Using SIM with eSIM Overseas

[Drerunsit]

Hello. I recently traveled to South America and purchased a physical SIM for $6 that came with 50 GB of data and 500 minutes. I use an eSIM for my US carrier. I switched the settings so the foreign SIM would be used for data. However, I wanted to still receive calls and texts at my US number (included in my base plan in the country I was visiting). Therefore, I didn't disable the eSIM. It seemed like my battery was draining insanely fast and I can only attribute it to the US SIM constantly looking for signal.

I have 2 questions:

1) Am I correct in my assessment of how this situation plays out from a technical perspective?

2) Is there a way to turn off my eSIM entirely while I have the other SIM in the phone, while still receiving texts/calls to my US number?

Thank you in advance.