When in Chile...

I got to have tecito with my English co-teacher yesterday afternoon, which not only included tea and bread, but the Chilean favorite, completos. I thought I'd put in my two cents and describe how to make a real completo. You must have the following ingredients:
Hot dogs
Fresh hot dog buns
mashed avocado
diced tomatoes
mayo
ahi (chilean hot sauce, optional)
ketchup

Heat up the hot dogs and put between hot dog bun. Layer mashed avocado, tomatoes, mayo and other condiments as preferred. Consume all ingredients at one time. If available, eat your completo on a completo holder-- a plastic hot dog tray that looks similar to a butter tray (I wondered why each person needed their own butter tray!) I opt. not to put mayo on mine. To add to the experience, you must have tecito with friends and family and gossip about the latest scandal with Cecilia, the ex Chilean Miss Universe, and her patos negros after the paparazzi caught her naked in her backyard with a lover, or whether Lisa will find a Chilean boyfriend that is not over the age of 40 and is not her religion teacher (my teacher's latest favorite joke).Gift from Tia Karina and Tia Sylvia (the kinder teachers) for Mother's Day (from two single, child-free women to another!)

I'm still in love with all of my students in a way only a teacher could love her students! More so, because I realize how fortunate I am to work at Cerro Moreno after visiting the liceo in Mejillones with Rio (sorry, Rio). Yes, the high school students really did climb in and out of the window of her classroom and made kissy noises through the hole in the door. Yes, they really love Rio in a way that students SHOULDN'T love their teacher (their favorite phraes in English is "I love you") and graffitti hearts bearing their name and the teacher's name. And, yes, they really did ask me if I wanted to run with them after smoking a joint. And I do find it odd that their finger nails are unusually long, and not as a fashion sense, mind you. So, yesterday, when my third grader who may have some sort of autism gave me his favorite marble and held my hand on our way to class, I couldn't help but feel I was in the right place! Weeks before, the same student was playing with a red rubble ball in class, which I confiscated, and for the rest of class he sat there with his head down the entire time! Perhaps I am making more progress in the school than I imagined. I admire my little second graders who could identify the entire list of vocabulary I had of food words and categorize them in my food pyramid (yes, I'm putting my nutrition degree in use!). I think the next couple months are going to go by too quickly.

Desfile Fotos and the National Hymn

Another time for a little Chilean education for my friends and family back in the States! This past Monday I sang to songs with the other profes at Cerro Moreno as a "thank-you" to the students in light of the school's aniversario and Dia de Alumnos ("Students Day"). We sang "De Cara Al Viento" (The Face of the Wind) and "La Copucha" (my Spanish dictionary translates it to "The Hood" but its seems more like an explosive.... it goes BUM! in the song). I've also been attempting to memorize the hymno nacional de Chile as we've sung it several times since coming here. As access to wireless internet makes my connection to you and lesson planning that much easier, I have a link to a website where you can hear the vocals and instrumental parts of the national hymn:
www.joeskitchen.com/chile/facts/chile-himno.mp3
And, for my non-Spanish speaking friends and family and in part because I don't know how to write accents or tildes on my blog, I have the translation of the hymn (thanks Wikipedia!) for your viewing pleasure:
Pure, Chile, is your blue sky
Pure breezes flow across you as well
And your flower-embroidered field
Is a happy copy of Eden.
Majestic is the snow-capped mountain
That was given as a bastion by the Lord (repeat once)
And the sea that quietly washes your shores
Promises you future splendor (repeat last two lines twice)
(Chorus)
Sweet fatherland, accept the vows
That were given by Chile at your altars:
Either you be the tomb of the free
Or the refuge against oppression (repeat last two lines twice)

Or the refuge against oppression (repeat 3x)

I also have a copy of my school's song, but I don't know the tune! Here's a couple pictures from the march (ie. parade) that happened on Friday morning in Antofagasta. A couple schools from the city marched for two blocks along the streets in honor of the Battle of Iquique (May 21st). Chile actually lost the naval battle, but we celebrate it anyway by having a 3 day weekend! I also went to my school's fundraising event Friday night, Kermesses. I tried vino negavado, red wine heated with clovers and orange peel. Students (or their parents) also prepared brochetas (shishkabobs or as my friend's host mom says "meat sticks"). They also had completos (hot dogs dressed with mayo, avocado, ketchup, and diced tomatoes), mini pizzas, tacos, empanadas filled with cheese, and cakes---kuchen, a German tart similar to apple pie, is very popular here. The most memorable part of the night is when I danced to reggeton with the students and teachers, and the students suggested I bump and grind with the music teacher, a charming man twice my age! I politely declined. Just as one of my students was upset her parents were watching her dance (she was less inclined to bump and grind with her male friends due to this) I felt a little awkward dancing in front of my students. However, even the 5 year olds have a rhythm in their step better than most kids twice their age have in the States (sorry to say!) We're starting a new unit for all the classes in English and I hope to teach them about recycling and practice present and future tense verbs. Oh! And I'm giving my teachers a recipe for one of my mom's favorite cakes, Better Than Sex. (she's got the recipe if you're interested) I must re-write it in spanish for my teachers and perhaps I'll make the cake so they can attest whether it lives up to it's name!

