I’m coming home! I finally booked my flight home to Chicago in March, in order to get home in time for my cousin’s wedding. It’s gonna be quite the journey. I’m planning on staying in Buenos Aires roughly for the month of January and February with some travel inbetween (hopefully). Well, looking at tickets home in March from Buenos Aires was a little rediculous, over a grand! When I paied half that to get down here! I heard Lima was the cheapest place to fly out of in South America, and lucky enough, after three tries, I got a flight to Chicago for about $425. Now, here’s the part that complicates things a litte... naw just makes for more of an adventure! Can any body tell me why flights from Buenos Aires to Lima are over $600?? Because LAN has f**king monopoly over the South American air travel. So instead, what I think is going to happen, is that I will need to book a bus from Buenos Aires to Lima, a bus that will take three days...The bus ticket is about $150, but that still comes out to a trip total of less than $600. $600 vs $1000, I think I can deal with three days on a bus for $400. I’m poor you must remember. I’ve been working full time at a school for the last five months for free basically. But’s it’s been the experience of a life time! I wouldn’t trade it for anything, my time in Chile has become a defining moment in my life. It is now a part of who I am and I will never forget it.
There’s a whole great big world out there. It seems daunting and scary at first, but once you venture out, you’ll find it’s not so big at all. If you are sitting at home reading this, and feeling restless with your life, my advice to you is this; get out! Go to a new place, meet new people who are different than you, try new food, and do something that is completely foreign to you! Anyone can do it, not just the young (although it is a lot easier with less responsibility).
So yah. I made a mistake booking my flight home, I meant to get in a day later because it turns out my mom is flying into the other Chicago airport two hours later from China that day. Any volunteers who wanna come pick us up at 10:30 at night?? You would be my first taste of USA in over 8 months!!!! And you would get a special prize!!!
To end in the words of Kanye West (no wait, it’s actually Chris Martin singing this part), “Do you think about me now and then? Do you think about me now and then? ‘Cause I’m coming home again. Baby do you remember when, fireworks at Lake Michigan, now I’m coming home again….If you don’t know by now, I’m talking ‘bout Chi Town!”
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
La Serena
Last weekend was a long weekend because we had the first of November off for All Saints Day. I’m not sure if they call it “dia de los muertos“ or not, but the idea behind the Mexican holiday is the same. I asked Gloria and she said they go visit the graves of their family members on this day. Regardless, I decided to take advantage of the four day weekend by traveling to La Serena, which is about five hours south of here.
La Serena is a really nice town. It had been awhile since I’d been out of the desert and I forgot how nice grass was! The town itself is just so pleasant because it’s a strolling town. It reminded me of downtown Naperville because on a nice day you’ll see so many people out taking advantage of the weather and going for leisurly strolls and windowshoping. I liked it! It even had a mall! Anyone who knows me know I love love love ice cream; of all varieties and flavors. Ice cream, soft serve, gelato, frozen yogurt, yumm they are all delightful, just spare me the sorbet. There was this cool frozen yogurt shop in the mall where you could pick your choice of fruit and then they had blocks of different flavored frozen yogurt, and you had the option to add a block of sugar as well. They throw it all into a bowl where this machine mixes it all up and viola! You’ve got frozen yogurt! It was cool and yummy.
Marc was super happy to find a few items we’d been scouring Copiapó. One, a plain gray jumper (hoodie) and two, a squash ball. We´ve made multiple trips to our ¨mall¨ and never had luck finding either, but La Serena had both! He was a happy bear.
We had met up with a few other volunteers Friday night and went out in Coquimbo, the town right next to La Serena. I regrete not having enough time to explore Coquimbo during the day, but maybe next time because the following night we went to Vicuña. There we booked a tour of an observatory where we saw some stars, glaxies and jupiter through a moderately sized telescope. It was a midnight, and it ended around 3 so we were all exhausted by the end. But this town had sooo many stars because it´s rarely every cloudy. If you´ve ever been in the middle of the ocean at night and looked up, you could serriously see just as many stars in this town! You could see three different glaxisies with the naked eye! The milky way and two others that were just forming. Thanks to the tour, I also finally realized why you can´t see the big dipper or the north star...I´d been searching. Also, the Orien I´d been seeing is actually flipped upside down. I never noticed because I´ve always just picked out the seven stars which just so happened to be symetrical.
I think our hostel owner in Vicuña is worth mentioning because he gets a coolest guy award. So we already hasseled him before meeting him by changing our reservation maybe 3 times. But he was so nice about it. Originally from Buenos Aires, his parents were Spanish. And upon meeting me, he immediately tells me I am beautiful and that Marc should be careful because they will steal me away in Buenos Aires. He later makes comments on wanting to kidnap Marc as well, after lovingly kissing him hello and goodbye. Usually, a handshake is the norm between men, but close friends and relatives will kiss on the cheek. El era un buen onda! Also, he wins best hostle award. The beds were so comfortable with actual sheets and comfortors, and the breakfast was the best hostle breakfast I´ve ever had! Real coffee, natural juice, eggs prepaired by request, fruit, cereal, and of course pan, but with a choice of three different jams! Unheard of! And all for about $20 a night, which is a bit pricey for hostles, but this wasn´t your typical hostle.
The next day we explored Vicuña a bit and checked out the Gabriella Mistral Musieum. Gabriella Mistral was the other Nobel prize winning poet from Chile. She was also a teacher in Vicuña, so we saw her tiny little house. Next stop, PISCO ELQUI! Pisco, Chile´s national liqure is like a brandy but made from specific grapes called pisco. Elqui valley is where pretty much all the country´s pisco is grown and produced. So it was only fitting to visit the king of Pisco´s distillery, Mistral. I can´t tell you much about the tour because I was feeling under the weather and not able to concentrate on Spanish that day, but from what I gathered growing the grapes is pretty much the same process as any vineyard, and the distilling process is pretty much the same as any whisky distillation.
We had one more night (Halloween) which was spent pretty laid back in la Serena and the next day we had to catch our bus back to Copiapó. It was really weird to think that it was my last weekend traveling in Chile. I only had three weeks left in Copiapó, then what?
Well, I have travel plans pretty much planned out until January. My program ends November 24th, from there I have 2 weeks to travel the south of Chile with a fellow Chicagoland chica from the program. From there we fly to Lima and meet Marc and his friend to do some hiking! Machu Pichu and Colca canyon. From there we´re flying back to Santiago, spending Christmas with a friend of Mallory´s (my cousin) and then I think I´m going to try and make it to Buenos Aires for NYE and try and find something to do there to stay a little longer. If I can get the visa situation figured out, I may be able to add a trip to Brazil with Marc, but that´s still an if. We´ll see what happens, I´m going to be drifting for awhile, but I think I´m ready for that!
La Serena is a really nice town. It had been awhile since I’d been out of the desert and I forgot how nice grass was! The town itself is just so pleasant because it’s a strolling town. It reminded me of downtown Naperville because on a nice day you’ll see so many people out taking advantage of the weather and going for leisurly strolls and windowshoping. I liked it! It even had a mall! Anyone who knows me know I love love love ice cream; of all varieties and flavors. Ice cream, soft serve, gelato, frozen yogurt, yumm they are all delightful, just spare me the sorbet. There was this cool frozen yogurt shop in the mall where you could pick your choice of fruit and then they had blocks of different flavored frozen yogurt, and you had the option to add a block of sugar as well. They throw it all into a bowl where this machine mixes it all up and viola! You’ve got frozen yogurt! It was cool and yummy.
Marc was super happy to find a few items we’d been scouring Copiapó. One, a plain gray jumper (hoodie) and two, a squash ball. We´ve made multiple trips to our ¨mall¨ and never had luck finding either, but La Serena had both! He was a happy bear.
We had met up with a few other volunteers Friday night and went out in Coquimbo, the town right next to La Serena. I regrete not having enough time to explore Coquimbo during the day, but maybe next time because the following night we went to Vicuña. There we booked a tour of an observatory where we saw some stars, glaxies and jupiter through a moderately sized telescope. It was a midnight, and it ended around 3 so we were all exhausted by the end. But this town had sooo many stars because it´s rarely every cloudy. If you´ve ever been in the middle of the ocean at night and looked up, you could serriously see just as many stars in this town! You could see three different glaxisies with the naked eye! The milky way and two others that were just forming. Thanks to the tour, I also finally realized why you can´t see the big dipper or the north star...I´d been searching. Also, the Orien I´d been seeing is actually flipped upside down. I never noticed because I´ve always just picked out the seven stars which just so happened to be symetrical.
I think our hostel owner in Vicuña is worth mentioning because he gets a coolest guy award. So we already hasseled him before meeting him by changing our reservation maybe 3 times. But he was so nice about it. Originally from Buenos Aires, his parents were Spanish. And upon meeting me, he immediately tells me I am beautiful and that Marc should be careful because they will steal me away in Buenos Aires. He later makes comments on wanting to kidnap Marc as well, after lovingly kissing him hello and goodbye. Usually, a handshake is the norm between men, but close friends and relatives will kiss on the cheek. El era un buen onda! Also, he wins best hostle award. The beds were so comfortable with actual sheets and comfortors, and the breakfast was the best hostle breakfast I´ve ever had! Real coffee, natural juice, eggs prepaired by request, fruit, cereal, and of course pan, but with a choice of three different jams! Unheard of! And all for about $20 a night, which is a bit pricey for hostles, but this wasn´t your typical hostle.
