La Chascona + A Germanish Lesson

Hola Chiquillos(what my Profesora always calls my class),
I have to be honest, this is the first week where I've felt some of the pressure of schoolwork. Today I had a group presentation,tomorrow I have a chapter guide to turn in, and Saturday(yes saturday...ick!) I have my final exam for the Intensive Language Program. ¡Muchas cosas para hacer! On top of that I've been planning my trip to La Serena and San Pedro de Atacama, which I'm leaving for this Saturday with some other EAPers. The hostel we booked for La Serena looks great(still working on Atacama) as do the activities around both cities, so I'm getting pretty pumped.I'll definitely keep you all updated on those adventures! This is my first big trip in Chile...8 days!
 Despite the busy week I had a chance to visit one of Pablo Neruda's houses(he has 3 total,in different parts of Chile) with my cultural group on Tuesday. For those who need some filling in Pablo Neruda was a Nobel Prize winning poet, known for love sonnets,surrealist poems, historical epics, and political pieces(he was involved with the Communist party). He was also close friends with Pablo Picasso and other famous artists of his time, but according to our tour guide(who by the way was rocking a perfectly sculpted handlebar mustache) he absolutely hated Salvador Dalí. They had different political inclinations, plus Dalí had a dark and mean-spirited personality and Neruda, well... didn't. He was a man who liked to throw a quite a few parties back in his day. However for a man who in my opinion has such a kind, grandfatherly look about him, he writes some sad pieces.

Neruda(on the right) and Picasso, after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature.This picture was in the house.

Now, the house itself  is called La Chascona, named after one of his former love's abundant red hair...yeah I still don't quite understand how that translates. But anyway, it was FILLED with knick knacks, paintings, and the entire house is modeled after a boat and a lighthouse. There was even a secret passage from a dining room,to the windy stairs leading to the second level. I want to live there!The guide told me I definitely wasn't the first to say that. Apparently this isn't even the house with the most stuff in it, because it was vandalized and damaged during Pinochet's right-wing dictatorship(since Neruda was far far left). I forgot my camera,but we weren't allowed to take pictures inside anyway(wink wink). Here's a photo of the outside sign that I took on a Santiago tour a few weeks ago. That was the blog post where I promised to return for an indoor tour...and I did!

When I visit the other houses in Valparaíso and Isla Negra, I will definitely want to snap a few shots of his odd collections. It's more fun to show them and explain, then to blab on about something people can't see.

And now...here comes a lesson in Germanish!  Chile has had German immigrants that have influenced everything from skin color to language. And the German word "yeah" means yes, or sí. So. when the Germans immigrated here, Chileans started becoming accustomed to saying "yeah." Overtime, as they used it more and more, and the phrase "po" was added on. It's almost just like a phrase of confirmation. Sípo, nopo, ya-po...now the Chileans po it all. And my host mom told me that of all the po's, ya-po is used the most, thanks to the Germans. I've noticed it walking down the street, in my house, and in class. My host mom is always saying "yaaa-po," on the phone. Also, whenever my profesora is transitioning to a new topic she'll say "ya, chiquillos..." which is like "ok guys..." Just thought it was interesting to learn this little bit of history behind a heavily used chilenismo. 

And on a side note, Chileans  swallow their letters as much as they eat bread...a lot! Suddenly the phrase "más o menos(more or less)," becomes "maomeo"...hence my perpetual confusion while communicating with the locals. It's hardest with people who are either a)young adults(slang everywhere) or b)elderly people(different diction, often throaty voices). So this definitely isn't some recorded tape provided by Mc-something publishing you listen to in Spanish class two or three times in a row...this is real life. It's like a combination of Taboo and charades for me. Grammar isn't my downfall...it's vocab. I don't have a wide range,even with common household items.Thanks for ingraining that in my brain Spanish 1-2...not.So I have to get people to say a word, but I can only use a limited number of words for description...that's where charades comes in.For example, I had to ask my host mom how to say "the thing, that is like a blanket, but more*demonstrates thinness with fingers*...oh a sheet!(sábana I believe). But I'm learning new words everyday with this "game." 

So this may be my last post in a while. Next time I write, I hope to share lots of traveling adventures! ¡Chao mis amigos!