Jumping Head First

fleas bite!

2010-11-09T09:12:00.000-08:00

so ive been bitten by fleas before, and it sucks, but this time its worse. i guess some people are more likely to get bitten than others, and then some have bad allergic reactions. so apparently im one of those people. i had bites on my leg at first, and they itch so bad that i make myself bruise. then they spread on my leg, and up my lower back. i even have some on my arms. i thought i must have been bitten again, maybe one living in my bed, but because of my body´s reaction, my host family tells me that im just badly allergic like their son and the bumps keep spreading. i think thats what happened before, but it was just on my stomach. oh gosh im dying! itches so freakin bad! ive made myself bleed! im using creams, took a syrup, oh gosh i hope they go away. and the thing about flea bites, is they last about 2 weeks! oh fun!

jealous arent ya now? :)

the sweetest thing...

2010-11-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

I hear some wonderful compliments and nice things from my students, but this one really touched me. Its from a third grader, Victoria, who wrote me a card today.

in Spanish she wrote: yo se que para algunos es muy difícil inglés, pero con una profesora como usted, siempre se aprende.
Translation: I know that for some English is very difficult, but with a teacher like you, it is learned.

A chicken with the head cut off...

2010-09-15T18:59:00.000-07:00

My friend here always says that about me. It´s quite funny and now is an inside joke between us. I am always leaving my things in various places and then run around scrambling looking for that one thing that I really need. It also explains how I feel many other times down here. Once things seem to relax, something else comes around that shakes my balance.
The first few weeks after I returned from visiting home, I was quite sad to be back. My motivation seemed to have gone and I was missing everything from home. Going from a more than pampered lifestyle back to just sufficient is not a dream. It´s difficult, and I occasionally question what Im doing here. Thats when I need to rethink over my goals and if I feel I doing something worthwhile. I keep having to remember even if the classes arent progressing as I wish them too (which is impossible with the schedule) there are changes I dont take notice of as much as I should.
Besides missing home, there were some complications with my job. Since the lady in charge of personnel did not know every aspect of having a foreigner on the payroll, she did not know and therefore tell me that I needed to have my license and degree authorized in Chile to work as a teacher in the public schools. When those in charge of monitoring the schools noticed that my degree was not validated here, they stated that it needed to be corrected or they would be fined heavily. This is not a just system, since the school depended on the woman in personnel to do her job and know all parts. Everyone tried to rush and correct the mistake at the last mistake, saying my schedule, along with the other English teacher, should be reorganized so she would be in charge of my classes. I could still teach, but all responsibilities wouldbe given to her. I would also possibly teach the older grades just for an hour. My hours would stay the same...blah blah. It was a mess, andI was not happy to have everything changed when I dont even receive all the benefit (monetarily) that the others teachers do because of my degree.
Thank goodness the school decide the schedule change and conflict was more work than necessary and we are keeping it the way it is. They are just waiting to see if they get caught again more or less.
Last week I had a student go into a seizure during class. I was turned around when it started, and after students called for my attention I realized what was happening. Oh I have not been that scared in a long time. Ran outside to call for help and after a few times screaming ¨emergency¨ and ¨hes not breathing,¨ they finally realized at least there was a problem. By the time they came up, the seizure was beginning to subside. I had to then get the class in order and calm them down. A few were crying and the rest were just in shock or were curious as to what had just happened. The best way I could, I decided to take the route of explaining what happened inside the little boy´s body and why his body was reacting the way it was. I made sure to explain the seizure was minor and he would be fine. It just happens sometimes. They went to wash their faces and I let them calm down in the classroom. Long afternoon. Thank goodness my co worker and close friend came in, asked me if I was alright, and then I went outside just to breathe for a minute.
The following week I had a girl throw up during class...whats next? hahaha.
Im a lot happier now. Im not loving my town, but Im trying to find things I can look forward to. I went to La Serena last weekend to visit another past volunteer and I met some great new people that she met through her job. This weekend is Chile´s Independence, which is comparable to Christmas in the states, and since we have 4 days off Im going back. She has a nice apartment right on the beach. Since Im considering staying next year, and only in La Serena, that is where I want to be. But I can explain more on that later....

Jen

what im feeling...

2010-07-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

now i havent written in awhile...i have so many stories and things to tell that i do plan on backtracking on doing so at some point. right now though, i just want to say how im feeling. how im truly feeling about all this. coming home has given me more of a chance to do so, and being home has been emotional at times when no one was looking. i will not say that this is not an adventure, and a great opportunity, but this adventure is hard to say the least. i came home not just physically exhausted, but emotionally as well. i look at what i have been doing down in chile the last four months with pride, but at times it comes with a cost. but i do realize now, more that ever, opportunities or things truly worth having comes at a cost, and at times, quite a significant cost.
i miss it here. i didnt think it would hit me so hard, but i miss it here so much. i miss my family, friends, the mountains, stability, a comfortable mattress, all the options in the store...i miss not being sick all the time, and it can drive me crazy working all the time towards something that doesnt really seem promising when stepping back and taking in the full picture. i push so much at work to get results in all different areas, many times seeing little to no change that it seems fruitless. i come back home, and i feel in transition. im not here anymore, my home is here, but i am stationed elsewhere. i feel in flux between two different worlds where i am not sure where i am the most fulfilled. not to mention coming home where things seemed to not have truly changed, but under the surface small ripples have formed and people are making movements in one direction or the other. Friends are growing in their marriages or relationships, new jobs are started or the ones they have they are working towards a goal, kids may be on the horizon, and hobbies are being pursued and enjoyed. i dont know where i fit in that. dont get me wrong, im not even close to being ready for marriage or kids, but a relationship would not be bad. but do i really want to give up my options of traveling and doing ANY type of job i want for that at this time in my life? no. but i also dont want to be the one left behind not sure where i can go from here after my time doing anything i want.
my job is a great job to have. it is challenging, and rewarding, and helping me learn every day. it is also pushing me at times to my maximum. i will fulfill my contract, but i occasionally feel guilty for wanting just to stop and do something else. this is a difficult position, with even more difficult kids, and cultural issues, and lack or resources, etc. although this is where i feel i am making the biggest impact, and i am proud of myself for that. as much as all of it can become overwhelming, nothing beats the fact that another young boy who was so badly behaved the first few weeks is now the first to greet me, hug me, and wants to hold my hand. their smiles are worth more i can even put into words. i just need to remember that when im feeling out of sorts.... thanks for reading.
jen

it wasnt so funny at the time continued...

2010-05-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

i remembered other anecdotes...

*i was bitten by fleas...yes you read correctly-FLEAS. apparently they can latch on from the dogs on the streets. i ended up with several bites on my legs. they itched so badly!

*i went to get a massage when i first came here since my back was really hurting. this was not really what i would consider a massage. it was like she was rubbing my skin, nothing else. so my skin was very relaxed. she applied no pressure, just a TON of oil...not a good combination.

*every time i took a shower in my new house, the water drained all over the floor. i had to sweep it into the drain every time and that took forever. then my floor would be wet for hours and many times left with puddles. this drove me crazy since muddy shoe prints were always left when the bathroom was used, and the bottoms of pants got wet. i finally stopped taking many showers during the week cause i didnt have time in the morning to deal with water disaster! sometimes i would even wash my hair in the sink just to avoid it. haha. (dont worry, its fixed now)

*one weekend i went to visit my friend mackenzie in La Serena. We went out with her boyfriend Cristian and my friend Luis. We took his car, which had issues starting. We had to push it to get it going and then get in. Well when we went to the bar that night and came back to the car, it just wouldnt start. We pushed forever but the engine would not turn over (is that correct??) Finally, we stopped some more guys and had them help push...nothing. Finally Luis and I were just left to push the car, which we did for quite awhile (even on the busy street). Some guys in a truck stopped and got it started. I guess Cristian wasnt so prepared to drive as we thought. Just imagine me pushing a car at about 1 or 2 in the morning. Laughing? good.

*today one of my teacher aides told me that i looked much thinner. then she proceeded to ask if i was throwing up. ummm i was not sure how to respond to that. so just because im thinner i must be taking drastic measures? haha but thanks for the compliment....i think.