The next day we explored Vicuña a bit and checked out the Gabriella Mistral Musieum. Gabriella Mistral was the other Nobel prize winning poet from Chile. She was also a teacher in Vicuña, so we saw her tiny little house. Next stop, PISCO ELQUI! Pisco, Chile´s national liqure is like a brandy but made from specific grapes called pisco. Elqui valley is where pretty much all the country´s pisco is grown and produced. So it was only fitting to visit the king of Pisco´s distillery, Mistral. I can´t tell you much about the tour because I was feeling under the weather and not able to concentrate on Spanish that day, but from what I gathered growing the grapes is pretty much the same process as any vineyard, and the distilling process is pretty much the same as any whisky distillation.
We had one more night (Halloween) which was spent pretty laid back in la Serena and the next day we had to catch our bus back to Copiapó. It was really weird to think that it was my last weekend traveling in Chile. I only had three weeks left in Copiapó, then what?
Well, I have travel plans pretty much planned out until January. My program ends November 24th, from there I have 2 weeks to travel the south of Chile with a fellow Chicagoland chica from the program. From there we fly to Lima and meet Marc and his friend to do some hiking! Machu Pichu and Colca canyon. From there we´re flying back to Santiago, spending Christmas with a friend of Mallory´s (my cousin) and then I think I´m going to try and make it to Buenos Aires for NYE and try and find something to do there to stay a little longer. If I can get the visa situation figured out, I may be able to add a trip to Brazil with Marc, but that´s still an if. We´ll see what happens, I´m going to be drifting for awhile, but I think I´m ready for that!
Friday, October 22, 2010
San Pedro de Atacama
A couple of weekends ago I traveled to San Pedro de Atacama with Marc and Erin where we met up with more six month volunteers from Marc’s program. In total there were eight of us, seven girls and Marc. Oh! And super crazy small world story, one of the girls was from Fort Wayne! She went to Cantebury and knows the Muttons. She graduated a year before me from Indiana. Aint that a small world? Imagine meeting someone from your small hometown in the middle of the driest desert in the world...yep I did!
Anyhoo, San Pedro, it’s super cool! It was a little expensive, but cool non-the-less! So I live in Copiapo, it’s on the southern outskirts of the Atacama Desert. San Pedro de Atacama is smack dab in the middle of the desert, and it took us 10 hours by bus to get there. Mostly because there is no direct road straight into the desert, we had to go out of our way a little to get there. San Pedro is what I was expecting when they told me I was going to the desert, completely desolate, with just sand and mountains for miles. I don’t think anyone actually lives in San Pedro and it exist solely for tourist perposes. The bus station was basically a curb with some benches and the town itself existed of a few hostels and one main road that contained restaurants, tourist shops and tourist agencies. There were so many tourist agencies! I don’t know how they all survive with all the competition.
The first day we were in town, we decided to take tour to see some flamingos that lived in the middle of this huge salt flat! It was called Salar de Atacama. The flamingos were pretty cool, we also saw llamas and donkeys! We watched the sunset in ¬¬the Los Flamencos National Reserve and headed back into town for an early night because we decided to do an early morning tour to see the geysers of Tatio, which was about an hour away. The tour started at 4 am and the reason you have to get up so early is because the morning is the best time to see the geysers. It was sooo cold in the moring, there was one point where I thought my toes might freeze off, but within an hour or two, as soon as the sun rose, it started warming up immensly. The geyser tour I think was the best tour we took all weekend, it was well organized, in English and in Spanish, and lasted close to eight hours! You could swim in these hot springs, if you wanted, and then they took us to various other small towns along the way home.
I forgot to mention, Gloria had a nephew, Piere, who worked in a tourist agency in San Pedro. He was hooked us up with all of our tours and was supper great to us! That afternoon we went sandboarding in Valle de Muerte (Vally of death). Yah, like snowboarding, but in the desert! It was a little unorganized, but I had a blast. So much fun! Only problem was, you had to walk up the hill each time. The first time was a killer, don’t forget to factor in the altitude, something like 13,000 feet or so..., but it got easier each time you did it. I totally want to do it again here in Copiapo if I can somehow get my hands on a sandboard. That evening they took us to Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon) to watch the sunset which was gorgeous because it throws reds, purples, and blues on the mountains as the sun sets. They even gave us a complementary Escudo (cheapest beer in Chile) to enjoy the sunset with.
By the next day, I’m running low on cash, and it just so happens every single ATM in San Pedro isn’t working....so we all scrape together whatever cash we can and it’s enough for us to all go on one more tour to the hot springs of Puritama. It was a nice and relaxing day, and we got back just in time to catch our bus back to Copiapo. It was such a great weekend, I had so much fun! I would recommend it to anyone traveling through Chile.
Things I Miss the Most
• A legit capaccino. One served in a normal coffee mug without a pound of whipped cream on top. The white stuff on top is supposed to be steamed milk guys...
• Chicago style deep dish pizza
• A command of language. I really wish I didn’t sound like a five year old (actually I think I’m being a bit optimistic with that age) and could express myself better.
• Being able to walk down the street without getting whisled at or worse that kissy noise!
• Sushi. Not palta sushi, actual sushi with fish
• Joy Yee’s Bubble drinks. Taroh root with tappiaca balls... ahh that’s the stuff!
• My dog. Haha jk! I don’t have a dog, plus I could easily adopt one if I wanted.
• My family. My friends
• Jumping in the leaves. I’m sad I’m missing the red, yellow and brown leaves of fall and sweater weather.
Things in Chile I’ll Miss the most
• Copiapo
• My family
• The general hospitality/friendliness
• Cumbia
• Being adored soley for the fact that I’m foreign
• Traveling
• Pan. Haha Just kidding!
• The $1.20 massive ice cream cone from the Oriental ice cream shop
• Speaking spanish
• My fellow gringos in Copiapo
• The mountains (well technically Copiapo only has hills, but coming from the midwest they are mountains to me!)
• Piscola and Kamakazi
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
El Rescate de los 33
So world media has taken an interest in this human interest story and it just so happens I’m here smack dab in the middle. I thought people might be interested in reading about my thoughts as I witnessed this story from the begining. Well, I must admit I have mixed feelings about how this story has blown up. While it’s super exciting to be in the middle of it all (and I’m desperately trying to get on as many newscasts as possible) I kinda think the media has blown it up way huge, doing what journalists do to get that story. And you know that’s fine, that’s how the media works, but I think what doesn’t sit well with me is the fact that it took 17 days and contact with the miners before any world media took interest. I remember before contact trying to find article in English and usually all I could find were from small newspapers whose facts I wasn't sure I trusted because they seemed to contradict the Spanish news. But now there is a pleathera of articles to choose from such as "how the wives/girlfriends are preparing for romantic reunions with trapped miners."
And Copiapo, a small mining town who never gets any attention is eating it all up. Ok, I’m generalizing, sorry. Really, I feel like it’s the families eating it all up. The’ve been camping out at esperanza for the last two months doing who knows what? Waiting. But why? You’re men are alive and well, what is your waiting around outside in the bitter cold nights/hot days doing? I kinda just think they use this “suffering“ as an excuse not to go to work. Plus, they’re taking the kids out of school which is just kinda silly don’t you think? Marc’s got kids who haven’t been to school for 3 months now, so what are they supposed to do when they go back? No doubt they will just pass them along to the next grade. School ends in December so they probably won’t go back this year. Am I sounding a bit negative? I don’t mean to be. I just feel like there’s a different story here that will never be told.
But hell! It’s still pretty frickin cool to be in the middle of this event. History in the making baby! A bunch of my friends are getting job offers to translate or give quotes. BBC, some Canadian news company, and even a German broadcast contacted one of my friends here. I just wanna get on CNN. Heading to the plaza now, we’ll see what we can do.
And Copiapo, a small mining town who never gets any attention is eating it all up. Ok, I’m generalizing, sorry. Really, I feel like it’s the families eating it all up. The’ve been camping out at esperanza for the last two months doing who knows what? Waiting. But why? You’re men are alive and well, what is your waiting around outside in the bitter cold nights/hot days doing? I kinda just think they use this “suffering“ as an excuse not to go to work. Plus, they’re taking the kids out of school which is just kinda silly don’t you think? Marc’s got kids who haven’t been to school for 3 months now, so what are they supposed to do when they go back? No doubt they will just pass them along to the next grade. School ends in December so they probably won’t go back this year. Am I sounding a bit negative? I don’t mean to be. I just feel like there’s a different story here that will never be told.
But hell! It’s still pretty frickin cool to be in the middle of this event. History in the making baby! A bunch of my friends are getting job offers to translate or give quotes. BBC, some Canadian news company, and even a German broadcast contacted one of my friends here. I just wanna get on CNN. Heading to the plaza now, we’ll see what we can do.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Fiestas Patrias
September 18th is Chile’s independence day, they call it Fiestas Patrias. And it’s a big deal here, arguably bigger than Christmas. They usually get a whole week off for it, but we only got two days this year since it fell on a Saturday. We were also really lucky because we got to celebrate their 200 year bicentennial as well! It was actually the most fun I’ve had since I’ve been here and it was a bit depressing to have to go back to teaching the next week...I think we all got a little bite from the travel bug. I took the Thursday off and hopped on a 12 hour bus to Santiago Wednesday night w/ two lads Rob and Marc who are also teaching here in Copiapo. Our bus put us in Santiago at 7:00am on Thursday morning. To kill time we climbed Cerro San Cristobal (a rather large hill, I’d call it a mountain, with a statue of the Virgin Mary at the top) and were escorted the entire way by these faithful street dogs.
