Lamentablemente

The Word of the Day, I was informed, was lamentablemente.

lah-mehn-tah'-bleh-mehn-teh
(adverb) unfortunately, regrettably

Examples

1. Lamentablemente, cuando llegamos a la playa había empezado a llover.
   Unfortunately, when we got to the beach it had started to rain.
2. Lamentablemente, cuando Claudia llegó al viñedo, Eduardo estaba encamado, sin muchos ánimos de seguir luchando.
   
   

   Regrettably, when Claudia got to the vineyard, Eduardo was bedridden, with not much of a will to continue fighting.

   
   

   Both coincidentally and quite lamentable in and of itself, I not only already knew the word, but had also had it thrown at me just a few hours prior.  It was used as an opener to laundry list of unfortunate developments in my work situation.  Lamentablemente, the mining company had confirmed earlier that day that they changed their mind about needing a native speaker at the site.  Lamentablemente, they were now requesting a teacher who was qualified both to teach both English to their Chilean workers as well as Spanish to their Canadian workers.  Lamentablemente, I didn't fit the bill.  Lamentablemente, since I was only staying until July and wasn't going to the mine anymore, it wasn't worth their time to give me a visa... 
   
   I stared at my boss for a few seconds in silence until I could absorb the full shock of the blow.  Her tone of voice was so light and casual that I needed a moment to bend my brain around the words she was saying and wring out the weight of their true meaning.  Her tone and facial expression said something more along the lines of, "Unfortunately, when we got to the beach it had started to rain." but the words coming out out of her mouth were infinitely more destructive.
   
   In my mind's eye, I could see all of my plans lined up in a neat little row.  With one clumsy flick of the wrist, she knocked down the first of them and they fell like dominoes; each one colapsing onto the next.  There wasn't a glimmer of sympathy involved, not even a simple "I'm sorry", just the dreaded Lamentablemente. I was back to square one.
   
   I felt like Charlie Brown, running at full speed towards that football, only to have it yanked away at the last second and fall flat on my ass.  That's beginning to describe my relationship with the academy alarmingly well.  It seems to be empty promise after empty promise with them lately.  I always approach cautiosly at first but (much like Charlie) am quickly convinced to give more trust than has been earned.  
   
   Within the next few weeks, I'll be scrambling to put together a new plan (be it in Iquique or elsewhere).  When my other boss gets back from vacation, I'm sure he'll have lots of lovely things to tell me about how great it will be for me if I stay on here in Iquique.  He'll hold out another football and things will seem shiny and new and promising again.  Maybe I'll run after it, or maybe I'll just walk away.  
   

Noticias del Norte

Well, I´ve officially been back in Iquique for a week now and I must say, I'm feeling pretty awesome about the decision I've made.  But before I get into that, can we take a moment to appreciate the new blog layout and the little animation thingy that I made?  What do you think?  Would it detract from my blogger street cred if I told you that I made it using paint?  Shit, too late.

Anyways, as I was saying... life in Iquique has been great.  I have been surfing, tanning and spending time with a lot of friends that I hadn't seen in what feels like a really long time.  I'm also meeting a bunch of new people from all over the world, thanks to my new job.  A few days ago, I started working  as a receptionist at the hostel where I'm staying.  The job has been a serious lifesaver since I came back with close to no money and have yet to start any classes.  The kids' course I was promised didn't pan out after all because of low enrollment, but things are rolling right along with the mining job.  On Friday, I spent three hours in the clinic doing a ton of different exams. Now have the official stamp of approval to go up to the mine (from the medical perspective, at least).  The visa situation is another story but that is suppose to be getting sorted out this week.

Today I met up with my co-worker, Maja, who use to work at the same site. She gave me the low-down on the students and a few extra tricks of the trade.  Looks like I'm in for a cold "Bolivian Winter", which might actually be nice after so many weeks of face-melting heat.  My projected start date is next Monday but it still feels like there is a lot to do and I'm a bit dubious.  Meanwhile, I'm digging the job at the hostel and taking things one day at a time.

I'm not really sure what to expect at the mine site.  To be honest, I've heard some slightly scary things about the working conditions but I'm actually looking forward to getting an insider's view of something so essential to Chile's entire economy.  I'm also stoked for the improvement in my own economical status that this job will make.

Overall, I imagine it to be pretty much exactly like this, only with copper instead of diamonds...and in Spanish of course.

La Vida Iquiqueña

I can't believe that almost a month has passed since I last updated my blog. Sorry, kind of fell off the map there. Ruby, Kate and I have now been living in Iquique for about three weeks. We were living in a hostel up until last night when we finally moved into our new apartment. There were definite pros and cons to living in the hostel and it was bittersweet leaving. We met so many great people there but it will be nice to finally have our own space and not have to worry about people stealing all of our food anymore. Our apartment is super close to the hostel so we can always go back to visit our friends and make new ones, which is awesome. We're really getting the best of both worlds.

Jobs are plentiful in Iquique but the visa process still befuddles me a bit. I've been working at an English Institute for a little over a week now but I can't officially sign my contract until I have a work visa. When I researched the process of obtaining said work visa, all of the info that I found says that I need to have at least a one-year contract before I can get it. So right now I'm basically caught in a catch 22, just waiting for more information so I can figure out what my next move will be.

I was also offered a position at a colegio teaching pre-kinder and kinder (4 and 5 year olds) for 4 hours on Wednesday mornings in Alto Hospicio (about an hour from Iquique by bus). I went to the school on Monday and Tuesday and I'm really excited about the prospect of working with kids again. I spent some time observing in their class and I had a blast. Again, the issue is the visa. I need to have my work visa situation figured out before I can sign a contract and start working there.

In the meantime, I've been having a blast in Iquique; partying, laying out, jogging on the beach, swimming in the ocean, playing ping pong, eating sushi, chilling in the hostel and making lots of trips to the Piña (our favorite juice place on the beach, which is shaped like a giant pineapple). My current work schedule is kind of crappy (6 pm-10 pm Monday-Friday and 9 am-1 pm on Saturdays) but my co-workers are cool and I'm really enjoying teaching. Overall, I can't really complain. La Vida Iquiqueña is pretty sweet.