*during one of our crazy rainstorms here, the electricity went out for the day. when my friend and i were walking in the dark to go to a corner store for some food, of course i was the one to step in a big pile of dog poo. oh yes, so great.

*speaking of dog poo, i now have adopted a puppy. (long story, will explain in next blog) and she must sleep inside in my room at night. well potty training if a little difficult, and she is just over a month old, so i get the pleasure of waking up several times a night to clean up after her. this morning i accidently stepped right in her pee. i love her, i love her, i love her...ugh.

It wasn´t so funny at the time..

2010-05-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

...but now, at least I can laugh at several mishaps, circumstances, or some of the bad luck that has followed me around in Chile! This is definitely an experience! I wish there was even a better word than "experience." Sometimes it just doesnt seem to sum it up properly. Well, just to name a few of the incidents...

*to start off, let me remind you of the fact that I returned to Chile the same day as the earthquake here...

*which followed me to my region in the North where another earthquake hit less than 100 kilometers away! This time I was nervous!

*I have already been sick...twice

*it rarely rains here, especially once you go further into the Atacama Desert, but it has already rained 4 times and even hailed in my town! People over the age of 50 are saying that has never happened in Vallenar! So apparently at least not in the last fifty years! To top it off, I found out my new room has a roof issue....it leaks!

*in one of my schools, I have broken up fist fights in my classroom between third graders! Oh, and even when I try to break them up or get in between them they dont stop punching (on purpose??)....happened again today as a matter of fact.

*When I was talking to my students about how they need to use their brains, or how they have room in their brains, or just anything about their brains or minds, I was consistently using the wrong word in Spanish! brain/mind=mente mint=menta....oh just guess which one I was using until my friend corrected me! ¨You all have mints right? Well use them please!¨ No wonder they were confused....

*I am constantly, I mean constantly, tripping on the uneven sidewalks here. I wear my danskin clogs all the time, and let me tell you, they do not work well unless the ground is level! I swear Im going to twist my ankle next.

there are many more... ill think of them and add them later.

Even though some crap has happened (just the best word for some of it), I wouldnt trade my time here for anything. Yes, my kids might very well be the death of me, but Im enjoying them. Even as much as they fight and disrrupt my class every 5 seconds, they are still just kids. Some of which have already had some hard times and situations come about in their lives. Im here to help where I can, and in any way that I can.

I have learned patience here; to work within a system I dont always understand. For example, even when the line is going out the door, and they cant seem to have one otherdarn cashier, Vallenar is quaint in its simplicity. Im learning to find enjoyment and laugh at some of the things that drive me crazy. People here are always willing to help, and when they notice you are sad, they dont ignore it. There are so many great lessons to learn here, in a culture that is so foreign, yet with some outstanding qualities.

Oh where to begin?

2010-04-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

so since i have been so preoccupied with the whole learning spanish and trying to teach in a different country, ive been horrible at updating! i really should make time to sit down and think through everything. so im going to back track a bit...or more than a bit...

lets start with my kittens (mis gatitos). i think it was about the second or third week here. they were stranded outside near my house and everyone heard them crying throughout the morning. i asked my family about them, but as they know they cant save every animal (or people just dont want to) they told me to let it go. well when i walked outside and looked at them, i just couldnt. despite my allergy, i picked them up and took them to a friend´s house. we tried to feed them some milk with a pipette and clean out one infected eye a bit. I took them to the vet the next day (after a day of classes) and he said they were only about 20 days old. He told me to buy a special milk powder and a medication. I was to feed them every 4 hours and give the medication every 12. I wanted to cry at that point! I was having such an overwhelming time with all the classes that an additional responsibility seemed unbearable, but no one else would do it. There is no animal shelter here, and only special groups help out animals in different parts of the country. anyway, we looked everywhere for the special milk but they only had it for dogs. i would have to order it and who knew how long that would take. the vet said i could mix water and milk together but to try and get the other milk. i just didnt have any more time to spend walking around looking for it. so for the next week, i woke up during the night for feedings, made sure they had their medication, and my family helped out during the day when i was at school. we all became attached to the little guys. since it was around st. patrick´s day, i named them shamrock and clover. unfortunately, they both died about 12 hours apart that weekend. i cried my eyes out. when i saw the vet, he told me it was nearly impossible for them to survive without the mom. thanks for the heads up! after that, i was sick and out of school for a week....

on to other things. school is going much better, but i am still overwhelmed and feeling defeated often. some days are great and i feel the students are moving along, and other days i feel i am starting over. i am gaining some attention and respect of my little ones in the poor/difficult school, but im fighting a battle, along with every other teacher there, that seems to have no victory in sight. these students are DIFFICULT to work with, and some days nearly impossible. today, for example, i actually had to leave my first grade classroom for a few minutes and cry on the shoulder of a colleague. she comforted me and told me she understood. it was so nice to not have someone throw worthless advice at me for once. this class i fear going to every time. there are two students with low intelligence i believe, one who is extremely bright but loves to bother and hit other kids, two other boys who are constantly hitting each other and bothering others, and of course the normal variation of learning abilities in one class. i dont have a list of students who are in integration or have ____ type of issues. so much is by word of mouth or if i can grab a special ed teacher long enough to ask about a few students specifically. this information is not offered up freely, and i need it! in this first grade class for example, i cant maintain enough discipline and attention for more than 5 minutes sometimes without nicolas punching brian, or juan needing to ask a question, or giselle constantly commenting about random things, or cesar playing with a toy, or maria jose taking other students pencils and markers, or little mauricio (who has god knows what issues) coming up front and tugging on my sleeve about some problem or question....get the idea? and this is just one class! today i had kids crying in the corner from someone hitting them; i chased two boys around the school to keep them from strangling one another; and one boy who is such a nuisance i made him stay inside with me for a few minutes during recess, and he was bawling, so i literally grabbed him and hugged him until he relaxed. half of one class had to leave for about 10 minutes because they didnt get their snack during recess and i was not going to have them sit in class and cry about being hungry. im doing my best, sometimes it would be easier to just stop, but somewhere along the way people offer a kind word or advice.

i have countless stories like this, but im learning everyday to do what i can, make a difference somewhere, and try and keep a smile on my face. i do see changes in some students. mainly the ones who caused me so much pain initially, i have worked so hard to get through, that now they help me in class, say hi and hug me when they see me, and they are working in class more. its amazing! if you saw how they acted just a few weeks before!

im going to start some small group classes at a high school, and then 1 or two private classes. im a little overworked right now, but the money will help and i want to do as much as a can. i just need to know when to rest. sometimes, i realize i didnt eat anything, or dont really have the time to sit down. but i would not trade this experience for anything. you just have to hear me talk in spanish now!!!

Work...Sleep...Repeat

2010-03-31T13:48:00.001-07:00

So its been about a month in Chile so far. Wow has it gone fast. Dont think Ive been this scattered since student teaching. Let me explain more of what Im doing. Right now I work in 2 elementary schools in different parts of town. Different parts of town also meaning one is known for it´s "excellence," while the other is trying to keep kids from strangling one another or at least awake long enough to learn something. Well, that´s a big exageration, but with some truth to it. :) The first one, the one with an excellent rating, is the school named Ignacio Carrera Pinto (or Escuela 5 as its commonly referred to). This school is in the center of town and is considered the best PUBLIC elementary schools in town. Each class has up to 45 students, so classes can be quite unmanageable at times. The other school is in a part of town that when most people hear its name, they cringe a bit (Vista Allegre). People look at me with surprise sometimes when I say that is where I am working. Now it´s not like kids are carrying weapons to the school or anything, it is just in a tough neighborhood where kids lose their childhood at a young age. It´s a poor neighborhood, where families are divided and/or dysfunctional, and students´ are mostly trying to just get by day by day. Most kids are provided lunch and snacks at school, and I don´t know this for sure, but many probably do not have enough to eat at home. There are many students with emotional and behavioral problems, as well as learning difficulties. I have had students punch each other in class, run out, tell me no and sit there doing nothing. I have students who cannot focus for 2 seconds while others wait for everyone to listen so they may learn something. My first two classes (i have each class once a week) at this school were so maddening. I did not know who had learning or behavioral issues, many times I was alone since the assistant was not there as well. I realized students sometimes did not understand my Spanish and that is why chaos started. But amidst everything, I see kids who are craving attention, love, respect, and someone to tell them ¨good job!¨ I discovered a girl in one of my 3rd grade classes cannot read and therefore cannot write. She relies on her friend to help her with everything. This is only one of the sad stories I could tell about these kids. They have tried my nerves, making me almost want to quit, but I keep going back to try to reach out to each one.