Later on that afternoon after we were finally able to check into our hostel, Marc took us on an excursion accross town to find this artsy part of town, where we found a great brewery and a great steak dinner for about $7.50. I was very happy with this find. That night we met up with Marc’s friend Ariel who lives in Santiago, but is originally from Vina del Mar. He invited us over for an asado (bbq) at his apartment and we all ended up going to a fonda (traditianal thing you do during fiestas patrias) in Parque O’Higgins after. But before that I watched a really cool light show on tv showcasing Chile’s history over the last 200 years. It was put on at “la moneda“ or “the money“ which looks like our version of the white house. It functions more like our mint though. The fonda was a bunch of fun! It’s just a bunch of tents set up in this big open area, kinda like ribfest where you can go to different tents sit, enjoy live music, dance cueca, and of course drink! Your supposed to drink chicha, but I’m not the biggest fan, it’s super sweet. Chileans and their sweet alcoholic drinks, not nice on the stomache. There’s this drink called the ‘terremoto‘ or earthquake, and it’s got like 5 different alcohols, sugar, and it’s topped with ice cream! They love them, but I can’t take that much sugar in my drinks.
The next day we took a bus to Vina del Mar which is known as the top vacation spot for the well off Santiagoans who all have summer homes there. I’d been to Vina twice already and it was my favorite place so I was pumped that I might be able to enjoy the beach in a t-shirt now that it’s sping. That night, Ariel picked us up to take us to watch fireworks in the neighboring town of Valparaiso. That’s what I love about Chileans, they are so hospitable. Ariel basically took us in this weekend inviting us to family gatherings and taking us around so that we could experience fiestas patrias Chilean style. We watched a pretty awesome fireworks show from atop one of the many hills in Valpo. I was happy I got to partake in a independence day celebration with proper fireworks since I missed the 4th in the States.
The next day (the 18th) we were back in Valparaiso for a proper tour of the city. From the beginning, even when we were walking through the more shabby parts of town something about that place made me feel at home and comfortable. Valparaiso isn’t as well kept as Vina del Mar, but it’s beautiful! Colorful houses cover the 15 or so hills that make up the city. We probably explored 7 or so different cerros, got some great photos and a great workout. I loved that day! It was also the day Alan Partridge got on into full swing. Alan Partidge is this show from like the 90s I wanna say? Anyway, he’s the biggest dick to everyone he meets, and people find it funny. You put Marc and Rob together and they just quote the entire show. It got to the point where they weren’t even quoting the show, they had become Alan and used his voice in “normal“ everyday conversation. Regardless, it will never gets old (to them), and I will forever be labled “Lynn,“ his poor assistant. That night was the 18th, so we had to do it up proper w/ some empanadas, chicha, and a fonda. We met up with another one of Marc’s friends who was volunteering in the area, a fellow yank from Boston! The fonda was in Vina del Mar and it was pretty sweet.
The next day, our last day, was spent outside in the park/beach dreading the fact that we would have to get on a bus that evening... Ariel picked us up and took us to his home in Vina del Mar for an asado. His family was so nice and friendly, they had a girl from Texas on exchange there so it was nice to talk to her. And I got a decent amount of Spanish practice in since I’d been speaking English most of the weekend. It’s surprising how quickly you can get rusty, and then pick it back up just as fast. But at last our vacation had to come to an end, and it was time to get on a bus back to Copiapo. I really love it in Copiapo, but I don’t know if I could live here longer than 5 months. I love the small town feel, but I’m not so sure I love the small town mentality. We all noticed a difference as soon as we got to Santiago. There was more diversity and people just seemed more educated as well. Well I guess, “es lo que hay.“
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Perros Callejeros
I realized I never wrote about the street dogs! They are EVERYWHERE! And they’re not all scruffy with long shaggy fir either, some of them are really cute. I kind of have a feeling if people have dogs as pets they just took one in off the street. The street dogs here are cool tho. I’m not even a dog person and I don’t mind them at all, they’re so chill. They pretty much just lay around all day and dig through the trash for food. They rarely bark when you walk by and I‘ve only seen one major dog fight since I’ve been here, so they are pretty well behaved in my view. The only problem is, like I noticed in Rome, there is shit everywhere. So you always need to be watchful of where you step and kind of come to expect being overtaken by an aweful smell every so often when you are walking around outside.
I must admit though, the callejeros have been growing on me, and I’m really not a dog person. I feel bad for them sometimes, they just lay around all defeated like, probably dying of thirst. I have noticed when people are watering their dirt they feed the dogs with their hose. They water their dirt because sometimes some grass might sprout. But I think the main reason is that if they don’t, it gets really dusty and the wind would blow dust everywhere. But back to the street dogs. They’re harmless! Sometimes they will join me for a run, but rarely. They are much more content laying around all day, ahhh the life!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Café….well Nescafé
I’ve officially cured my coffee addiction. No longer do I need that cup of coffee in the morning to start my day, or one in the evening after dinner. Why you ask? Well, they just don’t seem to drink it here. If they do it’s an instant version, usually Nescafé, which is a barley substitute to coffee. So I’ve been drinking a lot more té! The only time I drink “real“ coffee is when I meet a friend at a cafe, but even then you have to be careful to make sure they have an actual espresso machine as certain places will say the serve café, but it’s really just Nescafé. It took me a while to figure out why, with Colombia so close, there wasn’t a bigger coffee culture here. I’ve found out, just like wine, all the “good stuff“ gets exported. Behind France, Italy, and the US, Chile is the 4th largest exporter of wine, so I was expecting a huge wine culture when I got down here. Not the case. It’s more about Pisco here. All the really nice wines are exported, and people don’t seem to drink it that often. Don’t get me wrong there are really nice wines here that are dirt cheap, but pisco is just as cheap and so much more potent. Honestly, there just isn’t a very big drinking culture here. And they seem to prefer tea to coffee. You know what they say, “When in Chile!“
Sunday, September 5, 2010
British English vs. American English
Copiapó has 5 other native English speakers that we know of. So naturally, we found each other pretty early on, four of us are American, and the other two are British and Scottish. Gringos tearing up this town…but that’s another story. Anyhoo, whenever there is a “language barrier” between the two, a long standing joke between fellow volunteers is “We invented it!” (the Brits) “Well we perfected it!” (Americans).
I don’t know, I choose to stay out of this argument, because each has slight nuances that seem to be equally as effective. I look at it like adding new words to my vocab, if you will. I’ve compiled a list so in case you ever come across some British lads you’ll know what they are talking about…
Here are some of my favorites (favourites):
Wee: (adj.) a tiny amount. Example: “wee bit.” “Wee bear” refers to one’s self and “wee brother” refers to a little brother.
Lad: one of the guys, can be classified as “good lad” or “shit lad” see “truelad.com” for further information
Predrinking: Pregaming
Lash: to drink copious amounts
Chat: as in “What’s the Chat?” which means what’s the plan, or what have you been talking about doing. Another use could be “Sorry for the bad chat ” or sorry about the drunken blubbering.
X: kiss. Every text must be signed with an “x” or two just to be nice. I’m not sure, but I think guys even sign off with “x” when sending each other text messages. Hahah, well…I wouldn’t be surprised if this were true, differences in sexuality don’t seem to matter as much, or seem to be as big of a deal. x x x
Petal: the equivalent to “you poor thing!” or “pobrecito/a.” May have sarcastic undertones or may be a term of endearment.
Boot: trunk
Rubber: eraser
Fancy dress: costume
Pants: underwear
Slip: underwear
Zed: the letter Z
Crisps: chips
Chips: fries
Ok, that’s all I can think of for now, hopefully this will bridge some of the “communication gap” between the two “dialects” x x x
I don’t know, I choose to stay out of this argument, because each has slight nuances that seem to be equally as effective. I look at it like adding new words to my vocab, if you will. I’ve compiled a list so in case you ever come across some British lads you’ll know what they are talking about…
Here are some of my favorites (favourites):
Wee: (adj.) a tiny amount. Example: “wee bit.” “Wee bear” refers to one’s self and “wee brother” refers to a little brother.
Lad: one of the guys, can be classified as “good lad” or “shit lad” see “truelad.com” for further information
Predrinking: Pregaming
Lash: to drink copious amounts
Chat: as in “What’s the Chat?” which means what’s the plan, or what have you been talking about doing. Another use could be “Sorry for the bad chat ” or sorry about the drunken blubbering.
X: kiss. Every text must be signed with an “x” or two just to be nice. I’m not sure, but I think guys even sign off with “x” when sending each other text messages. Hahah, well…I wouldn’t be surprised if this were true, differences in sexuality don’t seem to matter as much, or seem to be as big of a deal. x x x
Petal: the equivalent to “you poor thing!” or “pobrecito/a.” May have sarcastic undertones or may be a term of endearment.
