Chile in 2007

I am thankful for...

2008-11-24T09:10:00.000-08:00

Toilet seat protectors. And toilet covers. Since moving back to California from Chile, I was happily shocked to notice that most establishments that have bathrooms provide toilet seat protectors. I forgot how nice it was to not have to buy travel-sized kleenex whenever leaving the house! I had a layover at an airport (not in California) that not only lacked toilet seat protectors, but also lacked toilet seats. I walked into the stall to find a toilet bowl with no cover. Luckily, with training and a bit of practice from being abroad, squatting over toilet bowls with no covers or seats isn't so hard anymore. However, as being a girl, I do prefer when those things are provided for.

Another thing about toilet seat protectors...when no toilet paper is available, they're a handy substitute!

So, this year I'm thankful for toilet seat protectors.

And my family.

Did I tell you?

2008-11-06T16:15:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm starting to feel like a blog-whore. This is the third time today I've written on my blog! Eek! Let me explain...

Did I tell you I work reception? That explains the long amounts of time I have to kill, blogging and staying in touch with friends and family via e-mail. Reception sucks. It doesn't 100% suck, it only sucks about 80% It's not the companies that I've worked for have given me problems. Since this summer, I've worked for VMware Inc in Palo Alto (a computer software company that is able to many servers onto one computer); Future US in South San Fran, a magazine publishes magazines from PC World to Pregnancy; Legacy Partners in Foster City, a property management company that mainly has properties along the west coast; and now, Stiefel Laboratories (pronounced stee-ful) which focuses on pharmaceutical dermatology and now owns what was formerly Connetics. Fascinating, huh? The employees at these companies are great. Its the work that remains the same.

I sit at a front desk. I greet employees and visitors. I make sure visitors have badges, card keys, whatever you call the identification/security stickers. I book conference rooms and answer phone calls. At one point, I was afraid I would answer the phone with the wrong company name and confuse the caller. Luckily, it hasn't happened yet. Although, I did make that mistake in the past while working at a hospital and a restaurant. "Hello, Hamersley's!" when I was supposed to say "Hello, White 13!" Luckily the caller was an acquaintance of mine and cut me some slack!

The good thing is reception work is like getting (decently) paid while doing virtually nothing. The bad thing is: ditto. Sometime I feel my brains cells going numb, similar to the feeling my bum gets after sitting at the front desk for 8 hours. I yearn for something more stimulating where I feel I'm making a sizable contribution to society in a positive manner.

Then, there's also the people who assume that because you are doing a menial position, you are only capable of doing a menial position. Otherwise, you'd excel yourself much farther in life instead of being stuck at a front desk on your 26th birthday. It was kind of a blow to my ego. Where have I gone in the past 26 years of my life? How come I'm not already a Registered Dietitian working for a food company or out in the schools? It hurt a little, but then I remind myself: stepping stone.

Again, two more cents. Chauito!

Upper Middle Class comment

2008-11-06T16:06:00.001-08:00

My friend Erika told me the my family's not like the typical upper middle class Palo Altan family didn't ring quite right. I agree. So, I'm explaining myself as I explained to her in an e-mail:

Glad you read my blog! I guess I didn't elaborate on that comment, that my family was different from the typical upper middle class family. Not because we're different financially, but I don't feel the "want, want, want; need, need, need" pull that a lot of upper middle class people do. (that's probably because we aren't dirt poor, but anyhow) I'm perfectly happy having what I have and don't strive to get all designer clothing, cosmetics, merchandise, etc. and name brands don't really mean much to me. I agree, sometime there is a guarantee that a brand will last longer or have a higher quality than an off-brand, but I don't stick to brands. I think I was going to write more about that. It has a lot to do with how my mom raised us. She's not a big spender when it comes to clothing. Sometimes she splurges on things, but for the most part, she's a bargain shopper. She used to make her own clothes! My dad, on the other hand, is BIG into brand names stuff. He sticks to Brooks Brothers and other names. I don't consider myself a big spender. When I have to, I'll put the money into it, but I like to think things over before handing over the paper or plastic! I think it's easy for a lot of people in Palo Alto to spend without thinking, because they can afford it, because they feel they have the right to do whatever they want with the money they earn. I guess I'm a little more philosophical when it comes to wealth, even if I don't have an exorbitant bank account myself! I don't know if this holds true if I ever do earn a lot of money, but I'd like to think I would give money away to charity on an annual basis and put money to better use. Who knows? I ramble, I know. Anyway, my two cents.

Life After Chile in my Palo Alto Bubble

2008-11-06T09:43:00.000-08:00

At the sweet requests of my dear friend Vanessa Rogers, I have decided to add blabb (rambling thoughts, words of wisdom) to my blog!

I'm 26. I've been telling people the best gift I received this year on the date was having Barak Obama elected as our new president! I'm SOOO happy about this news! However, I don't know if it's the cynic in me, but I fear some stupid person will attempt to assassinate our first black president. I've been reminded that this would still be better than having McCain die and have Soccer Mom Palin as president. HOWEVER, in the unlikely case that she dies off as well, we'd get Nancy Pelosi which wouldn't be so bad!

Moving on, I digress. 6 months after returning home to Palo Alto, CA and I was still mooning over my lost life in South America, the friends and family (host family) I left behind, and my casual, carefree life as an English (I almost wrote Ingles) teacher. I began work for PAUSD at Nixon Elementary on Stanford's campus as a teacher's aide for two students needing extra resource help. The students' cases were like night and day: one student had tons of family support and encouragement despite his language and learning disabilities; the other's family seemed to perpetuate his behavioral disabilities in the classroom. Although I was excited to be in a teaching environment once again, I had downgraded from teaching my own classes in Chile (my own lesson plans, my own schedule, etc) to being the hovering shadow in a California classroom. I greatly admired both teachers at Nixon and their teaching styles, however, my adjustment into a different school system was difficult. All of a sudden, I forgot where students in the 3rd and 4th grade were developmentally and academically. To me, my Chilean students at that level were little regalitos, babes, whom I adored (and even better, they adored me back!) To my Californian students, I was a young, awkward teaching assistant with a tendency to bore and annoy the kids. At least, that was the impression I got from the students. Not to mention the difficult of getting excited in the morning when the day before I was told by my student "I hate you! I'm never going to be your friend! Get away from me!" (followed by attempts to kick and punch me or wild laps around the classroom that only Road Runner would have the chance catching)

I decided that elementary school education, at least in special education, was not where my career was headed and that a teaching certification program could wait. I supplemented my little income with work as a hostess at the now defunct L'Acquolina Restaurant in Los Altos. I started two weeks after they opened, hoping to revisit the wonderful experience I had as Hamersley's. Given I worked there for two years and had learned Open Table, I was ready to get busy at night! Yet "busy" never happened and when trying to drop by to say hi around August, the "for sale" signs adorning the front windows were an obvious sign of sad defeat. I wish the Urrozs the best of luck in their next endeavour. Cindy Urroz was one of the kindest managers and I was very lucky to work with her for a short while. (I was let go as they decided I wasn't needed at the front any longer)

So, beginning in June, knowing I was not going to return to Nixon as an aide the following school year, I decided to develop my administrative skills at temp work around the Bay Area. Although it felt like starting back at ground zero, I knew it would be a stepping stone towards something greater. Or, at the very least, a way to build work experience and network. However, when asked what I wanted to do after temping ("So I know that's what you're doing now. What would be your DREAM job?") I still had no clue. Nutrition was on hold at that moment. Actually, I had gone from staying the exact same weight from the start of my Chile adventure to the end of my Chile adventure (even after consuming 3 media lunas aka "butter croissants" a day in Argentina on bus trips) to eating round the clock to fill my now empty schedule. I was doing weight training with my mom's trainer, but not much other physical activity and I felt my body turn to mush. I wasn't happy, but I wasn't ready to make any life changes, either.

It was later I joined the Palo Alto running club. I've been a runner since middle school and completed my first half marathon in Boston before leaving for Chile, but only ran occasionally at home. God only knows why I didn't run more! If there's any place good to run, it would be in California! I was challenged to do my first 10 mile run in a two years lapse, and found it refreshingly easy to run on the trail at Wunderlich. If I can do 10, why not try 12? I carpooled with a new friend, Beth, to San Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland for a PCTR run.

It was on that run that I got too ambitious and flew down a downhill, resulting in a sprained ankle early in the race. Yet, there was no turning back for me (it's hard to find your way out of a trail once inside a park) and after catching my breath, decided to finish the race despite pain, and later, swelling. I actually made the brave attempt to sprint in to the finish. That week, my entire left foot swelled up like a balloon. Later in the week after the swelling hadn't subsided after RICE, my mom questioned the possibility of gangrene (which, of course, was not even an issue). In fact, pictures of my sister and I (to be posted soon) at the Gilroy Garlic festival show me with my gimpy leg.

At the risk of sounding cliche, the running club changed my living situation from "badly depressing" to "good" I met a network of great (normal) runners and running helped me jump start my decision to a healthier eating routine and habits in general. I began waking up early on Saturday mornings to drive to far off places like Tiburon, CA to catch a ferry to Angel Island and run there. Or, meet the Saratoga Striders to attempt the Skyline to Sea trail through beautiful Big Basin finishing with a clam chowder fest. I completed the San Jose Rock 'n Roll marathon with a decent 1:44:09, finishing 46th out of 915 women in my age division (given the winner for the women's division was in my age group, that's pretty good). Now, I'm on to my third half marathon in Big Sur this weekend! All of this is in preparation for the CA International Marathon in Sacramento this December!

So, back to my life at home in Palo Alto. I'll need to give you my two cents on growing up in the city built by the admirable yet priggy Leland Stanford (who wanted to deny Asians the right to live in Palo Alto during it's early years; ironic as now Asians make up a generous population at his university). I grew up in the South Palo Alto area by Piazza's. Being a college town, I can't say that South Palo Alto is ghetto, but it's certainly different than North Palo Alto (Professorville, downtown, etc). In fact, moving after 3rd grade to North Palo Alto, I was all of a sudden aware that my clothes weren't designer which didn't put me in favor of being liked at my new elementary school, Walter Hays.