I was sick last week after going non-stop since I arrived, so the doctor released me from work for the week. I recovered in a few days, and then I had time to sleep, plan for classes, and try to get organized.

I have learned to ask for help, say when I´m reaching my limit, and allow myself to be ok with not being ¨perfect.¨ Things do not always go as planned, and with teaching, especially here, I´m learning I need to be prepared for anything and have a back up plan. I have good classes, frustrating classes, and at times I would rather be anywhere else. I just have to remember I can contribute here. I have so much energy to give to these kids.

I want to share a short story about a boy that almost made me go crazy in one class but I somehow (hopefully) got through to him today. In the last class I had with him, I realized he has aggression issues (after he punched someone) is quite defiant (oh you wouldn´t believe) and I was not sure his level of learning. I barely got him to pay attention and constantly was telling him to sit down, or put something away, or not hit so and so. Anyway, I talked with various persons at the school and they all told me that he is a problem, but they didn´t give me much advice (really nothing) . I finally went to observe the head teacher and get some ideas for discipline and order with her class. She was happy that I took initiative to do so, and realized I really was there to help. While watching the class, Felipe (mister wonderful), was being his disruptful self. She was always yelling at him (which is normal for teachers here. I´m even having to yell in class) and he was never hearing anything positive. Finally, I noticed that he has great handwriting and commented on this. He turned to me with a look of surprise and a smile. I had caught him, now I just had to reel him in!
Today in class, the students behaved so much better as the teacher, principal, and various others had spoken with them. Felipe was front and center, and I was determined to have him involved. He participated, wanted to talk as much as he could, answered questions correctly, and put in his best effort at completing his work. He tried so hard! After everything he did well, I made sure he heard positive remarks. After class, he gave me a hug. I wanted to cry I was so happy!

I found out after class his aggression is from physical abuse at home. He will remain there, which breaks my heart, but I hope he seems some glimmer of hope outside of his home.

Terremoto (earthquake) and the terror of starting over (just kidding)

2010-03-10T09:08:00.000-08:00

So I survived the earthquake. It was not a huge deal for me at the time, probably since I was so sleep deprived to truly realize the catastrophe of the situation at that point. Apparently it was one of the strongest earthquakes reported worldwide, but thankfully did not cause as much damage as in other places. The Epicenter was 3 hours south, so Santiago was hit hard. I was in Santiago, staying with my friend Laura, in a part of Santiago called Las Condes. This is one of the nicer areas in Santiago, meaning the Chileans with money live here, so much of the architechure is built to code and built to withstand earthquakes. At the time it happened, we were actually in a disco dancing, so it took a minute to realize the floor was actually moving. Laura and I were quickly pulled by the two guys we went with to a stronger structural part of the building. Walking straight was impossible, we were just trying to keep our balance. We waited for it to pass, and then ran out with everyone else. It was a mad rush, with people trying to find cars, friends, taxis, etc. Thank goodness our friend drove so we had no problems leaving. We went to check his parent´s apartment since it was on the 16th or 17th floor. People living there were pretty shaken up since many things had shifted, and on the higher floors the movement was greater so most things fell. His refrigerator was even on the floor.
From there we were taken to another friend`s house. Her parents welcomed us and we had tea in the dark and went to various beds to sleep. Several people came to meet there. (At this point I had not slept more than 7 hours in about 35+ hours)

The next few days were interesting to say the least. The day after the earthquake stores were closed as well as the metro and buses were not running. Most of everything seemed to go on as normal, people out in the street walking around and driving. But since big grocery stores were closed, we had to wait in line for two hours in a corner grocery. Met a few nice people though! Since Laura´s bf apartment was in one of the buildings as well that had some cracks and damage, he didnt stay there. So the three of us slept in Laura´s bed. so so cozy....

I had to still buy a bus ticket, but I didnt want to venture into downtown on Sunday since things were prob still chaotic, so I waited until Monday. But of course I still needed a cell phone and to let my school know I would be late. Very stressful two days. On Monday Laura was called off work since they had to check the building, so we went to get everything I needed. I left on a bus that day at 4. Arrived in Vallenar at 2 am. Had to wake up at 6 to get ready for my first day. Had to go to the head office to find out my schedule. Im gonna spare the details, but Ill just say it was a mess!

I now have a position at two schools. Last week I visited both (one I worked at before) and had time to plan out my curriculum. No I was not provided books or a real curriculum. I used other teachers´ examples, but Im going it alone! There is another English teacher at both schools, but only one can speak to me in English (this is surprisingly normal). I started classes on Monday, and its been stressful. I had the full class to myself, sometimes assistants were there, but they seldom helped. There are about 40 kids in each class, and they dont understand English, so Im having to translate everything right now, and Im not bilingual! Having all the first graders standing up and hanging on me to check their every step, yelling "tia!," and asking about the bathroom almost drove me crazy! Maintaining control is hard right now, but Im working on ideas to get everything more organized. Right now it all seems to be trial and error.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. Ill need it. :)

Travels....

2009-12-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

For the last two weeks or so I have been traveling around in the southern part of Chile. We had our closing ceremony for the program on November 28th. It was great to see the volunteers at the end and all hang out for a few days rehashing stories and going out. One night out was really cool since we went to this "after office party" that was in huge disco on the Santa Lucia hill. This place is a famous tourist attraction and this bar only opens up at night. Gates close it off during the day. We were with another volunteer and her Chilean boyfriend, along with a large group of people, so we got in easily and even went to VIP. It was a fun night. I stayed in Santiago for several days, and left Sunday night with my friend Laura (a volunteer in La Serena) and we took an overnight bus to Puerto Varas.
I enjoyed the small town there. Very quaint, and a bit more upscale than other places I have seen. We ate at some great restaurants and found the best pisco sours we have ever tasted in Chile. I even loved a beer for once that we tried at a restaurant! They make a few of their own. We just explored around there and then headed on a bus to Ancud, Chilóe!
In Ancud we stayed at a wonderful hostal with a beach view. The town doesnt really offer much, but I loved the surroundings. We went on a great day tour, walked along the beach, and went in a boat to see the Humbolt and Magellan penguins! They are so cute!
We made the next part of our journey to see the next big town in Chilóe, Castro. There we saw the famous "palafitos" houses that are distinctive colors and built on stilts in the water. We stayed in one that was renovated as a hostal. Nice town with more things to do. We went to a restaurant one night where Karaoke was going on. We actually ended up singing "Wonderwall" from where we were sitting. Haha
We tried to go the next day to a small island off of Chilóe, but didnt plan our time well so we only made it to Dalcahue to browse around for a few hours before heading back to Castro to grab our bags and get a bus back to Puerto Varas to meet another volunteer, Andrew.
We got in late to Puerto Varas, but the next day we went on a hike near the Volcano Osorno for a few hours. But we missed the final bus back to town by 2 hours! because someone...Andrew...thought it left later. Luckily there was a large tour bus in the parking lot. Andrew asked for a ride back and they graciously agreed and would not charge us anything. The only thing was it was a school trip with only 16 year old high school BOYS. So of course with Laura and I with the blonde hair (and the fact her running shorts looked like booty shorts) we got a lot of attention. One boy came up and took a picture, many times we could overhear them talking, not really understanding, but not sure we really wanted to! Then when we got off the bus, they applauded! So funny!
The next day we took a bus to Osorno and then on a local bus out to the campo to a milk farm of Laura´s boyfriend´s roommate´s family. Get all that? Anyway, we spent a few days there at this gorgeous farm with a great family. We got to see the Lecheria, milk a cow, help make cheese, and went on a day trip to Valdivia. There I got to see the huge sea lions sitting on the decks! I was so excited.
Andrew and I continued alone up to Pucón where what we planned on just being a few days has turned into 5. Its such a cute place. Resembles Puerto Varas, but we like it more. Feels more comfortable here with some great people. We went on a beautiful hike about an hour away, I went to do canopy, rented bikes, went to the thermas. Ive really enjoyed it here. I even saw my first shooting star!

