Flojera Fin de Semana

(Lazy Weekend).

While my weekly schedule does not exactly include grueling hours; the weekends here are something to look forward to.  Classes end at 1:00pm every Friday for the students and teachers. Our typical weekend includes a weekly Friday afternoon trip to Temuco for groceries, shopping; perhaps a meal (completos, pizza, or churrascos in Lautaro) or a visit with extended family. 

Saturday mornings I am often the first to wake-up around 9:00 or 9:30am and usually make myself a tea and read in my bed until the family wakes up. We have a leisurely breakfast in pajamas around 11:30. That is followed by Antonia and me playing computer games, bilingual Bananagrams, or the Chilean version of “My Name is Alice, I live in Arkansas and I sell apples.” (Mi nombre es Antonio, vivo en Argentina y se vende aceitunas…” Usually our afternoon ritual is complete with dubbed Disney Channel programs streaming in the background. Somewhere around 3:00pm, seemingly just after I have digested breakfast, we eat lunch (lasagna, homemade pizza, etc). In the evenings we have once and a glass of wine followed by watching a movie together. Sundays are much of the same usually including an afternoon visit to one of the abuelas.  

In Milwaukee for the past two years the weekends were usually faster paced rather than a time to slow down after a busy week. With working a job that I loved and still upholding “social commitments,”  a few hours on Sunday evenings with a homemade dinner with my roommates (if we were lucky and not clocking hours at Raynor)was as close as we got to winding down.  

Quite contrarily, the work days in Chile are much longer for most people and the only chance to relax is on the weekends. An interesting difference is the mother still works very hard on the weekends. After preparing and cleaning breakfast, all of the beds are made and laundry is folded. When that is completed it is nearly time to prepare lunch. The cycle begins again in the afternoon. My natural instincts are to help with dishes or give her time to rest but it is the culture and they are accustomed to catering on their families.  She has allowed me to help or watch her special recipes that I plan to try to replicate at home. I am learning to enjoy the downtime to relax and reflect. I do really miss brunch, however.