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2011-09-06T06:36:00.002-06:00

It has been quite some time since I've typed out my thoughts in this way. Due to my current life schedule and situation, I feel compelled to document my navigation of the next 9 months of my life. I am currently a student at the University of Denver. I am in a teacher education program working towards my teaching license in K-12 Spanish education. Eventually, I want to earn my Master's in linguistically diverse education. My student teaching placement brings me to North High School two days per week. I am also working part-time at Denver Language School, subbing and in the office. I want to blog because I think it will be a good way to document and follow my thinking, my mentality and my perspective over the 2011-2012 school year. It may end up in flow of consciousness writing at times, as I grapple with education and the stress of this year.

In many ways, I thrive on stress. The past few weeks have been a testament to that. After coming home from Costa Rica and enjoying only a low key days, I was already antsy and frustrated with my lack of things to do. I felt the need to find a house, get going with school, buy a new computer etc. In fact, I even complained to a close friend of mine of my free time and she promptly made me aware of how entitled and silly I sounded. "You do realize you are complaining about having time, right?" she said. And yes, only a few days later, I am eating my words and wishing for more time.

Time. What an interesting notion. We constantly want more, want it to fly by, want to capture it, depending on the situation. Time with friends vs. time sitting in traffic: we want it to pass in opposite ways yet it is always steady. Tic, toc, tic, toc. This leads me to believe that it is all in perspective. If one re-frames sitting in traffic as a great way to de-stress and take in the beauty of the day, then the experience is exponentially better than those whose blood pressure rises at the thought of a cyclist slowing her down.

And yet here I am, wanting, needing, stressing out about time. Last night my heart started beating faster and I could feel a palpable sensation of stress and heightened awareness as I laid down to sleep. Usually I fall asleep quite easily so this was odd and disconcerting. It is true that I have a lot to complete. I am juggling a lot right now and am very nervous about letting any of them drop. I want to get the absolute most out of the TEP program but I also need to work at least part-time which takes away potential quiet study time. Lastly, my placement at North High School is both challenging and intimidating.

I say this as I am running out the door, heading to DLS for the day with Cara, to Qi Ryders spin class then to dinner with Becca. (I am the chooser of my destiny, and I am consciously choosing to fill my schedule) 100% responsible.

Bueno chicos, hasta luego.

Changes in latitude, changes in attitude.

2010-06-21T21:43:00.003-06:00

Lots is happening!

-My last day of work at The Primrose School (aka the most uninspiring, exhausting work environment I've ever been a part of) is on FRIDAY!!!!

-I've had lots of fun traveling around Colorado on weekends. Music festival, camping, sleeping under the stars, long hikes, fly fishing, good company. It's been great. I love Colorado.

-I'm preparing for a month in Costa Rica. Calling families, researching backpacks, browsing REI's website, communicating about last minute details with my fellow leaders.

-The WORLD CUP! I'm trying to soak up as much soccer as I can, but it's tough working full time. Luckily, I can watch in the evenings. I miss soccer.

-Continued communication with my new school, Denver Language School. I'll be visiting a day of camp next week and meet my teacher, Eva. School starts August 12th!

-Signed up for and have started training for the Twin Cities Marathon. yikes. This is a fantastic challenge but also inherently stressful. Plus, heading to Costa Rica for 4 weeks doesn't help the consistent training schedule.

-Planning on moving in with Kate, a friend from Primrose, September 1st. Most likely in the Highlands. So excited!!! Also need to buy a car and a bed.

Whew, that's a lot. A big change from the past 6 months. I'm ready.

i got a job!

2010-06-06T09:12:00.002-06:00

After six months of searching, interviewing, sending out resumes and tweaking cover letters, I have a job for next year! A job I WANT! I couldn't be happier about it :)

For the 2010-11 school year I will be working as a Teacher's Assistant at the Denver Language School. Our 1st grade classroom will be exclusively Spanish-speaking (95%) and I will work under a native Spanish speaker. The school is a brand new charter school and a lot of energy and passion are fueling it's August 2010 start date. All of these things are a perfect match for me and I can't wait to meet the teachers and students.

As an aside, I'm going to add a bit about the hiring process. I sent my resume, cover letter, transcript, etc. about 2 months ago and hadn't heard anything. I figured it was like most jobs I applied for: dead end. I realize I don't have my teaching license so my hopes for many of these positions were not particularly high. Anyway, I received an email on Wednesday evening requesting an interview time slot on either Thursday or Friday. I had to work both days so I emailed Janine (my new boss and principal of DLS) telling her I'd have to work out a different time. She writes back with a new time and attached a list of qualifications, the majority of which I don't possess. I was a bit intimidated by this and exhaustion from the week set in- I didn't feel like getting in the car to interview at 4:30 on a Friday. So I cancelled. Then, at 10:15pm on Thursday night, I get another email from Janine encouraging me to apply. She highlighted my experiences and mentioned my position at Primrose as similar to the job description. I was blown away by her personal investment so late on a Thursday and decided to go for it. All I needed was a little nudge.

The interview lasted and hour and a half. We chatted about the school, my qualifications, Minnesota (she's from Iowa and went to school at Mankato State). Then her language started to shift. She started to say things like, "This is what you will be doing." "Will you comfortable speaking in Spanish all day?" I became more enthusiastic about the position with each question. It just felt right.

A few minutes later, Janine went to chat with the Executive Director, Brian, as he was leaving for the weekend. Her voice lowered to a whisper and I could tell they were chatting about me. Brian then came over to the conference room and shook my hand saying, "Now remember, we're very selective." Hmm... I thought, my twinge of excitement growing. Next thing I know, Janine is explaining how she's never done this but she just felt it was right. She offered me the job on the spot, no questions asked. On the spot! I was blown away.

I told her I'd think it over knowing full well that I'd accept. I accepted yesterday and am so excited about it! It should be a fun ride- en español!

One more thing: Janine said two things in particular stood out to her.

1) My extensive experiences in Chile and Costa Rica.

2) The fact I went to St. Olaf. ("I know it's a great school so you must be really smart!") Thanks Olaf!

More to come on my adventures of moving out, buying a car and starting a new life in Denver to come!

Wintry Spring

2010-06-02T20:17:00.003-06:00

I woke up one May morning to yet another dusting of snow. I set out for a 5-mile run and kept thinking about what a great morning it would be to take a few pictures. So, as an exercise in my newfound spontaneity, I decided to run upstairs and grab my camera. Here's how they turned out.

(all the flowers are in my yard)

I'm happy to report that summer has officially begun. No more snow! Pictures of calm warm nights to come...

2010-06-02T19:58:00.003-06:00

On Memorial Day, I ran my first Bolder Boulder. It was everything I expected it to be: crowded, entertaining, full of crazy costumes and fun-loving families. I originally signed up by myself with hopes of meeting up with people once it finished. But thanks to Global Works and the many new friends I met at training, I was invited to stay with Jackie and her friends from college. They are a couple years older than I am and run the Bolder Boulder as a tradition. We ate a yummy pasta dinner, made silly "BLT and bread and cheese" t-shirts and had a couple beers. I really enjoyed meeting her friends and just hanging out in Boulder. We got up around 6:30, pounded water and I ate a very ripe banana and a couple granola bars.

There were thousands of people wandering and running around Boulder. From the moment we left the apartment, we saw people of all ages and sizes in running shoes ready to take on the 6.2 mile course. Our wave left around 8:30 and almost immediately we all split up. I ran a little faster than the others (about a 9:15 mile) and enjoyed the course by myself. I loved it! People were playing music, handing out bacon, launching marshmallows, spraying water and passing out beer and doritos. The time flew by. I passed a lot of people and ended up finishing in 57:26. It is a pretty good time considering the hoards of people I weaved through. Next year, I will join a timed heat so as to truly race the course.

The stadium slowly filled up with tired runners and families. We ate all of our free goodies and people-watched in the gorgeous weather.
Two new buddies and fellow Global Works employes, Jackie and Erin.

A great way to spend Memorial Day and a tradition I hope to continue!

...6 months later

2010-06-01T20:17:00.003-06:00

I'm back! After close to six months of living at home, I'm breaking back into the blogger world in an attempt to type out some of my crazy brain synapses firing as of late.

It seems both pointless and potentially mind-numbing to recap what I have been up to lately. Always the list maker, I thought I'd map out the past six months with "clear and concise is nice" bullet points.

Late December:

Christmas Eve! I arrived back home, waving my Chilean flag! Felt SO GOOD to be home.
Spent the holidays relaxing, enjoying big pots of coffee, working out and not getting stared at, cooking, baking and hanging out with family.

January:

The job search began. I have learned a lot about job searching, Denver, networking and education programs.
Applied for and landed two jobs. SpanishEasyandFun: teaching private Spanish lessons and Global Works: co-leading a student, service learning trip to Costa Rica.
I quickly became stir crazy and came across a craigslist posting at The Primrose School as a "floater."

February:

Started at Primrose. The job is convenient, consistently 40 hours and I work with kids. Yet I also end up in the kitchen quite a bit...not my idea of working at a school. Little do I know of what lies ahead.
Ski a few times with Liz, Becca and my family. LOVE Colorado!

March:

Chugging along at Primrose. Realize that working with all females is far too dramatic. Work is draining, I go through the motions and people like me. Voted Employee of the Month.
More ski weekends. Still LOVE Colorado!
Lots of running and working out. Keeps me sane.
Lindsey and Katie visited!!!!!!!!!!! I love my friends.

April:

"Everybody's working for the weekend." Never identified with these lyrics as much as I do now.
Long weekend to Minnesota. Many, many emotions mix and make me feel, well, more confused. Again, I love my friends. They feel me up...my cup runneth over.

May:

Job searching like crazy. Every night after work I sit on my computer, writing cover letters, adjusting my resume, making contacts etc. I feel crazy. Not sure what the point is at times...
Crazy funky spring weather. Rain, snow, heat all in 48 hours.
Fun weekends up in Boulder/Denver. Rock climbing, grilling, beers.
Global Works training weekend: inspiring, stimulating and information-packed weekend. I really like the company and plan on/hope to work for them for a long time. Similar interests make all the difference.
Ran Bolder Boulder with new friends Jackie and Erin, fellow GW staffers. Very fun! Lots of distractions and crazy costumes. Another good tradition I want to continue.
Oh, and I signed up for the Twin Cities Marathon in October. yikes.

June:

Volunteering at Palisade Music Festival with Liz, Jon and Lowell. camping, bluegrass and sun.
Quit Primrose. hallelujah!
Prepare for 30 days of insane responsibility in Costa Rica- 17 high schoolers!

What I learned the past six months:

Patience takes on many forms. In Chile, patience meant something completely different to me. It meant waiting for everything, slowing down and being at peace with "accomplishing" less each day and being patient with my students.

Here in Colorado, it means being patient with the job hunt process. Knowing that "all it takes is one," and that it will all work out. Being at peace with where I am despite certain aspects of life I want to change soon (i.e. living sola, car, etc).

Despite what I tend to think, no one has it all together. We all struggle to obtain some idea of what we believe to be the "right thing." We unconsciously (or consciously) check off boxes to compare and make sense of our situation compared to the next person:

living independently
salaried job (or at least decent $)
car
boyfriend/girlfriend

For me, I have struggled to be 23 and ok with not having any of these. At times, its maddening. I want so badly to be out on my own and don't understand why I can't just figure it out.

I also realize that all of this self-centered thinking can be poisonous. It not only makes me ridiculously self-involved but it brings me down. I am not used to being a negative person. Yet when I combine my job, living situation and lack of independent transport, I have found myself

being more of a Debbie Downer than ever.

Maybe that is why I reopened my blog today. I want to stop this poisonous negative talk. It is not me. I'm in a phase, putting in my time and working hard to move out on my own. I have high expectations of myself and though some of them have to be put on hold for now, I can still live true to my values of kindness, constantly seeking new knowledge and balancing my life. These are things a new job, car and apartment can't provide.

Chin up.

all she wrote

2009-12-22T06:37:00.002-07:00

December 22nd. wow. At times, I thought this day would never come. At others, I couldn't believe how fast life was passing by! The reality is, it's here. It's time to pick up and leave Chile. Tomorrow. crazy. In some ways this is reminiscent of the end of college. Everyone is going in different directions, I don't know what lies in front of me, I'm broke...On the other hand, it's different because Chile will continue to chug along. My host mother will still buy bread each afternoon, go to church on Sunday nights and worry about every aspect of her son's lives. Chile will elect a new president, the students will continue to protest, vendors will continue to sell used pens, pirated CDs, band-aids and peaches from the same cart.

In this sense, it's comforting to think that when and if I come back (I'd love to come back and travel more in the south of Chile), not much will have changed. I know that Sunday will involve a huge lunch followed by coffee and dessert and the standard conversation bouncing from weather to family gossip with silly humor mixed in. In Chile, family is the highest priority.

Not money, fame, possessions--as much as American influence is trying to change that. Life moves a tad bit slower here. People complete one or two tasks a day instead of trying to "fit" or "squeeze" everything in over the lunch hour. Lines are standard. The bank, grocery store, pharmacy, bus. Waiting is a way of life and Chileans learn from a young age that impatience will get you no where here. I've definitely taken away the virtue of patience here. I'm guessing it'll take me a second to get used to drive through, self-checkout and driving my own car.