Yet, perhaps this is just me. I'm not a super girly girl. I didn't grow up interested in fashion, make up, or guys until much later in life (college). I was perfectly happy being an independent soul, even if others thought it made me look like a loaner or floater. But Palo Alto thrives on perfection and despite Silicon Valley's nerd-factor influencing the area, San Francisco's high life gives Palo Altans the need to "be it all" It makes the world more well-rounded. You can't get into a Stanford on the mere fact your a total nerd; you have to be a nerd who also was president of your class, having interests in several areas, and can demonstrate your value and ethics to society through good works or at least, political action. (I haven't taken this from a Stanford application brochure; it's just the impression that I get growing up here). Obviously (obvio!), Stanford influences Palo Alto in more ways than financial support. Palo Alto is culturally more astute given Stanford's proximity and demand for success. My dad did his master's work in engineering at Stanford (I didn't bother applying)

However, my friend who is currently doing her PhD in Economics (Kamran, I love you!) reminded me of the greatness Palo Alto is, despite it's bubble-effect from the rest of the Bay Area: intellectual consciousness. Yes people like their Burberry, Tiffany's and Louis Vitton (sp?) here in Palo Alto. But, they also like their green cars (try to count the number of Prius' you pass on a daily basis), their organic foods, their US-grown clothing. Wealth in our area may give us the impression of being snotty, spoiled, and self-centered. However, it also gives us the burden of looking out for those less fortunate despite our privileges and self-containment. Where else can you live next door to Steve Young, Steve Jobs, or Martha Stewart? Where else do you find your children going to school with Michelle Pfifer's daughter or Hewlett's son, Ben (he graduated with my older sister, Jenny) My senior year in high school, Kalinda Burton's uncle, Lavar Burton was our bachelaureate speaker and my graduating class belted out the Reading Rainbow's opening song. In 2006, my younger sister Stephi graduated from Paly and had James Franco as the graduation speaker.

Speaking of Mr. Franco, he's coming out with a novel about this very topic: Palo Alto! I wonder what his take is on growing up here. Anyone know? Probably much different than my own experience. I'm guessing his family (like most of Palo Alto) is part of the wealthy middle class and he's had a more luxurious life than I...

... a little more background. My grandparents on both sides of the family were immigrants from Canton, China. Neither family was wealthy (even "upper middle class wealthy"), although my great-grandmother and grandmother on my dad's side worked in China as teachers (very uncommon for Chinese woman at that time) and they lived off of soup cans (my paternal grandmother isn't much of a cook). My mom is from a family of 8 children, so you can imagine money was tight ("half a chicken pot pie" for the girls, my mom told us) My parents made their way into the world through what I suppose I could call "the American Dream" They met while my dad was at MIT and my mom was at Emmanuel College (back when only women were admitted). My dad moved through engineering and medical school, paid off all his student loans, and became VP of R&D in cardiovascular surgery for his biotech company, now currently part of Maquet, a Swedish company. He made it! and, not only did he make it, but he LOVES what he does. more than raising a family. more than his sports cars. He loves creating devices that will some day be used in closed-heart surgeries, devices that will minimize internal bleeding as a result of puncturing the aorta during surgery, devices that minimize scarring during triple-bypass heart surgery so that patients don't have to walk around with a long scar going from the groin to the ankle (the saphenous vein?)

as you may have noticed, I've already begun rambling....

don't get me wrong, I enjoyed growing up in Palo Alto. I had no idea what it meant to be part of a strong school community until later in life. I thought it was normal that 13 of my classmates got accepted to Stanford and most parents wish their offspring continued school at Ivy League universities and colleges. Meeting Jamilah Wideman for dinner at my friend's house bc her father is a professor at Stanford? Of course!

but seriously, it's a blessing and a burden. I live among higher standards so I have to work harder to achieve those standards. I know that I was encouraged to become an engineer or go to med school (nutrition is about the closest I'm getting to med school) and that if I had studied singing at an earlier age, I might have become a good singer, but I've decided nutrition is the way to go. Nutrition education. That's my focus, although it's taken me a little longer than normal to figure out that's where my life is headed. I'm almost five years out of college (undergraduate). I plan on completing a master's (when I've saved up enough money to do so) in public health, nutrition, or nutrition education. The Bay Area is a great place to be in the field of nutrition, also! I was tempted to return to Boston and study health education at BU (my alma mater) for year. I love Boston. But something tells me I should try to make it out here first.

I'm living at home. I'm saving a lot of money not having to pay rent. I try to make it up to my parents by not living the same way I did when I was in high school (eg: I do the dishes and put them away as much as possible; I keep my room tidy; I clean up the house; take out the garbage; take the dog out for her walks). I try to be the mature 26 year old I am despite living at home again. It's tough....but it's not that tough! My parents house is beautiful; I really enjoy living there. but I miss my independence and sometimes, I think my parents miss theirs as well. We don't live the same way we used to together. The three of us have very different schedules, so it's rare when we are all home having dinner together. But it works. For the time being.

oops! Prelude to going home...trip through Argentina

2007-12-29T19:10:00.000-08:00

So, before going home, I decided to travel through South America. I actually planned to work for a couple weeks (literally two) before heading home, but after the program, I decided to relax. So, after the final ceremony in Santiago with all the surviving 8-month, 6-month, and 4-month volunteers, and a trip to Vina Del Mar and Valpo, I left for Buenos Aires. My friend and fellow volunteer, Lindsay, had kept in touch and took a quick two hour flight on LAN. I must say, for a short flight we felt like we were flying in first class. The stewardess offered us food, and we each had tv screens with movies, a selection of tv shows, or music.

We arrived and checked into Palermo House where we were meeting two other volunteers. The next few day were spent touring the city; the botanical gardens, japanese gardens, and the other landmarks around Plaza Italia. We visited Melba, Buenos Aires' museum of modern art. We then mapped out the next 15 days. Ok, well, Lindsay actually planned out each day's schedule, roughly, but we had a plan. We left for Iguazu National Park in the northern tip of Argentina. 20 hours later on a shady bus full of creepy looking men, and 9 media lunas (croissants) later, we arrived safely in Puerto Iguazu. That afternoon we went into the park and did a jeep ride (Indiana Jones style) to the river. At the river, we got into a speed boat. The guides were particularly fond of Lindsay and I, and had us sit at the edge of the boat and dunked us straight into the falls! We loved it! We encountered a couple iguanas, many more mosquitos (it is the tropics), and more volunteers! Luis, Brian, Mike, and Mark were also visiting. We met up with them later in Buenos Aires.

We decided we'd had enough of Iguazu after seeing the park and walking around town, so we headed back to Buenos Aires to catch the ferry to Colonia, Uruguay. The bus station at Retiro is right by the port where we caught the Buquebus (ferry bus). Three hours later, we were in Uruguay! We enjoyed the beach town and celebrated by having some grill (morcilla, chorizo, and chicken). We headed east to Punto Del Diablo, another serene pueblo known for beautiful beaches. We arrived to Punto Del Diablo with the equivalent $52 US dollars between the two of us. The value of the Uruguayan peso is 22 pesos to the dollar, and thank god, the dollar goes a long way. We were able to sleep and eat on our 52 dollars collectively. I kept boasting to Lindsay that we were dining on fresh french bread (true) and pate (well, actually, canned turkey meat in spam form) for only a dollar. Not really by choice. We were able to pull it off. Still, the trip was relaxing and the sights were amazing. We even found a rock in the form of a butt, so I decided we were actually in Punto Del Pototo instead. =)

We had a final day or so in Colonia before heading back to Buenos Aires. We biked along the coast and saw a retired bull fighting stadium. The beaches of Uruguay were calm and murky, more like a riverside than the ocean. There were reeds growing along the coast out to the ocean and little islands spotted the horizon. The tourists walk around with wooden cups of hierba matte with special silver straws. It seemed liked the typical summer beverage. We travled back to Argentina's capital on the express Buquebus, a 50 minute commute.

We returned to Palermo House where the boys were staying, along with the girl (volunteers) from Mejillones. We went dancing at a discoteque, where the best songs being played were "Crazy" and some Backstreet Boys oldie. Sunday, we visited the feria at San Telmo, a large bustle of all sorts of crafts, clothing, and knicknacks. The streets are cobblestoned and the buildings stylishly victorian. Another sight-seer unfortunately went on a weekday when the barrio is quiet and the only shops open are antiques. However, on Sunday, it was quite a spectacle. Small tango bands (accordions, violins, cellos, and drums) play along the open streets. Tango performers dance to crowds of tourists. Everything about San Telmo is decorated. Either as a prank or as artistic expression, wooden legs dangled from the trash cans as if some unfortunate tango dancer had been dumped (literally). I would've taken a pic of it, but my battery died before I got to it. Lindsay and I walked from San Telmo into La Boca to see Caminito. The quick history about Caminito is the famous brightly painted buildings, originally maintained from left-over shipping paint. Now its a historic sight, very popular for tourists. The restaurants offer tango shows on the street patios and allow diners to take photos with the dancers.

That evening we went out for parillada with another volunteer whose family lives in the city. We were hoping to go to a tenedor libre (buffet-style) parillada to cut down on the spending costs. However, the intended place was closed and we traveled to another restaurant along calle Santa Fe. After saving ourselves for a big dinner, the food was scrumptious. That was my final night in the city. I returned to Hostelling International in Santiago. In comparison to Buenos Aires, Santiago is fome. You can spend at most two days sight-seeing Santiago before moving on. In comparison, each barrio in Buenos Aires offers something to see, and you could spend a good week within the city alone. However, landing into Santiago felt like coming home. The accent in Argentina is distinct and people weren't used to the Chilean Spanish I had picked up in the past 8 months. My last day I had coffee with Lindsay and her friend Andrew at Cafe Brazil, having my last cafe helado (coffee- vanilla ice cream concoction). We said goodbye to Lindsay, who returned to her home in Quilpue. Then, Andrew and I went to the rose garden to relax before meeting his friends in San Martin. I heard their stories about living in Santiago as part of another volunteer program. We returned to La Moneda to sit on the grass in front of the fountain pools, and then that was it. I picked up my luggage from HI, had my last chat with the guys who worked at reception, and went to the airport.

The flight was only 10 hours to LAX. Arriving in LA, I wasn't ready to adjust to life back in the States. I forgot how nice it was not being able to understand conversations going on around me. I knew I would miss the life I created in Chile and the home I was used to. However, flying along the Bay Area, passing Monterey, I felt a familiarity of home. Life resumed its pattern with my parents as if I had never left the country for 8 months. Only I felt the change of being back in the States. Slowly, re-integration into life as I knew it for the previous 24 years of my life became easier. Well, perhaps I'm being just a little over dramatic as my parents invited me on their holiday vacation to Hawaii. So, I'm back in tropical warm weather as it was in South America (it's summer there). But, my friends were right. Living on another side of the world was a life changing event. Unpredictable, filled with problems you'd never imagine or encounter at home due to cultural differences. But an experience completely unique to each individual. Two of the 8-month girls are engaged to a Chilean. However, one of them mentioned to me how much she disliked the Chilean people and their dispositions. Who knows how well things will turn out as they are planning to live in the US. In my opinion, I love the people--their warmth and hospitality, the friendliness and closeness to family. Being a foreigner, living in another country not only gave me a good perspective of a new culture but a different perpective on my own culture.

As I say goodbye to Chile, I hope to keep a part of the experience with me always. After vacation I'll start looking into work as a bilingual teacher. I don't want to lose the language I've learned and enjoyed my teaching experience (as a volunteer). I'm not returning to Chile for another year as intended, but hope to go back there some time soon.