Boot: trunk
Rubber: eraser
Fancy dress: costume
Pants: underwear
Slip: underwear
Zed: the letter Z
Crisps: chips
Chips: fries
Ok, that’s all I can think of for now, hopefully this will bridge some of the “communication gap” between the two “dialects” x x x
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Fire Drill, I mean Earthquake drill....wait Gas???
Today was a bit out of the ordinary. Around 10:30am a constant bell rang, it sounded like a fire alarm. All the students seemed to know what to do so I followed them out into the “gymnasium.” Gymnasium is in quotes because it’s really just an open space outdoors where they practice sports. It’s pretty common here, an open (but covered) rectangular space in the middle of the school where the classrooms border along the outside. I lead the poor kids all over the place because I don’t really know fire drill procedures (wish they could have warned me). I find my co teacher and have them line up together. The chat is that it’s an earthquake drill. Silly me, earthquakes are obviously more prominent than fires.
They have the students assemble and shut up to make an announcement (quieting them down alone takes 15 minutes). All the while a faint smell of gas ensues. The announcement verifies that there is some sort of gas leak and that the carabineros (police) and bomberos (fire fighters) are on their way to check it out. Depending on how bad it is they may evacuate us to the street. So we wait for a good 15 minutes or so for the bomberos to show up, my head starts to hurt. I couldn’t tell if it was because of the screaming children (apparently they don’t seem to be too worried) or the fumes I’m continuing to inhale.
Well finally, a strong wave of gas ensues and they finally evacuate us to the street. At this point, people are starting to get sick and a few niños had to seek medical attention in the ambulances parked outside. I’m now a little lightheaded and wondering why the hell they haven’t sent us home yet. I end up waiting around for another hour or so not really sure what was going on. But apparently I could have left sooner rather than later. I should have because I was not a happy camper; my head was killing me (me duele la cabeza), I was worried about the severity of the situation, and I couldn’t deal with the constant high pitched Spanish being shot at me from all directions.
On the way home I start to feel a little better, but then it starts to rain! En serio?? Really? This is just not my day. I never would have thought I’d get caught in the rain here. The thing about the whole situation that I don’t understand is that, as soon as it rains for more than 5 minutes school is suspended and all the parents are there to pick up their kids instantly. When there’s a gas leak, it takes longer. Well anyway, tomorrow school has been suspended, not because of the gas, but because of the rain tonight that temporarily flooded all the roads. Who knows what’s going on with the gas, obviously the rain is so much more interesting! Hey, can't really complain about another 3 day weekend!
They have the students assemble and shut up to make an announcement (quieting them down alone takes 15 minutes). All the while a faint smell of gas ensues. The announcement verifies that there is some sort of gas leak and that the carabineros (police) and bomberos (fire fighters) are on their way to check it out. Depending on how bad it is they may evacuate us to the street. So we wait for a good 15 minutes or so for the bomberos to show up, my head starts to hurt. I couldn’t tell if it was because of the screaming children (apparently they don’t seem to be too worried) or the fumes I’m continuing to inhale.
Well finally, a strong wave of gas ensues and they finally evacuate us to the street. At this point, people are starting to get sick and a few niños had to seek medical attention in the ambulances parked outside. I’m now a little lightheaded and wondering why the hell they haven’t sent us home yet. I end up waiting around for another hour or so not really sure what was going on. But apparently I could have left sooner rather than later. I should have because I was not a happy camper; my head was killing me (me duele la cabeza), I was worried about the severity of the situation, and I couldn’t deal with the constant high pitched Spanish being shot at me from all directions.
On the way home I start to feel a little better, but then it starts to rain! En serio?? Really? This is just not my day. I never would have thought I’d get caught in the rain here. The thing about the whole situation that I don’t understand is that, as soon as it rains for more than 5 minutes school is suspended and all the parents are there to pick up their kids instantly. When there’s a gas leak, it takes longer. Well anyway, tomorrow school has been suspended, not because of the gas, but because of the rain tonight that temporarily flooded all the roads. Who knows what’s going on with the gas, obviously the rain is so much more interesting! Hey, can't really complain about another 3 day weekend!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
VIVA CHILE MIERDA!!!
Literally translated the title of this blog means “Live Chile Shit.” Now wait, before you get your panties in a bunch, keep reading. Today was a great day! The reason it was a great day is because we finally got good news about a mining accident that took place in a mine here in Copiapó. 17 days ago there was an accident in the mine trapping 33 men. Rescue efforts were thwarted, however, when the conditions of the mine made it too dangerous to access entrance tunnels. There was a room with food and supplies to last about 3 days and that’s where they were hoping the miners had made it to. This has been a huge story because Chile is such a huge mining country and the world’s #1 exporter of copper. After a week with no success, I was convinced they were dead. They probably ran out of air anyway. But Chile persevered asking for help and expertise from around the world. The United States and Australia donated drilling machines, and they’ve been digging for days trying to make contact.
And today they finally did! They sent a camera down and saw signs of life. A miner had written on a piece of paper that the 33 of them are still alive, and showed it to the camera feed. Apparently, from what I understand, there’s a lot more space than was previously thought, and they actually have a little food and water. Apparently, some sort of vegetation grows down there? I’m not sure, the important thing is that they made contact. And with this news the town went nuts! I went for a run and saw random guys standing on the side of the road waving the Chilean flag and everyone honked for them in return! All the collectivos have things like “fuerza mineros” painted on their back windows, and I swear every 5th car had a flag waving out from the side of their window. I haven’t felt this kind of nationalism since 9/11. It’s really “bacan” (cool) how much this community cares about these 33 people.
Has this story even made it back to the States? I don’t know. I kind of doubt it as there’s usually only about 5 minutes devoted to international news. But it’s all they talk about on the news here, every day, all day. I was getting a little sick of it, because they were really killing the story. There wasn’t really any new news until today.
So back to the title, I heard them say enthusiastically on a newscast “VIVA CHILE MIERDA!!!” My host mom repeated it enthusiastically and chuckled as I crinkled up my nose and told her “no tiene sentido.” She explained it was a chilenismo that was used in situations like this to express a sort of national pride. So there you have it. They said “shit” on national TV and it was fine.
And today they finally did! They sent a camera down and saw signs of life. A miner had written on a piece of paper that the 33 of them are still alive, and showed it to the camera feed. Apparently, from what I understand, there’s a lot more space than was previously thought, and they actually have a little food and water. Apparently, some sort of vegetation grows down there? I’m not sure, the important thing is that they made contact. And with this news the town went nuts! I went for a run and saw random guys standing on the side of the road waving the Chilean flag and everyone honked for them in return! All the collectivos have things like “fuerza mineros” painted on their back windows, and I swear every 5th car had a flag waving out from the side of their window. I haven’t felt this kind of nationalism since 9/11. It’s really “bacan” (cool) how much this community cares about these 33 people.
Has this story even made it back to the States? I don’t know. I kind of doubt it as there’s usually only about 5 minutes devoted to international news. But it’s all they talk about on the news here, every day, all day. I was getting a little sick of it, because they were really killing the story. There wasn’t really any new news until today.
So back to the title, I heard them say enthusiastically on a newscast “VIVA CHILE MIERDA!!!” My host mom repeated it enthusiastically and chuckled as I crinkled up my nose and told her “no tiene sentido.” She explained it was a chilenismo that was used in situations like this to express a sort of national pride. So there you have it. They said “shit” on national TV and it was fine.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Bahía Inglesa/Caldera
I spent the last weekend “camping” in Bahía Inglesa which is about an hour away from Copiapó. I went with two other volunteers from Copiapó and one of their Chilean cousins, Cristian. Bahía is normally full of tourists flocking to their beaches in the summer but as it’s still pretty chilly here it was pretty desolate. It’s kind of nice though. When we arrived in Caldera we visited “the first train station” in Chile. I put quotes around “the first” but I can’t be certain if it really was. I’ve been hearing conflicting stories. First, I heard the train station in Copiapó was the first, but then my source changed their story to say that they were built at the same time. The reason for the first train was to carry minerals from Copiapó to the port city of Caldera where they would be loaded onto a boat and shipped out to the rest of the world. The story was that the guy who was in charge of the train production was a little crazy. He insisted on moving the train kilometer by kilometer as each track was lain, instead of waiting until the end to make one trip from Copiapó to Caldera. You can’t forget the fact that this was in the middle of the desert, under the hot sun that these guys were working to lay the first train tracks, which is supposedly the first in South America. I don’t really know all the facts because a: I’m not sure I trust my understanding of Spanish and b: I’m almost certain I’ve been told conflicting stories. Regardless, we visited the “first train station” and they had converted it into a museum complete with some of the rocks and minerals of the region on display.
We saw a few churches as well. One was built by hand by the first priest in Caldera. He also happened to be black so they called him padre negro. The church was really impressive; he had painted all the walls and the ceiling with stories of the bible. We got some great empanadas there in Caldera too. I was told by a brother of Flavio’s that I needed to try an empanada ostion queso. It was some sort of crab/seafood that they stuck in the cheesy empanada. And it was tasty!