In the end, all things must come to and end. And this is yet another end in my life. I'm blessed and fortunate enough to have experiences many only dream of and for that I am endlessly thankful and humbled. Nonetheless, goodbyes are difficult. My host family has been a rock for me this year and without the stability of my host mother, I don't know what I would've done. (I even managed to make a peanut butter addict out of her!) I learned a lot through my first year of teaching and I've been able to travel to the top and bottom of Chile. When I write it all down, I've done a lot. At times, I've been bored, cold, frustrated and lonely. At others, (like now!), I've been energized, inspired and surrounded by loving people.

This is a super random post but I think I'm going to keep it as such. Such is life in Chile. RANDOM. así no más. :)

Off to pack while pumpin' the reggatón beats.

Chao pescaooooo.

Adiós Chile

2009-12-15T13:31:00.003-07:00

I love lists. Organizing, categorizing, crossing off items, everything. I just love 'em. :) I find they help me make sense of things. Not only the obvious everyday processes like packing or grocery shopping but also what I like, don't like, pros and cons of a certain big decision and finding out what's important to me.

Therefore, I find myself making mini lists in my head all the time. Lately, it's been a "what I'm going to miss about Chile" list. I leave in 7 days and can't really believe it. There was so much that went into this year (application, working, saving $, volunteering, packing, endless amounts of paperwork and appointments, travel plans etc.) Then I arrived and had a year filled with highs and lows. I learned a lot! How to teach, how to plan lessons, how to live with a Chilean family, how to navigate the bus system, how to stretch my meager stipend, how to travel, how to be alone, how to arrive at Duoc just before a downpour, how to speak Chilean spanish and on and on. See, I already made a list before the list I was meaning to make!

Saying goodbye is always bittersweet. (Unless the experience one had was completely negative.) While I didn't love everything about this year, it is definitely going to be hard to say goodbye to Chile. In many ways, the difficult moments made me realize how easy my life has been / is and appreciate what I have. (family, friends, transportation, heat, ability to get a job, a good education). Also, Chile, and living in my green house here in Concepción is all I have known for a year. It'll be strange and uncomfortable to enter back into the world of capitalism and consumption. Buy! buy! buy! A world where people are constantly connected- music, cell phones, internet- but yet struggle to communicate face to face.

I've said to myself many times (especially the past few months) that I am ready to leave Chile. I'm ready to go back to the US, find a job-or two- and work, save money, spend time with my family and work on figuring out my next step. I truly think I am ready. I don't want to teach at Duoc another year. I don't want to live in Conce another year. Yet at the same time, it will be hard to ride the bus one last time and wave to my kind host family from the window.

I tell myself I'll be back. I want to continue traveling in South America --especially the south of Chile and Patagonia. But who knows when this will be. Hopefully its not an empty promise...I still have yet to return to Costa Rica. But, as Laly says, "You have a house in Chile."

Alright, I got sidetracked typing out my thoughts...here is the list.

Things I'll miss about Chile.

-My host family. Particularly my host mom, Laly. She has been my rock this year, always looking out for me, helping me, listening to my broken Spanish. Life's about the little things, and Laly gets this. She's always doing little things for me that I appreciate deeply.

-Spanish (as horrible as los chilenos speak, I'm going to miss Spanish. mucho)

-kiosks on every corner selling anything from kilos of fresh strawberries and asparagus to woll socks and sunglasses.

-Plazas. Every South American city has one and I love the feeling of community they emit. The US has no plazas, just malls.

-The mixture of mountains, rolling green hills, ocean, volcanoes, and rushing rivers all within a few miles of each other.

-my "good"students. By "good" I mean motivated, fun, interested, kind

-free time. I have a lot of it and I've been able to read, write, listen to music and chill more than I have in years. I know I'll miss it.

-I'm sure I think of more...I'm feeling the pressure of "the list" right now. :)

I hesitate in making a "things I won't miss about Chile" list at this moment. I'm focusing on the positive here...

Tonight I'm headed to Santiago for one last visit. I'm staying with Sidi and were planning on taking pictures around the city, buying last minute gifts and maybe renting bikes??

Still can't believe it's one week. Time is a sly guy, that's for sure.

Torres Day 4.

2009-12-14T12:26:00.004-07:00

:( Qué triste, our last day came too fast!

In order to catch the catamaran out of the park at noon, we had to get up really early to hike up as far as possible to see the "Grey Glacier." After oatmeal and tea, we grabbed our water and set off for a 2 hours trek towards the wind and rain.

We lucked out on weather the entire trip. No rain, just a few clouds. Until we got up to the glacier. I felt like I'd been transported to Antarctica. I suppose I was pretty darn close! The whole scene was bizarre: the clouds were spewing freezing rain sideways. We could barely walk straight due to gale force winds and yet there was a rainbow on the other side of the lake. A few minutes later the skies opened up and the sun shined through. So unpredictable.

Pretty good shot of the glacier. If we'd had more time, the last part of the "W" hike includes a few more hours toward the glacier and camping there. We definitely weren't equipped for that.

Sun shining through.

Back down at the campsite. Passing time waiting for the catamaran. Chilean flag and Patagonian flag.

You've been good to me Torres.

Taken from the catamaran. What a way to end a string of unreal views.

Torres del Paine lives up to the hype. I've never seen nature like this. It inspired me to take advantage of my surroundings- especially since I'm moving to Colorado. I hope to hike, camp and get outdoors more.

It's far, but it was worth every peso I paid.

Torres Day 3

2009-12-14T12:05:00.005-07:00

Day 3 was spent hiking up the valley to a Mirador. For some reason, this day felt really long. I think it's because we split our hikes into to parts. In the morning we were sans backpack (light as a feather!) and chugged up the mountain. We got our first glimpse at the glacier. You know how in the Alaska cruise line ads, the glaciers are always bright blue and sparkling? Well, I thought this was just crafty advertising and touching up. While I'm sure that's partly true, glaciers really are icy blue and sparkly! It's hard to capture on camera but they stand out like icy gems on the mountain.

The terrain was varied throughout the hike. We climbed rocks for awhile, crossed rushing rivers, tromped through woods and finally made it to a clearing of dead trees. It was starkly different from the rest of the landscape. Wonder what happened here...

One of our only group shots. These are my fellow Conce pals. Amy, Jen and Sara.

We made it to the top!

Throughout the week, I took a bunch of pictures through my sunglasses lens. I think it look cool. I was a bit off on this one..

The camera doesn't do it justice--if you look closely, you can see the icy blue glacier ice.

After a brief lunch of PB & J on tortillas, we started hike # 2. This time with all of our stuff. My turn to carry the tent. Definitely felt the difference. On this bridge, only one is allowed to pass at a time. Interestingly, the sign is in English. Guess they had to make sure the gringos understood..

After a couple hours frolicking through the meadow and singing Sound of Music, we arrived at Lago Pehoe, the site of the Paine Grande Lodge and people with lots of dinero. Luckily, they also have an inexpensive paid camping site. Hot water and beers available! We definitely weren't suffering too much on the trip!

I didn't love this campsite as much as the others, mostly due to the amount of people and it felt too exposed (to people and wind). But the view was spectacular.

Torres Day 2

2009-12-14T11:30:00.005-07:00

Day 2 was our longest day in terms of hiking--we had to backtrack down the mountain to where we started, then hike over the lake and up to the free campsite. All in all, it was about 23km or almost 14 miles. It took awhile but the scenery made it easy to keep going. In fact, I was constantly torn between stopping and sitting for awhile and chugging along so we didn't arrive super late at the campsite. If I get the chance to come here again, I would stay longer. Honestly, I could sit and stare for hours here. 4 days wasn't enough for such down time. Hence the crazy amount of pictures. :)

A morning shot of the valley we camped in. Loved the green.

Back to the river.

The red flower was everywhere in the park. The perfect accent between all the blue and green.

The incredible Lago Nordenskjold.

We made it down to the beach!

The French River just outside our campsite #2. Washin' dishes in freezing cold water!

Torres del Paine National Park

2009-12-12T14:22:00.009-07:00

The End of the World

This past week, I had the incredible opportunity to visit Torres del Paine National Park (Paine Towers) in the south of Chile, also known as Patagonia. It's going to take me a while to process my experience and I think this blog will help. I've never seen such concentrated natural beauty. Everywhere I looked, I could've taken a picture. (Because of this "problem," I ended up with over 400 pictures in a 5 day trip!) Words like beautiful, pretty, impressive, breathtaking and gorgeous don't do the park justice. Therefore, I'm going to take you on a virtual trip, starting from the airport in Santiago, in an attempt to share a little slice of the incredible beauty in Patagonia.

First of all, my travel group. The three girls I've mentioned before, Sara, Jen and Amy are all fellow Duoc profs. We had a week free from Duoc duties and decided months ago that Torres was a "must-see." Being the frugal volunteers that we are, we saved our pesos throughout the semester. We bought all our food for the park here in Conce and packed it in our backpacks for the long ride down to Patagonia.

Here's a map to give you an idea of the distances. I live in Concepción, about 7 hours south of Santiago.

Despite living in Chile, Patagonia is still really far away! It took us a good 36 hours to arrive at the park entrance. We left Saturday night for Santiago on an overnight bus, took a plane from Santiago to Punta Arenas, a bus from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales. There we rented our gear (tents, pots, pans, sleeping bags etc.) Thanks to a very kind student of mine, I had most of the necessary gear! Gracias Andres! We spent the night --cozy down comforters and all-- in Puerto Natales. The next day, we had a hearty breakfast and caught the 7:30am bus with slew of other gringos. Three hours later, we were there! Because we have Chilean ID cards, we got in for only $8usd instead of the steep $30 fee for foreigners. holla!!

We ran into a herd of sheep on the way to the park. Wool is a primary industry in Patagonia.

Our first glimpse of the Torres. We had to get out of the van, cross the bridge on foot, then get back in on the other side. Safety first in Chile too. (sometimes...)

I had to put this in here. We made 4 HUGE bags of GORP. Looking at this now makes me a ill...ugh.

And we're off! First big hike up the "W" loop. The "W" is the most popular hike in the park. You guess it, it's shaped like a "W"! We started on the right side of the "W" and hiked to the top of the 1st finger. I'm guessing my pack weighed between 25-30lbs-- more when I had the tent. The first day was about 14km total. Mostly uphill.

Getting closer the the Torres!

The weather the trip was awesome. (again, we lucked out) Patagonia is known for extreme weather, drastically changing throughout the day. We had clear blue skies the first few days and only a few clouds and drizzle the last day.

My favorite part of the park: filling my water bottle up at ANY stream/river! Glacier water is delicioso :) And free!

After setting up camp, we hiked the last 1.5hrs to the Mirador Las Torres. What a sight. After all the traveling, we were there. We took tons of pictures and later simply sat, quietly contemplating the view. I couldn't believe it. Very surreal.

Dinner was pasta and tomato sauce. Dessert: GORP. I'm pretty sure this picture was taken around 10pm--over 18 hours of daylight!

More to come on days 2-4. I have a lot of pictures to sort through...

coming to an end

2009-12-05T12:22:00.002-07:00

It's been a few weeks since I've written..mostly due to "flojera," one of my favorite Spanish words used to describe laziness. My students are "flojos," for example. Muy flojos.

But! I'm finished with classes. As of yesterday, I am no longer a WorldTeach teacher. There are still a few last minute grades to post and the looming "oral final," but pretty much, the party's over. And I'm excited about that. This year has been many things: random, trying, frustrating, cold, rainy, exciting, depressing, eye-opening and challenging. I could say this about teaching in general too. I've enjoyed my students but I'm excited to move on.

Last weekend, I was up in Santiago for the End of Service Conference with the whole WorldTeach crew. It was fun to see everyone and catch up on the last semester. These are the people I met at the airport in Miami, sat through a month of orientation with and teach at various Duoc sites around Chile. Because of this, we are all very connected and have lots of common ground. It's funny how everyone came down here to "teach English at a technical/professional school" but in the end, each volunteer's situation looks very different from the next. I found it fascinating to hear about host families (good and bad) and friends people made. In terms of teaching, we all had similar stories. We could still be exchanging tales...

We had a few "sessions" complete with reflection, reverse culture shock talk and a resume-building workshop. The latter was what stuck with me the most. I haven't really been thinking too intensely about the future but when we all started working on our resumes and sharing ideas, it struck me that I'm going back to a very different world. A world of self-promotion, competition and strategy. I'm not sure I'm ready for such a world, but my bank account says otherwise. In the end, I know I'll find a job (or two) and work for awhile. Yet, my travel bug hasn't been cured by this year living and teaching in Chile. If anything, I think it's worse. I have no idea what the future holds, but I'm thinking it involves a passport...

ps. Currently packing for PATAGONIA!!! That's right, I'm headed to the end of the world.

chao chao. manu chao.

2009-11-15T15:01:00.004-07:00

Por fin! The infamous "music scene" hit Conce! Manu Chao concert November 23rd.

Mi amiga Laura (a fellow WorldTeach volunteer and Wisconsinite) introduced me to Manu Chao on our trip to Peru in July. I fell in love with his sweet beats and different languages and now listen to it all the time.