8 month reflections and my return home

2007-12-29T13:06:00.000-08:00

God. So much has happened since I last wrote in my blog. I think I mentioned the dialogue competition. All those extra hours of practicing pronunciation, acting, and fluency...my four students could the entire dialogue better than I. In fact, each person could recite their part and their partner's part, and could probably even have recited it in their sleep. Nevertheless, my school didn't make it to finals but I was proud of them anyway. After the dialogue
RAMON AS BOB MARLEY (AKA JACOB MARLEY)
came the debates for high schoolers. I had a chance to listen to the debates and heard the winning team for our region, Olivia's school Santa Emilia. We also participated in the Spelling Bee, held by Jeannette's school, Colegio Marta Narea Diaz. The school year ended in a flash, at least for me, as I left just before the students started their final exams. We celebrated the end of the year with my 8th graders, who memorized my version of Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" Putting a play together in legible "8th grade English" for my class of 23 students took some finagling, but I managed to pull it off in three weeks. However, in my haste, I accidentally named Ebeneezer Scrooge's old business partner BOB MARLEY. Luckily, my students just rolled with it, although they're very aware of who Bob Marley actually is. (By the time I realized my mistake, we had already performed Bob Marley instead of Jacob Marley). The point is, it didn't really affect their ability to practice English, right?

The last couple weeks were filled with seeing what I had missed for 8 months: a tour of the air base (not just my little pink school in the civilian community) and a trip to La Portada, Antofagasta's famous natural landmark. And, no, unlike the misconception of non-Antofagangsta volunteers, La Portada is not made of bird caca. The staircase leading down to the beach closest to La Portada was closed due to falling rock. However, Emily's friend Manuel knew another entrance by rope down to the beach. Then, we ate at a traditional little restaurant in the north by Via Azul. It was known for its seafood dishes and grilled steak.

During vacation in September for Chile's independence day, Sept. 18th, I did some traveling. I visited "the fairgrounds" aka al fondo, or la ramada in the city. Families and friends squish into an area of the city where there's amusement rides, dancing, and of course food and drink. Only the best... pastel de choclo, chorillana, choripan, carne asado, completos and the like. And of course, typical fair stuff like cotton candy, candied apples, puffed rice, etc. I went to the ramada at the Ruinas de Huanchaca as well and saw people dancing multiple variations of the cueca (the national dance) to a live band.

I didn't celebrate much with my host family. By this time, I had switched family on account of a rubella scare (they thought I would infect my two year old host brother). After it was concluded I wouldn't infect anyone, I decided to live elsewhere anyway. The move wasn't easy and I was body-blocked out of the house by my 60ish, 4'10" host mother but only after she sweetly told me that "I was welcome in her home at any time" Chilean hypocrisy reflected so much by their passive aggressiveness. So, I moved into the home of the regional coordinator, Anna Maria, and her mother, sister, and son. My new host mom almost forgot to put up the Chilean flag. If she had forgotten, she could have been fined by the govt. We drank a little moscatel for the occasion.

I visited my girls in Iquique, Karinna and Pepa, and met Pepa's brother Nano (Adrian) as well. We did a little karaoke on my solo visit. I also took a weekend trip to Iquique with Olivia, TJ, Jeannette as a last harrah. We ate seafood at the "best seafood restaurant in the city," El Va-gon. Actually, it was called The Wagon, but it sounds much nicer as va-gon. It must have previously been a western-themed restaurant. There was a nice view from the second floor, and it was located along the warf by the casino and expensive hotels. I bought Argentinian candies for my host family at Zofri and visited Pepa at Hogar y Casa. We also sunbathed at the beach, la cavancha, and had a night of dancing at the discoteque.

Another big memory before leaving Antofa was the earthquake. I was sitting at home eating lunch before my wednesday afternoon classes when the room began to shake. At first I thought a train was passing by, until the shaking got more violent and didn't stop. My host mother opened the front door and motioned me by her side. Having survived the quake of '89 in the Bay Area, I thought she was telling me to walk out of the house. Instead, Carlita, her 16 year old daughter, and I huddled in the arms of my host mother as she said a quick prayer in Spanish during the quake. Antofagasta survived with very little damage to the city or its citizens. Except the poorly designed awning of The Radisson, which crashed onto two (empty) parked cars, which CNN ate up and threw to the media and my poor parents in the States. It was the little towns of Maria Elena and Tocopilla that got the brunt of the damage, whose houses are still made of adobe. Many were left homeless and without support systems after the damage. The government brought relief to them, but it was a sad sight to view.

I celebrated my 25th birthday out of the country, for the first time. We went out for sushi, had drinks at Jeannettes, and listened to traditional music at the Cafe Del Sol. I spent the night out until 6am. The actual day was spent recovering from that night and visiting Las Colonias, an international celebration by the beach. Different ethnicities sell traditional foods and demonstrate their dances by the costanera.

My final week of class was sad. Well, most of my students and the faculty were sad. (Although kids in my 4th grade Friday class cheered or fake cried at my leaving.... we have class together from 4-5:30pm on Fridays) My sixth graders brought in presents and did a rendition of "My Heart Will Go On" that brought me to tears. I also received a photo of the faculty and an once with my teachers before I left. And, although I'm don't enjoy promoting relgion in my blog, the groundskeeper/ maintenance worker sent me off with the "Consagracion a Dio Nuestro Padre" I was intending to write it down here, but its a little to lengthy for that now.

Anto is feo

2007-09-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

Put simply, my friend Olivia summed up life at the brink of the desert in one simple phrase "Anto is feo" (the city is ugly) I like to write poetically, that I live where the desert meets the beach in Chile. In reality, we live in one of the ugliest cities in Chile. So why live here? Perhaps we didn't realize we even had a choice in this program, but it beats other cities and towns in the Norte Grande. Living in Antofa is expensive, yet not as glamorous as Santiago. People make their incomes off the mines; the majority of money going to the foreign mining owners or to the capital. Yet, I've learned to love the people in the city, my school, my new life.

I have my days. I didn't end up running that 10 K as I came down with food poisoning or something similar that weekend. I had food illness in Costa Rica, so it came as no surprise that living in South America might do the same. After 4 months, and my body still behaves as a foreigner. After 10 hours of lying in bed, I needed to get fresh air. I had coffee by the beach with Jeannette and stayed over at Ron's for the night. I learned that my frequent nights out were "disturbing the family" and my laundry was not being done on my (unannounced) designated weekday. So, I tread lightly with my family for a while. However, their tendency to exaggerate my lifestyle and "problems" made me realize my ability to roll over confrontations was making me unhappy. For example, hearing my host mother tell her granddaughter that I am not capable of serving myself as I don't eat "what corresponds with my body" put me at the brink of insanity. My friends have seen and acknowledge my healthy appetite and concern for health in general.

But this passed, and life with my family is for the most part, uneventful. I get my fiber on Mondays, when we eat lentils and meat (hot dog usually, but once, chicken). Yogurt replenishes my natural bacteria, and salads of lettuce, tomato, palta (avocado) dressed in lemon juice and olive oil make up my veggie servings.

I retreat to Ron's house on the weekends, or vent/connect with my English-speaking peers-- the other volunteers. There are trips to my fellow teachers' houses and apartments for almuerzo or birthday tecitos. And trips to Mejillones to visit Rio, Christine, and Robyn.

I also happened to judge the dialogue competition for the Calama schools in our program. After three hours on a bus, we arrived in the hub of the mining area. Chuquicamata, a mining center, recently closed. So it's inhabitants and their cars (2 cars a family, commonly) moved to Calama, increasing the traffic in the city. Calama's weather was negative six centigrade that morning, but warmed up by the time we arrived at 11am. We walked through the plaza into the open streets for pedestrians in the centro. After a delicious lunch with the Tocopilla participants (who had also travelled for the day) came the work. The hardest part was not deciding on the winner of the competition; it was knowing how hard all the other groups had worked as well. Out of 13 groups from Tocopilla or Calama, one was chosen to participate in Antofa the following Thursday.

The night before our dialogue competition that week, I dreamt I was in the competition and couldn't remember my lines. The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't put the words together! So you can imagine my feelings when my students actually went through it! 18 groups separated into two groups. We did a lottery to determine the order of the groups; we were 12th; the 3rd group in group 2. My students got up and said the 228 worded dialogue, "What's Up?" almost flawlessly, with emotion, and in my opinion, quite impressively. However, the judges were wowed by Santa Emilia, the eventual winners of the competition, and their acting skills.

The dialogue practice, which consumed my life and the life of my students from Cerro Moreno (or formally called Escuela Edda Cuneo) and the students from Elmo Funez, was over. Of course, being partial to my own, I was disappointed we didn't make it to the finals, after practicing the harder of the two dialogues, the acting, and self-confidence. Although, there were a lot of schools whose pronuciation was well done. It was the entertainment that separated the winners from the runners-up. Justified or not, the competition went on without my school. However, I'm still so proud of both schools; my own, and Elmo Funez. The girls from Elmo Funez did an incredible job, reciting "The Magic Lamp" without a mistake.

And now, the calm before the next storm... the English Festival. It's a cheery name for another competitive demonstration of each school's ability to sing and perform in English. La Peirina (jokingly nicknamed Caipirinha after I rolled the "r" in her name) from septimo basico will be performing "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles. Some of my sixth graders will be doing a song/dance physical fitness rendition of the Beach Boy's "Fun, fun, fun" (fun, fun, fun, yeah we're gonna have some fitness fun...Clap...Bounce.. Breath in, breath out) and my 8th graders will perform their Obra de Teatro, whose script they created on their own. I was also helping Elmo Funez students with "My Heart Will Go On" (yes, from Titanic) and the Village People's "In the Navy" The music director at Elmo Funez wanted me to sing with the students and dress up as the Cowboy. Luckily, I had to decline because I can't perform for the school in the Festival. However, they think I will be singing for the Festival's final act (which won't be judged). If it goes on, I'll be singing "I Turn To You" (Christina Aguilera), accompanied by Elmo Funez's orchestra. I also found it in Spanish "Por Siempre Tu" also by Christina Aguilera, but they want me to sing in English. Pooh!

The following week, all of the volunteers will be in Antofagasta for Chile's Independence Day. We are part of the parade of the 14th of September. The 18th is the holiday, but we get a week off. Vacation days for asados (barbeuques), sleeping/relaxing, and perhaps, a trip to Iquique to visit la Karrina and la Pepa!

Official Dialogue 2: “What´s Up?”
Written by: Jarett Iliff, Region de Aysén, Coyhaique Volunteer 2007

A: Hey! What’s up?
B: Up? Where?
A: No, no. How’s it hanging?
B: What?!? What’s hanging?
A: Nothing.
B: Then why did you ask?
A: I’m trying to ask how you are doing.
B: Then why don’t you just say, How are you?
A: My friend from “the States” said it’s much “cooler” to say, What’s up.
B: Oh I see! What’s up?
A: Nothin´, just chillin´
B: Are you cold?
A: You’re hopeless!!!
B: What on Earth are you talking about?
A: I’m not cold...I’m relaxing.
B: Hmmm...that’s a strange way to put it.
A: Why do you say that?
B: When I’m cold I have a hard time relaxing.
A: You shouldn’t take everything so literally.
B: I prefer to sound sophisticated. I don’t care much for slang.
A: Why not? Slang is more fun!
B: I like to say what I mean and mean what I say.

