Beaches, BBQs and yet more BREAD!

So it turns out that Chileans are the second biggest consumers of bread in the world. To be fair, seeing as it is the main component of two of their daily meals- breakfast and 'once'-this fact does not surprise me. But, as you can imagine I am getting slightly sick of it. haha.

Amasado- One of the different variations of bread on offer

I have now been living and volunteering in Chile for five weeks. That's four weeks longer than the longest time I have ever spent away from home, not to mention the fact that its about eleven thousand kilometres further away...It's crazy. However, I have been so busy that it honestly feels like no time at all. Although I do get the occasional bout of home sickness, over all the past few weeks have been pretty amazing.

In the run up to the Independence Day celebrations the school was brought to life by rehearsals for the annual concert. This meant that Caroline and I didn't have many classes but instead got to watch all the students (and some of the teachers) rehearse the traditional Chilean dance known as Cueca for a performance that was being held at the school on the last day of term.

Final rehearsals the morning before the concert

The way in which the whole school got involved- from kids as young as five to senior students of eighteen-really illustrated the fact that Independence Day is a big part of Chilean culture. It was also lovely to see the all their hard work pay off as we watched the students dance Cueca to traditional Chilean music (which was also performed live by the students) on the night.

Teachers Dancing Cueca in Traditional Chilean Dress

All the hard work paid off! 

Having made friends with a group of the teachers at the school. Caroline and I were lucky enough to be invited to stay at one of their beach houses the weekend before Independence Day. As we had been living in the city for almost a month, we thought that this would be a great opportunity to explore the countryside, and have a break from the Santiago smog. The morning after the school concert we set off on a two hour bus journey to El Quisco- a town situated on the central coast of Chile. The weekend consisted of walks on the beach, eating Chilean food (mainly empanadas* and BBQs), drinking beer, playing board games and just generally having a fun.

*Empanada- Typical Chilean cuisine made from
 pastry with various fillings  

Chilean take on a BBQ

View from the beach house- The Sun Set

Yes, that is a Tsunami warning sign..

So the Chileans decided to combine all of their favourite things
 (beer, lemon and salt) into a drink
- lets just say it tasted intersting... 

Tired from our weekend at the beach, we spent the rest of the holiday relaxing at home. We celebrated Independence Day itself in true Chilean style- by getting together with all of the family and having yet another BBQ. 

The food was good and the sun even came out which was a bonus.