We are taking a night bus back to Santiago tonight. Ill be there for 2 days then on a jet plane home!

Some funny, ironic, or crummy things that happened...

2009-11-15T15:19:00.000-08:00

so i just thought i would write a fun post...stuff thats happened to me that i can look back and laugh at. good times. well some of the not so much. but its been an interesting time when i look back. for those of you who know me really well, you can understand how of course this would happen to me. haha. here ya go!

-so i came to chile planning to teach in an elementary school. i filled that out in my application and they knew i was licensed in it. well, when i met my teacher and principal when they picked me up, i was surprised to find out i was to teach high schoolers....took me a bit to get over the shock!

-i knew before hand there was a possibility of being placed alone, but i heard it was not likely. when our assignments were posted in santiago, i learned not only was i one of the few in a town alone, many other volunteers got to be in the same place! so they put the girl who could barely speak any spanish alone, while the ones who spoke quite a bit practically lived together...

-not only did i work at a high school, i worked at one that had a hard group of students. many students repeated grades, over 50 girls had kids or were pregnant, and not many were headed for university. definitely a different world, but i enjoyed it!

-i had many spiders show up either on my bed, in my closet on my shirt (i then proceeded to throw it, shirt and spider), one joined me in the shower...oh yes!

-within the first few weeks or so of being here, my co-teacher asked if i could go speak to a university class. i agreed, but was sure what i was supposed to talk about. i outlined a short speech over some differences in edu between chile and the states. when i got there i slowly realized i was supposed to teach the english class! apparently my coteacher worked there too! well that would have been good to know! so i just made up a lesson on the spot for engineering students studying english...

-so my co teacher and i saw a stray puppy on the street. i scooped her up and we decided to clean her up and my co teacher would keep her...well I would clean her up. after looking at her, i realized she had some ticks...so gross! pulled some out with pliers. then when we took her to the school and i got a student to help me bathe her, i realized she didnt just have a few ticks, she had over 100! i pulled out every one! ugh. so after she was all pretty and went home with Marcela....she was stolen from the yard the next day! seriously!

-so i was quite well for most of my time in chile. no big health issues. i was surprised that while other volunteers were getting sick with the flu or a bad cold, i was ok! well, that didnt hold out forever...i got the worse out of everyone i know! first came the fever, then the ear infection, then after a few days of feeling better, the cough, then the horribly painful, uncomfortable cough, plus the fever, and finally....pneumonia! NOT JOKING! let me just say how fun it is to go to a hospital in chile and NOT fully understand what the heck the doctors are saying! my friend recently topped me by getting salamanilla and then intenstinal parasites!

TO BE CONTINUED....

-

TO BE CONTINUED....

Its been awhile...

2009-10-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

I did not realize it has been a month since I last posted. Time was lost since I was working a lot and trying to travel a bit on the weekends. Everything has been going well at both the liceo and basic school. I changed my classes around a bit so now I teach levels I enjoy at the basic school. The seventh graders were too much to handle and I decided to not work with them. It doesnt help when the cooperating teacher does nothing to help as well when they began to get out of control. I am continuing to meet wonderful people through this job, and my favorite cooperating teacher, Alejandra, is looking into getting me a job at the basic school for next year. Im also planning on talking with the University. At this point Im considering coming back and living here for the next school year so I can get a better grasp on the language. Im just worried if I come home now, Ill lose it all too quickly. Im hoping to start getting the resumes out this week...(yes it is translated into Spanish :)
So since my last post, I went back to La Serena to see the guy Im currently dating. I visit him as well as other volunteers who live in town or come to visit. Last time we had a great "asado" (bbq) at Jorge´s house (thats the guy). It was so fun to have everyone there. So we had the group of English speakers and Spanish speakers, which at times was very interesting. But its really nice for me to have a short trip on the weekends out of my town. I would like to visit other places, but the North of Chile is so spread out it takes many hours to get to some of the popular spots. Hard to cram in for just one weekend.
Last week I got sick with some sort of virus we believe. Which then went on to be this big ordeal. SO...I had a fever and a cough last week, so I needed to see a doctor. My cooperating teacher´s boyfriend is a doctor, so he agreed to see me. The funny thing is, he is a OB-GYN, and so some of my friends made jokes that he couldnt treat me with THIS particular sickness...lol. But he decided it was a virus. So I thought I would rest for a few days and things would be fine. Well, then I had pain in my ear and went to see the ear specialist; found out I had a lovely ear infection. So I bought antibiotics for that. Well I was feeling much better Saturday, so I went out and did a few things. I planned a short two day trip with some friends up North to the beach. I ended up not feeling great on Saturday night, but bought my ticket and planned on going.
The trip was really fun. I was excited to be traveling with other Americans and see if we could actually figure it out on our own. I usually travel with at least one of my Spanish speaking friends, so they do all the talking. This time with our combine knowledge of Spanish we had to figure out how to get from one place to another. It ended up working out perfectly. It was nice to hear from one of the girls that she noticed how much my Spanish improved. We were at about the same level when we came. We went up to Caldera, and then to the beaches of Bahía Iglesia for a day near the water. It was beautiful and sunny, so we found a place that we could rent kayaks. Now I didnt bring my suit, but I just figured I would roll up my pants and not get too wet...WRONG. The other girls went in the double kayak, and I went in the single. Well the double was pretty secure, and it looked like they wouldnt get too wet. Then the kid pulls down my kayak and it has all these holes in the bottom! I asked him for one without, he looked at me like I was a tad crazy, and told me they were all like that. So, I went in to the restaurant, changed into other pants besides my jeans (had to do this just behind some blinds near the kitchen btw) and then just went out in the water. Of course my bottom half got soaked, but we had a good time! Changed, left our clothes out to dry, and hung out at this little restaurant/water sports place. The guy who helped us was around our aged so he helped us out and we were able to talk with him. Well I guess I was the one who talked the most to him, but ya know...good times! That night we went to Chañaral so we could visit the Parque Pan de Azúcar. We read it was beautiful, with flora and fauna, and all these animals of the coast. When we took a cab there we realized we really needed a car to explore, and didnt see much of the fauna or flora or wildlife. We were still in the fricken desert. lol. For some stupid reason I picture maybe some trees or grass...who knows. Guess I need to think more about the meaning of fauna and flora next time ;) But we made the best of it. Walked on an endless road for awhile and looked at the cacti and took ridiculous pictures. The local fisherman are able to take people to the small island off shore to see the penguins that live there, but they like to fill the boat with 10 people. So while we waited for more people to show, we walked around. When we got back the boat was pulling in with 4 people. I was not happy...they went without us! They need about $50 to take the boat out. So with 10 people, we pay $10 each. Doesnt make much sense right? With only 5 people, we each pay $20. They told us to wait since 2 other people were coming. Of course at this point I wanted to strangle the guy since we could have gone with the other 4. They said they showed after we left. I decided to go negotiate with the guy. I told him we only wanted to pay the $10 like they said initially, no matter if others showed. We could have gone with the 4 if they waited. I tried to reason (in my interesting Spanish) that its better for him to make money from 3 people than none at all. He came back with unreasonable excuses, saying they needed the $50 to pay for the gas and all this other stuff. We just decided not to go. But overall we had a great time getting out and about.