A: You need to lighten up Dude!
B: Are you calling me fat? I thought these jeans made me look thin!
A: No silly, lighten up just means to take things less seriously.
B: Well that’s good to know. I’m not a fan of dieting and my membership at the gym just expired.
A: In that case let’s go hang out at the burger shack. I know a cool joint where we can chill out. B: Whatever you say Dude!
A: Now that’s the right attitude!
B: Let’s go to a restaurant together, eat some burgers, and relax.
A: Well at least I tried!
B: Come on, Let’s go!
(228 words)

Dialogo para Octavo

2007-07-31T15:04:00.000-07:00

So, I know a lot of my notes have been about my nights out, my friends, celebrations with my family, but I work, too. As a little evidence and insight into what I teach my students, I've copied the dialogue (dialogo, which I've constantly mispronounced as diagolo) which two of my 8th graders will recite for the region's annual English dialogue competition happening in August or September.

Official Dialogue 1: The Magic Lamp
Written by: Lisa Knox, Region del Bío Bío (Chillán) Volunteer 2007

A: Hey, you’re a genie!
B: Could be.
A: Well, there’s your magic lamp...
B: Could be.
A: You are a genie!
B: Fine, you’re right. I am a genie.
A: That means I get wishes.
B: Yep.
A: How many?
B: Three wishes, that is the rule.
A: Any wish?
B: Any wish you like.
A: Let me think...
B: Hurry up! I haven’t got all day.
A: Ok. I wish for a million dollars!
B: Done.
A: Done?
B: Your wish is granted.
A: Well, where is it?
B: Where is what?
A: My million dollars!
B: Oh, that.
A: Yes, that.
B: It’s in the box.
A: What box?
B: That box right there.
A: I don’t see a box.
B: Of course not, it’s invisible!
A: But I don’t want invisible money!
B: Well, why didn’t you say so?
A: Make it visible.
B: But that’s a new wish!
A: All right, I wish the box were visible.
B: Done.
A: Hooray, I see it!
B: Of course, you’ll need the key...
A: What?
B: The key. To open it.
A: Why?
B: Well I can’t leave a million dollars in an open box!!
A: Genie, you drive me crazy! I wish I’d never met you.
B: Done.
A: Wait, I didn’t mean that!
B: That’s three wishes.
A: But that was a mistake.
B: Be careful what you wish for. Goodbye!
(194 words)

This was written by the beautiful and brilliant Lisa Knox of the World Teach program! And, for your viewing pleasure (as I don't like to post stories without pictures) are photos of my little 1 1/2 yr old. host brother, Benjamin, who will be 2 in the end of October and my classroom, the multitaller.

We're deciding the two participants this week out of the five who have been practicing very hard for the past couple months. Tomorrow I teach my 1st and 2nd graders (pieces of clothing), Thursday are my classes with 8th grade, 7th grade (memorizing the Peanut Butter Sandwich poem), 6th grade (the phrases "yes, I can" and "no, I can't"), and Friday I have my 3rd graders (singular and plural nouns ex. leaf/leaves, child/children), and 4th graders (commands).

I've been a little sick lately, but if I'm feeling up to it this weekend, I'll run a 10K!

More Insights into Chile

2007-07-27T07:46:00.001-07:00

For the most part, I haven't missed much about life in the States as I thought I would as I find Chile more similar to the US than I imagined. Not to say that everything is the same, but if you want a burger, you can get a burger in Antofa. In fact, if you want good sushi, you can also find good sushi here (although you'll have to pay a pretty penny to get it). Aside from the fact that everything is in Spanish and the majority of people here have South American roots, there are also a lot of similarities. Music in English is big here (esp. 80's music), people love to eat french fries here, and quite a few people are of European descent as well.

Although, traveling to Iquique reminded me of the huge differences between the two cultures. For example, the more I thought about it, the more lucky I felt to have met Karrina and Pepa who let me, a complete stranger and foreigner, into their home for a week after only knowing me for less than 24 hours. I was reminded that "That's how Chileans are" It was as simple as that. I doubt if I traveled around the Bay Area or Manhattan I would get a similar invitation.

I told my professors about my mom's Better Than Sex cake (Mejor Que El Amor) and brought my version of it to school, which they really enjoyed. Making the cake was quite a task! Not because the recipe is difficult, but to find the ingredients for the cake cost quite a lot and I scoured the city for the right things. You can find sour cream, cake mix, and pudding mix in supermarkets (thank you, Jumbo) although foreign products are more expensive. (Peanut butter costs $8 for a regular sized jar) Baking chocolate was hard to find. I had no idea what German chocolate was but bought chocolate with 72% cacao instead. Then, chocolate chips were an ordeal! None of the baking shops by the mercado had them nor did the supermarkets. I improvised by cutting chocolate sticks into tiny morsels. All in all, it worked out.

Another food thing I noticed is the milk. I'm not a fan of it here, although I don't actually drink it much on a day to day basis. My throat was sore and I was in desperate need of something to quench my thirst. I stick to bottled water instead of tap (just a personal preference, no real harm in drinking the water... I think), the juice is super sugary and usually saved for special occasions (in my family)... anyway, my friend gave me a huge glass of milk. It was extremely viscous and was more similar to yogurt in flavor and texture! So, it was no milk for me. Although, the aloe vera yogurt is really yummy. When you forget aloe vera is typically used as a topical remedy, the flavor is similar to lychee fruit and less sweet than other fruited cereals. Most people here take their cereal with yogurt instead of milk.

It's also ok to eat ice cream at 10 in the morning. Not that it isn't ok in the States, but it seems more common here. Since arriving, I have craved and eaten more white bread than I ever did in the States. Perhaps it's because 2/3rds of our meals are bread. My friends joked we could have an extensive conversation about all the different white breads we've tried here. Actually, that's pretty true. Multi-grain exists but it's not as common.

Manjar is a big thing here. It's in almost all of the desserts and cookies and cakes. I've had it as a spread for breakfast as well.

The difference in seasons (celebrating winter vacation in July) is one difference I haven't gotten used to. I think it's because I haven't lived here long enough. But, I can't imagine celebrating the birth of Christ and getting a bikini as a Christmas gift! I do know that instead of returning to the States in December I'd much rather enjoy summer here in Chile and return to the States next July!

Winter Vacacion en Julio y Cosas

2007-07-21T12:26:00.001-07:00

No, I'm not dead. I just haven't taken many fotos in the past month and waited till I had some good stories for you! It's Saturday and I'm back from a week in Region 1 of Chile. My two week vacation has been pretty tranquil. I spent a week at home, in Antofa. My friend Ron took me to see la Orquesta Sinfonica en el Teatro Municipal Antofagasta. They played Aaron Copland's "Hoe Down- Allegro" del ballet "Rodeo," Jean Sibelius' Andante Festivo (Orq. Cuerdas), Beethoven's Sinfonia Numero 2 en Re (D) Major Op. 36. You know you're watching a musician who loves his music when his entire body is involved with playing the music. As was the case with the soloist, Cristian Peralta, a violoncello de Santiago, who unabashedly wiped his face after his solo in the first part of the concert.

Spent most of the first week with Ron, walking around the Centro, watched Ninos del Hombre (Children of Men), and ate Chinese food. Also celebrated Bastille Day with Sarah and Christina at their apartment by eating French-style crepes. Christina spent a year in France before coming to Antofa and explained that a crepe "completo" is filled with egg, cheese, ham, and sometimes mushrooms. We also had Nutella (yummm!) available for sweet crepes. I tried a sweet crepe filled with lemon juice and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Ah, food!

I left on Sunday for Iquique, 6 hours north of Antofa. Iquique is a smaller city along the beach, known for it's great surfing beaches, Zofri (duty-free shopping center), and historical sights along Baquedano street. I went out on a limb and traveled to the city on the busiest weekend without lodging reservations or contacts in the city. I arrived at 9pm, wandered the streets with 7 days worth of clothes in my backpack in hopes to find somewhere to stay. The city was eerily quiet as most people had left the city for La Tirana, a small town 77 km away. In desperation, I conceded to rent a matrimony suite in a hostel in the centro for 14 mil pesos ($28). After eating a salame y queso sandwich, I boarded a bus for La Tirana. I had no clue what I was headed for, and Karrina, the girl sitting next to me on the bus, invited me to hang out with her and her friends. The population of La Tirana expands from its usual 800 inhabitants to around 1500 for the festival for la Virgin del Carmen (who was told to me to be Chile's national virgin).

We arrived in La Tirana to find every street congested with people from all over the country. The festivities really began at 12am that night. Dancers accompanied by music bands paraded the streets followed by their model of the virgin. Men and women were adorned in elaborate costumes of silk and sequins. Some bands looked more like gypsies. Other bands were more reminiscent of the traditional country attire, complete with cowboy boots, hats, and tulle skirts. Other dancers wore more modern costumes with matching top hats and ballet flats. What was most fascinating were the animal masks, which looked like dragon heads covered in flashing christmas lights. Luckily, no one's mask caught on fire! They reminded me of Chinese New Year's masks. Dragon figurines were perched on the top of the mask, and each had huge eyes on either side.

Food vendors sell the typical popular food the entire night--- Anticucho (shishkabobs), empanadas, completos, pichanga (a pile of french fries topped with barbequed meat pieces), french fries, churrasco sandwiches (thin grilled meat), sopapillas (Chile's fried dough), fideos (sugar frosted grains in various shapes). Yes, a dietitian's nightmare, but as we stayed up warming ourselves with rum and coke and didn't sleep all night, it was a night of celebration. Karrina's roommate, Andrea (whose nickname is Pepa), and I walked through the town in the morning. We toured the flea market (feria) watched more dancing, and visited the town's iglesia.
We returned to their apartment in Iquique after retrieving my belongings from the unused rented room I had for that night and then slept all day. Pepa works in Zofri ("zone free"), the duty free shopping mall of Iquique. We dropped Pepa off at work and then went in search of bistec al pobre-- a typical dish of Chile which includes french fries, sunny side up egg, white rice, and a thick slice of steak. The food court at Zofri was congested with people, so Karrina and I went to the center. We settled for a restaurant by the mercado which offered churrasco instead of bistec (thin slice of meat instead of a thick piece of steak). We visited Palacio Astoreca under the Universidad Arturo Prat by Plaza Prat on Baquedano. In the plaza, the streets are constructed with laquered wood. That evening we met up with Karrina's friend, Freddy and his two guy friends. They work for La Seguridad de la Ciudad, driving a white security van around the city like policemen.

The next day I toured the anterior of the region. We drove outside of the city and visited the abandoned refinery of Santa Laura. The tour guide gave us an in-depth explanation about the area, of which I understood maybe half of what he was saying! Then we drove a few minutes farther to the abandoned community of Humberstone. The original name of the community was changed after the Mr. Humberstone took over. The community was restored by various community groups and organizations, but after a while, a lot of the empty buildings started to look the same. We drove farther to La Pintado, the hiroglyphs closest to Iquique. By this time, I tried to shed all my clothes to a bare minimum as the desert heat was intense! We then drove to the desert's oasis town called, Pica. We ate a beautiful meal at Los Naranjos, a restaurante with a very carribean atmosphere. Here, I got a chance to speak to the other tourists and find out where they were from. I walked through the town of Pica as I hadn't brought my bathing suit for swimming. We drove back through La Tirana to watch some of the dancing. That night the atmosphere was much more tranquil than the first night but still beautiful to watch.