We spent the night in Bahía Inglesa in this “campsite” which had different levels of camping. From what I understood you could actually pitch a tent in some of the open areas, but there were also huts you could rent. Some of them seriously looked like they chopped the roof off of a house and made that the “cabin.” We had a more normal looking, rectangular cabin that we stayed in. At night we had an asado or Chilean bbq. I like to take credit for starting the fire because I did actually start the first set of newspaper, as well as, putting a terrific effort in swatting at the flames to get the coals started. Cristian is a great cook so with just lemon and salt he made a great asado complete with chorizo, steak and chicken. We had so much meat. And so much beer. It was a great night. The others ended up going to a discoteque but I stayed in because I was feeling a little under the weather. I woke up feeling a lot better tho, further proving my theory that sometimes a little alcohol is a good cure to the common cold. It was either that or the excess of meat. I don’t know. The world may never know.
We saw a few churches as well. One was built by hand by the first priest in Caldera. He also happened to be black so they called him padre negro. The church was really impressive; he had painted all the walls and the ceiling with stories of the bible. We got some great empanadas there in Caldera too. I was told by a brother of Flavio’s that I needed to try an empanada ostion queso. It was some sort of crab/seafood that they stuck in the cheesy empanada. And it was tasty!
We spent the night in Bahía Inglesa in this “campsite” which had different levels of camping. From what I understood you could actually pitch a tent in some of the open areas, but there were also huts you could rent. Some of them seriously looked like they chopped the roof off of a house and made that the “cabin.” We had a more normal looking, rectangular cabin that we stayed in. At night we had an asado or Chilean bbq. I like to take credit for starting the fire because I did actually start the first set of newspaper, as well as, putting a terrific effort in swatting at the flames to get the coals started. Cristian is a great cook so with just lemon and salt he made a great asado complete with chorizo, steak and chicken. We had so much meat. And so much beer. It was a great night. The others ended up going to a discoteque but I stayed in because I was feeling a little under the weather. I woke up feeling a lot better tho, further proving my theory that sometimes a little alcohol is a good cure to the common cold. It was either that or the excess of meat. I don’t know. The world may never know.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Rain Rain Go Away, Come again another day...actually come any day you like!
Well, I feel like I’ve seen it all here in Copiapó. In this semi arid city, located right on the outskirts of the Atacama Desert “estaba lloviendo” or it rained!! What happens in Copiapó when it rains? School gets canceled that’s what happens. I normally hate the rain, it’s cold…it’s wet… But today was a great day! My Wednesdays are my longest, and my normally 9 hour day got cut to 5! All because of a little rain, actually it rained less than an hour and people freaked out because they don’t know how to handle it here, just like we would never know how to handle an earthquake (of sizable magnitude). The streets were also flooding with less than an hour’s worth of rain. It was seriously mothering more than a shower. No lightning, no thunder, just a little rain. But it never happens here!!! So the kids were super excited and playing out in the rain, not caring how cold it was or that they were getting wet.
This is kind of a weird year for Copiapó. This is the third time it’s rained here, which is the reason for the flowering desert. I asked how many times it rained last year and they said zero. I get different answers with different people I ask, so I’m really not sure how often it rains, not a lot. One person said 12 mm every 6 years. One person said they get the flowering desert every ten years, but then one person said the last flowering desert was in 2008. So I don’t really know, I just know that it’s really rare. Now, all I need to see is snow, and then I will have seen it all!
This is kind of a weird year for Copiapó. This is the third time it’s rained here, which is the reason for the flowering desert. I asked how many times it rained last year and they said zero. I get different answers with different people I ask, so I’m really not sure how often it rains, not a lot. One person said 12 mm every 6 years. One person said they get the flowering desert every ten years, but then one person said the last flowering desert was in 2008. So I don’t really know, I just know that it’s really rare. Now, all I need to see is snow, and then I will have seen it all!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Día del Niños
So guess what? Today is the greatest day ever! It’s a special day reserved to celebrate and commemorate being a kid! What’s so great is that everyone gets to partake in this holiday because everyone is a kid at some point. Sure you’ve got Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, and Hallmark even celebrates Grandparent’s Day. But in order to be able to partake in those holidays you have to procreate so you’re leaving out half the population that can’t procreate or choose not to. With Día del Niños, every kid gets one day out of the year to celebrate how great it is to be young and carefree.
So how do they celebrate? Toys! I guess, if I understood right, all the stores have huge sales on their toys for this day only. I have also heard that the schools do something special like have a bunch of games or activities set up for children to partake in. I asked Flavio how you celebrate this holiday and he said you go for a walk or a “paseo” around the park or the mall. For the rich kids they get “muchas muchas regalos” or many presents. For the poor kids; they get a hug. I have a feeling if this holiday was celebrated in the States, it would be like a second Christmas. Regardless, if it’s a hug or the latest and greatest video game, niños everywhere seem to look forward to this day!
So how do they celebrate? Toys! I guess, if I understood right, all the stores have huge sales on their toys for this day only. I have also heard that the schools do something special like have a bunch of games or activities set up for children to partake in. I asked Flavio how you celebrate this holiday and he said you go for a walk or a “paseo” around the park or the mall. For the rich kids they get “muchas muchas regalos” or many presents. For the poor kids; they get a hug. I have a feeling if this holiday was celebrated in the States, it would be like a second Christmas. Regardless, if it’s a hug or the latest and greatest video game, niños everywhere seem to look forward to this day!
Copiapó’s Flowering Desert and Zoo
My host mom took Erin and I to see the “desierto florido” about a half hour away from Copiapó. It was much more colorful than when I first saw it about a month ago on my way to Porto Fino. It was covered in small fuchsia flowers, a really pretty color. Apparently it’s supposed to be in full bloom by September or October, so we might make one more trip out there then, because this only happens once every ten years or so, and I’m lucky I just so happen to be here to see it! The thing I couldn’t understand is how these tiny little flowers survive for so long without any rain. It hasn’t rained once since I’ve been here, it must a have rained a few times before I came, but that little rain in the beginning supposedly allows the desert to flower for three or four months. These flowers are tiny and look really delicate, so I can’t quite figure out how they survive and flourish for three months without water and temperatures ranging from 65°F during the day, down to 30°F at night. I guess it’s a special breed. I’ve heard that the Atacama is the only desert that does something like this.
After the desert, we went to the zoo in Copiapó. It was small, but it was also free and had some exotic animals I’d never seen. I guess there’s this nice park right next to it, that’s used for asados or BBQs other gatherings. I don’t really know because I declined the invitation to walk around the park…I was tired. It was a fun filled weekend though! Cueca, flowering desert and the Zoo!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Cueca
Cueca is the national dance here. It seems to be practiced mostly by younger kids, but everyone seems to know it. Erin’s host sister dances cueca and had a show on Saturday in the plaza in downtown Copiapo. Her family invited me to see it and stay over at their house the night before so that we could all go together in the morning. I didn’t realize they wanted us to dress up in the traditional dresses as well. It was fun! A great spiny dress, you know, when you spin it flys out all around you.
So the girls wear these cool spiny dresses, with a ribbon that ties around your waist. The ribbon holds a white handkerchief for pulling out and waving around as part of the some of the steps steps. The guys wear cowboy boots with the spiny things on the heels, black pants and this poncho, blanket like thing over their shoulders. They also have a handkerchief that they put over their shoulder. The dance has a bunch of quick steps that kind of remind me a little of tap dancing but not quite. They move around more and wave their handkerchiefs, it’s really cool. Every Wednesday there’s Cueca Club, and it’s where you can learn cueca. I’ve been invited to next Wedneday’s Cueca Club and I’ve been told I have three months to learn the dance before some huge national celebration where they dance cueca a lot. I was thinking it was their bicentennial anniversary of their independence, but apparently it’s something different? I’m not that sure.
After the show, her parents took us to an asado (BBQ) and there were news cameras filming us. It was kinda weird they were filming us without asking our permission. I later found out I was on the news by one of my students and I thought that was kinda funny because they didn’t even speak to us. I guess it was because we were two gringos in cueca dresses at an asado, so that’s pretty newsworthy…I wonder what they said as the footage rolled by…
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Hello Miss!
I started observing my classes this week. I’ve got my work cut out for me! It really depends on the teacher how well the students behave; because I’ve seen total chaos with one teacher and quiet little angels with other teachers. Unfortunately, the majority of the kids I have to teach come from classrooms that I would consider chaotic. They’re loud, they don’t sit down, they don’t stop talking when the teacher tries to give instructions, they don’t raise their hand to speak, they answer their phone during class, and the worst is when they play music from their phone or bring their guitars or recorders and start playing during class! I’m going to post my rules along with pictures and go over them the first day.
That’s another thing that will be interesting…The students here are used to hearing Spanish in English class, most instructions are given in Spanish, and hummm last I checked I was still having trouble forming sentences in Spanish. Well, technically, it shouldn’t be a problem because we are only supposed to speak English in the classroom. I figure I’ll prepare how to say all my instructions in Spanish as a last minute resort. And if they ask me questions in Spanish that I don’t understand, I’ll just have my dictionary/Google translate close by.
It’s nice that I get my own room and the students come to me. It’s the other way around here, students stay in the same room and teachers come to them. But it seems counterproductive because students are stuck in the same level for all their courses and teachers have to rush around and waste class time each period setting up for essentially the same lesson. I’ve got six different lessons to prepare each week because I teach 4 different grades (5-8th) and two of my classes meet twice a week.
