any given sunday

this little diddy is a perfect representation of my life here in Concepcion. wall decorations, lesson planning, random music my host dad plays constantly, pots and pans stacked on top of the stove, elliptical machines, laundry, suitcases etc. less than a minute says it all. 

i wish "cozy" could translate

winter is here

i eat lots of honey

i layer as if i'm hitting the slopes

yet i'm heading to duoc to teach a slew of...students

i miss sweatpants, cheddar cheese and dryers

and my spanish is "más o menos"

each day i feel more like i belong

here

is a culture very different from mine

but who's to say one is better?

i get tired of speaking on behalf of all americans

but i am a gringa living in

poblacion san marcos, talcahuano, chile

what i say and do is a reflection of US culture

"does everyone there eat jelly and cheese?"

"does everyone there have a mac?"

"college sweatshirts are very expensive. does everyone there have one?"

"you don't like mayo?!?!"

it doesn't make sense:

it's june.

winter is here.

Midservice Conference

I'm about to board the overnight bus to Viña del Mar with the Conce volunteers for the WorldTeach Duoc Midservice Conference. I can't believe that the first semester is almost over and we're already at midservice!

It'll be interesting to hear all the similarities and differences between host families, locations, Duoc sites etc. Plus, it's an "all-expense paid" weekend at the beach. Despite the fact I paid for it in advance, it's still nice to get reimbursed with cold, hard cash. :)

Side note: the past three days/nights it poured rain. all day. The street in front of my house was a small river and everyone was sprinting in and out of buildings. Umbrellas don't really help due to the wind, so you just have to wear as much water-proof clothing as possible.

Once again, I'm reminded of how incredibly convenient and comfortable (dry!) cars are. However, I'm getting pretty good at jumping puddles and dodging the buses as they careen by drenching anyone within 10 feet.

Ole or olé? :)

I was in the locker room at the gym today in my own little world, not really thinking about anything. Spanish flooded the room as the women chatted away the evening. (side note: I think Chilean women spend more time in the locker room post-"workout" than the workout itself. They literally "roll up" with entire suitcases worth of beauty products and hair dryers etc. and spend incredible amounts of time eating fruit/snack bars and primping.)

Anyway, out of nowhere a girl asks me in plain English, "Did you go to Saint Olaf?"

First, I was taken aback by the use of English. I'm so used to using Spanish -with the exception of talking with the three other volunteers- it was borderline shocking to hear such easy-to-understand English in the locker room.

Second, she asked if I went to Olaf. She skipped the other steps in between: American, midwest, Minnesota, small colleges, etc. and asked such a narrow question that it threw me off completely. Turns out, she went to Olaf for her first year, lived in Kildahl but later transferred to Gustavus. She's here in Conce teaching English at a private English school called The Thomas Jefferson School.

I guess the reason I found this so crazy is that I've experienced Chile completely apart from anything Olaf-related. Also, Conce is not exactly a hotspot for foreigners. Most head straight to Santiago or bypass the city for Patagonia. I can count the number of gringos I've met since arriving almost 5 months ago on one hand. The fact one was an Ole (if only for a brief while) struck me as a loco coincidence. After more thought, I realize this isn't that crazy given the schools we went to and similar paths chosen/emphasis on travel/means by which to travel etc. etc. Nonetheless, it was a very weird feeling to be talking in plain English about my freshman year dorm and even playing the "Do you know so and so?" game in the locker room in Chile.

Once again I realize: Oles are everywhere. olé!!

I've always liked playing cards. war, bs, hearts, extreme spoons etc. What I don't like is being the only one learning a new game among a group of experts. Especially if it is complicated. At first they play a little slower and wait for you to catch on. "Let's do one more practice round...", "You're getting it" etc. When it's your turn a few rounds later, the whole table turns to look at you and silently judges how you are faring. "Ahhh ya. Mas o menos.."

Here in Chile, I am "that girl" that doesn't know how to play the game. A gringa, sitting at a table with a bunch of Chileans. speaking Spanish.

Ok, maybe I'm taking the analogy a bit far but in my brain, it works.