The last day I hung out at Zofri with Pepa while she worked at Casa Y Hogar. Each vendor has a tiny space to sell knicknacks of all kinds. I guess back in the day, Zofri was a true bargain. But as the larger department stores have taken over the city, Zofri dwindled to cheap things. Granted, some things were still pricey. I tried to buy a hiker's backpack for cheaper at Zofri, and some cost 40 mil ($80). On the flip side, things that are sold cheap in Zofri are also cheaply made. There are a lot of imported things from Chinese and international import companies. Karrina met up with me and her friend Patty and we shopped around for a bit. Then we returned home to rest and watch the soccer game between Chile and Argentina. We went to the centro to visit a friend, Carla, who worked at La Capilla, a bar in the centro. We had some drinks and then went in search for late night food. A block away was a fast food restaurant where we got roasted chicken and chaufan (fried rice) from a friendly "Tio" who gave us a bargain for the food.

My last day, we said our good byes at the bus station, and I promised to come visit Karrina and Pepa for Pepa's 23rd birthday in August. They're hoping I come live in Iquique after the program... but who knows? I celebrated my return to Antofagasta with Ron by trying sushi at Kimi Sushi and received a lovely bouquet of flowers from him when I stepped off the bus! More pics should be coming of my friend's 80's party tonight and then Monday it's back to reality, back to school!

Lola and the colectivos

2007-06-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

So when my host mom first called me Lola, I automatically thought she was calling me a whore given the connotations associated with Lolita, the book. However, after asking my second dictionary source, my teachers, I was reassured to know Lola is another way to say joven. Other Chilean sayings: peinarse la muneca (muneca has an enye), patas negras, cucharita (spooning), bacan (cool), que fome or que lata (how boring/what a shame). You also don't want to say caliente when you mean I'm hot because you're telling people that you're sexy in a bad way. "Eat" has the same bad doubling meaning in Spanish as it does in English. Anyway, just a little more of my Spanish learning experience, outside of the classroom.

Colectivos are $400 a ride during the day compared to the micros, which are $370. I'm still amazed at the concept of the colectivo-- taxis that pick up a group of people and have a specific route. Just comparing this economical and environmentally friendlier approach to getting from point A to point B shows the difference between this country and the States.

I tried teaching my students about recycling but as I was teaching, realized that most Chileans reuse a certain amount of material as a natural habit. For example, huge plastic bottles are reused to mix new drinks rather than being thrown out. My professors are always willing to give rides to others who don't have cars, even if it's out of the way for them. Left over food is always saved in my family. So, it was difficult to tell my students how to save energy and material when it was already an unconscious act! Also, water is already a precious commodity in the desert, so people don't waste water here. Also, central heating in houses during the winter isn't used, so they're already saving energy on gas by wearing more layers and using blankets.

Back to my original idea, colectivos will pretty much get you to the same place as a micro with only three others in the car rather than a bus load of people beside you. Plus, 30 pesos extra is worth my time of not having to sit in public transportation for as long (my trip to school is already 50 minutes, divided between a colectivo ride and then a separate bus ride). Plus, I think the 30 pesos is the money you pay for the entertainment of riding a colectivo. One choffeur was so excited when I entered his car, he exclaimed "You're oriental!" He then proceeded to try and say things he knew in other languages. He asked me how I would say "How are you?" in Chinese although I did mention it was my grandparents who were from China, and I was actually from the States (I guess it didn't really matter) Then I was pissed that the one of the few phrases I can say in Mandarin (which, by the way, is NOT the Chinese my family speaks.... Taisan, a form of Cantonese is actual language) slipped my mind. (Ni ho ma) Then, another choffeur was on his was to taking my full car through the city and he randomly ran out of his parked car to buy a lightbulb while we sat there helplessly waiting for him to come back. In the same ride, money was exchanged between him and a young student passing by. Then, last night the colectivo driver let me pay 100 pesos less because I didn't have exact change, and then took me to the correct address after I told him the wrong cross street. He also believed that all Chinese people are beautiful and rarely fat. ja ja ja.

Anyway, these are just ramblings I've thought of while living here.

The pics: door art hanging at the entrances of each classroom at E-88 and the visit to Mejillones as a group

Tell Me Something Good...

2007-06-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

How the teachers love helping me with my Spanish! I was talking about one of my seventh graders, Peirina, and they thought I started talking about the tragos (drinks) caiprinha as I was saying her name with and enye (n with a tilde). Or as I try to say dialogo and mix up the pronunciation and say diagolo... mind you, I can't always say words correctly in English (once waffle iron came out as "awful wiern" don't ask me why) I lunch in the school's comedor on Mondays with a sweetheart teacher named Moni (short for Monica) who feeds me like I have two stomachs. She brings foods she has prepared for the two of us in her home and always gives me twice as much as she gives herself. This week, she served chaquikan which reminded me of Chaka Khan, so the entire meal I was singing "Tell Me Something Good" in my head. Chaquikan is a mix of veggies and ground meat with a stew like texture that's served with rice. Not to be confused with choripan, which I've never had but is a piece of meat enveloped in bread. Moni always reminds me that "los manitos" (my little hands) must rest on the table during the entirety of the meal. My family doesn't really care where my hands are resting when I'm at home, but as I always say, when in Chile, do as the Chileans do! Miss Lisa also got to sing the Star-Spangled Banner all day last Thursday and when she croaked on "And the rocket's red glare..." she began to laugh as did her 6th graders. But in the end, they cheered and told her she had a beautiful voice! I'll probably never start a singing career in the states but at least I can get my practice here in Chile with my students. I also took a quick overnight trip to visit Rio, my fellow volunteer in Region II in Mejillones, and gave the students of segundo medio a quick lesson on the US's national anthem. jajaja. Today I taught my primero basico students solo, which was a little crazy. Luckily, Peirina (whose name I can now pronounce correctly) helped me with segundo basico. We learned the four seasons and then I had the students create a page of fall leaves using real leaves as their stencils! When the students are good, their angels.

Peirina singing for the competicion de la voz

Floating Around Chile

2007-06-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

So, my 6:30pm "en la tarde" (in the afternoon, an expression which I love when referring to anytime between 12pm and 8pm) departure from Antofagasta to La Serena began my journey across two regions within a 12 hour time span. I was supposed to leave later at 8:10pm, but found room to leave earlier after class ended on Friday at 5:30pm. 12 hours on a bus leaves a lot of time for me to rest with my thoughts. I kept getting a sneaky suspicion the steward for the bus was checking me out as every time he passed my seat he had a huge grin on his face. This is not me being egotistical. As a ginga in Chile, you get used to being stared at like an alien from another planet. But sometimes, you just get sick of being the "it" person. My instinct proved me right when he pulled me aside on my way back from the bathroom and asked if I wanted to talk to him. I consented, although he had me wedged between himself and the window-- no escape! After talking to him for a while, I told him I was tired and went back to my seat. My friends and I joke about finding a fantasy Chilean guy on a bus with whom we can make-out with (sorry, any readers who are parents, but it's true). But somehow, the steward's using his work time as his socializing time didn't cut it for me... and I wasn't attracted to him. His friendship was proven advantageous when I almost didn't get off the bus at La Serena at 6:30am the next morning! It was pitch black outside and I had to get another ticket to Pisco Elqui, 2 and a half hours more on another bus. The man behind the counter at the bus stop told me the only place to buy a ticket to Pisco Elqui was up the street a block or so. I venture outside, only to find that the sidewalk ends (!!!) and the busy main road is the only thing to walk on. Consulting the counterman a second time, he tells me the bus terminal is past this section next to the mall. I make it to the bus terminal in one piece and wait until the Via Elqui bus company opens at 7:30am to get my ride. Mind you, I had used my debit card earlier that week to purchase the bus ride to La Serena, so I had no access to withdraw money until the transaction went through (hmmm... almost reminiscent of the calls I received at the Bistro!). I have just enough pesos to buy a one way ticket to Pisco Elqui. But the fun didn't stop there! I get off in Vicuna, a little town in the valley, only realizing after the bus has taken off that I'm not in Pisco. Finally, at 11am I roll into town. I wait for Vincent, my French friend, in the only plaza in town. There, Vincent and his 25 yr. old student friend, Savas, meet me. Gabriela, our new hostess in town, drives us to her home where we are staying for the weekend. I dress to go for our walk, and we hike the mountains of Pisco Elqui, accompanied by Gabriela's dogs, Turco and Draco. Ironically, "Turco" becomes Savas' favorite as "Turco" means Turk, and Savas' father's descendents are Turkish (his mother's family is Armenian). We follow the horse trail, stop for ham and cheese sandwiches (on WHEAT bread!) and continue through the valley to Los Nichos. Los Nichos is known for it's fresh pisco-- a brandy-like liqueur commonly made in Chile. Of course, at our arrival at 2pm, everything is closed for lunch. A vendor obligingly lets us in after a couple minutes and we sample the pisco which says "35" (yet its said that pisco is 70% alcohol). Whatever the percentage is, it is STRONG stuff. Straight pisco is for serious drinkers only... so I usually take mine with sour mix (pisco sour). We met two other French people in Los Nichos, a young woman and man, both mechanical engineers working in Santiago also visiting Valle de Elqui for the weekend. They give us a ride back to Pisco Elqui, sparing us the 5 km walk back. I felt a little guilty taking the ride. Not for my own sake, but the dogs, Turco and Draco, were left to fend for themselves. Vicente and Savas didn't seem to mind that we might have abandoned our hostess' dogs in the remote town, but I prayed they would make it back. We toured the distillery of Mistral next to the town's plaza with our two new engineer friends. Of the different piscos made there, Mistral Nobel and Tres Erres (Three R's) are the elite types. Both have the same amount of alcohol in them, but Tres Erres is clear and fruitier and Nobel is very dark and oakey. We sat in the patio and had pisco sours at the end of our tour. Before heading back to the house, we picked up more meat for our evening asado. That night, we prepared some rice and boiled potatoes to go with the pork chops and chicken pieces Savas had cooking over the bbq pit. Vincent and Savas, both being blessed with skinny French bodies (or maybe its their obsessive smoking habit) ate blissfully while I hit my limit and then headed for bed. The Concho y Toro wine with dinner was enough for me and I left the boys as they proceeded with the pisco. How I couldn't wait to sleep in the full-sized bed in my single room! Unfortunately, sprawling out on the bed was not an option as I had layered myself in all the clothes I brough on the trip-- my fleece, my parka, my REI gloves and my socks-- to fend off the valley's cold night air! That's the life of the valley-- freezing nights of near zero degrees and then a strong sunlight during the day. It's the weather that makes the valley perfect for harvesting grapes (hence the town's name, Pisco). On my last day with the Frenchmen in the wine valley, we drove to Cochiguaz. Actually, Gabriela drove us in her little pickup truck with her 10 year old son, Cristobal, and his little friend Pablito by her side. I rode in the truck's back with four other adults-- Vincente, Savas, Claudia the historian, and Fernando Rodriguez the poet (also guests in Gabriela's home). The view during our ride was incredible! We barreled through the valley in the little truck. At times, I thought the car wouldn't make it and imagined my body bouncing out of the truck and into the ravine, but the fall air was fresh and the sunlight made the ride very sweet. The famous Chilean poet, Gabriela Mistral, grew up in Monteverde, a neighboring town in the valley. The poet told us that Mistral's poems describe the aridness of the region and the contrast between it's beauty and harshness. We admired Rio Elqui when reaching Cochiguaz an hour later. We also stopped by Spa Cochiguaz and drank jugo natural (blended fresh fruit juice). At the Spa, they were selling necklaces made of marfil vegetal, a material derived from a plant similar to a palm tree. We had just enough time when we returned to Pisco Elqui to eat lunch before heading to La Serena. I opted not to have a completo and tried humita for the first time. Huma is ground corn wrapped in some kind of leaf, very much like a tamale without the meat. I ate it with ahi (Chilean hot sauce) and Chilena (chopped tomatoes and onions). Savas, Vincente and I arrived in La Serena just before my next bus to Antofagasta. Luckily, my card functioned at the ATM this time and I was able to pay back my French friends as they supported me the entire weekend (whether they wanted to or not, I'll never know, but that's the way it went). So, in reality, I saw no more than the bus terminal in La Serena. So, I'll have to travel back to Region 4 some weekend and visit La Serena una vez mas! All I have our my pictures, Fernando's book of poems (personally signed to me!), and my memories-- but it was all worth the trip!