Last week, we heard a rumor that Manu Chao was coming to C

once. Turns out, the rumor is true! We are all SO excited for this. After almost 10 months of living here, I've determined that the "lots of concerts and live music and great night life" description of Concepción, Chile is false. Unless you consider reggaton blaring from dark, creepy nightclubs "great night life."

Nevertheless, this is not my typical Monday night event :) holla.

This morning I ran another 10k. This one was hosted by DiarioSur, one of the local newspapers.

I felt really good throughout the whole race and (I know this sounds weird) actually tried to push myself a bit. Throughout this year of running/racing, I've gotten used to just arriving and running. Not really thinking about it beforehand, not eating anything special to prepare. I just go.

But today I decided to run a bit faster. Turns out, I ran 8:30s and finished in 52:30. And so continues my increasing obsession with running. I really, really like it. I think it's the camaraderie of completing a goal with other people. Woo! sports! I like seeing all the different people that show up and how everyone cheers each other on, working towards "la meta" (finish line). And the random t-shirts, medals, water bottles and other free stuff doesn't hurt!

Two more weeks of classes! Hallelujah

cotton candy cloud.

typical monday evening

2009-11-09T17:48:00.005-07:00

I spent the evening making signs about "permission, obligation and prohibition."

"You can recycle this item."

"You aren't allowed to push the button!"

It may be the effect of white board markers but I decided to take a few pics of "mi pieza." My room has evolved over the past 9 months from a bed and small dresser into my own haven. It's been "Jennerized." haha. Honestly, I spend a TON of time here. Not as much as the winter, but still plenty. I find when I'm away from my house for long periods of time, (class all day, weekend trips, even just a few hours!) I crave my room. It's the one space here that is solely mine.

It's my office, my bedroom, a library, internet café, mini movie theater, karaoke bar, a yoga studio, even my kitchen sometimes!

Oh heey-ayyy! (I'm telling you, it was the strong markers..)

Office, closet combo

There's a lot to be said for space when one is living in a foreign country. When I'm out and about, personal space is not what most Americans are used to. I cram my legs into a seat on the bus next to everyday José, I push my way to the front of the line to buy a snack at Duoc, I perch next to the treadmill waiting for it to his 29:59 and then pounce.

If nothing else, I've learned to be pushy in public! A foot of space between you and the person in front of you at the grocery store is an open invitation to let granny and her whole family go ahead of you. Lingering patiently a comfortable 5 feet from the treadmill means you will never actually work out.

After a day- or 9 months- of fighting for space, I appreciate my square more than anything!

Ok, last but not least, I have two new books to add to my list. I finished Mudbound last week. It's a really quick read. But still left me thinking after I put it down. It's a story of two families in rural Mississippi in the late 1940s, early 1950s. One family is black, the other is white. They also both have sons that fought in WWII. When both sons arrive back in town, they are met with the sad reality of unchanged perspectives regarding race. The boys connect on a different level, far away from the harsh farm land of Mississippi. Their friendship is complicated by enduring prejudice and hate. I won't give away the end, but as the book says, "they become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale and find redemption where they least expect it."

The other, My Invented Country, is by the Chilean author Isabelle Allende. (Niece of Salvadore Allende, the president who was murdered Sept. 11th, 1973 by the military coup led by Pinochet). I'm flying through the book because it's like reading about my day to day life. Every few pages, I say to myself "yes!" and "exactly!" She writes about Chilean culture, food, dress, politics, daily life, classism, sexism etc. It's like Allende crawled into my brain and made sense of all the random thoughts I've had while observing this country. Because I'm living the words on the page, I find this book fantastic! Not sure everyone would, but I'd still recommend it. Fantastic insight into the people of Chile. (With a feminist, socialist, expatriate bias). Allende is one of few outspoken Chilean female writers and lives in California.

Good night!

punto c l

2009-11-07T11:20:00.003-07:00

**I started this having no idea where it would go, and it turned out to be a wordy meandering around the subject of technology and culture. If you get through it all, gracias!**

I find I have a hard time organizing my thoughts lately regarding the blog. Blog, what a funny word. I had no idea how huge blogs are now in the US. Everyone blogs. I find it oddly fascinating that people voluntarily share the inner-workings of life with the masses. Documenting daily eating habits, the latest sale, whether or not Janie has a cough, weight-loss tips "to live by," and on and on. The possibilities are endless. The fact that we can sit in front of a screen all. day. long. reading about the lives of people we won't ever meet is mind-boggling. Clearly, this is a two-way street. The bloggers have to keep up his or her end of the bargain by constantly updating, "blogging," and the readers have to read, post comments and share the blog with friends to keep it going. It's a new, virtual form of cultural capital. What if the Internet crashes all of a sudden? How would we interact? Where would we start?

This wave of instant information and constant, incessant connection to anyone in the world has not yet arrived to Chile. For this, I am thankful. I realize that in a few years when I come back to visit, Chileans will be tweeting (probably very passé by then in the US) and blogging but for now it's nice to live among the technology of yesteryear--or the early 2000s. Technology is something that evolves at warp speed and countries like Chile try to keep up but they always fall just a bit short. CD walkmans are still popular. And Windows 4.0 I, for one, opine that that's a good thing.

That being said, every boy in my house has a computer, the majority of my students have laptops and I heard on CNN Chile that a higher percentage of Chileans than Americans own cell phones. The cell phone in Chile isn't used for lengthy conversations, per sé, but instead quick snippets of dialogue that more or less consists of the same script:

"Where are you? When will you be home? Did you buy bread? Ya. Ok. Bueno. Listo. Chao. Besito." (all in the span of 20-30 seconds depending on the last few "chaos" and "ya pos."

I'm convinced Chilean mothers somehow funded the campaign aimed at young people in order to have unlimited surveillance on their children. And no, Chileans can not screen their calls. If mom is calling, they answer. Not answering is not an option. Even at 4am on a Saturday night.

Don't get me wrong. I am extremely grateful for technology being thousands of miles away from home. From day one, I've have good, reliable internet in my room. It's helped me with lesson planning, staying in touch, and helped me pass many rainy Sunday afternoons. Yet, I rarely interact at length with anyone in my host family because of computers. The boys are always playing video games. Except for onces, they are all squirreled away in their rooms, playing various bang bang shoot 'em up games. I think this is the pitfall of technology. It takes away, and in fact numbs us, to simple face-to-face interactions. The fact that I can be better friends with a fellow blogger than my own Chilean housemates is slightly disturbing.

Yes, the internet is an incredible tool and probably the most significant innovation (cultural/social/economic/political) of the late 20th/21st century, but what is it leading to? Seems to me, it's only getting bigger. More connection in little to no time. I look out the window each day on the bus and see stark differences between modernity (Mall, iphone billboards) and tradition (horse and buggies, door-to-door fish vendors on bikes with steam whistles) sitting side by side. In Chile, as in most other Latin American countries I've visited, people glorify the former and brush off the latter as "lower class" and "de campo" (country, hick).

In America, it's impossible to define our culture into distinct categories. We have no state religion, sport, dance, food etc. In Chile, it's Catholicism, soccer, la cueca, and a plethora of various forms of fried dough and meat. Not to mention the wine. There is definitely something to be said for that and I think it leads to more national pride and unity. When asked general questions about the US, I get frustrated and always find myself saying, "it depends." "I can only speak for Minnesota or Colorado." And this is only half true. I know nothing about the culture of Mississippi, Idaho or New Hampshire. For this, I believe exists the possibility of travel. Getting to know other places, people, customs, languages. Yet with the internet, will it soon be possible to do all of this without leaving what I know as home? I hope not. That is far too easy.

In the end, I suppose it's about balance. Like most things in life. With that said, I'm signing off and going out to see a bit more of Chile on this Saturday afternoon. Chao!

happy halloween!

2009-10-30T16:07:00.005-06:00

...or should I say "Feliz Noche de Brujas!?" (Witch's night)Halloween is definitely not as popular or talked about down here. I've seen smatterings of Halloween paraphernalia here and there recently but nothing compared to the glorification of capitalism/candy that we have in the US of A. The big grocery stores have bags of candy and a few guys in the centro laid out sheets and threw down some plastic Scream masks and devil horns.

Due to a lack of costume options, I am going to be Waldo (or Walda?) from Where's Waldo. I have a red and white striped shirt...pretty lame, I know, but I'm going to try and jazz it up a bit.

Pictures to come...

In the meantime, I found these sweet shots today:

I like maps. I like coffee. I like books.

slow saturday

2009-10-24T16:14:00.002-06:00

Hello all.

Well, I can finally say I "went out" here in Concepción. Last night, the run club, "WildRunners," went out to Tijuana, a Mexican restaurant and dance club. It was a pretty good time. We had (Chilean-made) Mexican food. I ordered green chile enchiladas that left a lot to be desired...I'm really excited about good Mexican food! And once the music started around 1am, we all hit the dance floor for a while. The music was a funny mix of reggaton, salsa, merengue, and then random American pop like "Hot and Cold" and Shania Twain's, "Man! I feel like a women." You definitely dance differently to a salsa song than to a pop country tune. :)

I find it crazy that it's taken me this long to truly "go out" here. But in the end, it's not too surprising. I'm not really much of a party girl in general and living really far from the center of town gives me a fantastic excuse. Also, all of the good places to go out require a car and more money, neither of which I have. Oh, and Chileans like to party until 5am and the American in me is way to lame to do that. Nonetheless, last night was pretty fun!

This morning came way to soon as I had to get up and teach a 3-hour conversation class at the Norteamericano. Surprisingly, it wasn't too rough-- nothing a few cups of nescafé couldn't fix.

Yesterday marked the 2 month countdown. Honestly, in this moment, with two months to go and 9 months of living in Chile, I'm pretty excited to get back home. Not that I'd want to go tomorrow. It's just that I feel as if two more months is perfect. I have one more big trip planned--- Torres del Paine-- and an end-of-service conference up in Santiago. Other than that, I'm planning on hanging out in Conce, enjoying the good weather, and looking in to possible jobs in Colorado.

Time is a tricky, finicky little fellow and I realize I need to keep and eye on him. He's easy to lose and find weeks later still ticking away like always.

A few things I'm excited about:

-milk (never been much of a milk-drinker but the powdered stuff is getting old)

-Chipotle salad bowl

-Target

-driving

-space, windows, natural light

-coffffeeeee!

-food. food. food.

-Christmas cookies ;)

~Welp, see ya later. Off to onces with random bus drivers that have been hanging out on the couch all day. And Nelson.

i read books. yo leo libros.

2009-10-21T19:22:00.006-06:00

I've been lucky enough to have a lot of free time during my time in Chile. Despite the fact I have high-speed internet in my room, I often opt for a piping hot mug of Nescafé and a book. Reading, like running, has helped me escape and pass

some of the more 'tranquilo' moments. (By 'tranquilo' I mean very, very long afternoons, busrides etc.) There's nothing like a good book- in English- that makes you think about a different place, perspective, culture.

My friend Jen, another Duoc teacher, is also a avid reader so I have her to thank for many of these good reads. Also, thanks Mom, for the disgustingly overpriced book at the airport. :) I swear I'll read it twice. Currently, I'm reading The Count of Monte Cristo in an attempt to read a classic, something I often find overwhelming. But...it just so happens that I've also developed a slight addiction to Desperate Housewives ... Count of Monte Cristo vs. Desperate Housewives.

The Count of Monte Cristo-- Page 12. Of 618.

Desperate Housewives-- Episode 8, Season 4.

Who will win, no one knows!!

Anyway, here's a list of the books I've read so far...

This might be my favorite book. It's so well written. It combines two of my favorite things: Spanish and the cello. (I know I played the viola, but I've always loved cello). It's about the life of a little boy destined to play beautiful music. A historical fiction covering the Spanish Civil War and World War II. I highly recommend it!

People of the Book: Awesome book. It's often compared to The DiVinci Code but I think this is better. It's not as sensational and the characters are deeper. It's the story behind a 500 year old Jewish prayer book known as the haggadah. Learned a little about the art of book restoration/preservation too.

This is the first book I read here. It's an edgy coming of age novel about a Dominican-Republic/American boy in NYC. Sad at times- no happy language or literary rainbows, but very raw and real all the same.

"A Free Life" is about a Chinese couple's struggle to realize the American dream. The main character, Nan, is a well-educated poet but soon realizes being a scholar won't pay the bills. He and his wife work endless hours running a Chinese restaurant in Georgia. An interesting novel to read living outside the US.

Hilarious!! Great short stories. A good "getaway" book to get through the rainy winter. I like his dry, witty sense of humor.

I loved this book! It's a historical fiction loosely based on the life of Laura Bush. I never really think about the lives of "first women" but Sittenfeld does a great job of humanizing the smiling female figure constantly accompanying the most powerful man in the world.

I didn't realize this was going to be a movie when I started it. I actually thought it was really slow and confusing for the first 100 pages. Then I got into the story and couldn't put it down. I'd like to see how it ended up in movie form given all the jumps in time.

me gusta.

2009-10-21T18:30:00.000-06:00

so chilean it hurts.

2009-10-19T19:46:00.005-06:00

good evening amigos.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend--marathon in Los Angeles. (I stole them all from facebook.) Turns out the group is obsessed with capturing every kodak moment, including the 7am wake-up call.

