Since Ally left, I've been quite busy!
I had a pet-filled weekend with León. First, we spent Saturday at Expo Mascotas. It's basically a big expo for pet-lovers where they sell all sorts of products, have shows and some animals.
Every year I've wanted to go, so this year I made it a point to actually go. I'm always more likely to go if I can bring my dog. The expo was massive! It was in a giant expo center filled with vendors and people. When I arrived, it was super crowded. León was understandably a little overwhelmed. There were people and pets (mostly dogs) everywhere. After I while, I also got overwhelmed. We shopped a bit and explored the various vendors.
Unfortunately, I don't think I'd go back to Expo Mascotas. For starters, there were way too many people. I really lose my patience quickly in crowds here in Chile. The people don't seem to have any spatial awareness and always knock into you, walk painfully slow or block the only path and the children are very disrespectful. The other thing I didn't like was the amount of animals they had on display. You would think that an animal expo would be super conscious of the well-being of other animals. Instead they had a petting zoo, with tiny cages and children running around yelling and screaming at the animals. It really boiled my blood that a pet expo would subject these animals to such stress for not 1, but 3 long days.
We did benefit from many free samples that I will give to my street dog friends. León got two squeaky toys and we got many free photos taken and a portrait drawn of León!
Corrida SoyChile
Just like Expo Mascotas, I would see signs for a 3k dog run in my comuna each year. By the time I got into researching it, it would always be sold out. This year, the second I received the e-mail I pounced.
The event was part of the community that I live in. They had various runs such as a 12k, 7k, 5k, 3k kids run and a 3k dog run. Of course, I signed up for the dog run. The event itself was so much fun, they had personal trainers stretching people, free bananas, face painting and zumba.
The dog run was so much fun. During the 10 second count-down to start, all of the dogs were barking and jumping up and down. It was so chaotic and I loved every minute of it! I felt like I was with my people. I ran with my 2 dog-lover friends. We ran slow and steady and I'm happy to report that we ran the entire 3k. León and Lilo (my friends' dog) had a blast. After the run, they chased each other around for another 2 hours like it was nothing.
I was very excited because I received a medal at the end of the race. It's silly, but since I was never involved in sports in school, I never won any trophies or medals. I was so excited to finally get a medal. Also, I was impressed that I came in 22 out of 65, not too bad for my first run.
This past week, the room mothers celebrated our birthdays. The mothers were so sweet to include me in the celebration since my birthday is actually in summer. They went all out with decorations and balloons (very bad idea). They also gave us both beautiful bags from Prüne, a very expensive purse company. It's always refreshing to feel appreciated.
Finally, this weekend we celebrated my best friend Colm's birthday. We had a blast at his party and for the 124th time WE ARE NOT DATING. HE IS GAY PEOPLE!!! The party was all the more special because Edel was back in town for a bit after returning from her world-trip.
^^ My cheesecake game is getting stronger
Laughable Moments:
One of my student's parents told me that when they went to Disney World in the US she kept saying "Miss Kim is from here!" She literally thinks I live at Disney World
^^On the way to the birthday, Colm asked me to bring ice since they ran out. Little did I know, he asked everyone the same thing. So we had about 15 bags of ice.
^^Very strange thing to put on a candle
^^I was looking out my classroom window and thought I was hallucinating. There was a mini tornado and when I turned to look at the playscape, my jaw dropped. The creepiest part was we didn't hear anything. Afterwards, there was no breeze at all.
^^ 20 minutes before I was standing there on recess duty...
^^ The pee police
All for now! XO