When in Chile...

2007-05-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-20T06:08:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-16T16:42:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

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!

Chilinismos for the Non-Native Souls

2007-04-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

Some things I've learned while in Chile:
Peloton is the Chilean version of "Survivor" where 20 somethings dressed in military outfits compete until the last round of eliminations. Very emotional, very dramatic.
Papi Ricky and Corazon de Maria are telenovelas
Rojo is a talent competition between Chilean stars but there are no eliminations in this show. Only a difference in ranking, depending on the viewer's Reyneta Revuelva in Santiago choices.
El Baile is a formal dance competition like "Dancing with the Stars" but most of the men dancers are twice as old as the women.
Did I mention that watching TV is a family activity for me here? me posing on the bus on our way to Vina
"Te quiero yo. Y tu a mi. Somos un a familia feliz." First line of the Barney song that my family sings to my 1.5 year old "brother" (my host mom's grandson) Benjamin
"a-e-i-o-u.... el burro es tu!" Another one of Benjamin's learning songs. Both my host mom and her daughter are teachers. They've been a great help as I've been preparing for classes.
Dulce de Leche does not exist in Chile. It is called Manjar and is actually a carmelized version of condensed milk.
Learn to think in military time.
Pisco is a Chilean brandy that can be added to any soft drink but is typically had with sour mix. Pisco Sours. =)
Even if you thousands of miles away from the States, you will still find MTV on tv infiltrating the minds of young kids (like my 12, soon to be 13 yr. old "sister" ie. host mom's granddaughter) with programs such as Next and Sweet Sixteen.
Most coffee served here is powdered. Real coffee exists but isn't had on a regular basis.
Even young Benjamin has stayed up until 11pm on any given night.
Clubs don't really get going to 1am. They don't close until 5am. Me and our girls in Mejillonas (Jamie and Rio)
The little metal baskets outside each house are not for lazy storks bearing more children to the city of Antofagasta. They're actually the trash receptacles.
Dog poop on the streets isn't from lazy dog walkers (although it could be). It's usually the strays that rule the streets day and night.
Add po to the end of your sentences. Esp when saying "Si" or "No. aka: "Si, 'po. No, 'po."
Don't tell them you like George Bush. He's not so popular over here.
If you tell any little kid you like Regaetton you become automatically cooler.
Completos are hot dogs served with mashed avocado, usu. mayonnaise, and other condiments.
Dulce de Membrillo is a solidified spread made from the membrillo fruit (hard and slightly bitter like an apple)
Punk look is in for teenagers.
No matter how many times I can say I'm from the US, I will still be the Chinita.
Give kisses and spend time with your family. Especially for almuerzo in the middle of the day, when kids can get up to 2 hours off to be home with their families.
Some music to check out: "Lo que paso paso" by Daddy Yankee, "Eres Para Mi" by Julietta Venegas, "Chico Malo" by Sixpack

I love this picture. Isn't is upside down?

First week of school

2007-04-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

Antofasta group: Rio, Cameron, Stacie, Emily, Sarah, Olivia, yours truly, Gregg, and Elliot

I´m very comfortable in my new home and family. I´ve spent the night talking to my host mother, Fresia, about my experience here during the early hours of the morning. Being the gracious mother and gentlewoman that she is, she´s stayed up for me to make sure I had eaten enough after I had spent the night visiting with friends. She had the fixings of a completo (a typical fast food dish of Chile, basically a hot dog with mashed avocado, tomato, and ketchup... a slightly healthier version that usually contains mayonnaise as well). As I ate, she sat watching Peloton, Chile´s dramatic version of Survivor. my yellow room
Me and Fresia, my host mom
We live in a three story aparment house with a metal red door. Upon entering there´s a patio area where Doggie lives in a cage. The patio is his domain and it can be hard to avoid his droppings on my way out to my early morning runs. The front door opens up to the living room where Fresia has entertained her sister visiting

from Mejillones and others. The kitchen is at the back of the first floor and the light plastic roofing gives way to the bright sunlight each morning. On the second floor is my room, Barby´s room, Fresia´s room and the bathroom. Veronica, her husband, and little Benjamin (Ben-ha-min) live on the third floor next to the laundry area. My room is painted in an almost neon yellow, which matches the white and yellow gingham bedspread. I have a single flower picture which sits above my bed. One morning as I was doing my abs I realized that the picture is hung upside down (the painter´s signature is on the top left corner and the flowers point down rather than up) but I prefer it that way. I have one window across from my bed which is covered by a pink and white gingham window curtain patterened with the cartoon Angelica from the Rugrats making various faces at me. I set up my bobblehead Dad (thank you, Auntie Betty!) by my dresser and scared my little brother, little Benjamin, with it this morning. Apparently my Dad can scare children even when he lives thousands of miles away! hehe. Bobblehead Dad
I just finished my first week of going to Cerro Moreno, the community situated outside of Antofa serving the military air base and the pilot´s families. For this reason, the escuela (1st through 8th grade) is more like a private school than it´s reality as a public school. Their one English teacher, Raquel, teaches all grades with me as well as the large Elmo Funes Colegio in the North of the city. I visited her 7th grade class at Elmo Funes. She explained that as Chile still has communist influences, the government is trying to provide for the poorer class by creating beautiful large schools for them. The school is organized like a castle with spiral staircases and a large open area within the center of the school. Emily, another volunteer, presented her Australian calendar to her 7th grade class. Raquel had me
Me, Profesora Raquel, Emily

read a text about Babylon in English which wouldn´t have been a problem until I had to read "King Namazakkadre" or something similar! In comparison, my school is a small.pink one-story building within the air base. The class size is a maximum of 40 students but, as several student are sick, one class only had 18 students present. I visited my 1st and 2nd grade classes on Wednesday afternoon. I sang Head and Shoulders 10 times for the 1st grade class. Thursday is my large day (8:30 to 6:00) and I observed 5th through 8th grade. That was the day for their monthly English test. The 8th graders had to memorize and recite oral presentations about their favorite music groups/singers (Avril Lavigne, Shakira, Evanescence, My Chemical Romance, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Don Omar among others). I admit that half the time I couldn´t understand a word of English besides "1992" but the students are very hardworking and for the most part, attentive. I´m not allowed to speak Spanish to my students and have to feign stupidity until they speak to me in English. I am allowed to speak to the other professors in English, but the faculty and students who stay at school for lunch break eat together. I was a bit worried about having to play dumb for the next 8 months, basically outcasting me during my lunch. My teacher and I had difficulty explaining ourselves as I wanted
Olivia and I at U. of Antofagasta to speak Spanish during my break so I could have someone to talk to. We resolved the problem as the school is going to pay for me to eat lunch with the professors at the casino, which provides lunch for the servicemen there. That way, I´ll be able to speak to the professors in Spanish without having it known by the students my speaking abilities. Raquel knows how much I like to talk and calls me muy sociable.... I suppose I´m her first volunteer that asked to speak Spanish at school. Nevertheless, by Friday I was excited the week was over and observed her 3rd and 4th grade classes. As a volunteer I feel almost like a superstar, receiving kisses from the students (the Chilean way of greeting), had little kids recite in English "You are beautiful" and little gifts of a plastic bracelet and a little pendant) I created a poster for my students with photos of my family from Jenny´s wedding and drew the things I like to do and made it very visually attractive for the kids (important when they can´t read what I´ve written). I´m still feeling out their ability to speak and comprehend English. Tomorrow, I´ll go to school to plan my lessons and do extracurricular activities with the students.

Gregg, TJ, Cameron, Rio, Elliot, Sarah, Stacie, Olivia, Janette, Me, Emily, Jamie

This weekend, the Mejillones volunteers Rio and Jamie, visited us. We went out in a large group to K Zona, a large bar on the main street. Sarah, Jamie and I headed to Telepizza that night at 2am and then returned home as the rest of them stayedout till 5am. Jamie stayed with me and we woke up early and bought fresh bread at Kerolaet and ate breakfast at the beach. We met up with Rio and Janette during the afternoon and went out to lunch at Pizzante. I was later informed by my host mother that this is one of the most expensive restaurants in the city (we ended up spending $60 for four Rio and I at K Zona bar people) and was repremanded accordingly. We saw the girls off at the bus station for their return to Mejillones, and then Jannette and I met up with our avid ping pong voluntarios at the beach. If you want to play ping pong with the boys, you better have your game on as its very competitive (Gregg let me know I Cameron and TJ at K Zona should call out the score each time I serve) but it´s very entertaining to see the games between Gregg, Elliot, Cameron and TJ. They´ve also competed against their host siblings or other locals from the neighborhood. We swam out to the floating raft, la balsa, at sunset and then fearing sharks, headed back to the beach. Although travelling to my school for the next 8 months will take up a good chunk of my income, I love my school, the students, and my ambitious English co-teacher. Days are long here, and on the weekends my family gets up around 10am. Being a morning person, I usually do my own thing in the morning and we gather for our large lunch around 2pm. We have a good sized once (11´s are like tea time, but my family treats it more like dinner). Most families eat cena at 9pm and don´t go to sleep until 11 or even 1am. Most Antofa schools start at 8am. Tomorrow, I´ll take a colectivo (taxi) to the center of the city, Plaza Colon, where I take a minibus to Cerro Moreno. And, that´s my life in a nutshell so far!bunny basket made by my host "sister" (actually, niece) Barby