First: the finish line!!! 1 hour 54 minutes.

I forgot to put my hands up.

Super intense look back at the crowd.

Stretching?

St. Olaf soccer represent!!

Alright this photo was taken at approx. 7:08am and it's SO Chilean I had to put it up from two different angles. You see, first you have a huge bag of bread on the table. See all that white bread? Then you have a bag of jelly, an electric tea kettle and a container of Nescafé.

Pre-race meal? A "bread" with blackberry jelly and 2 cups of Nescafé.

Here you have the whole table, everyone enjoying bread...and of course the TV on in the background.

This was a 10 minute walk from our cabaña. Called "Salto de Laja." Pretty sweet waterfall.

Outside the cabaña with Pedro, "Peter." he just oozes "nice guy." :) Oh and he ran the 10k--60 years old!

The cabaña (cabin).

Group photo with the "David Beckham" of Chile. No, really he's just a sports announcer with a pretty face...can you guess which one?

I think I'm confused by all the reggaton music at 10:30 on a Sunday.

The Wildrunner crew post-race hanging out.

big difference.

2009-10-18T16:36:00.003-06:00

(I was right behind these guys.)

Just got back from my second half marathon. The first one was in April in Santiago. This one was in Los Angeles (South of Conce) and, well, today. October 18th. I can't believe how much has happened in the 6 months between. Not only did I improve my time, but I felt great throughout the entire half marathon. As I type this hours later, I must admit I feel a bit sore, but overall, it was pretty painless. As for the marathon in Santiago...definitely a different story. I was sore for days and the marathon itself felt longer. I think this change in sentiment and perspective reflects much of the past 6 months in Chi-Chi-Chi Chile..

In terms of my life in Chile, I am leaps and bounds ahead of where I was in April. Back then I was still anxious about traveling sola, my Spanish was (at times) rough and I didn't have any Chilean friends or connections outside of my family. The winter was long, cold, grey and rainy. I spent a lot (a lot) of time in my room trying to save money and lacking "ganas" (inspiration) to go out and explore. A rainy hibernation I guess.

On the other hand, in July, I spent 3 weeks traveling in the north of Chile and Peru. Looking back, it was an incredible experience, albeit very different from living in Chile. I was traveling with a fellow American, we were surrounded by tourists but somehow we felt more connected to the people and culture given the language and experience here. I saw scenery people write poetry about and learned how to "backpack" for the first time.

Back in Conce, a new semester started. Different classes, different students. I have yet to feel as anxious and nervous as I did first semester. I'm definitely more a relaxed and confident teacher. I think this helps both me and my students. I also realize that I'm just their English teacher. A required class they have 3 hours a week. Not too life-changing. (despite what WorldTeach tried to tell us)

I continued working out at the gym, running 5-6x per week, taking my "BodyBalance" class 2x per week. Running has helped me through, um, everything here. Stress, anxiety, boredom, homesickness, cabin fever. I can proudly say I'm addicted at this point. I figure there are worse addictions out there...

I found a new job, however small the income. I work as a substitute in the Northamerican Institute. There I've been able to teach all ages, adults, 5th graders, college students etc. The biggest different is the level of English. They are gooood. Honestly, it's a relief. I'd like to be all nobel and say that I prefer the challenge of my students (lazy, dishonest, indifferent) to that of more advanced students (motivated, engaged) but that would be a lie. It's a breath of fresh air and often more fun. Makes all the difference if the students actually want to be there.

All in all, living here has been up, down, and everywhere in between (I realize this is life but when you are abroad the ups and downs are more pronounced, more intense). I only have 2 months left and I'm finally feeling settled. Time is going fast and as the weather improves, so does my mood and my "ganas" to take advantage of every opportunity.

A few random thoughts:

-Oh, I also drove in a car allllll weekend. Awesome! :) Chile is really, really pretty.

-For the record my time today was: 1:54 (1 hour, 54 minutes); 21k; 13.5 miles. New goal: marathon in less than 4 hours.

-Chileans are REALLY good at living in the moment. more on this later...

-I really struggle to find Chilean humor funny. I just don't get it!!

-I bought Quaker squares cereal. And milk. There are no words. yum.

-I'm developing a slight addiction to Desperate Housewives.

not the normal fried fish sunday

2009-10-11T13:23:00.003-06:00

Every month or so my host father comes to Concepción for the weekend. He lives and works in a town about 4 hours away, Puren, and can't make the trip back each weekend. Whenever he comes, we have a HUGE Sunday lunch--usually fried fish, potatoes and salad. It is delicious- deep fried goodness in every bite. I look forward to "fish fry Sundays," as I've come to call them, because Laly's family comes over, we play basketball beforehand, and it's just good "onda" all around.

Today, though, things took a different tone. This weekend, the entire family of Bernardo's girlfriend visited. They arrived yesterday to have a big clam and sausage dinner. (I wasn't home for that part but instead was hanging out with the other gringas in Jen and Amy's apartment.) Today, when I arrived home Laly was busy in the kitchen preparing the fish fry. A bit later, I convinced my brothers to play soccer. Finally!!! We played (size 4 ball, on concrete, 2 vs. 2) for about an hour and I was happy as a clam. I miss playing so much it was good to just run around and play. Everyone was floored by the fact I could complete a pass and play defense. "Nos bailó, la Jenny nos bailó" (She danced us...or danced around us?). Feels good to show a bunch of Chileans that girls can be athletic and play sports. I knew I packed my soccer socks for a reason...

--Fish lunch--

A while later, after most of us were finished eating, and the comments tapered about how delicious and "rico" the meal was, how full we all are, who wants more, etc. etc., and Bernardo, my host brother, had an announcement.

He and Angee, the girlfriend he met in the US on a work exchange program (both are Chilean--they went to the US separately, met there and came back in love.), want to get married soon. It wasn't exactly him proposing to Angee but more a request for the blessing of the families. For the next while, each member of the family (Angee's parents, my host parents, Laly's mom and Dad, Cristóbal) said a few words in approval and blessing for the couple.

The way this all unfolded opened up a different aspect of Chilean culture I hadn't yet seen. It was the most open, honest and real I'd seen my family. Often, I get tired of the same slap stick jokes and the same gossipy stories told at meals. I feel as if the humor is at the expense of others, often offensive and frankly, I don't get it. Yet this afternoon, I realized that the words exchanged across the table were profoundly authentic. No TV blabbing away, no more dessert plates to pick at. In other words, no distractions. Everyone focused on Bernardo and Angee. I really appreciate this gesture of open communication and verbal affirmation of support and love for the couple. I'm not sure that this happens enough. Anywhere. Of course, when it came around to me, I got all nervous and couldn't think of anything else but "me parece muy bien" and "felicidades." (It seems very good to me, congratulations). After I spoke, I had even more respect for the parents and grandparents that were able to form wise thoughtful expressions to bless the relationship of their children.

In other news, holiday tomorrow = no class!! :)

One week until the half marathon.

The sun continues to shine. gracias a dios.

solo

2009-10-02T21:34:00.003-06:00

I love this picture. It captures much of my life here. The city streets, bus lanes, rain, waiting, alone.

Thanks to Miss Sidi Crute, I have a picture worth, well, at least a few words.

One thing I think about a lot here is the idea of "growing as a person." During our orientation this phrase was tossed around often and I believe we got too comfortable with it. It was used as a neat response to questions like, "why did you decide to teach abroad?" or "what do you want to accomplish here?" I remember feeling like this was a cliché answer, too vague to pinpoint an individual's true reasons. "Grow as a person" sounds nice, but qué significa?

Last weekend, another volunteer came down to Conce and we were talking about her experiences in Costa Rica. (She lived in there for a year doing World Teach in a very rural pueblito.) After talking about isolation and boredom, she said, "well, you grow from those experiences, you know?" At the time I agreed with the typical "yeah," and we moved on but that phrase has been stuck in my head this week.

Grow as a person.

There is an inherent individuality connected to this use of grow. It seems impossible to talk about what it means without immediately giving individual examples. ...guess what individual it is easiest to talk about? :)

Thinking back to high school, I definitely see a difference in my perspective and outlook on life. Obviously I've changed. There are countless experiences between now and then that have made me think differently (for better or worse) about the world. For example, my trip to Honduras the summer before Olaf made me realize I wanted to major in Spanish and one day live in a Spanish-speaking country. (livin' the dream, I tell ya!) Also, the four additional years of soccer I played at Olaf are some of my favorite memories. I learned how to work hard for something I wanted, how to humbly accept defeat, balance school and sports, work with a group toward a common goal. And my senior year I learned that leadership is constant.

Working at Camp Knutson I learned how unbelievably blessed I am to have my health. To be able to run, be in the sun, be independent. I met physically weak kids with more gumption and emotional strength than many adults. I also learned how to organize and lead under stress and with many different personality types. Kate called me a "calm, steady eagle."

In the past 8 months, I have gained experience. I speak Spanish with more fluidity, I can teach a class of Chileans the difference between "wrote" and "was written," I feel comfortable navigating new cities, I know not to expect great things when it comes to cuisine and I've learned how to deal with cultural differences in my host family.

Do all of those things combined mean "grow as a person?" Like Captain Planet style? Are these experiences my "powers combined"?

All of this rambling has gotten me confused. I guess I'll have to continue mulling this one over. Who knows, maybe this very post has helped me grow as a person.

2 things

2009-10-01T05:35:00.002-06:00

1) I saw a Duoc student wearing a St. Olaf College sweatshirt today. I'd love to track its path from Olaf to Concepción, Chile.

2) The following is a passage from a book entitled, "American Wife," by Curtis Suttenfeld. It is the story of a fictional first lady but it is said to be loosely based off the life of Laura Bush. I highly recommend this book. It's a bit risqué at times but I loved the character development and reading about a wife's perspective in male-dominated politics.

The passage is about the Midwest. The main character is from Wisconsin and reflecting on her travels around the US.

"Admittedly, the area possesses a dowdiness I personally have always found comforting, but to think of Wisconsin specifically or the Midwest as a whole as anything other than beautiful is to ignore the extraordinary power of the land. The lushness of the grass and trees in August, the roll of the hills (far less of the Midwest is flat than outsiders seems to imagine), that rich smell of soil, the evening sunlight over a field of wheat, or the crickets chirping at dusk on a residential street: All of it, it has always made me feel at peace. The seasons are extreme but they pass and return, pass and return, and the world seems far steadier than it does from the vantage point of a coastal city.

Certainly picturesque towns can be found in New England or California or the Pacific Northwest, but I can't shake the sense that they're too picturesque. On the East Coast, especially, these places--Princeton, New Jersey, say, or Farmington, Connecticut-- seem to me aggressively quaint, unbecomingly smug, and even xenophobic, downright paranoid in their wariness of those who might somehow infringe upon the local charm. ...The West Coast, I think, has a similar self-regard-- all that talk of proximity to the ocean and the mountains-- and a beauty that I can't help seeing as show-offy. But the Midwest: It is quietly lovely, not preening with the need to have its attributes remarked on. It is the place I am calmest and most myself."

(pg. 33, American Wife)

i have chilean friends!

2009-09-27T13:14:00.002-06:00

After months of meeting random people at parties, bars, Duoc, the gym, my house etc., I feel as if I've finally found a few friends of my own. They are my fellow "teammates" on the running club, WildRunners. I joined them about a month ago after running into an acquaintance and I assumed that the excitement of joining the club would subside and fizzle out like many things here in Chile. BUT! To my surprise, they contacted me last week to join in a 13.5k race this morning. They picked me up, dropped me off and everything. We all have the same blue shirt and random people recognize us as the WildRunners. They also love videotaping/taking pictures before and after the races.

In a few weeks, I'm going with them to the town of Los Angeles to run a half marathon. We are going in auto (a treat for me! no bus!!) and staying in a house. I'm so excited to have finally found an outlet that a) doesn't involve the other 3 girls I spend allll my time with and b) is away from my family and c) feels like authentic Chile. They are so kind and open, I feel like I've been friends with them for years.

Oh! And I told them I play soccer but haven't yet in Chile and next Sunday we're going to play after we train!! Finally!

Aside from my run club, things are going well in other areas too. I'm making a huge effort to get out of my house, take the bus into the centro and explore more. Now that the weather has improved, "tengo ganas" (I have wants), to get out.

Also, two friends, Amy and Jen, just moved into an apartment together. A long story behind the move, but in short, they live in a BRAND NEW 10th floor apartment in the center. Needless to say, I'm extremely jealous. I've already decided I'm going to hang out there all spring. They have a patio and a great view of the city. We've made plans for Halloween, Thanksgiving, even Christmas! All involve food of course...

Anyway, I'm doing well. Busy, but a good busy. I needed this change because for awhile there I spent way too much time looking at my computer screen in my windowless room while the rain poured down. Talk about depressing! yikes.

It's amazing what a little kindness and a change of scenery can do for a person :)

pics from Mom's visita

2009-09-26T13:15:00.006-06:00

Sept. 18th is Chile's Independence Day. It is required to fly a flag on this day.

We saw flags everywhere all week.

First day! On top of Cerro Santa Lucía Mom sees the Andes...and the smog

cute little coffee shop in Santiago Centro

Breakfast of champions at the Brighton in Valparaíso

My window from our attic room at the Brighton. and a bottle of Kunstmann :)

It's finally spring in Chile!