On the bright side, the students have really seemed to take well to me! I feel like I’m famous every time I step out to find my next class. Everyone stops, looks up at me sheepishly, and offers an enthusiastic, “Hello Miss!” I even got my first apple today. It’s legit, I’m officially a teacher here if I’m getting apples. One more week of observation and they throw me in without a paddle…or materials…or access to a printer… I’m going to have to be very creative!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tienes un Mapa??
There are no maps to be found in the city of Copiapo! We went to the tourist office to get maps and all we got was a crappy small tourist map. I wanted more details so we went to every Liberea in town and discovered there are no detailed maps of Copiapo in Copiapo. What?? I need a map! I still got turned around in Champaign every once in a while. I think I’m just going to have to study google maps and learn the city by exploring and asking for direction when I get lost. It’s annoying though, I always end up having to ask at least four different people directions to get to the same place two blocks away. If I start running again that might help! They have two forms of public transportation, from what I’ve been informed of. Collectivos and Microbuses. Collectivos are like taxies except cheaper because they drive specific routes over and over again and you just have to know which one to get and where it stops. I have yet to figure that out. My ultimate goal would be to find a relatively cheap bike, but seeing as nobody rides a bike, they might be hard to come by. My host mom suggested raising the seat on my host sister’s bike. But I’m not sure if I understood her correctly, Monce is 10, so raising the seat on her bike may not work for me.
Idiot Gringas
Ok so I’m an idiot when it comes to catching planes. I’ve had so many close calls and yet I keep doing the same thing and not allowing myself those 2 hours they always say you need… Well my friend Erin (she’s also in Copiapo) and I decided to climb Cerro San Cristobal thinking the whole ordeal would take us about 2 hours. Well since it was a beautiful Sunday day, it was super crowded. It ended up taking us about 2 hours to climb to the top and thinking it would be quicker to take the funicular, or tram, down we ended up waiting in an hour line to get down the mountain. The hike up was worth it though, it was so beautiful and a great view of Santiago. At the top is this huge white statue of the Virgin Mary with her hands outstretched to the city, kinda City of God/Rio de Janero style. I’m not sure if the stress it causes us at the airport was worth it however.
We ended up leaving super late for our 5:55pm flight back to Copiapo. We got to the airport at 5:20pm and had a huge line to wait in at the check in. We get up to the front and we ask an attendant if we’ll still be able to make our flight and he makes a call into his phone/walkie talky and says we are very lucky. He lets us cut and sends us to the first open attendant. She puts in our info and finds that the flight is closed, like we were told earlier, but we told her “No! That guy just told us we were very lucky!” So we grab him he makes more calls and says he is very sorry the flight is closed and too full, there is nothing he can do, so he sends us to LAN ticket sales and says we’ll need to reschedule for tomorrow. So we go over there and they say it’s going to be $20 to switch our flight for tomorrow morning. Now we’re wondering what we should do because it would be cheaper to just hop on an overnight bus rather than having to find a place to stay an extra night. So we call up our coordinator and we tell him what’s up (we forget to mention that we showed up half an hour before our flight) and he’s pissed, he says we should demand that our accommodations be paid for.
So we go back to ticket sales and try and demand a hotel, going off the premise that they said they overbooked the flight anyway. They tell us to find the guy who said it was overbooked and it turns out he’s on break. Finally, a nice attendant notices we are obviously at a loss and clueless as to what to do. He asks if we have any problems and we explain how we missed our flight to Copiapo because it was overbooked and now we’re trying to get things straightened out. Erin drops Ministry of Education every third word hoping the government position will get us some respect and it seems to work. He says there’s room for one as the plane has been delayed over an hour and hasn’t taken off. We say “No! There are two of us; the ministry of Education bought us two tickets for this flight.” All of sudden, like magic, two seats open up. They were *messing (insert stronger word) with us the whole time! They write up hand written boarding passes and give us a personal escort through priority security and we arrive at our gate three minutes before the scheduled delay. We made it back to Copiapo, “Gracias Dio!!” Moral of the story, don’t be an idiot gringa, they will try and take advantage of you if you allow yourself to be taken advantage of. To them its fair game and it’s your fault you fell for it. It’s some sort of Chilean mentality dating back to colonial times when they were super oppressed and always trying to get a leg up on the Spaniards. Really the moral of the story is don’t arrive to your scheduled flight 30 minutes before takeoff. Give yourself at least an hour. Or two.
We ended up leaving super late for our 5:55pm flight back to Copiapo. We got to the airport at 5:20pm and had a huge line to wait in at the check in. We get up to the front and we ask an attendant if we’ll still be able to make our flight and he makes a call into his phone/walkie talky and says we are very lucky. He lets us cut and sends us to the first open attendant. She puts in our info and finds that the flight is closed, like we were told earlier, but we told her “No! That guy just told us we were very lucky!” So we grab him he makes more calls and says he is very sorry the flight is closed and too full, there is nothing he can do, so he sends us to LAN ticket sales and says we’ll need to reschedule for tomorrow. So we go over there and they say it’s going to be $20 to switch our flight for tomorrow morning. Now we’re wondering what we should do because it would be cheaper to just hop on an overnight bus rather than having to find a place to stay an extra night. So we call up our coordinator and we tell him what’s up (we forget to mention that we showed up half an hour before our flight) and he’s pissed, he says we should demand that our accommodations be paid for.
So we go back to ticket sales and try and demand a hotel, going off the premise that they said they overbooked the flight anyway. They tell us to find the guy who said it was overbooked and it turns out he’s on break. Finally, a nice attendant notices we are obviously at a loss and clueless as to what to do. He asks if we have any problems and we explain how we missed our flight to Copiapo because it was overbooked and now we’re trying to get things straightened out. Erin drops Ministry of Education every third word hoping the government position will get us some respect and it seems to work. He says there’s room for one as the plane has been delayed over an hour and hasn’t taken off. We say “No! There are two of us; the ministry of Education bought us two tickets for this flight.” All of sudden, like magic, two seats open up. They were *messing (insert stronger word) with us the whole time! They write up hand written boarding passes and give us a personal escort through priority security and we arrive at our gate three minutes before the scheduled delay. We made it back to Copiapo, “Gracias Dio!!” Moral of the story, don’t be an idiot gringa, they will try and take advantage of you if you allow yourself to be taken advantage of. To them its fair game and it’s your fault you fell for it. It’s some sort of Chilean mentality dating back to colonial times when they were super oppressed and always trying to get a leg up on the Spaniards. Really the moral of the story is don’t arrive to your scheduled flight 30 minutes before takeoff. Give yourself at least an hour. Or two.
English Winter Camp in Vina del Mar
I spent the last week in Vina del Mar about two hours away from Santiago conducting an English winter camp sponsored by the EOD program. Vina was really nice although it did rain a couple of days and it got really cold sometimes because the classrooms weren’t heated. But other than that Vina is a beautiful beach town with great floral landscaping. There’s a lot of money in this town because it’s a popular summer vacation spot for those Santiagoans who can afford it.
The camp went pretty smoothly, for Chilean standards. Students here don’t get as high a quality education as back in the States and it’s because they don’t hold academic standards as high. For instance, it’s common for students to answer their phones in class, or step outside to take a call. Even teachers answer their phones while teaching! One difference I did notice that was kinda cool is that they were all very artistic. Many of them played guitar and they played really well! The only problem was that some students would bring their guitars and play during class. It was nice to have some music when everyone was working in groups but it got a little annoying when we had to constantly ask them to stop playing when we were trying to give instructions. Where they lack in the traditional academics they make up in the arts which in the United States is falling behind as art classes are the first to be cut during a budget crisis. But all in all the camps were a very positive experience, because for the most part, they all spoke English very well and had to apply to do this program. They gave up one week of their winter vacation to participate and one of the application requirements was a certain level of English.
At the camp we did various activities with them, we had them produce skits, posters and poems in English. I was surprised at how great some of the posters came out because again, they really do excel in the arts. One of the volunteers brought a football and they were all super excited to learn “American Football” even the girls! Towards the end of the camp we did more fun stuff, like Karaoke and a talent show. I’d be lying if I said Karaoke was easy to sit through…it wasn’t. They were all into rock and heavy metal that was popular 5 to 10 years ago and none of the songs were great Karaoke songs… The talent show was pretty good a lot of people got up and sang some of their favorite English songs, I kept wondering if they knew what they were singing about and I gasped when they sang the curse word in Alanis Morissettes’ “You Oughta Know.”