Welcome to Antofagasta

2007-04-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

So I crammed a bunch of things into my last day in Santiago. Lindsey, Lauren and I took the metro to Cerro San Cristobal, walking through Bellavista (the hippie, artsy neighborhood). We took the funicular to the view on the hill and walked around. There´s a Lindsey and Lauren on the Funicularhuge sitting area with little eateries and shops at the top of the funicular and a chapel and outside mass area. You can ascend closer to the Virgin. We arrived at the perfect time of day, as the sun was right behind the statue, creating a halo around the Virgin (aaaaaah!*holy choir singing in the background*) We found our way to the telegrafico to take a quick trip through the park encompassing the hill. The ride is like being in Willy Wonka´s glass elevator, suspended in the air and really stuffy but still worth the trip. We found out the park has a wine tasting area, a botanical garden, japanese garden, and an outdoor pool. We stopped and Lauren tried mote con huesillas (a cold tea with wheat on the bottom and a whole preserved peach on the top... kind of like a Chilean bubble tea) We walked through Bellavista. One of the highlights were the two cute German guys we kept running into at San Cristobal. We saw them again in Bellavista and waved. =) I picked up a cuff bracelet made of zebra fur.... punky in a fun way. We walked around an open market. Lauren and I wanted to venture to Mercado CentroThe virgin watching over Cerro San Cristobal (a seafood market) and Bellas Artes (a museum). Lindsey ventured home and Lauren and I walked through the market. I got to practice my spanish recognizing the food and trying to match it with the word. But the most educational aspect of the market was our lunch. We both ordered a salmon plate. Our server preceeded the meal with a little "compliment on the house" which turned out to be "juice of Salmon Plate and "Juice of the Sea" seafood" which came in little glasses. We couldn´t tell if it was a drink or a small "soup" in a glass, but whatever it was, we decided to save it for later (or never!). We walked to Bellas Artes and walked through the galleries. We returned in time for me to pack my things and say goodbye. The Antofa group had a send-off crowd as we drove away into the night. *sigh* After 17 hours on the bus, we arrived in the dessert. We all agreed it exceeded our expectations. We Shark head at Mercado Centro were told there was no vegitation, fleas, and lots of strays. Actually, the area by the ocean is quite beautiful, I haven´t had any encounter with fleas, and there are less strays here than Santiago. So our first days included more orientation specific to the city. We met our families on Tuesday and went home for the first time. Suprisingly, I felt terrified! I hadn´t been bothered by the fact I would be living with a host family but the idea of meeting them for the first time and living with them for 8 months made me anxious. Plus, the picture that I was given with the card had the previous host daughter in it. I was pleasantly surprised, though, to find out I wasn´t living alone with my host mother. First night in Antofagasta Her daughter, Veronica, son-in-law Roberto, and their two children Barby (12) and Benjamin (Ben-ha-min) (1.5) live with us as well. I have a nice little room to myself. They also have a dog, a poodle I think, that lives in the sitting area outside of the house. I would like to love Doggie but unfortunately, he pees and poops in the sitting area and then likes to paw me as I come and go! We celebrated our first week here by going out for dinner at an Arabic restaurant close to the Universidad de Antofagasta, where we´ve been having lectures. Then, Olivia, TJ, Eliot, Gregg, and Cameron and our director, Ana Maria, went to sector Huascar where there are a lot of clubs. We went to Kamakaze and did some dancing and except for the electricity going out for an hour during the night, it was good. I came home at 4:30am (!!!) as places close down here at 5am and don´t really start going before 1am. This morning, my sister, Barby, and I walked down to the beach and did some swimming and sun bathing. Love the beach! Next week, I´ll be observing my English classes at Edda Cuneo Moreno which is outside of the city near the airport at a military base. My co-teacher has told me the children are very disciplined and I won´t have many problems with them. I´ll be teaching classes for 1st grade through 8th grade. So far I´m loving it! I love having access to the beach, the temperature is perfect here, and I can run along the beach. My host family is very sweet yet give me a huge amount of independence. We haven´t shared many meals together, but I´ve had good conversations with my host mother and her granddaughter (little Barby who´s taller than me!) I also adore Benjamin who is still learning my name ("Lee-sha") and demonstrated his ability to copy the martial arts guys on tv kicking and punching his little 1.5 yr old legs! He´s a little bundle of energy and likes to terrorize the family when possible. =) More to come later. My home address: 1165 Chillan, Antofagasta, Chile oh! and I have a cell phone!

Last day in Santiago

2007-03-31T06:12:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'll be leaving Chile's capital tonight on a 18 hour bus ride up to Antofa as the largest city in the North is called! Yesterday we had an asado, bbq, outside on the patio of the hostel. There's alway music, dancing, and lots of food. A Girl's Night Out: Lauren, Bethany, Lindsey, Olivia, Jamie, Valerie, Ieisha, Me The boys: Elliot, TJ, Gregg, James
couple of us performed the Shoop Shoop Ba Doop song for fun. I borrowed some shorts from a guy, wore my knit cap, and a wife-beater. We went out dancing at Blondie, a gay bar a long walk from the hostel. I wore my little black dress with beaded straps, which was quite a number.
Unfortunately, all the gay guys were preoccupied or taken at the bar, so I just danced with my friends and had a good time. I think a group of us are planning to check out Cerro San Cristobal, the famous hill with the huge Virgin Mary that was on my first posting. One of the guys in the program just mentioned a view from a hill near Val'po but the ascent is 7 hours and by

Bethany, Me, Rio, Jeanette; Lia and James in Vina the time we get there and get back I'll be leaving for Antofa. I can't think about leaving everyone behind. I don't want to think of how I might not see these people again! Feeling emotional already! I got up at 8am after going to bed at 4am or so. Most people are still in bed, so I thought checking up my email for free one last time before my departure was a good idea. Well, ciao for now and off to teach English!

Me, Lindsey, Olivia, Lauren in Vina; Me Lindsey, Olivia, Lauren at Asado #2; Vanessa and Kyle posing with Kyle's 23rd bday cake; Lindsey and I for the lip synch on my last night in Santiago

2007-03-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

25-3-07 Sunday
And so ends my first week in Chile! I' still in what they call the "Honeymoon Period" of Culture Shock as everything is wonderfully new and refreshing! The week was packed with orientation outings, meeting more arriving English teachers from various programs, and getting more familiar with the city as a whole. We had scheduled activities between 9am to 10pm each day, so there wasn't much room to catch up on personal time (like writing blogs to family and friends!) We went to a UN auditorium in Santiago and listened to speakers the first morning. We also took a spanish placement test... only the originally intended program wasn't functioning and after almost finishing this test, I was instructed to take the Bridge Linguitech spanish test. Nevertheless, I'm in the intermediate level where the first three days of class were spent learning such things as moco = booger, dingleberry = heces, doo-doo = mojon, and hairy balls = pendejo. By 5pm when we start class, I'm ready for any break from the ordinary, so for now, I'm following class. We watched Machuca, a sad story about a wealthy Chilean boy and his complicated friendship with a local Mapuche boy, Pedro, during the 1970's. One of the best trips during the week was my visit to Colegio Saint Lawrence in the district of San Joaquin in Santiago. Ten of us drove to the school, which provides for 3000 students grades "K" (basico) up to 12th grade. "Colegio" is actually like prep school and is 9-12th grade equivalent to the States. "Universidad" is more like our colleges/universities. We met with the top students to discuss their experience at school, learning English, and the hopes for the future. The school was split as technical school and food-service school for the older students with a morning schedule and afternoon schedule so that not all 3000 students attended school at the same time. Most students came from poor families with both parents who worked usually blue-collar jobs and were rarely home, so the students were extremely self-motivated. We had an evening bbq at the hostel with local teachers and danced to Latina, salsa-ish music and drank Misiones de Rengos. We listened to the national song that includes the men dancing with kerchiefs to woo the women.
Que interesante! Friday I was ready to go out and celebrate the end of the first week and went to Jammin', a raggae bar in the Bellavista neighborhood of Santiago, supposedly a very hippie part of the city with Ayeisha and Valerie the newfound "sisters" a Californian and Texan.
I met a 26 yr old Chilean, Gari, who told me very honestly about his 6 yr old son whom he sees on the weekend. Saturday we spent the day in Vina Del Mar, the beach town for vacationing Santiaguinos. As we were a group of 20, we rented a couple rooms in Hostal Cristina by the beach and walked over to the main part of town. After a lunch at Telepizza we sat on the beach. Despite the overcast weather, we did a little sun tanning and spoke to "local" students who were spending a semester abroad. Patricio, a Penn State senior, suggested a couple of bars and discoteques to check out that evening. After cleaning up at the hostal, we went to a little Italian restaurant which was suggested by Cristina, the owner of the hostal, and went to Quinto Norte to check out the scene. Sunday, we spent the day walking around town, lunched at the center square where a live band was playing, and at pino empanadas (with ground meat, onions, raisins, and olives). There is so much that has happened this week, it's hard to figure out which details to leave in and which to leave out! I got to know Santiago a little better by running with people in the program. We ran to Parque O'Higgins, where there is an area called Fantalandia (look like Disneyland, but not open). I also did an evening run through the center of the city and on to Santa Lucia. The third day of running was spent down Avenida Brasil (which looks very similar to Palm Drive on Stanford) and onto a huge park called Parque de Los Reyes which sits between a main street and the major highway. Aside from being chased by the groups of stray dogs which cover the city, running in the morning seems fairly safe. I can't get over the manner of the strays! One dog almost nipped my running partner after barking after us on a morning run. They love walking with large groups of people. I guess we become their "pack." And at the beach in Vina Del Mar, a dog walked over Rob's (an Ohioan with slow, Bob Marleyish manner) head. They mostly just sat next to us and waiting to see if we would bring food out for them. Another amazing sight were the Brazilian tai kwon do kids doing back flips on the beach. One boy, who was about 8, did three at a time! The beach was relaxing but it was overcast and it was nice to head back to the hostel in the evening. After pre-partying with wine and piscos, we headed to an Italian restaurant suggested by the hostel owner. She drove us over in her van, which upon opening, James tore off the door handle. He tried putting it in his mouth to conceal the evidence, but being the lovable Aussie that he is, apologized to Christina and we went on our way. After dinner, we tried checking out the bars in the Quinto Norte area. "Patricio," a cutie spending a semester abroad from Penn State, suggested where to go. I didn't mind the traditional Chilean kiss goodbye he gave me before we left the beach! There were 20 of us who headed to Vina Del Mar this past weekend. Daniela, an young woman doing her internship at the Chilean Ministry of Edu. (MINEDUC), helped us find our way there. Aside from Rio and Summer, my two roommates, the adorable married couple, Kyle (who just celebrated his 23rd bday!) and Vanessa came with us; the aforementioned James the Aussie and Rob the Ohioan, Gregg with two g's, Mike another running fellow, Lia the perky Canadian, Jamie from ME, Lauren the bartender from PA, Olivia another volunteer for Antofagasta and a loud Texan, TJ our favorite frat boy, Bethany the comical beauty from Oregon, and Elliot the always entertaining class clown. I felt the need to rush everyone out of the hostel that morning, probably an influence from my dad's impatience, but that's the way it works for large groups. Anyway, it was an unforgettable experience. Sunday was spent at Vina in town, walking around... although we had forgotten everything closes on Sundays by habit. I bought a striped shoulder bag, made of striped red-orange fabric, reminiscent of the indigenous Chilean artwork. We ate empanadas at the park in the center of town and returned home earlier that afternoon.
Now, the second week of orientation is over.
I'm so excited to almost finish orientation as the days are so full of preparation activities for our English classes, spanish review, and information about the program in general. We had to visit a school for observation purposes only and present our findings. My group's school was just down the street on Ricardo Cummings, and municipal (govt. funded) all boys school called Colegio de Aplicacion. The school was more orderly than I imagined (seeing as they told us how discipline is low in Chile), and was over 100 years old. Most of the teachers in Chile are in their late 40s to 60s. The teacher I shadowed worked authoritatively, asking a "volunteer" to write a sentence 9 times using the 9 different English verb tenses and then reciting the sentences in Spanish. The exercise seemed tedious at best, but I was still impressed with their ability as most Americans wouldn't be able to do the same thing in English! I've gotten to know so many great people in the program that I won't see after Saturday night, as we leave for Antofagasta ("Antofa"). Peter with the glasses is a quiet, pensive guy who went hiking this weekend and has done a lot of travelling on his own. Peter the former pro-soccer player is another new acquaintence with a very lax attitude and another runner as well. I also met the others going to Antofa.. Sarah a skinny, friendly girl who was also in my Spanish classes (which are now over, thank god!), Stacey (with the glasses, there were two) who went to Colegio de Aplicacion with me, Cameron the other partier who is 6'3" a knack for winning at ping pong and another sweetheart. There are others maybe worth mentioning later... It's funny how you can have moments with people in such a short time. Peter with the glasses let me listen to his iPod while he was charging it in the hallway of our floor, so we sat leaning against the wall with our eyes closed sharing earphones while listening to Tom Waitts (sp?). Good blues music that's new to me. We went to a Colegio Villa Del Sol and watched the students perform traditional dances from the North, South, and Easter Island as well as listened to their national anthem and were serenaded by two students singing "Everything I do (I Do it for You)" in English and a song by Gabriela Marcelo. After the presentations, we got an opportunity to speak to the students who swarmed around us like the papparazzi. At first, I wasn't being approached by many students and the first question was undoubtedly "Where are you from?" but as we attempted to leave the students and head to the hall for coffee I was trapped by several groups of students. Almost all the students beg for e-mail addresses (mensajes) and we wrote our addresses down like autographs! A group of boys surrounded me and asked what music I liked. I told the everything and they cheered when I agreed I liked reggeton (raggae). They asked if I like Backstreet Boys (upon which I scrunched my face) but they sang "Quit Playing Games with my Heart" and they loved it when I sang with them! There was more Polonesian dancing inside the hall, and we marveled at the fearless students who wore grass skirts and bikini tops in the fall weather! We also went to an all boys school, which previously won the English Debate and did a sample debate for us with a neighboring school. They also sang and danced for us, including Don't Cry by Guns N Roses! The day has worn on me, but tomorrow is our last day of scheduled activities for the program concluding with an asado (bbq). We're planning on performing the Shoop Shoop song (the rap one) for tomorrow's bbq so I have to prepare my thug outfit. =) My next posting should be in Antofagast with my 58 yr old host mom, Fresia Aguirre after the 15 hour bus ride to Region II.