Semana de Aniversario

Schools in Chile celebrate their anniversary, or inception, with a week of special activities for the students. This usually means the students have less class time and they participate in competitions between the different grades. Basically, the equivalent to homecoming/spirit week for
Vero's birthday celebration us. My school was founded on May 4th 1955 as a school for 1st through 4th graders and in 1964 was reclassified as a primary school for grades 1st through 1165 Chillan 8th. Since 1989, the school took on the name of the director at the time, Edda Cuneo Donaggio. Anyway, it's a small pink school that serves the families of the air base at Cerro Moreno. Class sizes and the intimacy of the school faculty resembles that of the private schools in Chile. Families of the military are exempt from paying for their homes on the base, as their

Feliz Dia Mama Torta
family members are serving the country, so the families are able to spend their money elsewhere. Yes, this may mean my students are somewhat spoiled by their lifestyle, but their parents are also more involved with their
Vero
education and put more restrictions on their children. Monday, the kinders, 1st grade v. 2nd grade, and 3rd vs. 4th grades competed in "baby futbol" or soccer with a handball. One of my little students (a first grader, I believe) began to cry after losing to the second graders! Futbol (soccer) is a huge passion in this country (Cola Cola, a national team, is the equivalent to the Red Sox... rowdy fans notorious for infamy during game time) There was more baby futbol between the older grades on Tuesday and the fathers played their own game of futbol in the evening. Wednesday evening, I helped judge "Si lo Sabe Cante" where the mothers competed to determine who knew songs the best. Groups of mothers representing each grade sat and listened to a portion of music. The mothers who knew the song had to run over to a bell. The first one to ring it then had to sing the song. One mother of an 8th grader argued with us at the end of the game as we didn't accept her singing! Even the next day, myself and the other teachers crossed her path, and she brought it up again! She wouldn't let it go. (hmmm... sounds familiar to Paly mothers) There was also handball games between the girls of each grade and the school's version of Peloton ("Survivor") Thursday there were dancing competitions between the younger grades (pre-school through 4th grade). Friday, I went to a Cayo Coco ("Fallen Coconut") with the teachers and we had some eats and drinks while listening to a professional singer. Some nights the bar offers karaoke, but I was a pooper and left early around 1am (most of them stayed at the bar until 2:30am) The singer sang three songs in English: "Easy like Sunday Morning," "Eternal Flame," and "Man, I Feel Like A Woman" I think that our school scored the highest on the national test for our region and tomorrow the mayor of the city and Fundacion Escondida (a mining company that controls a huge portion of the city) is coming to visit our school. We're also giving our English tests this week (the students have monthly exams in each subject). But Friday, we have Kermesses... like a food fair where each grade prepares food to sell at the school and there is a school dance. The festivity starts at 8:30 on Friday and goes on until 1am, although I might head back to the city earlier.
Cerro Moreno
Sunday, for Mother's Day, my host sister Barby and I prepared a special lunch (the biggest meal of the day) for my host mother and host sister. Barby and I bought chicken thighs, cream of mushroom soup, and salad fixins (I bet you can guess what I made). Yes, I decided we would prepare the classic Campbell's soup recipe only we had to use powdered soup instead because the

7th grade girls handball team
store didn't have Campbell's. Being inexperienced chefs, Barby and I started trimming the chicken first as that would take the longest. Halfway through cutting vegetables for our salad, I realized my host sister gave me the same cutting board used for the chicken as for the raw veggies. My dietitian/US mind wondered how on earth I lasted a month in this country without getting sick, but we continued cooking. We had to use my 1.5 yr. old brother's powdered milk to make the powdered cream of mushroom soup. Before you make up your mind about my meal, I have to let you know they loved it and the chicken was perfect. We had a freak out moment because
Kinder baby futbol
the chicken was so thick it was cooked on both sides but not in the center (over the stove top). So I wrapped the chicken in tin foil and baked it in our mini oven (which only heats to 250) for the rest of the time. Salads here are plated with each ingredient sectioned separately and the individual mixes everything together. I added herbs and toasted almonds as condiments to the dish, but I think I was the only one that took advantage of them! So, in the end, we had prepared a Chilean version of my American dish. =) I may try something new like won tons (wantanes, in Spanish) in a soup form. My friend Olivia and I also found a supermarket that sells foreign foods like peanut butter (thank heaven!), taco ingredients, and asian condiments like soy sauce. And so ended another amazing week in Chile!