When I got back though, things werent so great. I developed a nasty cough that was so strong it hurt and shook my whole body. Didnt sleep much for two nights, and I developed another fever. Finally my asthma was gettting too bad, and to top it off, I was running out of some vital nebulizer medication, my co-teacher and I decided to head for the hospital. Thank goodness I got in quickly because her boyfriend called and they let me in right away. Have to remember that healthcare here is socialist, so things work a lot differently. Basically, you wait your turn a lot, and it takes forever. They gave me a steriod injection, nebulizer treatments, and sent me home. Didnt sleep much again with the horrible cough every few minutes, and we went back the next day. I was diagnosed with pneumonia. I had an x-ray and blood test taken. Marcela, the teacher, had to leave so I had to figure out what doctors and people were telling me in Spanish. The x-ray was real fun. They call several people at once. You go into different small rooms were you change into the robe. Then you come out individually and get the x-ray done and leave. They gave me several perscriptions to fill, and after seeing the kinesiologist who worked on my lungs, I went home. I had to go back for another appointment with the kinesiologist, and had to demand this time for more albuterol (the med I needed). They kept not giving it to me before but I was almost out and could not leave until I have the perscription. Thats the problem about dealing with doctors in a different country. They think they know everything they need to do for you and wont really listen, Their way is the best! ugh. They kept reminding me they know what they are doing and are not as bad as I may think. Lets just say I really wanted to see my own doctors at this point!

Im feeling much better now. Been resting at home and watching tv and movies. I "borrowed" the dvd player from my school since we dont have cable. :) I rested again today, but plan on coming back and teaching two of my classes tomorrow.

Apparently, tomorrow may be the last day of school for awhile. I guess in 1991, the federal government gave the responsibility of education to the municipalidad level. (this may not be correct, heard it in Spanish, but its close). Anyway, with the transfer, apparently the teachers were left without some payment. They have been owed this for quite sometime. Now the government has stated since it has been so many years, the debt has expired, and they will not pay them. Teachers from all over the country are meeting in Santiago tomorrow to decide how to deal with this. My teacher thinks it will be another long strike, possibly until the end of the school year. Ill keep you updated!

Making decisions and making things better

2009-09-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

ok so first off...there has been some changes in what im doing down here. i was getting sick of just working at the high school for only a handful of classes during the week. on top of that, my classes were not very big because the students in my classes also have other courses during the time im teaching, so many just miss my class. the program is not working well at the high school, but im trying to do the best i can. many times i just feel the kids dont care at all, and that pains me, but i keep trying to do more. so, since i was not getting the experience i wanted, i decided to go out and get it myself. i asked my coordinating teacher again if i could work with her at the university (she had offered before) and so now i help teach with her on thursdays to engineering students. she is going to pay me a little out of her monthly salary. i truly am fortunate. also, a man who works at my school has a girlfriend who teaches second grade at the basic school nearby. so he spoke with her, and now im teaching classes to 2 second grade classrooms, seventh graders, and eighth graders. middle school is definitely not my favorite, especially when they act like monkeys (not kidding), but i like challenges, so bring it on....i think.....anyway, i love the second graders. i teach to about 35-38 students in one class. it is quite a challenge to teach to such a large group (in comparison to the 23-27 in the states) but they are so sweet. they call me "tia" which is a form of endearment for their teachers. they run up and give hugs and kisses. im smiling all the time when im there, then i go back to the high school....haha.

my friend from la serena came to visit me in vallenar on monday and tuesday. it was fun to have a friend in vallenar. i actually canceled my classes at the high school so i could have time to hang out with him. what surprised me was when i ran into some students around town, they told me they were sad my classes were canceled! that gave me the extra motivation i need to keep going. i also spoke more with the director of the school on monday and he asked for more of my opinion of the school after i mentioned how the classes are still not working in the most effective manner. i told him the truth. students are learning very little in classes since they are disorganized, students are doing what they want, and teachers are lacking discipline. i said it is sad that students to not have much opportunity after high school, and they do not realize it. they will work at the local store for the rest of their life and not see the importance of education. so now since i opened my big mouth he wants me to discuss my opinions with a group of students next week, in spanish! oh great! ill keep you updated....

i also started my english club on friday. i was very surprised to have 29 students sign up to come, i was expecting just 15 or so! 15 students ended up coming last friday, but i understand things come up and since it is after school some find "better" things to do. we had a brief lesson and discussion, and then watched part of 50 first dates in english. i stopped the movie after different scenes to see if they understood and then tried in my broken spanish to summarize (oh its not pretty!) but i hear from teachers the students loved the club which im very happy about.

so im sure you might be wondering how my spanish is coming along. i am so excited to say it is 3 times better! when i first arrived in chile, i did not have the confidence to speak, so i said very few words. when you are around others who have studied spanish and then of course native speakers, it is very intimidating. understanding spanish is always easier than speaking, since you have to translate in your head, form the sentences, and then speak with correct pronunciation in spanish. pronunciation in spanish is critical. if you say the correct word, but without the correct accents, they will have no idea what you are saying...this can be very frustrating! so within the first few weeks of being in vallenar, i listened much more than i spoke, just trying to absord the language and understand what people were discussing. spanish is chile is very different than spanish elsewhere. they have many "modismos" or slang words and many times they shorten words. they also speak so fast you can only pick up a few words at a time. i still speak english often with teachers at my school, but with some friends we talk in both languages. i have friends who only speak spanish, so our conversations still contain charades and go slowly. after a month here, my cooperating teacher said i need to start practicing speaking more, so i have been. i can now carry on conversations with chileans, often with the help of a dictionary, but it still works! i can now understand more of my high school students when they talk to me. i had my first conversation with some students at the high school last week! i keep receiving compliments about how my spanish is improving. i love to hear this! i have been having more conversations with my host mom, which is helping our relationship. we can now joke with each other. in the beginning we were polite but did not say much because of lack of understanding. now we talk. i understand her true personality much more. she was very reserved initially. the only time spanish is too difficult for me is right after i wake up (my brain is still thinking solely in english) and when im very tired. nothing processes. you would not believe how tiring it is to think and speak in two languages. thand goodness i have made wonderful friends and continue to make more. the teacher i work with at the basic school, alejandra, only speaks spanish but she is hilarious and patient. i went to a get together with some of the teachers at the basic school on wednesday and i had a wonderful time. they encourage my spanish and are so welcoming. i do not have friends my age in chile, they are all 25 and older, but this has been such a blessing for me. i dont really feel like going out to the bars and getting drunk or dancing in the smokey discoteca. im enjoying just getting to know the people who live here. they have such different opinions, but many are the same. im fascinated by what they know, what they want in life, and how their culture affects their daily life.

right now im in la serena for the weekend. other volunteers are meeting here this weekend since today is the independence day in chile. this is bigger than christmas in the states! they party for about 3 days. it is said they gain an average of 6-9 pounds during this time. so much food and drinking. this is a much needed vacation out of my small town. i get to speak english with native speakers! yay!

update...

2009-09-08T13:59:00.001-07:00

so this past weekend was full of different activities. i had to take a bus to copiapo, which is 2 hours north of vallenar, for a meeting with my coordinators and other volunteers in my region. when we arrived, i met up with the other volunteers and one of my coordinators. i have been mainly in communication with this woman because our head coordinator was sick with the swine flu when we arrived and to top it off he doesnt speak english....awesome! anyway, when i arrived she mentioned that another volunteer had to decided to leave the program this month and there is an open position in that town where other volunteers are living. apparently i was placed in vallenar just two days before the listings were posted for all the volunteers and she was nervous to have me there alone (what a surprise! i might be lonely!) so since she knew of the problems i was having with my school etc (since i had written her about it) she offered me the opportunity to live in el salvador with my friends, in a big house, in a semi-private school. it was like putting a silver platter in front of me and asking if i wanted it. it bothered me even more when during the meeting she kept making excuses and saying false statements about her returning our emails and such. then she even brought up some up my situation with the other volunteers and well as another volunteer´s problem. she discussed with me in front of everyone how it would be a good opportunity for me to move. i decided to tell her right there that it was not my character to accept a position and then turn away from it. i have a commitment here in vallenar and im staying. it is hard to think at times my friends are enjoying each others company, but i know im learning a lot here. i am challenged everyday. it will only make me stronger.

anyway, enough of that, i was finally able to go on a mini-trip out of vallenar. i went with my friend marco 3 hours south to la serena. it is beautiful there. so many churches, stores, restaurants, an actual mall!, and of course the beach! we even rode horses on the beach. marco and i met up with my friend laura during the day and then i was able to see some other volunteers who came up from their city of ovalle. we met some other chileans who were their friends and spent some time at a house just talking and relaxing. it was wonderful to get away and see my friends. i was able to talk with native english speakers finally in person! the chileans were having a hard time understanding us because we were speaking so fast! now they understand how we always feel!

it was hard to come back to vallenar saturday night. i wanted so badly to stay longer in la serena with everyone, but i realize my commitment here. i do have friends here, a new family, and students who do want to learn. sometimes in does get lonely here. i spend a lot of time alone, and more times than not i just want to sit somewhere and talk with someone for hours and not have any issues with miscommunication. But God is constantly here with me, and when things start getting really bad, somehow they always turn around.