Santa Lucia on Day 2

2007-03-17T15:40:00.000-07:00

Another Day in my new country! I woke up at 10:30pm and took a shower and had breakfast outside on the patio

with Emily and my newly arrived fourth roommate, Rio from Los Angeles. Today the

bulk of people in the English Open Doors program arrived. I met Bethany from Colorado who will be in Region 6 of Chile, Lia from Canada and James from Melbourne who are joining Summer in Patagonia, Jamie from Kennebunk, ME who will be in Mejillones and an almost newly-wed couple from Las Vegas who are moving permanently here after there wedding in a week. They'll be teaching near the tip of Chile near Punta Arenas. The program is now paying for our meals at the hostel, which is a nice break for us. After having lunch with the new arrivals, eight of us set out for Santa Lucia. After a long walk of kind of getting lost... we arrived at Parque O'Higgins, we met a man and his dog Lucy who not only told us how to get to Cerro de Santa Lucia, but walked us to the correct Metro station. Cerro Santa Lucia is located right near the Santa Lucia station within the park. The site is a beautful historic site with winding stair cases made of stone with little turrets, fountains, indigenous art, and beautiful views of the mountains from the top. You'll notice that you don't need to climb a mountain to get a view of action.... the PDA here makes Santiago seem like the City of Love!
Taking the metro for the first time, walking outside our comfort zone, and practicing the language with strangers for directions keeps me in check that I am indeed a tourist! However, as it's only the second day I can't feel too bad about it. One more day of rest before we must start orientation with a full schedule from 9-5. So hopefully, we can have some more fun before the weekend is over!

Estoy in Santiago!

2007-03-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

VIEW FROM MY WINDOW
11:58pm el 16, Marzo, 2007:

So finishes my first full day in Santiago! After surviving 14 hours of flying from San Francisco to Miami, Miami to Bogota (Colombia), and Bogota to Santiago... I arrived in Santiago a little before 4am in Chile (it's one hour ahead of EST). I had the opportunity to practice my Spanish with a young man sitting next to me from Miami to Bogota whose past girlfriends happened to both be "Japonese" (coincidence.... I think not) but it worked out well as he knew just a little bit of English and I knew some Spanish... so where I hit blanks on the language he could help me out in English. A bit of pointing and body language (like when I couldn't remember the Spanish word for nose--nariz--to describe my stuffy nose) got us through the three hours of our flight. In the photos you'll see of my first day, you'll notice that the past and present are not so far away. A bridge in Santiago looks eerily like the Zakim Bridge, and that name on the storefront for optometry... very close to my former employer's last name.... hmmmm perhaps it's a sign (but I don't think so).
I had a fished "wrapped" in mashed potatoes Reyenta Envuelvas at Rico's and had a salmon salad wrapped in a panqueque, Chilean sauvingnon blanc from Misiones de Rengo, and un pisco--a tequila-like beverage made of juniper berries, lemon and sugar (no I'm not becoming an alchy). We walked around Santiago Central and exchanged our foregin currencies into Chilean pesos. We, meaning me, and my roommate Summer from Juno and Emily, in my program from Australia. We joined Emily's friend's friend for dinner in Barrio Brasil, the neighborhood around la Avenida Brasil, at un cafe. The Hostel Internacional isn't bad, considering they offered me a free drink for my arrival, un pisco, and they have free internet access so I can write my blogs. Two more weeks here and then I'll be with my host family in Antofagasta in the desert. I'm still in envy of Summer, my roommate, who is placed in Patagonia, Chile (yes, the city which has a sports company named after it) in the lovely South of Chile. However, I think Emily and I will do well in Antofagasta. I may come to love 75 degree weather until June. As much as I worried about my spanish speaking skills, I've become the temporary translator for my friends! More to come later. Miss home but will tell you all about my adventures! Adios y hasta luego...

EMILY AND SUMMER IN SANTIAGO, ON AGUSTINAS NEAR SANTIAGO CENTRO.

Info for my time in Santiago

2007-03-15T00:54:00.000-07:00

I'll be staying at the HI-Chile in Santiago for the first two weeks of my trip from March 16th until the 30th, I believe. Anyway, I'll let you know if it's otherwise but the address there is:
HI Santiago
Cienfuegos 151
Santiago de Chile
Santiago
Chile

for those who are anxious to write or send care packages.... hehe.

7 hours and counting!

2007-03-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

Antofagasta!!!! (the section in red)

La Portada de Antofagasta

Ok, one more "boring" post and then I'll have more exciting news for you! I made sure to put a new memory card into my camera so I should be able to take MANY personal photos.

I've been placed in the Escuela Edda Cuneo Moreno school (which I believe is in Antofagasta), and the host family mentioned is Fresia Aguirre. I don't have an exact address, but that will be posted asap. To bide the time, I'll post some Cerro de San Cristobal
pics I found from the web onto the blog. I know the last picture (on the right) was a little hard to interpret, but it shows where Antofagasta and Mejillones are in Region II (squint and you a see them on the coast line of Chile... Mejillones is a small blob and right below it is a longer blob which says "Antofagasta") =) The first time I saw "Antofagasta" written anywhere, I couldn't believe I would be saying it naturally. Practicing Chilean Spanish names and words will give my tongue quite a workout (no dirty pun intended).

more to come soon. Oh! and I've met my first Alliance Abroad groupee who arrives the same day that I do-- Emily Reid. I've never seen pics of her, but she's Australian, blond hair, blue eyes, glasses. She suggested we check out "a hill" when we get to Santiago. Pictures of "the hill" coming soon. hehe ~Good night

The Hill: Cerro San Cristobal.

did I mention Chile is predominantly Roman Catholic? Here's the "picture" of the hill (see top right) pray for me!!!

Countdown to Chile!

2007-03-10T12:23:00.000-08:00

March 10th 2007

Well, hello everyone! Welcome to my recently created blog where I'll post all my pics and stories about teaching English in Chile through Alliance Abroad, the Chilean Ministry of Edu (MINEDUC), and the English Open Doors Program. (whoo-- but you can just remember I'm teaching English in Chile). Thanks to everyone who gave me such great send-offs from Boston, and Palo Alto!!! Loved my bistrocake from Hamersley's, the Artful Hand necklace, night at The Liquor Store, and my big dinner with family and friends in Holliston and Palo Alto. Can't beat Moscato d'Asti and tea leaf salad (to name a few favorites!) =)

To those whom I didn't get to say an official goodbye, moving from Boston was a trip. My mom arrived on Friday, dinner in Holliston on Saturday, dim sum and shopping on Sunday (day of rest!), skiing on Monday, packing on Tuesday and out!

And now I only have three days left in California before my departure! I've been trying to get in all the things I think I'll miss while being away... sushi, a little shopping, a good haircut.... I know I'll be able to do some of these things while I'm down there, but having a tendency to stick to the familiar, I wanted to get them done beforehand. All of that will change once I'm transported! I really am looking forward to a new perspective on life and hope to absorb life in Chile like a sponge. I'll meet everyone in my program for the first two weeks for orientation, and then I'll be driven to my host family and teaching site (yet to be determined). The idea of being on unfamiliar territory makes me a little anxious, but at the same time, I know there is only so much that I can do to prepare for an adventure like this. Plus part of the fun is being able to conquer my fears and become open to the unknown! (little bit of pep talk for me and those reading this!)

So, thanks again for everyone who wished me well in Boston and Palo Alto. I promise the next postings will have more excitement as I'll have started my trip officially! I'm also posting pictures of where I'll be and what my travel plans look like!