Day Trip: SANTA RITA WINERY

July 7, 2019 Sharon Leave a comment

Catching up … post from June.

As the school year wraps up, I know to anticipate one thing. Tony is off limits. He will either be (a) writing exams or (b) grading exams. And he is disinclined to give up weekend time when those tasks are looming over him.

Knowing that I know that, he generously threw me a bone at the end of May, before life got too hectic. Imagine my shock when he asked, “Want to take a day trip somewhere, maybe to a winery?” Ummm … OK? He even picked the winery: Santa Rita, less than an hour’s drive from Santiago.

Never mind that Santa Rita is the brand preferred by the homeless man who hangs out at our neighborhood supermarket, chugging wine from a tetrapack. I was just happy to get away!

We took our friends Stella and Ian, and I figured we’d be the only ones there. It was autumn in Chile, after all. Not peak season. Unfortunately, there was a huge group of cackley tourists. Funny how I like to BE the cackley tourist, but I don’t like to be AROUND the cackley tourists.

The tour was pretty standard. Quick introduction to the winery with a peek at the vines. Visit to one of the cellars. View of the bottling area. And then a wine tasting. There was an additional attraction: a cheesy little video with spotlights on mannequins reenacting a key event in the winery’s history.

Stella and I were especially excited to take the pedal bar tour, but unfortunately, our timing was off. We missed the tour, but jumped aboard for a photo.

Santa Rita may not be my favorite wine, but I love living in a country with a wine culture. How cool is it that we can just pop over to a winery for the day? So many wineries, so little time …

On the Road

building some mad skillz on the domestic front

July 7, 2019 Sharon Leave a comment

Catching up … May and June happenings.

I have recently embarked on the “journey to zero waste,” which I’ve discovered is no small feat. I have many excellent mentors in my school community, who have come together in a group called “Global Ripple.” On May 18, a few of us met in a Nido science classroom for a workshop on making eco-friendly products for the home: laundry soap, cleaners, and beeswax covers for containers.

Sarah gets a bunsen burner … much faster!

I actually went home and made two more beeswax covers, which we now use instead of foil. Yay me!

In addition to my quest to reduce our household waste, I remain committed to vegetarianism. Since Tony – who has been the boss of the kitchen for our whole married life – is most definitely NOT interested in giving up meat, I have been forced to learn some cooking skills. I’m not going to lie. I don’t love cooking. I suck at chopping. I can’t deviate from a recipe without panicking. I get so frustrated when I can’t find the ingredients I need in Chile, and I don’t know how to make substitutions. So, clearly, I have a long way to go.

After making eco-friendly household products in the morning, I headed to a friend’s house in the afternoon for an Indian cooking class. Renu guided a group of ladies in whipping up a legit collection of delicious dishes. I mostly sipped wine and watched, although I did grate a lemon at one point. Everything seemed a little too complicated for me to ever reproduce on my own. However, in the next couple weeks, I actually made paneer (first try bombed, second try was a winner), chickpea masala, cucumber raita, and kachumba (marinated onion salad). Pretty dang proud of myself.

On June 2, another friend, Samantha, offered a bread-making class. We learned how to make a basic dough, and she provided some sourdough starter with the steps for keeping it alive. I tried to make sourdough bread at home, but it was less like bread and more like a tree stump. However, I succeeded with some mouth-watering dinner rolls. Is there anything better than hot, fresh bread with butter and honey?

On the Road

Canal ommmmm – weekend yoga retreat

July 7, 2019 Sharon Leave a comment

Catching up… This is a post from February.

Just one week into our second semester of the school year, I was ready for a break. Fortunately, another teacher, Tiffany, had organized a yoga retreat at the coast for the weekend. Double bonus: It was my birthday!

My actual birthday – Friday, Feb. 22 – was fabulous with a special lunch prepared by my EAL teaching team and the best cake of my life.

After school, I hopped in my car with two friends and took off for Canal Om, a seaside resort near the town of Los Vilos.

The location was stunning, even if the facilities were a bit neglected. Our meals were served by an eccentric female chef, who was possibly a bit obsessed with how each dish positively impacted our bodies. “Legumes are great for your period,” she said. What does that even mean?

Anyway, we ate, drank, soaked (in hot and coooold water), strolled around the gorgeous hills, practiced yoga, meditated, got reiki, and laughed. Just what I needed to kick off the semester.