A compliment that surprised me...

2009-09-08T06:23:00.000-07:00

Last night I had a small Spanish lesson with two of the Spanish teachers here. It was fun and so helpful. I am amazed by the people here sometimes, especially by their willingness to give and help with anything.
Anyway, I was walking home last night with my friend Ricardo and he told me that i am making changes at the liceo (high school) even though i seem to not notice it. he said more students are talking english and really trying. i could not believe it. it warmed my heart! he mentioned how people who work at the school "think im cool" as he put it. sometimes i never know when im actually making an impact. i guess sometimes you need to stop, look around, and realize you are doing what you can and probably someone has been touched by what you have done. im sure my friends and family do this everyday as well!

have a wonderful week!

I need motivation

2009-09-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

Im constantly frustrated with having new students or ones who return after two weeks of not coming. This is hard. I do not want to reteach but I have to most of the time because they are so lost. I am having a difficult time moving forward. I wrote this a few weeks ago. I hope I am still working towards it....

I will teach to the best of my ability

I will guide my students in learning what they can in the time allowed

I will work with the tools I have to instill a desire to learn

And I will hope and pray that their own motivation will push them to learn more everyday.

Thanks for reading.

Jen

Things had to get difficult at some point

2009-08-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

So I figured it was time to update...a lot has been happening. At this point in time I am really frustrated with this school and the program. I know things work very differently in Chile, but even as my cooperating teacher acknowledges, thats why things are not progressing as well here as in other countries. Im tired of hearing phrases such as "It´s Chile" as an excuse or "be patient." They joke because I am American and want things accomplished now or done quickly, but maybe thats the reason our country has progressed the way it has. Many Americans have an urgency about them with their work, and here, not at all. I often hear "I´ll do it tomorrow," which is a very popular and well represented phrase in Chile. As for me, I am having trouble with the "be patient" part. Let me explain....

Several issues have come up since last week. Here at the school we had the anniversary celebrations (similiar to the homecoming activities in high school), and half my classes were canceled due to all this. I was not happy when few students actually ended up coming to the classes that were still going on. To top it off, I had a difficult time with many of the activities students were allowed to participate in for the anniversary celebration. . If you saw the pictures you would most likely agree. My colleagues were surprised by my shock, and I shared with them the reality of schools in the states. The movies we produce are not realistic, and they were shocked by the rules my high school had for the students. That is not all...

Last Friday was the formal ceremony for the school and a small after celebration at the school for the staff and some students. It was a nice setup. There were cakes and small appetizers, along with champagne and soda. Of course the champagne was for the adults, but when students are present problems can occur. A student in one of my classes came and stood behind me in the corner. I noticed he had one of the glasses for champagne, and it was empty. I told him that he was not supposed to be drinking. He asked for me to keep it a secret, laughed, and said that I was his friend. I had to make it clear to him that drinking at school is not permitted and I am his professor, not his friend. A coworker, my friend, told me to let it go, and that sometimes it happens. I was upset but did not want to create an issue at that moment. But what happened next made me furious. I watched an inspectora young man who works as one of the security guys (to maintain order and enforce rules at the school), hand a glass of champagne to a female student. I told my friend, who then told another inspector, Roberto. Roberto addressed this inspector and he denied it. Nothing happened after this. The issue was dropped! At that moment I decided I did not care about the excuse "it´s Chile." I could not stand by and participate in an activity where a member of the staff was doing something wrong and nothing was done. I walked, well probably kinda stormed, out of the room. Another teacher noticed I was upset and followed me out. I guess with my blonde hair and expressive face I cant leave unnoticed! I told her how I felt and stayed in the classroom for the rest of the celebration.

On Monday I had a meeting with the director. I expressed my dissatifaction with my classes, the disorganized, the inappropriateness of the anniversary activities, and the incident on Friday. I did this through my cooperating teacher as my translator. She encouraged me to talk with him (she agrees with me) and supported my decision. In regards to the activities, I even mentioned a point about how girls cannot value their bodies, or even the boys cannot value women, if they are allowed to behave this way. But of course even the director had some riduculous excuses for why they can do nothing about it, such as the media influence. To sum it up, he admitted they have no control over it even if they do not like it! I could not believe this was coming from an educated professional...but "it´s Chile!"

As for my classes, since there is lack of communication between teachers and students, they organized a meeting today with all the students who are supposed to be in my classes. Good thing I did not recognize over twenty of the students! So apparently now they know they are supposed to come, but will it happen? Secondly, I am so frustrated by the fact that now I will be getting new additions to my supposed "established classes" and Im going to have to continue reteaching material some students have already learned. This is a mess. Please pray for me to have patience.

Link to photos

2009-08-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

If you have not had a chance to see my photos...here are the links. More to come!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018976&id=171700452&l=b1c171a9fa

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018992&id=171700452&l=7e779871f7

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019175&id=171700452&l=b6163eab2f

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019176&id=171700452&l=abc0f8ecc9

Enjoy!

Wait...What???

2009-08-14T13:17:00.001-07:00

That is what I am thinking quite often. What did you just say?? How am I supposed to do that?? The language barrier causes me to be confused often, but I am enjoying trying to understand what the heck people are talking about. Last night I went to a tea/farewell party with some of the teachers at my school. They love trying to communicate with me, either in English and VERY SLOW Spanish, but other times they just talk quickly to one another. They fill me in between topics. It is pretty funny when they are telling jokes and reach the punchline and everyone laughs...except me. I just say, "no entiendo nada." (and laugh of course)
My job here is going to be challenging, but also very rewarding. The more I have learned about my students and this school this week, the more I desire to help. The students here are in desperate need of attention, someone to care about them, and someone to tell them they are doing a good job. I loved having a new class everday because it gave me and opportunity to show each student that I am excited to work with them and I care about them and how they do in my class. At first the students were closed off (this is typical), but after being in my class for an hour I can happily say I was able to get some form of response from each student. Some laughed at me, others tried to answer my questions, and some just started to pay closer attention to what I was saying.
I must say it still surprises me sometimes how different things are here. I have seen some more girls in my school who are pregnant, and I finally asked how many total are in the school...the answer-21! OH. Its such a problem, but it just keeps going on. The kids in the private schools are the ones with the best education. Two teachers here teach at a local private high school, and the differences are noticeable. The students are more motivated, there are supplies for the students and teachers, and the class sizes are small. Sounds like some parts of the American education system. It´s frustrating, but it´s reality. I just hope to give some students here a boost in confidence, and maybe help some think of different possibilities for their lives. But that takes time, which I do not have here. Four months is going to go by so fast.....
Well Im definitely the talk of the school. People of course notice the blonde hair and green eyes, but its my actions that people are noticing most. The fact that I helped clean my own classroom and move computers people think is crazy. Apparently only the cleaning lady and the "big strong men" are supposed to do those things. I also helped clean off some of the desks of the writing and white out the students love to use. A man at the school was apparently so surprised by this he took a picture! He says he never sees the teachers do these things. Oh, and the fact I drink so much water. Its odd to everyone here. They drink a lot of tea, juice, and soda. I like to walk to and from school. I need the excercise, but this is not normal either. Many people drive or take collectivos! Hey, its only 7 minutes to school. I think I am ok with being the gringa loca. :)

My first week of teaching...or trying

2009-08-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

Well let me back track to this weekend...so great! Much of the extended family came in town so they were all interested in talking with me so I got to practice listening and attempting to speak. I am understanding so much more of what is being said so Im excited about that. The family is quite large, but I love having the little kids around. We spent all day inside on Saturday just eating and talking, eating and talking. It was nice to get to know everyone better. We are now more comfortable with each other than when I first got here.
Sunday was my first holiday experience here, apparently there are a lot of them, so it was fun. It´s called Dia del Ninos, which is the day for the children. There was a festival or little fair in the plaza that I went to with some of the family and their children. I had a great time with the little ones and taking photos.