So even though the students were a little reluctant at first, they really did warm up to us by the end of the program. I must of posed for at least 50 pictures with them all! And they all immediately friended me on facebook. On the last day a big group wanted to get lunch with us, and two others decided they wanted to walk us to the bus station to see us off to Santiago where we would be catching our flights home to our regions in the north. It was actually really helpful that they were there with us because we needed to switch our bus tickets and they were able to communicate with the bus company to help us out (EOD once again didn’t plan very well because our bus ticket for Santiago was the next morning, yet we were booked to spend our last night in a hostel in Santiago). It was so sweet; they ran after our bus even as it was pulling out holding signs that said “don’t forget we love you!” I couldn’t believe how much they had warmed up to us after one week! I wonder what it’s going to be like when I have to say goodbye to my full time students.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Porto Fino/Chanaral
So we get to the Copiapo bus terminal on Monday morning, with no word from our regional coordinator. No one was there to greet us, so we don’t exactly know what to do with ourselves. We were three gringas who stick out like a sore thumb with a bunch of luggage and nowhere to go. So we called every number we had, and realized that all the work numbers we had were wrong because they were switching offices, go figure…Finally I resort to the EOD (English Open Doors) emergency number when these two men walk up to us and introduce themselves as our regional coordinators. They take us to the EOD office in Copiapo and they have this huge table of food set up, but nobody takes anything so it’s just this really awkward waiting period where nobody is really talking because nobody can understand each other. Finally a teacher from my school comes, she understands some English, and she seems sweet. My Co teacher shows up and I get the feeling the other teacher knows English better than her, so working with her might be pretty interesting. I hope we don’t have too much of a communication gap. Finally, my mom, her sister, Ana, and daughter show up, as well as, the family of a fellow volunteer and we all sit around the table and finally start eating all the food they had set up!
My mom takes me home and tells me to unpack, then we go grocery shopping, have lunch, and I find out I need to pack a bag for a week-long vacation at the beach. They tell me to bring warm clothes though so I know this isn’t going to be a typical beach vacation. Little did I know there was no electricity or running water either!
Porto Fino is about two hours north of Copiapo just south of Chanaral. On the way there we passed a part of the desert that had received rain and little green, white and purple flowers covered the desolate hills. They told me to take pictures (I didn’t think it was that pretty) but they were pretty excited about it so I took pictures. I later found out it’s a rarity that you see any green, it only happens every 10 years or so. I tried looking up Porto Fino in my Chile guidebook, but they didn’t have it on the map. It’s a really tiny town, used only in the summer for vacation. It basically consisted of 50 or so little shakes and a beach, a beautiful beach tho!
The first night we did everything by candle light, it wasn’t as bad as you would think. There was a toilet and sink but no hot water. The first thing I learned was that you are not allowed to throw toilet paper in any of the toilets here, the plumbing sucks. The next day we went into Chanaral where Ana and Gloria grew up and where they still have a mom and sister. That is where Flavio is from and where we picked him up to come back to Porto Fino with us. We picked up a generator and charged all our things that needed charging at their house and drove back. The generator I found out gives us light electricity at night!!! I kept wanted to translate that verse from Genesis “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light!” But they didn’t know what I was talking about…they aren’t very religious, that must have been the reason why, haha. Having the light at night was so much nicer! And I found out they run their refrigerator on gas. So they have somewhat of a modern little set up that’s much cheaper than keeping utilities, I’m not even sure they have utilities in what looks to be a tiny little shanty town if your just driving by.
It’s a nice little community though because at first it seems like its deserted, but then you see signs of life and you find out everyone knows everyone because they all come to live there each summer. Surfing or “Body” is a popular sport practiced by almost every chico from the age of 10 to 30. But it’s boogie boarding not Surfing. Surfistas son maraco, or surfers are gay. And the body boarders son el reyes de las olas! (the kings of the waves). They are pretty hard core though, they were out surfing in the middle of the winter when the hottest it got during the day is about 65, I swear the water was probably only about 40 degrees. I went for a swim, my “brother” Flavio convinced me the water was mucho mucho calor…mentiroso! It was fridgid! But I think it was the shock my body needed because I wasn’t as cold thereafter. Another thing I couldn’t figure out, it gets really cold at night, like 30 and they don’t have heat and they have this strange habit of leaving the door open…I don’t know why? Well, I was pretty much in a constant state of frozen, accept during the middle of the day if the sun came out, but others seemed fine in t-shirts! My hands and feet particularly were always frozen, once I touched Flavio’s bare arm to show how cold I was and was shocked to feel he was warm in a t-shirt! Maybe that’s why he doesn’t have a problem surfing in frigid waters.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t bored at times, it was just so repetitive and of course I can’t speak/understand a lot so I was left out of a lot of conversation. Here’s a typical day. We wake up around 9, have breakfast, work on some mosaics (we made a bunch of mosaics because Ana is really into art so she had all the supplies) eat lunch, work on mosaics again until it gets dark, then eat dinner. We would then would make a fire or fogata outside, and then come in and play cards until midnight or so. If we went into town we would do that in the morning, other than that we pretty much did the same thing every day. I like cards, but I think they only knew one game, and we played that one game every night. In the summer they have a club that gets together and does tournaments of this particular game (Karaoke I think it’s called), they even get certificates, and Gloria had a bunch framed and proudly displayed. I was pretty excited to get back to Copiapo and take a hot shower. I forgot to mention there was no cell phone service out there in the middle of the desert.
So when I wanted to use my phone I had to do it in Chanaral. It was quite bothersome actually, because I ended missing a flight for this reason exactly. So EOD isn’t the most organized, or if they are they like to wait until the last minute to give their volunteers any information. They kept going back and forth about these winter camps we were supposed to work. They’re on, now they’re not, now their back on. On Thursday, I had my host mom call my regional coordinator to confirm that we didn’t need to be back early for camps and he said yes there were no camps in our region. I go into Chanaral on Saturday and find I have 8 missed calls from my friend Erin who is volunteering in Copiapo also. She knew I was cut off from modern society and was going to relay whatever info we got via email. Well, it turns out they arranged a flight from Copiapo to Santiago and a bus to Vina Del Mar on Saturday and they gave us this info on Friday. So I missed my flight, and now I’m taking an overnight bus to Vina Del Mar tonight to arrive a day late to the camp. I still have yet to see Copaipo! I guess it will have to wait one more week!
My mom takes me home and tells me to unpack, then we go grocery shopping, have lunch, and I find out I need to pack a bag for a week-long vacation at the beach. They tell me to bring warm clothes though so I know this isn’t going to be a typical beach vacation. Little did I know there was no electricity or running water either!
Porto Fino is about two hours north of Copiapo just south of Chanaral. On the way there we passed a part of the desert that had received rain and little green, white and purple flowers covered the desolate hills. They told me to take pictures (I didn’t think it was that pretty) but they were pretty excited about it so I took pictures. I later found out it’s a rarity that you see any green, it only happens every 10 years or so. I tried looking up Porto Fino in my Chile guidebook, but they didn’t have it on the map. It’s a really tiny town, used only in the summer for vacation. It basically consisted of 50 or so little shakes and a beach, a beautiful beach tho!
The first night we did everything by candle light, it wasn’t as bad as you would think. There was a toilet and sink but no hot water. The first thing I learned was that you are not allowed to throw toilet paper in any of the toilets here, the plumbing sucks. The next day we went into Chanaral where Ana and Gloria grew up and where they still have a mom and sister. That is where Flavio is from and where we picked him up to come back to Porto Fino with us. We picked up a generator and charged all our things that needed charging at their house and drove back. The generator I found out gives us light electricity at night!!! I kept wanted to translate that verse from Genesis “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light!” But they didn’t know what I was talking about…they aren’t very religious, that must have been the reason why, haha. Having the light at night was so much nicer! And I found out they run their refrigerator on gas. So they have somewhat of a modern little set up that’s much cheaper than keeping utilities, I’m not even sure they have utilities in what looks to be a tiny little shanty town if your just driving by.
It’s a nice little community though because at first it seems like its deserted, but then you see signs of life and you find out everyone knows everyone because they all come to live there each summer. Surfing or “Body” is a popular sport practiced by almost every chico from the age of 10 to 30. But it’s boogie boarding not Surfing. Surfistas son maraco, or surfers are gay. And the body boarders son el reyes de las olas! (the kings of the waves). They are pretty hard core though, they were out surfing in the middle of the winter when the hottest it got during the day is about 65, I swear the water was probably only about 40 degrees. I went for a swim, my “brother” Flavio convinced me the water was mucho mucho calor…mentiroso! It was fridgid! But I think it was the shock my body needed because I wasn’t as cold thereafter. Another thing I couldn’t figure out, it gets really cold at night, like 30 and they don’t have heat and they have this strange habit of leaving the door open…I don’t know why? Well, I was pretty much in a constant state of frozen, accept during the middle of the day if the sun came out, but others seemed fine in t-shirts! My hands and feet particularly were always frozen, once I touched Flavio’s bare arm to show how cold I was and was shocked to feel he was warm in a t-shirt! Maybe that’s why he doesn’t have a problem surfing in frigid waters.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t bored at times, it was just so repetitive and of course I can’t speak/understand a lot so I was left out of a lot of conversation. Here’s a typical day. We wake up around 9, have breakfast, work on some mosaics (we made a bunch of mosaics because Ana is really into art so she had all the supplies) eat lunch, work on mosaics again until it gets dark, then eat dinner. We would then would make a fire or fogata outside, and then come in and play cards until midnight or so. If we went into town we would do that in the morning, other than that we pretty much did the same thing every day. I like cards, but I think they only knew one game, and we played that one game every night. In the summer they have a club that gets together and does tournaments of this particular game (Karaoke I think it’s called), they even get certificates, and Gloria had a bunch framed and proudly displayed. I was pretty excited to get back to Copiapo and take a hot shower. I forgot to mention there was no cell phone service out there in the middle of the desert.