The orange house is Hotel Brighton.

One of many colorful mosaics in Valpo.

A break on our looong walk from Valpo to Viña.

Escaleras brillantes.

A mural of Chile. The artist lives behind the wall and came outside to explain his work.

Airing laundry.

Exploring Valpo!

September is over!?

2009-09-25T20:16:00.003-06:00

The month of September flew by. I can't believe we are about to enter October! Lucky for me, this means warmer weather. While I definitely miss fall and everything that word means to me: soccer, Halloween, Olaf, crunching leaves, apple orchards etc., I'm thankful for every ray of sun that shines lately in Concepción. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's warm, but it is definitely warmer. Mucho mejor, indeed.

The big news of September was mom's visit. She arrived from "gringolandia" on a Friday and there began a whirlwind tour of Chile. We had a great time walking (I didn't realize how used to walking I've become), sitting in cafés, and exploring Santiago, Viña/Valpo and Concepción.

Highlights for me were as follows:

-eating more fresh veggies (known to the common man as salad) than I have in months

-staying in hotels. that's right, notice the spelling. Hotels, not hostels. huge difference!

-re: hotels. The Holiday Inn. downright luxury. I could go on but I'll leave it at that.

-showing mom a bit of South America and also the daily routine of my little life her in Conce.

It's rare to have someone close to you visit and catch a glimpse of what one's experience living abroad. I think it is (and will continue to be) a valuable experience because now I have someone that can picture my house, my room, Duoc, Santiago, Chileans, Chilean food, bus terminals etc. In other words, the gap won't seem as wide between life in "gringolandia" and life in Chile.

The week following mom's visit was busy. I skipped a couple days of class and had to make-up those hours and I got a few hours at the "Northamerican Institute" working as a substitute. All of a sudden, my days were full. I definitely welcome this renewed sense of being busy. In the past 8 months, I've adjusted to the routine of one main task per day. Going to the bank, going to the gym, pharmacy, teaching etc. Despite the inherent waiting any and all of these activities involves, this lifestyle leads to waayyy too much free time. Hopefully, the substituting at the Norteamericano continues. I also gave my resume to "Berlitz," yet another English institute so we'll see if that pans out.

Lastly, this week was also notable because I FINALLY found a cute little café in Concepción. You'd never know from the outside, but this tiny little café with a half-lit neon sign hanging on its doorway is full of books, magazines, art and a buzz of students/ladies meeting for cafecito. I'm definitely going to hang out there more the next few months.

Also....I found a health food store and a fantastic bakery. Wheat bread, quinoa, carrot cake, dried fruit etc. Things are lookin' up!

chileans love taking pictures

2009-09-07T14:33:00.004-06:00

Thanks to this fact, I have a few photos from the latest race--an 8k at INACAP, a technical professional institute much like Duoc. I wrote about WildRunners earlier, but these give a better idea of how my morning went from running a couple miles solo to being swept up in the madness of Chilean memory-making.

(The photos start at the end of the race.)

My new team: Team Wildrunners!

backbone

2009-09-02T19:34:00.002-06:00

Fact: I really hate it when students cheat.

Disrespectful.

Fact: I struggle with confrontation. I see full sentences written on hands, hear chit chat, see them check cell phones; however, I stay quiet.

I thought today would be different. I was determined to confront. Did I? Once again, I did not.

Instead of the students failing, I feel like I am.

It shouldn't be like this. New goal: grow a backbone and confront these cheaters.

August in Concepción

2009-08-30T15:22:00.007-06:00

Yet another cold rainy afternoon. I took a few pictures out the window.

La lluvia...

Hombres waiting for the bus.

In my square...I spend a lot of time like this.

On a walk in Conce, flowers are blooming!

Sweet fence. Due to all the rain, it's very green here.

Pretty, dead roses. Pretty dead roses. Pretty! Dead roses.

Belonging

2009-08-30T12:19:00.004-06:00

This weekend was a realization, however humble, of my expectations I had for Chile. Honestly, it's not that exciting, but as a result, I feel renewed and energetic after many weeks of feeling frustrated with Chilean culture, rain, my location, etc.

Starting post-lunch yesterday, I headed into the centro with quizzes in tow and the intention of finding a café and grading. But Amy called and invited me over for a mid-rainy afternoon movie. Movie over grading--obvio! I hopped off at the next stop and went into a grocery store. After drooling over the pastries and cakes, I decided on peanut butter, crackers and the closest thing to a latte: a Nescafé Café Latte (definitely NOT the same). Spending money on this small snack, with the idea that I was going to eat what I wanted, was extremely liberating! Again, I'm focusing on the small victories here...

The other girls were at Amy's after eating Chinese food for lunch. I made my "latte" and settled in for the movie. We watched "The Apartment" (circa 1960) with Shirley MacLain and Jack Lemmon. It was a nice, cozy, rainy afternoon in Concepción. I was content a) not being in my square at home and b) eating peanut butter. After the movie we got to talking about cheese.

Cheese is a tricky topic here. Pretty much because cheese is just cheese. Queso, no más. No variety whatsoever. I happen to be a lover of cheese--squeaky cheese curds, cheddar, mozzarella, brie, what have you. Here the queso is just not the same. No flava'! Anyway, we talked and talked about this cheese plate at the UniMarc grocery store about 10 blocks away. After talking long enough about how good it'd be, Jen made the executive decision to get and go buy cheese.. "Let's just go get the cheese." We donned our rain gear in search of good cheese.

Needless to say, within the hour we no only have 5 types of cheese but also 2 baguettes and 3 bottles of wine. Wine is definitely a selling point of Chilean cuisine. Delicious. And cheap. We had a great conversation and left with bellies full of wine and cheese. Great evening.

Sara cutting the cheese.

It only gets better from here! This morning I woke up feeling less than 100%. Sore throat, cough... I had planned on running an 8k race at 11 at INACAP (Duoc's competitor!). Despite my body telling me otherwise, I made myself get up, eat breakfast and go to the race. ("Take advantage of every opportunity.") After signing up, I tried to look busy among all the Chileans- a very common past time for me here--and all of a sudden I was greeted by Kati, a teacher I met while volunteering at San Agustín. She's incredibly sweet and cariñosa (kind/generous/good character) and introduced me to her running team, the "WildRunners."

After a round of besos (kisses on the cheek) from all 10+ members, they gave me a shirt and told me to pose for the photo! La foto! La foto! I am now a member of team "WildRunners." Easy as that. No questions asked, I was immediately accepted as part of the group. Everyone was laughing and joking, dancing to the "warm-up" music. This is what I'd been waiting for! People to hang out with, go out with...friends!

It is incredibly hard to make friends with Chileans. I mean my students are great and all but...no. Not quite the same. And my host brothers are sweet and fun but they have a hard time tearing their eyes from the computer screens...very common here.

During the race itself everyone ran at his or her own pace, no pressure. We'd pass each other and yell "vamos, po! vamos!!" giving the peace sign or a thumbs up. My friend Kati was taking pictures of us and cheered us into the finish line.

I guess it just feels good to be a part of a group. Belong. Everyone wants/seeks this. Buy when you travel to a foreign country with (very) different cultural norms, the challenge of figuring out where you fit is amplified. It takes awhile. It's also extremely easy to stay attached to other foreigners. In fact, had I gone to the race with one of the gringas, I wouldn't have met the "WildRunners." I learned that sometimes it's worth putting yourself out there because chances are you'll still find somewhere to belong.

This is the Chile I imagined.

things are lookin up

2009-08-27T14:04:00.002-06:00

Signs of spring:

~The sun is shining!

~It's 60 degrees for the first time since May? Abril?

~Flowers are blooming.

~I can no longer see my breath in my classroom...or my bedroom

~Birds are chirping.

~Chileans are makin' out all over the place. Oh wait...this is a year long occurrence.

~We have a dog. A street dog in fact. My brother Bernardo brought it home on the bus on afternoon and begged Laly for the go-ahead. At first she was hesitant saying that she'd end up taking care of it. Then she gave in. Fast forward a week: guess who's taking care of the wiener dog? Laly. obvio. (not sure how a dog relates to Spring but whateves)

By the way...where did August go? Can't believe it's (almost) September. Makes me miss Olaf and soccer. Mucho. Muchísimo, even. I still have yet to play soccer in a country obsessed with soccer. And I've definitely tried to find ways to play. No luck. I think I just found my new goal for spring...

I'm so fashionable...

2009-08-22T11:38:00.001-06:00

speaks for itself.

monjas.

2009-08-22T11:35:00.001-06:00

nuns need their fruit too.

patience

2009-08-21T18:15:00.003-06:00

In some ways, my entire experience here in Chile has been an exercise in patience. Only lately has this come to my attention and as a result, I feel more impatient than ever. It's as if I'm constantly waiting...

For the bus

For my students to show up to class

For my students to understand the question, "do you understand?"

For meals at my house (I am a huge fan of snacking but Chileans love enormous meals. Therefore, I've got a constant hankerin' for raisins and pb, carrot sticks, pretzels, cheez-its, etc.)

For the sun to come out.

For the telenovela to finally end.

For my laundry to dry. (Going on 3 days...)

There aren't many things here that happen right away. Right now I'm perpetually tapping my foot and checking my watch (literally and figuratively). I've got a feeling that all this waiting is good for me.

DuocUC Professor "Get together"

2009-08-16T16:47:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, Saturday, I attended another Duoc "get together." Yes, I know the quotations marks are not necessary but this is how the professors talk about our various gatherings via email. It is always interesting in the days leading up to a big event because all 20+ teachers respond in varying levels of Spanglish. Here are a few examples of such emails:

I would be very happy to have you all in my place on Saturday 15 for lunch (around 1?) ; I think it is better, because we will have enough time to gossip and gossip and..... you can stay as long as you wish. It would be great for me!!!

I will be there.... by no means :P.

ya, Se armo el get together, I'm in the party too, voy a llevar una salad de papas mayo, is iit ok? and a diet coke.

See you there then at 1 at Ori's

I must admit, other "get togethers" had better email correspondence but nonetheless, the string of emails never fail to make me chuckle...

Anyway, I arrived 2 hours late with diet Coke and Tostidos (good American guest, no?). Everyone else had started eating, and they immediately shuffled a chair over and I squeezed in among the various dishes, bottles of wine and pisco and bags of mayo. The lunch itself was pretty standard, full of conversation and jokes I didn't quite understand. We had dessert and proceeded to break off into smaller groups. One teacher rolled a suitcase full of new clothes into a bedroom and the other ladies followed her eager to buy a pair of pants or wallet. A few minutes later, another teacher told us to go into the kitchen where she had set up a small store of homemade jelly. Peach, cherry, membrillo, guava, strawberry, take your pick.

For a while I was distracted by all of the possible purchases. My distraction was broken when yet another teacher pulled out his guitar and started belting out Guns and Roses, Sting and Beatles tunes. Sure enough, soon I found myself with a maraca in my hand, singing "Let it be" in a circle with my co-workers. The wine kept flowing and after every song they chanted, "que canta otra," (sing another, sing another). The cumbaya circle went on for awhile and many professors left.

With nothing to do at home but hang out in my square I stayed around, expecting another professor to open a bag and pull out random hair products or vitamin supplements to sell. This didn't happen but the guitar-playing prof informed us that no one ate the seafood he brought. (He lives in Tomé, famous for seafood.) Next thing I know, I'm eating crab and mussels and drinking more wine. Delicious! At this point, Fernardo was taking requests and serenaded our mid-afternoon meal. Finally, after many "ok, this is the last one," we stood up from the table and said goodbye with the typical kiss on the cheek and a bit more small talk.

In retrospect, the lunch "get together" wasn't all that different from what I expected. Except the random items for sale. This happens all the time in Chile but it never ceases to surprise me when someone opens a bag and pulls out watches, hand made soaps or "lo que sea" (whatever). I've noticed in Chile that people have lots of little ways to make money. One, two three luca at a time. (Luca is the name of the bill worth about $1.50usd). Not a bad idea...

Today was the monthly fried fish lunch Sunday. When my host dad comes from Puren for the weekend, we always eat fish on Sunday before he travels back. It is extremely delicious but not necessarily nutritious. After we all eat a few pieces of deep fried fish, my host mom puts out a dish of the "mentirosos," the liars, or dough without fish. yum. I love this day.

bold color dry erase markers.

2009-08-13T14:09:00.003-06:00

This being the first week back to class, I've been adjusting to a new schedule, new students and getting back into the routine of life in Concepción. I must say it's been a bit rough. I now teach everyday M-F (I realize this is normal back home but last semester I taught the same amount of classes just 3 days per week), I have a class that meets M-TH which requires a very different mindset and planning style, and it's still pretty darn cold here.

I actually like my schedule so far and I enjoy being busy, it's just a jolt from the past 6 months. One thing I'm very thankful for is the experience from first semester. It's like I've jumped ten steps in one week with my students and the Duoc bureaucracy. I already know what to expect, I know what definitely won't work and I think my teaching style is more clear and succinct. In my experience teaching here, fair expectations (for myself and my students) is half the battle.