I feel like I am the only one at a table of many that doesn't understand how to play the game. Everyone else knows the secrets and tricks of the trade. This is especially true in my experience at Duoc-UC. From Day 1, I've always felt one step behind in terms of how the system works: grading, online portal, tests, orals, holidays, tracking my hours, attendance and on and on. Just last week, I finally figured out how to fill up my ONE white board marker with more ink. (It's amazing how satisfying it is to see a nice bold line of blue ink on the board.)

Worst of all when playing cards is thinking you've made a nice move only to have the experts inform you of a rule you didn't know about. "No, of course you can't do it that way." At Duoc, we are constantly sent emails informing us to pass on info to our students, post grades, update our teacher folder, document absences in a certain way etc. etc. In theory, this isn't a big deal and is all part of working at the university level. Yet it becomes a headache -and extremely frustrating- when:

a) I can't track down the site coordinator. ever.

b) I can't decipher the emails

c) When I'm sent in circles around the Duoc site

d) When I do something only to be told that I can't do it that way. that's the worst.

My sense of being one step behind is heightened now that the semester is coming to a close. There is a lot to do and we're constantly sent emails and receive notes in our folders. I've tried to limit the number of questions I ask the English coordinator and just figure it out on my own, but that method doesn't really pan out all the time.

In the end, you live and you learn, right? In a lot of ways I think I've learned more from this first semester teaching experience than I've taught my students. I mean, who knew that to express wishes in the present tense you use the past tense? ("I wish I had a goat.") That is some crazy logic to try and explain.

All of this bureaucratic rigamarole teaches me patience and an appreciation for huge institutional systems that function more or less logically. (Of course, that's my American logic at work...)

ain't that the truth

"the limits of my language mean the limits of my world"

-ludwig wittgenstein

lessons learned

1. careful when crossing the street:

My normal run on my normal route with my over-played playlist came to a screeching halt (literally) when I witnessed a crazy car accident yesterday. I was trotting along when I heard a car zooming up behind me. I barely had time to turn my head when it zipped past, screeching toward the stop sign. Slight detail: the road ends at the stop sign. If you go straight, you go into the slimy, green canal. The truck careened toward the canal only to be blocked by an tiny unsuspecting 2 door car most likely coming home from a long day at work. To use Chilean onomatopoeias, "poom and baahh!" Poor guy.

Worst part: the kid in the trucked reversed and zipped off, the little white car in hot pursuit. The adrenaline made me run a little faster for a few minutes and then I got to thinking about how insurance works here in Chile. I don't much but I can only imagine the headache....

2. weigh your fruits and vegetables...

Before you go to the check out. If not, you are SOL in the worst way. Produce, meat, bread (anything typically on the outside walls of grocery stores) have to be weighed and priced prior to checking out. If you forget? Lucky you! Not only do you get to stand in the weighing line, but also the check out line. Again. 

3. Chilean students are surprisingly receptive to "you betcha!" as slang of the day. "Cut the cheese," however, was a complete and utter flop. Some things are just more fun to say :) 

(you betcha!)

4. Very few stores/cafés etc are open on Saturdays. And on Sundays? Not a chance. Unless you go to the mall of course. The Mall Plaza, the most "American" aspect of Chilean culture, is always open. Ironic? No way, José.

5. crossword puzzles and podcasts are fantastic ways to pass the time on public transportation. 

6. When going on an overnight bus ride, buy "semi-cama" (semi-bed), bring music, get a window seat toward the front, drink a beer- or two- at the bus station, and pray for any movie save "The Chipmunks Movie." If indeed "The Chipmunks Movie" plays, pray it won't repeat on your return trip. por Dios.

**random side note: I played John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" to help introduce a unit on travel and not only did a few students start singing along but two even took out lighters and started swaying back and forth. I'm thinking "Rocky Mountain High" for next week...

*** last random side note: in the past week, I've started drinking government issued, black market, powdered milk. It comes in a plain yellow bag with happy children and balloons on the front. It's given to newborns and infants in the hospital but my mom swears it'll help keep me healthy throughout the winter. It's on the black market because it has the government label on it. riiiight.

On the other side of the spectrum, we had asparagus soup last week, geriatric style. mmmm....It was powdered of course but this time from a green plastic bag. A gift from my host mom's parents. My host grandparents?

suerte!