonesaw is ready. We skated to the other side of the crater, and I look down and I can't see where the side of the volcano is awesomely steep, I'm thinking, aw shit don't fall and be the bitch. We hit it and even though my legs are shaking couldn't have been smoother. Like whip-cream all the way down. Snow spraying up, causing mini avalanches so sick. We go to the front side and find even better snow. By this point I am almost crying cause I don't want it to end. Everywhere we go untouched snow, fresh tracks, hot sun, insane views. Finally get to the bottom, sit down outside near the snow bar, the guides by me a beer, and one says, "(pointing up high on the volcano) us only us" words I will ever remember. Only our tracks no one elses for everyone to see, on the side of a volcano. The guide said he has climbed tons of times and that day was one of the best he's ever had. Not much to say after that.

I slept well.

Dad, Nic, Rob, wish you guys could've been there with me, was thinking about yous all the ways down. Love you ma

us only us,

Franke

Long Two Days

You know that scene in Beetlejuice where the main character woman, forgot her name, is trying to say Beetlejuice at the end to stop him, but Beetlejuice uses his weird vodoo magic and creates a metal plate and sticks it onto her mouth so she can't speak. Well the point is this is what I wish I could do to my students at all hours of the day, screw a metal plate over their mouths so they would shut up, then tie them to their seats. Ha maybe a little overboard to say the least but the last few days were rough. About ten minutes before classes on Tuesday around 820am I get an email on my super duper Crackberry from the English teacher I work with on Tuesdays telling me she is sick and can't make it to school today. In the email she proceeded to tell me what topics I should cover for all her classes. Now this is not the usual teacher I work with, my real host teacher I work with all the other days and she is the shit, she's like my older sister. Anyways I tell them she is sick and am like what should I do. In the program it says that volunteers are not substitute teachers and do not have the responsibility of one. So when Don Rueben told me I am going to teach all the classes today alone I was like, um shit..... I quickly ran back to my apartment and grabbed the only movie I brought down here, haha, Nacho Libre. I thought to myself, screw trying to teach these kids anyways its hard enough when I work with ten of them at once no way I could do it with 45 in a room the size of a closet. So I got a computer and the movie and walked to my first class, the kids like usual were running around talking yelling not listening. I told them all to sit and tried setting up the computer, and told them the teacher is sick and we are watching a movie, they all liked the idea of Nacho Libre. Then the DVD wouldn't work and the kids started getting louder and louder and soon enough I was like this day is going to suck. The Don Rueben came to my rescue, Don Rueben is the Inspector General at my school which means his like the discipline guy. He is the funniest guy ever, he loves Michael Jordan and always tries to speak broken english with me. He settled the class down while I went and got Toy Story 3 which worked and my day was set. This is how pretty much every class went. It took about 2o minutes to settle the kids down and get them quiet enough for you to speak, then by the last 30 minutes of class no one would want to watch anymore so I would spend even more time saying, "silencio por favor!" and "sientate!" and other spanish phrases to make them shut up. I was extremely tired afterwards and need to blow off some steam so I went for a super long run.

There are some major problems in the Chilean School system. Classes are 90 minutes long, which for any human is way to long to sit in one place and listen to someone talk especially kids going through puberty with every hormone bursting through their bodies. The students do not change class rooms, they stay in the same room all day, and the teachers move to different classes at different periods. There are 4 periods a day so only 3 breaks a day. Lunch is not until 130pm so they students are always hungry witch makes them more anxious. Most teachers and principals know these problems but it is to hard for things to change now because of money and the government.

One thing that did help me over my hard few days of teaching alone was my awesome little host dad, Genaro. He is the man. Eating his delicious food and listening to him talk and trying to talk spanish is one of the things I look forward to. And sometimes my host principle, Veronica, has dinner with us and she is also hilarious because she is the fastest talker I've ever heard, it sounds like a vacuum cleaner when she talks.

Everything else is going well, weather is getting a bit better here. Going to do some outdoors shit this weekend. Um....I bought about 8 Snickers yesterday.

Future goal while I'm down here is to learn to ride a motorcycle because they are badass.

Frank William Patiperro

Bariloche, Argentina

Yo fui a Bariloche de San Martin en la fin de semana pasado. I think it has been my favorite place so far I have visited. Bariloche is about 8 hours from Pucon and it took about ten or twelve by bus, had to travel the whole day. It was a long day but worth it. I went with two friends from the program who also really wanted to go and love skiing just as much.
The first night we had an awesome meal of meat and wine. I found out that I really like dry wine, they had a very tasty Malbec at the restaurant we went to.
Bariloche is known for its chocolate, dry meats, cheese and wine, and we had a bunch of all. Everything was rich and delicious.
The next day we went skiing all day and it was magnificent. We had to take the public bus which smelled like a foot and had about 75 people on it but only cost like a buck fifity. I think the mountain has 54 trails but you can pretty much go anywhere you want if you can get back. The night before it had snowed a little so there was plenty of fresh pow to be had, and I had it all over, in and around my mouth. We hiked up a little too and had some fresh tracks of our own. It was incredible. O yeah and to start the day for the first chairlift you need to walk through a mini-mall to get to it. It was very funny standing on the escalator in my ski boots holding my skis. But the skiing was awesome, really soft good snow and the weather was mostly sunny both days. From the top of the mountain you could see pretty much everything. The views looked unreal. The second day was better picture wise but of course I dropped my camera in the snow after the first picture but I fixed it now. At the top of the mountain you could see two small towns, Bariloche, 2 lakes and tons and tons of mountains, ridiculous. We sat and chilled to look at the view for quite awhile. There I found that I want to be surrounded by mountains in my future I need them in my life.
At night we went to a couple of really great restaurants. We got fondue at one and for a first time fonduer it was delicious. I was stuffed each night. The town has tons of great small shops and stores for touristy people like we were being. They also have great small pubs and bars that were very cool drinking in and hanging out. Another night we pigged on a few chocolaterias had some hot chocolate that tasted like just hot chocolate syrup was sooo gooood.
Argentians are very nice not like what Chileans think of them but when looking for nice people you can find them anywhere, we just have to sift through the rubbish that people say about each other. I liked the Argentina vibe too it is a little more European than Chile and somewhat more relaxed, want to return to Argentina.
All in all I would say it was the most satisfying and delicious trip I've had yet. Mucho traveling but worth it, would definitely go back there again.

Disfrutar juventud.

Franks
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