Anyway, all of that aside, my friend and fellow volunteer, Jen, and I were talking outside our classrooms the other day when she told me she had a belated birthday present for me. You'll never guess what it was! She dipped into her room and came back with a ziploc bag full of Expo white board markers--variety pack!!! I was so excited I hugged her and maybe even jumped up and down a little bit. As if this wasn't enough, I noticed the shiny gold wrapper of mini Reese's pb cups intermixed with the markers. Had she gifted such a gift 6 months ago, I would've been grateful and excited. I've always loved variety packs...remember 'gelly rolls'?

But now, as a profesora de Inglés, the gift absolutely, positively made my day. We wished each other luck with new students and I stepped into my room, set down my things, ate a Reese's and proceeded to make my board look like a graffiti wall. Who knew that all I needed was chocolate and a splash of color? ....well, I guess Jen did.

and so it begins...

2009-08-10T09:45:00.008-06:00

Here I am, back in the ring for another round. I'm sitting at Duoc, in room S12, with "Welcome Back" and the date written neatly on the board and my trusty posters stating, "Respect, English, Effort" sticky-tacked to the board. But one major part of the education equation is missing: the students! Today is the first day back for second semester and while I'm not surprised no one showed up to my first class, it is nonetheless disheartening. It's like they stood me up. I wore my work clothes and everything. C'mon!

Sadly, this behavior is common at Duoc -and in Chile- during the first few weeks of classes according to Jorge, the English coordinator. (With one semester under my belt, I´d venture to say that skipping class is as normal as going to class).

Oh well, at least I'm out of the grip of my cozy Chilean home. After four straight days of breakfast, run, lunch, internet/reading, onces, internet/reading, bed, I was experiencing many symptoms of "cabin fever," a Minnesotan term applicable to my life at times in Chile. I can say, though, that I am once again moderately informed of US and world news thanks to npr.com. (I can also stream The Current which makes me miss driving and the Twin Cities.)

I guess you could say I've really embraced Chilean culture lately...sadly, the embrace makes me feel useless and lazy. In this sense, I can't seem to shed my uptight American lenses and see it like the Chileans do. I like being busy. I like task completion. Chileans like eating, watching reality television, gossiping, video games, and grocery shopping multiple times per day. Obviously, Chileans also value many other things, but as far as efficiency and work ethic, I think Americans have the upper hand. Because my future here isn't terribly long term, I view my discomfort with idleness as an ok roadblock in the way of my complete understanding of Chilean culture. I think I'll tuck away the relaxed part of Chilean culture and bring it out when I'm sprinting to and fro in my car, working 40+ hours per week and the words "to-do" and "stressed" creep back in to my vocabulary. Then I'll know it's time to pack my bags again.

Peru!

2009-08-06T14:06:00.004-06:00

After San Pedro, the group split up. Some went back the the US, some to Santiago. This is when Laura and I (proud 1/2 Minnesotans:) started the next part of the trip. We bused from San Pedro to Arica, about 11 hours north. Arica is the northernmost city in Chile and, in our opinion, fome. This may be due to the fact that we stayed at an elder hostel thanks to a crazy German/Italian lady that wanted to share a taxi with us...long story.

Oh, and we also made the mistake of eating spoiled soy burgers sold by kind-hearted Hare Krishna's on the street. They were cheap and we'd had good veggie burgers in San Pedro. Not the case here. About two hours later and we both felt awful. I'll spare the details but let's just say we were glad to leave Arica the next morning.

From Arica we crossed the border into Peru. We arrived in Tacna (a bit flaite), changed our money, ate more soda crackers and boarded a bus headed for Arequipa. Seven hours later we arrived in Arequipa. Once again, we had a trifling time finding a hostel and after walking up and down the streets with our huge bags on a nice police officer led us to a no-name, no sign hostel. Sketchy! We were tired and agreed we'd spend just one night there. I think we both tried to ignore the lack of other travelers and semi-silky mustard colored sheets...

After the first night, things started looking up. Arequipa is a beautiful city. Colorful, good food, inexpensive, very historical and colonial. Like San Pedro, it's also very touristy. Laura and I had a fun time sitting in the plaza, wandering the streets, journaling, and discussing the various differences between Peru and Chile.

We both agreed that Arequipa felt more like "true South America." But I have a hard time with that phrase because all of South America is true South America. It's all on the map, right? Chile is often criticized in terms of lacking culture. My host dad once said that Chile has no culture at all. I disagree. Chile has culture, it just happens to be extremely influenced by America. There are enormous malls, American restaurants, to-go coffee shops and many English words have found their way into everyday speech. For example, "after office," "happy hour," "sale," "pitcher" (of beer), "sandwich," and on and on. There is a new verb young people use, "cachar," taken from English. "To catch/understand/get it." It's similar to our, "ya know?" Also, there are reality shows, morning news shows and "Activia," the weight-loss yogurt, is extremely popular. All of this wasn't here a decade ago, according to my host dad.

In contrast, Peru (or what I saw of it), did not look or feel as much like the US. Because of this, people are eager to say it is more "authentic" South America. I suppose that is true, but sadly, it may just be a matter of time. In fact, one morning we passed a cafe entitled, "Vanilla Coffee," and the logo was a direct knock-off of Starbucks.

sunsets seem to be a theme

2009-08-06T13:42:00.005-06:00

These are in reverse order: from sunset to the beginning of day two:dorky jumping picture :)
sun setting over Valle de la luna, "Moon Valley"
Sidi, Laura and I taking in the Valley
Laura honkin' on her harmonica...
Cemeteries in South America are fun to photograph. (that sounds creepy but it's true!)
Finally made it to the top! A huge altiplano lake.
Pit stop/photo op.
Flamingo reserve and salt flat. The white sandy parts are pure salt.

it's like going home...

2009-08-06T11:44:00.008-06:00

Late Tuesday July 15th, accompanied by two of my host brothers and my host mom, my friend Steph and I boarded the first of many buses overnight to Santiago. I was excited to embark on my first true "backpacking" trip. Turns out, my backpack (lent to me by a very nice tourism student of mine) was huge and I felt the need to fill it. Big mistake. One of many lessons I learned throughout the trip was: pack light. No matter how many times people tell me to do so, I still feel the need to throw in random things, "just in case." I think the advice finally sunk in. We arrived in Santiago early the next morning and met up with the other volunteers at the airport. All eight of us flew to Calama and bused about 2 hours to San Pedro de Atacama.

I should pause here to explain a few terms I've learned here in Chile that fit certain situations better than English words:

~"fome" (foam-ay) love this one. it applies to many situations and loosely means boring, lame, a shame, a bummer, not cool. One can emphasize how fome something is by using "super" as in "super fome."

~"gringo"--you've probably heard this before. Gringo encompasses foreigners, mostly from Western countries. Can be used negatively, but I typically think of it as a good word to describe my position in Chilean/South American society.

~"flaite" (fly-tay) Chilean word for sketchy people. "He/she/it is flaite." Very useful.

~"caro"- EXPENSIVE!

~"cocktail" Chilean style= Coca-cola + pisco and potato chips.

My first thought when we arrived in San Pedro was: "wow, this reminds me of Santa Fe, New Mexico." The town is tiny, only 2,000 inhabitants, and all the buildings are white adobe style. And, due to it's location smack in the middle of the Atacama Desert, it's a dry, dusty place. We woke up the next morning and I was blown away by the amount of gringos walking around. I felt like I was back in the US. Aside from the three other volunteers living in Conce, I can't tell

you the last time I've seen/heard a gringo here in Chile. Needless to say, this took some getting used to.

My time in San Pedro was a preview to the three week gringo parade I followed. It's a completely different world on the backpacking trail. Lesson two: I'm glad I'm living here in Chile. I feel as if what I experienced on the trip was the trim, polished side of Peru and Chile. It was "easy" in the sense that English was spoken, restaurants/hotels/sights cater completely to the tourists. No one takes city buses or dares to leave the center plaza of the cities. Oh, and everything is mucho más caro.

There is a reason San Pedro is touristy: it's absolutely beautiful! There are salt flats, altiplano (high in elevation) lakes, flamingos, sand dunes, an vast views of the driest desert in the world. My camera worked hard in San Pedro- especially at sunset. Here are a few of the pictures from our stay:

All of these were one day. salt flats, lagoons, sunset. the tour included a "cocktail."

I'm baaack

2009-08-05T13:28:00.002-06:00

After three weeks, 16 (give or take a few) bus rides ranging from 2-11 hours, two plane rides and endless taxi/city buses, I'm finally back in quiet Concepción. I have seen more gringos than I care to recall and am officially tired of sleeping in random hostels and constantly referencing "the book," (Lonely Planet Peru/Chile) for information about our next city.

Nonetheless, it was an fantastic trip and a great experience. I learned a lot about what I like/don't like about traveling, ate some great (and absolutely terrible) food and saw a variety of landscapes that make up South America.

More to come, but for now I'm going to go enjoy the fruits of the best birthday surprise ever: a coffee maker. To a girl that loves her coffee, I couldn't be more feliz. :)

no more pencils, no more books!

2009-07-13T20:31:00.003-06:00

Everything is done! I finalized everything at Duoc today (as much as possible, anyway) and tomorrow I'm off for a 3 week adventure. I know nothing past 5 days from now. I'm traveling with a bunch of volunteers at the beginning, then just one for about 2 weeks. Rough plan is to wander up to Peru and see Lake Titicaca. That would be sweet.

As a wise man once said about my conscious lack of planning, "less stress, better stories." Thanks Alex...his words help the type-A side of me calm down. :)

2009-07-08T19:20:00.003-06:00

This past week has been great. Just great. At least for my homebody, sweatpant-loving self. Due to the fact classes are over yet our students aren't tested until Saturday the 11th, the past few days have been, well, Chilean.

Chilean in the sense that I live my life meal to meal. I get up around 9, 9:30 no alarm clock necessary. Meander into the kitchen, eat oatmeal, watch the morning "news" show blab about Michael Jackson -Mykl Yacksun-, and sip on Nescafé. After about 45 minutes of this, I slip my dished into the sink, go back to my room, pack up my stuff for the gym and head to the mall. I spend the next while at the gym. Of course, this being Chile, the gym is located directly above a delicious bakery and waves of fresh bread and empanadas mock me.

Side note: I never cease to be amazed by the 80s workout gear sported by most women. The best so far was a women with a magenta thong unitard, pink tights, fuschia leg warmers and white high top sneakers. And yes, she was taking the classed entitled, "Entertaining Dance," each participant with her own bejeweled cane. I just wish I had the guts to try it...

I catch the bus back home just in time for lunch. Again we watch the same footage over and over about Michael Jackson and I fend off questions such as, "Was he racist?" "Why did he want to change his skin color?" "How many operations did he have?" "Does he only have white hands and face?" I do not know the answer to the majority of these questions and this makes everyone frustrated. In the end, we all turn to the TV, letting the awkward moment pass. Finally, I say, "permiso," and excuse myself from the table.

I hang out in my room all afternoon passing the time reading, writing, organizing, grading, surfing the internet with frequent breaks for refills of tea or coffee. All of a sudden it's 7:30 and I hear the sound of plates and mugs being set out on the table. "Will there be palta (avacado) tonight?" I ask myself? "Hope so. I love when there's palta!"

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Laly annouces, "a tomar once," and we all head to the kitchen, take our usual seats, fill our mugs from the thermos of hot water, pass various condiments around, topping bread to our liking. Oh, and lots of palta lately. :) The boys make jokes, laugh at the TV (yep, Michael is still there only this time they are saying he's still alive!), and complain about the fact they have to study. This lasts anywhere from a half hour to two hours, depending on the telenovela or the amount of "studying" the boys have to do. aka Playing Mario Kart. I usually sit and talk with my host mom for awhile. Then it's "permiso" and I head back to my room to hang out until it's time to fill the hot water bottle and cocoon up in my little bed. Somehow, I'm always tired. It's been a long day...

time

2009-07-03T23:05:00.003-06:00

Today is Friday, July 3rd. For the past 20+ years (weird!) this time of year equals summer, no school, potato salad and watermelon, the lake, camp, barbecues, soccer etc. etc. This year, my 23rd year, it is quite different:

-Today was the last day of 1st semester

-Tomorrow (July 4th) we have to work all day grading oral tests (8:30am-6:30pm)

ex. "How often do you exercise?" "Where were you born?" "Have you ever tried Arabic food?" "What did you use to do as a child?"... again and again and again... feliz.

-It's pouring rain-- the closest I'll get to swimming

-My skin is almost transparent. 'muy blanca' is true.

BUT! No class for a month. Just a bit of grading to get through and I'm home free.

and brave? :)

any given sunday

2009-06-28T16:14:00.003-06:00

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

2009-06-24T20:24:00.005-06:00

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

2009-06-19T19:31:00.003-06:00

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? :)

2009-06-17T21:21:00.003-06:00

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!!

2009-06-10T23:22:00.003-06:00

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

2009-06-04T13:39:00.003-06:00

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

-ludwig wittgenstein

lessons learned

2009-06-03T16:53:00.004-06:00

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!

2009-05-28T20:28:00.004-06:00

A few (random) pictures from Mendoza. It was a combination of Europe and Latin America. Lots of cafes and tree-lined plazas with great wine and the occasional stray dog.

fresh air

2009-05-27T22:15:00.003-06:00

I'm busy.