So when I wanted to use my phone I had to do it in Chanaral. It was quite bothersome actually, because I ended missing a flight for this reason exactly. So EOD isn’t the most organized, or if they are they like to wait until the last minute to give their volunteers any information. They kept going back and forth about these winter camps we were supposed to work. They’re on, now they’re not, now their back on. On Thursday, I had my host mom call my regional coordinator to confirm that we didn’t need to be back early for camps and he said yes there were no camps in our region. I go into Chanaral on Saturday and find I have 8 missed calls from my friend Erin who is volunteering in Copiapo also. She knew I was cut off from modern society and was going to relay whatever info we got via email. Well, it turns out they arranged a flight from Copiapo to Santiago and a bus to Vina Del Mar on Saturday and they gave us this info on Friday. So I missed my flight, and now I’m taking an overnight bus to Vina Del Mar tonight to arrive a day late to the camp. I still have yet to see Copaipo! I guess it will have to wait one more week!
My New Family
So I’ve finally met my new family! Mi madre is Gloria, she’s a single mom with an 11 year old little girl, Montserat, or Monce for short. We also live with their 19 year old nephew, Flavio, who attends University in Copiapo, but lives in Chanaral. They are all very nice and very welcoming. They don’t know English, but they are very patient with me when they speak, making sure to speak slowly and simply and using lots of gestures.
Whoever said communication is 50% body language was right! I couldn’t understand most of what they were saying in the beginning, but I got the gist of what was going on just by watching the way they expressed themselves. I still don’t know what they are saying half the time, but I think I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on. I learn a little more each day, although speaking for me is still really difficult because I’ve never been put in a situation where I’m the only one who understands English, and speaking in English doesn’t do any good to help me communicate what I’m trying to get across. In Rome, I could speak a little Italian and a little English and just about everyone would understand me. Here it’s a little different, but they are patient, which is really helpful!
I’ve met a few of my host mom’s friend’s who have babies, and I realized I have a lot in common with the babies! We’re both in the same situation where we can’t speak yet and I realized that the way they spoke to the baby was really easy for me to understand. I tell people now to speak to me like a 2 year old, I’m sure what comes out of my mouth half the time is gibberish and made up words anyway.
Whoever said communication is 50% body language was right! I couldn’t understand most of what they were saying in the beginning, but I got the gist of what was going on just by watching the way they expressed themselves. I still don’t know what they are saying half the time, but I think I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on. I learn a little more each day, although speaking for me is still really difficult because I’ve never been put in a situation where I’m the only one who understands English, and speaking in English doesn’t do any good to help me communicate what I’m trying to get across. In Rome, I could speak a little Italian and a little English and just about everyone would understand me. Here it’s a little different, but they are patient, which is really helpful!
I’ve met a few of my host mom’s friend’s who have babies, and I realized I have a lot in common with the babies! We’re both in the same situation where we can’t speak yet and I realized that the way they spoke to the baby was really easy for me to understand. I tell people now to speak to me like a 2 year old, I’m sure what comes out of my mouth half the time is gibberish and made up words anyway.
Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar
During the last weekend we had in Santiago I took a day trip to Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar, which is about an hour and a half away from Santiago. I think Valparaiso is the San Francisco of Chile. There were lots of rolling hills and colorful houses stacked on top of each other so that the entire mountainside was covered in homes. Valparaiso/Vina Del Mar is a popular vacation spot for tourists in the summer, I wish it was summer here. I’m tired of being cold!
We took a bus from Santiago and as soon as we arrive into the station we are flagged down by a tour group that entices us with a free map of the two towns. I never do tours because I hate having to stick to a schedule, so I was pretty sure I’d say no, but they did a good job selling us on it because we decided to take it. For $25 we got a guided tour “in English” of the two cities, and stopped at several different places. I put English in quotes because we soon found out after one stop we would be joining a bigger Spanish speaking tour group and our tour guide did her best to translate everything, but I think she got a little tired towards the end, so I missed some stuff.
We saw one of the Easter Island statues that they had transported, a music venue where they hold a huge festival each summer, one of Pablo Neruda’s three homes, a big clock made out of flowers, a big casino, and we went up a hill in this elevator like thing on a side of mountain and got a spectacular view of Valparaiso. It was a good tour regardless of it being mostly in Spanish, a good day trip too! Including bus fair, lunch, and the tour we only spent about $50, not too shabby.
We took a bus from Santiago and as soon as we arrive into the station we are flagged down by a tour group that entices us with a free map of the two towns. I never do tours because I hate having to stick to a schedule, so I was pretty sure I’d say no, but they did a good job selling us on it because we decided to take it. For $25 we got a guided tour “in English” of the two cities, and stopped at several different places. I put English in quotes because we soon found out after one stop we would be joining a bigger Spanish speaking tour group and our tour guide did her best to translate everything, but I think she got a little tired towards the end, so I missed some stuff.
We saw one of the Easter Island statues that they had transported, a music venue where they hold a huge festival each summer, one of Pablo Neruda’s three homes, a big clock made out of flowers, a big casino, and we went up a hill in this elevator like thing on a side of mountain and got a spectacular view of Valparaiso. It was a good tour regardless of it being mostly in Spanish, a good day trip too! Including bus fair, lunch, and the tour we only spent about $50, not too shabby.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Life is Good
Actually Life is GREAT!!! I just got my luggage which I was sure might have been lost forever in the abyss that is our flight system. Plus I’m in Santiago! Everywhere I go, snowcapped Andes are a beautiful backdrop to the landscape. All the volunteers here are super nice and we’ve been running around and exploring the city together. Today (my second day) we went to the Pre Columbian Art museum. It was full of great pieces and here’s an interesting little tidbit, apparently, hallucinogens were used frequently by many of the ancient civilizations in South America. A lot of the works of art had been inspired while under the influence or commemorated the use of hallucinogens. Next, we took a stroll thru the Mercado central (central market) for lunch and over the bridge to a produce market. There were fresh fruits and vegetables as well as a meat market (the smell there was awful!). You could get a kilo of clementines (about 12 of them) for 300 pesos, which is roughly 60 cents. One thing I did notice though, was that chocolate tends to be a bit more pricey, at about two dollars a bar.
Next we went looking for this cemetery where Salvador Allende was buried. Salvador Allende was the president when the coup of September 11, 1973 happened and Pinochet took over. It’s a touchy subject here because during his regime it’s estimated some 3,000 died and over 80,000 were incarcerated without trial and about 30,000 tortured. But Pinochet is also credited with economic reforms that have made Chile the most economically successful country in Latin America. And the United States and C.I.A. were active supporters of the Pinochet regime….probably because we’re so afraid of socialism, but I don’t think brutality in favor of any form of government is just. That’s just my opinion. There was also a memorial for all the people who disappeared and a wall full of every person who died in opposition.
Yesterday, I started the day exploring the city on foot. We found the equivalent to the White House, which was cool. I tried some paila marina in the Mercado central. I’m typically not a big fan of seafood; I like my fish fillets and sushi. But I knew the seafood is great here so I took a local’s advice and tried the paila marina. It was this broth soup full of funky looking seafood I had never seen before in my life! Seriously, it looked like it came straight from the sea with mouths and other organs intact. I might just stick to fish from now on. Next, we hiked up Santa Lucia which is I guess a church?? I’m not really sure it just had a bunch of steps and once you get to the top you get amazing views of Santiago.
After dinner I tried my pisco sour. Pisco is the national drink here and it’s distilled from these grapes and it’s kinda like a brandy I guess. For those of you who know me I’m not a big fan of sour and after my pisco sour, I still was not a big fan of sour. But it is the national drink so I’m probably going to be consuming a lot of it over the next five months. I tried it on the rocks and it is potent! Whoooweee! I could get used to that. Actually next time I order it I’m going to try it with coke, they mix it with coke or sprite so maybe I’ll like that better.
Tomorrow starts our orientation so I’ve got an early day. I’m just so happy I have my luggage. You don’t know how excited I am about that. Ok it’s really cold, I need to get up and walk around. O yah it’s winter here, so it gets down to the 30s at night and it briefly reaches 60 during mid afternoon. Regardless, the hostel I’m staying doesn’t have heat so I’m constantly freezing and looking forward to my desert more and more each day! I forgot to mention I’m going to the Atacama region which is the start of the Atacama Desert which is the driest place in the world with no recordable rainfall. But! There are great beaches and all the locals I’ve told say it’s a very beautiful place!!! I just gotta watch out for these poisonous spiders which are only dangerous to a small percentage of the population….
Thursday, July 1, 2010
I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane!
I leave for Santiago, Chile tomorrow to teach English for the next 5 months. I don't have an address, I don't have a phone number, I'm not sure when I'll have internet access. So basically, I'm a little cut off until I get settled in. I should have an address and phone number by next week, so fear not, I will soon be contactable. I'm in Santiago for a week long orientation then I get transported to the Atacama region where I'll meet my host family. I'll have two weeks off before I start working, so I'm going to try and travel a bit with another volunteer in my region.
My Spanish could use some improvement, so this will be quite the experience. I don't know how many people speak English, but I have a feeling not too many do... Well, hopefully, that forces me to learn Spanish!
My Spanish could use some improvement, so this will be quite the experience. I don't know how many people speak English, but I have a feeling not too many do... Well, hopefully, that forces me to learn Spanish!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)