Me and Teachers of E-88 at Cayo Coco

Weekend in San Pedro de Atacama

How can I describe the beauty of the desert? Having only lived here for 1 month, perhaps its just part of my settling in period, but the city of Antofagasta is not as desolate as I had heard. And, after traveling farther east toward the border of Bolivia within my region (Region II) I got to visit the little town of San Pedro. With only a population of 5000, the majority of people being tourists, San Pedro is THE stopping place when visiting geysers, salt flats, thermal baths, flamencos, or just to see the true beauty of the desert. I took a bus from Antofa solo and ended up sitting next to a 22 yr. old nursing student returning home to Calama. He showed me fotos of his trip to Salta, Argentina with his family (another place to visit while in S. America) We chatted until he left the bus in Calama. An hour later I was dropped off in San Pedro. A wave of panic hit me as thereS seemed to be nothing around for miles. Luckily, friendly tour guides on bikes told me the hostel where my friends were staying was just a couple blocks down the street. After adjusting to my city life in Antofa, embracing S.P. de Atacama was like stepping onto a different planet. My friends, Olivia and TJ had rented a room at Hostal Soncheck the night before and reserved a private room for me. We ended up hanging out in their enormous "matrimonial bed" most of the time, but being three people, we had to rent at least two rooms. They were sandbording (surfing on sand) that day, so I walked around town with another traveler. We had tea at a little cafe and I listened to the old Englishman talk about his journies. I reunited with TJ and Olivia, having a dinner at Cielo, a restaurant recommended to us by their sandboarding tour guide. Dinner was fine, although a parade of policemen came in the middle to make sure they were upholding their food/wine policy correctly. We met two men working on the Alma project, which will finish in 2012, and will create the world's clearest satelite point, at Milagro, a little bar with an open fire pit in the center. Rusty, from Killgore, TX was "the stereotypical Texan" as Olivia put it (and being from Fort Worth, I'm taking her word for it). Timothy, was a Coloradoan working with him. The two were sitting with the owner of the bar, Cesar, who served us several free drinks and pizza. He gave us free Milagro T-shirts and invited us to travel with him during the weekend. Sunday we relaxed and checked out tours for the following day. We signed up to see the geysers and thermal baths in the morning, and then the salt flats and flamingoes at night. TJ and Olivia went horseback riding while I rented a bike and did a grueling 2 hour bikeride in the desert. Given our bodies were already kind of loopy from the higher altitude and dryness of the desert, the ride was quite an adventure for a novice rider like me. Still the view was amazing. I had wanted to bike to Valle de la Muerte, which sits across the Valle de la Luna. My ride was along Route 23, and at 3pm, I was the only rider out there except for the passing freight trucks and tour buses. I loved the solitude and it was a treat to get home having accomplished my ride. After regrouping with TJ and Olivia for dinner I said a little hello to Cesar at Milagro's and had a little pina colada before retiring in my room. The next morning, we woke up at 4am to meet our tour guide to drive to the geysers. The other volunteers recommended I wear as many layers as possible for our morning trip. Good thing, as it was below zero in the morning and bitterly cold. TJ, Olivia, and I began to thaw as the sun rose, and although still close to freezing, we dared to enter the thermal baths. We hoarded the best spots in the bath where the bursts of hot water rose being the first three to jump in, and unbeknownst to the others, we stayed at the best spots as others joined in the pool. =) We returned to San Pedro finding ice cream for lunch and then meeting our tour guide, Fernando, at the office for our trip to the salt flats, salt pools, and flamenco site. The same group of guys we had toured with in the morning were our companions that afternoon. The views are still difficult to describe, and I probably can't do them justice (hence, the pictures), not to mention the fact it seemed we were the only people who actually got to walk directly on the salt flats. Walking on the flats was like walking on unstable snow. All of us got our feet stuck in the mud below, and I'm hoping nothing toxic was living down there as the salt flats seemed like a special nature reserve void of any human interference before we came! We walked out to the flamencos at sunset and returned to the van where Fernando treated us to chips and pisco colas. We got to talk to the other guys after having spent the whole day with them. Although, they clearly doubted our Spanish speaking ability and talked about naked women and the like in front of me and Olivia! We had floated in the salt pools just before, and I felt like I had been creamated in salt and anticipated the hostal's showers. Was probably one of the best showers I've taken merely because I've never felt so dirty! We met up with a bunch of Fulbright scholars, also English teachers, whom Olivia and TJ met while sandboarding. We sat at Milagro's for my third night and enjoyed the company of the fire and open ceiling. For such a great honor as receiving a Fulbright, the group was one of the most upbeat, down to earth group. Akshay, who graduated from ASU, told me about working for Teach for America and hopefully I'll see him again in Iquique where he teaches university students. Our last afternoon in SP, we toured the Museo de SP, which is labeled as the Univ. of the North. I was able to leave with Olivia and TJ a couple hours early. On our stop in Calama, I ran into the bathroom but forgot the number bus I was traveling on. I almost flipped out when I asked a stranger if she thoguht the bus was going to Antofagasta and she said "yes" Luckily I saw some guys on my bus that hadn't left the station, meaning the bus hadn't left either! I found out they were from France and one was teaching French in La Serena, 13 hours from Antofa! Perhaps I can visit him on a long weekend, but for now, I think I need a weekend back in the city! Next week I'll have pics of my students and teachers from Cerro Moreno, as we're celebrating the school's anniversary (anniversario!) Till then, cuidarte!