The past few weeks have flown by and I can't believe it's almost June. We only have a month left of first semester! This makes me excited, nervous, happy but mostly it's just weird. I have a lot to do before the end of the semester in terms of grading, planning, various exams etc. The headaches with Duoc continue. Many of the students have missing quizzes yet when I schedule make-up times ("recuperaciones"), they don't show up. And then they come the next class with an excuse and asking for another chance. After a few rounds of this, I decided to give them one chance and after that they are SOL. No more nice "miss." The overall feel of Duoc is not at all conducive to learning. When you climb up the hill each day, the boom boom boom of reggaton bass is bumping over the speakers, often a DJ is setting up a table and I wonder whether or not I'm at a club or at school. I swear there are always more students milling around the building than there are actually sitting in desks. I've realized that the "volunteer" aspect of WorldTeach isn't what I thought it'd be. I have a job here...in a professional work environment- despite the general student apathy. Not only is volunteerism not common here, I don't feel as if I'm working in a "service" position. Sometimes I wonder how much good all of these WT volunteers are doing. Should we be placed in strictly rural locations? Only with children? In public schools rather than private institutions?

I think about these things on my daily commutes. With any luck, my doubts go away once I arrive and start teaching and interacting with my students. I mean who can stay that cynical when teaching a bunch of 80s-loving, hot dog-eating college kids "You betcha?"

In other news, I went to Mendoza, Argentina last weekend and now realize why everyone says to go there after you've been in Chile. It's great. The weekend included a biking wine tour, playing in leaves, swings and slides, free pizza, lots of plaza exploring, Mexican food (!!), a very odd hostel, homemade honey, and a visit to the tattoo/piercing parlor. I felt like I understood Argentina a little better than I do Chile. It made more sense somehow.

Best part? Just as we were pulling in to Santiago, my friend Sidi looks out the window and says, "I know we're back in Chile because I can name five random things I don't get." And she was right. A clown, a set of pololos (couple) with way too much PDA, swastika symbols spray- painted behind a man selling fruit from a cart....and on and on it goes.

culture clash

2009-05-10T13:49:00.005-06:00

The following is an article I found about teen culture here in Chile. The topics of "los tribus urbanos" (urban tribes or groups) and "carretes"(huge, crazy parties) dominate conversation in the news and consequently around the dinner table. While it is expected that the teenage years bring rebellion and parent-child quarrels, the rebellion I've observed here in Chile is total, complete. Maybe it has to do with the fact that most children live with their parents well into their 20s, sometimes until they marry. Or maybe because the country is still dealing with its not-so-distant history.

When Pinochet took over in 1973, he ordered sex-ed materials destroyed and schools just simply stopped talking about "it." As it stands in 2009, not much has changed. While sex-ed is included in schools, my host brothers tell me it is infrequent and very general. Add that to the obsession and constant connection with the internet, and the rebellion isn't all that surprising. Nonetheless, it is no less shocking.

The article is a couple years old but nonetheless puts to words what I've been observing and pondering the past few months in the parks, malls, bars and among my students at Duoc.

NY Times: In Tangle of Young Lips, A Sex Rebellion in Chile

2009-05-07T11:56:00.002-06:00

It's been an interesting week here in Concepción. It seems like a lot has happened in just a few days and I realized today on the bus ride home that I'm now looking at the city differently than I did last week. I've once again been humbled in terms of how tiny we all are in the scheme of things. My little native English speaker footprint pales in comparison to efforts of other Chileans who have worked for years to build English programs and get students excited about speaking English.

But first, let me back up. This week started like any other. Four classes on Monday, spinning class in the evening, onces with my family. That night I checked my email and received a response (finally!) for a volunteer position at San Agustín, a grade school (Pre-kinder-12). A prof at Duoc also teaches at San Agustín and in the email simply told me to meet her at the school on Tuesday for a tour and to meet teachers. I arrived on Tuesday not expecting to be there long. Wrong. I was there almost four hours. It was such a different environment compared to Duoc. Immediately the teachers were all introducing themselves, asking about my family here, my Spanish, etc. It caught me a little off guard when the school principal, who I met moments earlier, introduced me to the entire staff at the start of the weekly meeting. (1. I had no idea I'd arrived at the weekly staff meeting, 2. I had no idea they'd be so welcoming and excited to have a volunteer). After the meeting, I had a handful of schedules in front of me and teachers vying for my time--turns out I'm going to work with 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders twice a week. :) After working with high school students last fall and University age students now, I was ecstatic. 40 little balls of energy yelling "Miss!" "Miss!" I'm thinking I may need a cup (or 3) of real coffee before I go to 1A, 2B, and 3A...

As I sat in the Sala de Profesores (Teacher's Lounge), drinking Nescafé and eating pastries, bread, honey etc., taking in the new environment, the teachers also informed me of the annual Concepción English spelling bee. It just happened to be today, Thursday. "Oh, how wonderful. can you come this Thursday and be a judge?," they ask. "Well...sure. What time?" "Oh, all day long. It starts at 9am and will go all day but whatever you can do will be appreciated," she tells me. My first hint at what could end up being volunteer-overkill. On and on the conversation went until finally I left school.

Anyway, I got there this morning at 9am sharp. For the next hour and a half I helped set up. I put up (random!) posters in English. Some of the most notable were Ben Franklin and Mother Teresa next to a poster saying, "adverbs! they describe how actions are done!" I arranged chairs and cut out makeshift numbers for the contestants. I watched as the students arrive, all in slightly different uniforms and the murmur grew to a roar. Finally, we were ready to go. But not without a song by Shakira. Yes, the Concepción 1st-12th grade spelling bee opened with "Underneath your clothes," by Shakira. holla.

This is where it gets interesting. The very makeshift jury-no prior experience necessary-begins with the first word. After a couple practice rounds, the kids get the hang of it and we were on our way. Then it was my turn to recite words and say "correct," or "incorrect." There were only a few students left at this point. I was doing just fine, or so I thought, providing students with definitions or an example sentence. After a few minutes, there were just two left. The word was, "Western." I said it, used it in a sentence, "John Wayne stars in many Western movies," but the kid didn't get it. Bueno, done. Other kid wins, right?

Turns out, after the contest a teacher comes up to the jury and tells me that the students don't understand my accent. My English accent. She said that I shouldn't recite anymore and let the other Chileans do so. In other words, this was a complete reversal of the idea of my presence in the school. The point of having an American is to hear the native accent and hear fluent English. I completely understand that the student didn't understand me because half the time when I speak here, I get a blank stare even though in my mind I'm speaking Spanish correctly. I started to question my presence there. Chileans constantly gush over how beautiful native English sounds yet at the moment when it becomes challenging, they revert to Chilean English.

I've seen this time and again in the past two months. Students switching out of "gringo-taught" classes because it's too hard. Cheating instead of asking questions or participating. Or just plain ditching class. It's frustrating as a teacher to see them give up or seek the back door without ever making an effort to learn the material. I always tell my students, "I have to be in Spanish class 24/7. You guys are only here for 90 minutes. Speak English!!" Needless to say, I need to find a new tactic. Suggestions welcome :)

The best part of all was that all the teachers were surprised and bummed I had to leave. I left at one; four hours of sitting in the freezing cold basement auditorium was enough for me.

As I said in the beginning, it has been an eye-opening week. I see how desperately necessary English is here. In the words of the director to the students, "With English, you can do anything." I constantly think of how lucky I am to have opportunity to travel, drive my own car, attend college etc., but I never really internalized that even my own language, my natural mode of communication, is a very valuable source of social capital.

Wow. This is long. I really need to start grading...

All in all, it's been a good week. Different than those past, but definitely good. I'm excited to start working with the little kiddos soon! As for now, I'm wrapped up in my cozy blanket, periodically stoking the stove with wood and enjoying a strong cup of coffee settling in to grade midterms. woot. Tonight, I'm going to the best place in town, "La Fuente Aleman," with my mom and brother for my first completo experience. (Hot dog with avacado, mayo and ketchup). Doesn't it just make your stomach growl??

Chao from my little room in Chile. :)

You can finally say it: it's chilly in Chile

2009-05-01T21:23:00.003-06:00

Winter is here. Not winter, per se, but cold nonetheless.

It's a different cold than I've ever experienced. To anyone that has spent a winter in Minnesota, this would seem like a cake walk. Or so I thought...It never snows and the lowest low is around 30F. A balmy February day back home. But what gets you here in Chile is the lack of central heating. Anywhere. You go inside but the temperature is only a little bit higher indoors. This is not a new sensation for me as I spent a chilly (ha) winter in Northfield and am perfectly fine with perpetual layers, blankets and slippers, but the fact that no where has heat is what concerns me. To combat this and to survive the next few months, a few changes must occur:

1. Fire. Here, I introduce, my new best friend, "la estufa," or wood burning heater, outside my room. I love the smell of it and the glowing coals inside the little wrought-iron window. Hot.

2. Gear. My host mom had me model her favorite jacket for cold weather tonight. It's fifteen years old, leather with wool lining. It's like putting on a weighted blanket. A little big, but it'll do the trick when it gets bad.

3. More gear: purchased a hot water bottle at the mall. From winter at Willow, I learned the importance of Cocooning, or wrapping up in a blanket and not moving. The bottle will only help speed up the process.

4. Maté. Lots of maté.

So while flowers bloom and grass become green again at home, winter sets in down South.It took awhile, but Chile is officially chilly. :)

lost in translation. or something like that.

2009-04-27T21:04:00.002-06:00

The following was an invitation to a Duoc professor get-together sent via email. Chilean humor translated into English, for a Chilean audience. Needless to say, I was confused...

Hello everybody:
This is just a quick note to let you know that something extremely important is going to happen on April 22nd. I can not go into details, but it´s something that you should never forget. If you want to know the real importance of this date you MUST BE AT RINCÓN CAMPESINO ON FRIDAY 24TH AT 8:45 PM.
If you know the meaning of the word "FRIENDSHIP" I am quite sure you are going to attend such a compulsory event.
You must remeber that.... "FRIENDSHIP IS.........HAVING A FRIEND" and on April 22nd something very top, important, unbelievable, exciting and extremely nice is happening with a person I consider a "REAL FRIEND".
SEE YOU AT RINCÓN CAMPESINO ON FRIDAY 24TH AT 8:45 PM. On the contrary forget you kow somebody called Patricio Pérez Victoriano.

R.S.V.P : ON MONDAY 20TH AT THE LATEST BY THIS MEANS.

Pato Pérez Victoriano

2009-04-25T12:31:00.002-06:00

A lot has happened in the last month. I'm a month wiser in terms Chilean culture and a month closer to my friends and family here in Concepción. The daily routines have set in which make me realize that I truly live here. I have a job that requires planning and outside work, I've started going to the gym, I have errands to run and little traditions each week (Tuesday night movies at the U de Concepción Teatro) that help Conce feel more like home.

The first weekend in April, three of us travelled up to Santiago for the weekend. It was really fun to see all the other volunteers and hear about the first experiences teaching. Many stories were similar to our own experience at the Duoc site here in Conce. We all met up at an American-owned bar to watch the Final Four games and I have to say it was (almost) more jarring entering "Basic Bar" than it has been entering various public spaces here in Chile. It was like being transported to a sports bar in the US without any prior warning. The blond waitress told us to "grab a seat wherever," they had Bud and Pabst on tap and the majority of people inside were gringos.

The English was what got me. Suddenly, I understood idle chatting or conversations of those standing around me. I've been used to a steady buzz of language all around me for the past few months, catching a word here and there. To have everything click--without me even trying--was an odd feeling. It was fun for a night but I was glad to go back to my hazy world of Spanish buzz as we stepped out the door. Of course we walk out, step over a groggy dogs and spend the next hour getting home. Waiting for a bus that never came, hailing a taxi, struggling with the impossible to pronounce address...In Chile, transportation is always an adventure.

The next day, I ran in the Maratón de Santiago. The half marathon. The race itself is kind of a blur, but the experience of being there and running was really, well, cool. It was a sea of neon yellow t shirts, reggaton music blaring, little kids holding signs saying "¡Vamos Papi!", and gatorade cups strewn all over the ground every 5k. I finished in a little over 2 hours, very glad I didn't attempt the marathon. Maybe this fall??

Oh, and a word for the wise: don't run a 1/2 marathon then take an overnight bus expecting to "be fine" the next day.

As for the rest of the month:

-For Semana Santa (Easter Weekend), I went to Valdivia with four other WT volunteers. It was really fun to see more of the South. Definitely different from the big cities I'd seen. To walk around a small, quaint, tranquilo town was refreshing. The best part was the hostel: real coffee, wheat bread and a pet bunny! Happy Easter!

- I FINALLY started my 5th class last week. Seven weeks behind. yikes. Another example of Duoc's disorganization. It's ridiculous at times, but usually I find a way to laugh at the "But why?!" moments. One thing I've noticed now that we've had two quizzes and a oral test: Cheating is rampant. These students are technically University age but they still pull all the old tricks from middle/high school: writing on hands, tiny cheat sheets, writing on desks in pencil, cell phones etc etc. And I'm standing right there, staring them down the entirety of the quiz! NO shame. I definitely need to work on being more strict and following through with consequences. All I have to say at this point is if the students would come to class more than half the time, the 20 point quiz would be a lot easier. But alas, such is Duoc- a tiny peek into Chilean education. There are a lot bigger problems than my little classroom on Concepción.