Yesterday was supposed to be my first day of teaching, but of course nothing was ready. A common saying in Chile is just to leave it for tomorrow (and their attitude towards work applies here). I have to push to get anything done. Initially they wanted to put me in the computer room which I did not find appropriate to teach, so they looked for another room. It is also stated in my volunteer contract I have to have my own classroom but it seems rules are flexible here as well. Yesterday morning I was shown my new classroom, which was also full of computers, but I was told I could make the decision on how the room looks and what I needed taken out and brought in. So I did! I said to take out most of the computers, I needed different desks and chairs, and I needed a white board. Ha Ha. I had about 6 different people working in that room throughout the day. I went home and changed so I could help, which they didnt really understand. Apparently as a teacher I let others do the dirty work. Hell no. I started moving stuff around. Once the computers were out and new tables were brought in, I noticed how much cleaning really needed to be done. The janitor, Senora Irma, was trying to clean with dirty rags from an old bucket with Clorox and water. I said I needed a mop. That took about 30 min. and many people to translate and discuss how I needed a mop and cleaning supplies. They thought I was crazy. I mentioned my asthma and they finally understood. Marcos, a young guy who works on the computers here, volunteered to take me to the store. We finally found a mop, rags, cleaning solution, and a bucket. Just guess how much that all cost. 25 dollars US! no wonder Irma cleans the floors with rags and a pole. ugh. so now im waiting to be reimbursed....
When I came back Irma was already cleaning the floor but I said I needed do to it again later. She didnt want me to clean. It was her job. Her and I are going to need to have a discussion...

Anyway, last night Marcos walked with me around town and showed me different places in Vallenar. It was really fun! I would have never found them on my own or known what they were for. His English is about at the same level as my Spanish, so we go back and forth. Jorge is another computer guy at school and they both want to make sure Im safe and know where to go.
Oh! Im getting lessons in Spanish from one of the Spanish profesores at my school so Im so excited. He is young, 28 years old, so its cool. I am going to help him with his English in return. And it doesn´t hurt that he is cute. Ha ha.

So as you probably could have guessed, I am talked about all over school. So when I showed up this morning and got my bucket and mop ready with the cleaning solution people looked at me like I was crazy. Irma gave me a lecture and took my bucket! I kept saying "But I want to clean!" and she keeps emphasizing it is her job. So we compromised, I mopped the floor, she cleaned the desks and computers. I have the nicest classroom in the school!
(And apparently now everyone knows I went walking around with Marcos last night. Man people know everything! They just talk!)

Well, they are probably a trillion little things I could discuss, but I should probably end it here. Thanks for reading!

so much to say...where do i start???

2009-08-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

well i guess to start, i am safe in my "city" of vallenar. it is in the atacama region which is north of santiago. it is the driest desert in the world. so here it is now winter, so it is chilly at night and in the morning but a good temperature during the day. it is a mining town, for gold, and is self sufficient. the nearest "city" as they would classify it, is copiapo, which is two hours north. they have a decent size city, but it is not in the same terms as in the states. there are six high schools and a center of town where all the shops are and the restaurants. it is actually a very quaint place, and i do appreciate some parts of the lifestyle. yet many things are so different as you can imagine. but i will explain more on that later.
as for me, i am doing so much better than when i first arrived. after getting over the initial shock i think i am really going to love it here. instead of putting so much pressure on myself to be proficient in spanish, i will just learn as i go. even if that sometimes has to be slow. i really see that i may have a purpose here, which is frightening and exciting at the same time.
i have become part of a small group of teachers, most of which are the english teachers, but they have let me into their group. during once, or the chilean midday snack, we have tea and bread. Claudia calls it our tea group. she is adorable. she also has invited me to her home and to join some of the teachers in the morning for tea and bread before classes start. people form very tight knit groups here, so i am blessed that they are including me.
i have observed classes on tues and wed, as well as today, but i must say i am not learning anything from them. the classes seem to just be a place for students to come hang out with friends instead of be out in the workplace. there is not a lot of learning being done. i must say this is hard for me as i am torn between wanting so badly to educate these students yet finding no real purpose for most of them as their lives are already mapped out. maybe i am here to build up some confidence, as many students lack it, or give some students the opportunity to see they have other opportunities. or they can at least provide better for their children. i really do not know.
since i am the only person in the school with green eyes and blonde hair, lets just say i get a lot of looks. and whispers. and whistles. and comments. after one boy attempted to say hello to me, he whistled when i walked away, and i finally turned around and told him no. it was pretty funny. students here know some english in the written form, yet are not able to speak it. there is a missing link because they do not need to practice it. which brought up my question today with my teacher, why do you want them to know how to speak english? the best answer she could give me is because the government now mandates it. but for these kids, they will most likely never come across another english speaking person. they will not go to university, either because they cannot pass the entrance exam or it costs too much to go. even if they get into a public university, many of their families need them here.
my job here is to teach students who are motivated to learn (which is very few) and have a basic knowledge of english. the teachers are going to choose 3 students from each class, preferably with my input, to join one of my classes. so far it looks as if i will be teaching 2 classes each day, mon thru thurs, for 1 1/2 hours. i will be teaching basic and intermediate, but with these students i am not sure if there is much difference. some of the material they may be using could be comparable to what my 5th graders were doing back in the states. then on fridays i may do extracurricular activities. during the week i said i could be available to students for help and assist the music teacher with possibly putting on a program. i am supposed to be teaching 25 hours per week but that is not going to be possible with all the planning i need to do. i have some materials but the box that is supposed to be sent to me is not here yet. so right now i have a makeshift classroom, a board, and anything i can put together. time to get creative!!
Some things i have done so far: learned how to turn on the gas outside to heat the water for a shower, taken a collectivo to and from school (these may sound ridiculous but in a foreign country this is quite an accomplishment), found a computer that skype will work on!, had a conversation last night with my chilean mom and we understood each other in spanish, worked with the music teacher to help her pronounce english words in a song, listened to students sing their songs in english and help them with pronunciation (yes i sang some too) started formulating ideas for my classes, and tonight i have just been asked to speak at the local university to the engineering students. so i may have to talk in front of 50 people. and i have no idea what im supposed to talk about. haha. the thing i have learned here, NEVER EXPECT ANYTHING and you wont be dissapointed. and laugh. because otherwise, i might just end up crying. wish me luck!!!

Welcome to my classroom....

2009-08-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

i work with high school students ages 14 to 19. its a low school many students would be considered poverty level. it is know to have violence and bullying. about 40 girls are mothers. some at just 14 years old. it is said about 5% of the students would even pass the college entrance exam. students just sit in class and talk. listen to music. and draw. one boy drew graffite for an hour and the teacher just sat and talked to me and said nothing. only a few students listen when the the teacher tries to talk over them. some do their work. most do not. the reality for these kids in they will just get through school raise families here. work here. and die here. im am trying to get ready for the biggest challenge of my life.i just have to start from scratch. basic lessons. nothing too hard. i have no materials that i know of so i am going to have to create my own. i have a board and chairs. i cant use the curriculum. they dont even understand it. all the materials and lesson ideas i received in my training are almost useless. the last volunteer said they really did not learn much. ugh. its gonna be just figuring it out by trial and error everyday.

oh. my. goodness.