-On the flip side of frustrating students, the Duoc profs are great. Last night, all 20+ of us went to a restaurant--quite fancy for those of us on volunteer budgets--to celebrate our boss, Jorge's, birthday. They love hearing about our classes, our host families, impressions of Chile etc. After drinks and the communal "parrillada," a steaming pile of meat or a fancy BBQ, we went to another teacher's house for more picso and potato chips. Potato chips are the eternal snack here. Only complete with a side of mayo.

This afternoon, I've got a pile of quizzes to grade. It'll be interesting to see how much the cheat sheets helped.

I finally figured out why everyone wears spandex!

2009-03-25T15:12:00.002-06:00

It's because very few families have driers. This leads to hang drying outside....aka your clothes never shrink-up, re-elasticize(?), what have you. My shirts are suddenly longer and my pants a little loose--even after washing/drying. While this helps ones self-esteem, it's also frustrating. I own (almost) all cotton clothing, so I can only imagine what I'll look like in a few months. yikes. I suppose I could go to the mall and buy spandex/nylon/polyester clothing like the majority of Chilean women. That is definitely an option...

Bus update! Nelson, one of my four host brothers, gave me his receipt of payment at the U de Concepción. Most students have a student ID card but some use this receipt temporarily to get the student pricing on the bus. Holla!! Paying less for the bus makes it so much better. I would even venture to say it is now enjoyable. No, tolerable. Sometimes. I only pay $140 CHP instead of $440CHP. (about .25 cents versus .85 cents) That's huge! Only problem: I can't use it past May. Solution: host brother number 2. His girlfriend has a German last name and I'm (hopefully) going to use her ID.

Duoc update: 1st Quiz on Monday. let's see how you'd do:

1. Where _____ you born? I ____ born in July.

2. ____ you eat breakfast this morning? 2. Yes(No), I ____/_____.

3. When I was a child, I used to...... (write 3 sentences using "used to"..)

There you have it. This is the quiz. It's amazing how difficult it was for me to explain why you use "did" sometimes and "were" other times. (Were/was= to be verbs, Did=action verbs).

Just yesterday I received the Teacher's Edition of the book. Hallelujah! Despite the fact(s) that I speak English and give my best effort to help students learn, without step-by-step grammar structures and formulas, I was just confusing them. Or maybe they always look completely lost. It's all good now though. I have the foundation of grammar points and can work with the book activities to come up with my own. Still haven't seen any students from my Advanced Eng. class though. I think it's going to come back to haunt me when everything sorts out because I'll have to make up the classes they missed. It'll be 7 on Friday.

Also, last Saturday night, we had the first Duoc Concepción "reunión," or get together. Apparently, the Conce crew is lucky because at other sites, the teachers barely talk to the volunteers due to "stealing classes." yikes.. Anyway, my friend Jen and I got lost walking there, and upon our arrival we were bombarded with welcomes, questions (Están bien? Dónde fueron?) and food. This was all typical Chilean style: "Hi! Good to see you! Where were you? It is dangerous to be walking this time of night! What do you want to drink? Eat?" Before I knew it, I had a glass of wine and 2 pieces of cake. The party never moved from the table. We stayed there, ate, drank and listened to stories and gossip about Duoc, past volunteers etc. Out of nowhere, our boss started playing classic power ballads on the piano and a few others chimed in. Random.

Speaking of random.....one of my students has my last name! Another Wetzig in Chile. !? She was new to class last week-- has yet to show up again, but that's beside the point-- and came up to me after class to ask what my last name was. I said "Wetzig," while reaching for a marker to write it out on the board but she said, "Yo también!" Me too! She showed me her ID card and all. Geraldine Wetzig. It's a little creepy how similar it is to my full name. Maybe her great great grandfather went to Chile from Austria and his brother went to America......

One more thing: I'm reading El Alquimista (The Alchemist) by Paolo Coehlo. It's about a little boy who travels from Spain to Africa in search of treasure. Thinking about all the random things I've seen lately and the routine I'm settling into, I liked this:

"He looked around at the empty plaza again, feeling less desperate than before. This wasn't a strange place, it was a new one."

2009-03-22T16:55:00.003-06:00

I suggest finding a similar 3'x4' portrait of child-dog happiness for your own home. How could one be sad looking at this everyday?

2009-03-22T15:17:00.003-06:00

A few pictures of my room.

2009-03-14T20:32:00.000-06:00

Duoc UC- San Andrés, Concepción

great expectations

2009-03-12T11:27:00.004-06:00

First things first, the month-long training in Santiago continues to prove itself valuable and practical. Obvio, po! (loose translation: "well, duh!") it should have been valuable and practical. Nonetheless, in my short resume of experiences, "training" for a certain position or job is often filled with a lot of fluff and preparation. Long sessions filled with "goal-setting" and "expectations." In Santiago, WorldTeach training was well-balanced: warm fuzzy interpersonal time, combined with a dose of reality. We were told many times to "go with the flow," be "tranquilo," laugh at the bureaucratic merry-go-rounds that we'll encounter etc. I now realize what our directors meant to say was this: DuocUC is disorganized mess.

What throws you off though is the "look" of Duoc. On the outside, it looks really really nice. The site itself is quite modern, outfitted with wireless, computer labs, up-to-date science laboratories, a comfortable cafeteria, lots of windows and sleek metal. It even sits on top of a hill! Reminiscent of a certain place in my not-so-distance past...

Given all of the above, we, the Conce crew, were in a healthy state of mind going into Monday morning. Expectations not to high nor too low.

Reality check: At this point, I should have encountered students from all five of my classes. I'm 2 for 5. Three whole classes are MIA. Those two classes, both intermediate level, are great! Monday and Wednesday mornings are smooth sailing. I taught them "What's up?!," "Awesome," how to pose questions in the past using "did you" and "were you." They even made name tags and assumed American versions of their names. Arturo is now Arthur. Yesica is now Jessica.

It's Monday afternoon, Wednesday afternoon and Friday all day that concern me. Wha' happen? I arrived at Duoc ready to go. Heels and all. (by the way, I think the heels were a one time deal: the hill, the bus, the sand walked through to get to the bus. mmm, no más.) I rushed to "carpetas," a classic Chilean--unnecessary-- addition to the teacher's day. "Carpetas" keeps a 3-ring binder for each profesor/a and keys to every room. Before every class, the prof has to go to carpetas, ask for the binder, sign out for the class and get a room key. My experience so far has been wrong room numbers, different section numbers, no attendance lists, no more keys...no part of the system functions as it should. Yet. "Chicken with my head cut off" would describe the situation well. Such is life. The thing is, no one else seems too worried about it (ie. my boss, other teachers), so I'm not too worried about it either..

Will learn about patience this year.

The micros

2009-03-05T12:27:00.005-07:00

Though I've only just arrived in Talcahuano/Conce, I have come to accept the micros as a daily part of my routine. "Los micros," small city buses, are everywhere here in Concepción and serve as the main mode of transportation. Although they provide some great people watching time and a peek into daily Chilean life, I already dread the thought of them when I am eating breakfast in the morning. The waiting, the huge gust of hot sandy exhaust as the bus barrels toward the stop, the crotchety bus drivers**, the nauseating stop and go driving and the awkward timing of "beeping," or signaling when you want to get off makes my trips from Talcahuano to Conce...pesados.

The first day wasn't so bad. I hopped on with my host mother and she handled everything. All I had to do was sit down. Easy enough. Smooth sailing. The next day, my host brother went with me to the Duoc site for the first time. Again, he handled everything and even got us a cheaper student rate. On our way home, I knew when to get off and was feeling pretty confident.

Then came the next morning when I faced it all on my own. Cristóbal, my host bro, reviewed the the signal and phrase used to bargain for half price with me- the peace sign held close to your body with your fist turned toward you- and I was on my way.

To my surprise, it worked. I'm convinced it was mostly due to my gringa-ness and less so to my handle of Chilean Spanish and subtle hand gestures, but the point is, it worked. I was excited about this little victory for awhile, but then came the challenge of getting off at the right stop. Duoc is on a major highway and the buses don't stop unless they have to. I got up a bit too late and the driver grunted something to me about not stopping for a few more meters. I looked back and saw the Duoc fading over the hill and finally said, "Aquí!." He stopped and I found myself on a sidewalk in between both sides of the highway. Great. After jumping a couple barricades and realizing I needed to be on that side of the street, I finally found my way to the pedestrian bridge, crossed back over the highway and trudged up the steep hill at the base of Duoc. And this was just day one. One way.

To get home, I have about a ten minute walk across another highway- this one has a stoplight!- to the mall. Luckily, every bus stops at the mall but the hard part is making sure it's the right bus. I can only take "Via Futuro E," not "F" or any other letter. Just E. Of course, given that this is South America and everyone just knows what bus goes where, there is no need for signs or cards in the windows. It's a guessing game. An optimist could say it keeps me on my toes. The reality is I just end up asking someone about every single bus that arrives. This method has worked so far, as no one has sent me to the opposite end of the city. Yet.

Once you are on and either sitting (lucky), or standing (not so lucky), then comes the fun game of "stop every 5 feet." Seriously, Chileans won't walk any more than absolutely necessary. The bus stops, people get off, starts again, then someone immediately rings the bell. Not half a block later, we stop again, more people get off etc. On and on, until my stop comes, and I jump off at precisely the right moment between the end of a rolling stop and a jolt into acceleration. I get out my keys and breathe easy as I realize, "no more bus rides for today!"

**The best crotchety(?) bus driver was this morning. I tried the peace-sign plea for a cheaper rate, and the he denied me. His response, "Chile needs your money." My response? I turned, scurried to the back and jumped off half and hour later with a well-timed "beep" hoping he wouldn't be the one to drive me home.

Gringa moves in

2009-03-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

The 80s live on.

2009-03-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

After a short mental calculation, I realized that "Chile" has been part of my frequent thoughts and to-do lists, for almost a year. And I've only been here a month! Ironically, it is only now, days before I begin teaching, that I finally understand what my place is here. The past month has been a whirlwind of change: learning how to teach, taking in a new culture and trying to understand Chilean Spanish.

I spent most of February in Santiago Centro, the heart of the city, living with 19 other volunteers and random travelers in Andes Hostel. Santiago is like any other big city--fast-paced, fairly dangerous, loud, and smoggy. Side note: the 80s are huge here. Never in my life have I seen such a concentrated mass of mullets, 80s garb-glitter, ripped jeans and all, and death metal t-shirts. The rat tail is all the rage. Young and old, girls and boys. They love it.

Nonetheless, it always amazes me how fast a place can come to feel like home. A place that felt so foreign and distant at first came to be very comfortable in just a few short weeks. Looking back, training was busy. We took off running from the moment we landed. Sessions lasted from 9am to 7pm Monday through Friday. Most days ended with a refreshing beverage on the roof of the hostel. By the way, Chile is known for their wine for a reason--beer here leaves much room for improvement.

Yet here I am, only days later and all of that feels a world away. A short plane ride (50 minutes) or a long bus ride (7 hours) from Santiago and I've officially arrived in Concepción. Long story short, I live in the burbs. Power lines, same house different color, strollers, joggers, all of it. That said, there are also stray dogs, horse and buggies carrying entire families or loads of foods clomp down the street, and trash lines the canal. The word "contrast" comes to mind...

The house has a Christmas theme- green with a red door. I am safely situated in my little room equipped with your-run-of-the-mill bedroom furniture. No window, but a nice little sky light lets in a cloudy stream of sunlight during the day. Biggest surprise: Internet. I am (literally) hooked up.

My family is great. As another volunteer described it, it's like a Chilean Brady Bunch. I live with my mother, Gladys, a sweet, funny, caring women in love with Marc Anthony's music. She works hard to care for her children-myself included. She says we are the queens of a house full of boys. My Dad, José Bernardo, works in the small town of Puren-the family moved to Conce to educate their sons- about four hours away by bus as a school administrator. Unfortunately, he is only able to come back once every two weeks. He loves to talk and thinks it's funny how slow he needs to speak so I can understand. Also, I was quick to learn of his passion for intense inspirational music. Specifically, The Secret Garden- The Dawn of a New Century. Most of Sunday morning was spent listening to a mixture of Anne of Green Gables and Irish Orchestra music through fuzzy speakers. He left on Sunday afternoon, and he's sent me emails each day.

I also have two host brothers. So far. Cristóbal, 19, was a former DuocUC student. We went running the first day and he helped me learn a few tricks for the crazy bus system. He also introduced me to my new favorite treat--chocolate with rum and raisins and Spanish cards.

Yesterday, another "brother" moved in. Nelson is a student in his fifth (of six) year of school at the University of Concepción. He studies the American equivalent of IT. He lives next door and has quite the affinity for reggatón music. Thanks to facebook, we are already friends. Officially.

In few weeks, the other son, Bernardo, will return from a summer of work exchange program in Delaware. There is also a forth housemate possibility. According to Gladys, he's suffering from a break up with his "polola," girlfriend, and may be too heartbroken to start the school year. Updates to come.

Each day brings it's own set of frustrating language barriers and random random contrasts, but I can say for sure that this skinny little country has been good to me so far. Buenas noches.