2009-08-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

since my last post, everything has been a whirlwind. i have a hard time remembering what i did last. on thurs many of us were able to buy tickets for the futbol (soccer) game between the university of chile and argentina. it was pretty fun to go, but definitely crazy. we took the metro to the farther parts outside of chile, then had to walk 20 min and finally found the stadium. the game was fun to watch but i got kinda bored and very tired so some of us left early. friday went as normal, well for most of the day. classes in the morning, and then we were to have our final dinner banquet at the hostel. unfortunately i found out the night before one of my friends i had gotten close to had been robbed and mugged the night before. he was sleeping at the hostel on friday but i was really worried in my classes. i wont go into more details of what happened because i dont need to worry anyone. i am perfectly safe, i just need to be smart. unfortunately he got into a bad situation. he came to the banquet with all of us but he was just semi aware of what was going on. whatever drugs he was given did not wear off for days. i spent all day saturday and the hostel trying to help him get things taken care of such as seeing a doctor and filing a police report. he met a wonderful chilean man named gino who was such a help in all this mess. from all the stress and events of the week i was exhausted. sunday was my last day in santiago, and i spent it looking around town at the sites i had not been able to see.
sunday night, my group, all of those who were going to the atacama region north of santiago loaded on a bus to take us to the bus station. when we got there we were the last to load the bus and 4 people from our group could not get their luggage on. they had to return to the hostel while the other 5 of us loaded the bus. if you can picture this, because i was too overwhelmed to get a picture, its a large double decker bus. the top has semi-camas, which are seats that partially lean back. that is where all the chileans sat. on the bottom were the camas, which was very spacious and had nice seat that fully reclined so we could sleep overnight. it was like first class on a bus. we left santiago at 1030 pm on sunday and on monday we arrived in copiapo at about 8 in the morning. other volunteers in the region and 2 coordinators met us at the station. we then headed to the ministerio de educacion in copiapo. there we had a wonderful welcoming and found out our host families were there to meet us. unfortunately since some of us were left in santiago, a few families were dissapointed. the teacher that i am working with at my school was there, along with the principal and another administrator i believe. my teacher speaks pretty good english, thank goodness, so it eased my mind. at this point i got another surprise. i truly was the only volunteer in my town, Vallenar. i had heard that on thursday but i was not certain. others had said i would have another volunteer with me. the second surprise- instead of teaching basico, or elementary, i was told i would be teaching high school! first thought-holy crap!
i must say i really cannot explain all the emotions running through my mind during this past week and most recently. its a mix of excitement, nervousness, frustration, and despair. lonliness also comes into play.
when i arrived in vallenar, 2 hours south of copiapo, i met my teacher´s mother, whom i am going to be living with, as well as her grandmother and cousin. the grandmother is a little scary since she only has one eye and is very fragile. haha. that sounds horrible doesnt it?
i had lunch and a meeting at the school shortly after i arrived. i met all the teachers and had to give a quick introduction of myself in spanish. i know it was horrible but at least i am partially nieve to how bad i am saying the phrases.
last night was very hard when i could not get skype to work at the internet cafe. i started crying there. i was just so overwhelmed and exhausted i broke down. my teacher took me to her sisters house to use the computer. it took awhile but i finally was able to talk to my mom! i have not been so happy to hear her voice in quite a while!
i got rest last night. today has been much better. i observed my first 3 english classes. that is another story all by itself which i will explain later. lets just say education here is comparable to inner city schools where no one is learning anything. i am going now to have tea with the other english teachers. i will try and post pictures on a blog soon. pics can explain more than i can! chao!

Salsa!

2009-07-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

Last night we got to go salsa dancing in santiago! i was so excited. i found another girl to go with so it was nice to go just the two of us instead of such a large group. we went to another area of the city called providencia, and there we took a salsa lesson at the restaurant habana. it was just 2 couples and a single guy. he turned out to be french which was interesting. i paired with him and dana was with the instructor. we danced for about 2 hours! the best part was when i was counting to the beat in spanish, my partner in french, and the instructor in english. well it was funny to me, maybe you had to be there ¨:). we went with the guys to a sushi restaurant and i had the best white choc mousse. two of the guys spoke spanish fluently. they had a good time with the fact that i sound like an idiot. we missed the metro on the way back, so instead of walking forever back it took us a half hour to figure out the right bus back to the hostel. good times! some chileno guys asked to take us for a beer so i finally got to practice my spanish. it was choppy and confusing, we definitely had to do a lot of charades. but im so happy i tried. it was prob the best night out so far. a neat experience. well im off to another orientation class. this is getting pretty tiring. Hasta luego!

its really only been 3 days?!

2009-07-27T16:13:00.000-07:00

i feel like i have not slept in quite awhile...my plane got in on saturday around 730 in the morning. did not sleep for long on the plane and it was just go go go from then on. a person did not meet me at the airport, but a chilean security guy saw me with all my bags and decided to take over and help me out. he walked me through the checkpoint and got me set up with my ride to the hostel. i must say it is quite an experience walking out of the airport to a crowd of people with signs and taxi drivers etc. when the doors blew open i realized just what others meant by it being frigid down here.
i arrived at the hostel with others having already been there for a week with another program and we all just started trickling in. i love the hostel environment. everyone has such interesting stories and reasons for coming out here. i think a lot of the reason we all connect so well is we are all looking for an adventure. something different than what most would normally do.
the day was really long having been up since 5 am on the plane. we arrived, settled in, then started exploring. we walked quite a ways around the part of Santiago we are staying in. i went with a group of about 10 girls. lets just say we were quite the spectacle. people looked us up and down, some boys followed us for a bit, and when we sat outside at a restaurant outside people just walked by and stared. its pretty funny. the tall guys, especially this black guy lester get a lot of comments and looks.
anyway, met a few people from colorado which is neat. this one guy goes to school in boulder and we have been hanging a bit. we didnt really want to go and a get wasted like everyone the first night so we just walked around the city. apparently you have to be pretty careful at night and keep your belongings close because there are plenty of ways you will get robbed.
i think i have the hardest time with all the stray dogs. i mean everywhere you go you see them! the are ignored and just hang out in the streets. i finally petted one, he was so sweet. it really breaks my heart but ill have to get over it.
sunday we woke up late and bought cell phones and went to lunch with a chilean guy another girl knows. about two girls in the group speak spanish well so the rest of us kind of sit back and listen. i must say i understand more than i even dare to speak. it is much more difficult than anyone could expect. the biggest thing is gaining confidence, but that takes time.
i went to a viking restaurant for wine with the guy from colorado. it was so cool. the restaurant was so uniquely decorated. and for a $5 dollar bottle of wine it was so so good.
today was the first day of orientation. so long. i hated sitting in a chair and listening to everything. after that we were put into our classes for spanish lessons. its great because the profesora speaks in spanish only and you just have to figure it out. best way to learn.
tonight we were going to gym and a bible study but we missed the guy we were going to meet. so my friend, jeremy, he went and im here at some random internet cafe in the nice part of santiago. i really need sleep....there is so many more little things i could talk about but i guess thats all for now! chao.

12 days and counting!

2009-07-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's starting to set in that Im leaving soon. Very soon. Im trying to get everything in order while still working a lot and trying to see my friends. Im getting a tad overwhelmed. Also, as volunteers apparently we have to complete three different assignments for our program and do some Spanish tutorial. Trust me, Im not complaining about that, I can use any help they offer. Its just I need to finish the first one before I leave and the site we are registered on (it's like facebook for Chile volunteers), it does not have a link for my assignment. Or maybe Im missing it completely. Others are writing blog posts introducing themselves in Spanish. For some reason I think that might be what I have to do. Yet if I can barely speak Spanish, how am I supposed to write it?! So...kinda not sure how this is going to get done. Solution? Email the guy who sent the link and ask him what exactly it is that I need to do :) Hopefully he gets what Im saying in my email.

So this blog is pretty much a rant, I know, but it's part of getting ready to go! I have still yet to hear of my exact placement and the family I will be living with for the duration of my assignment. Apparently we learn about these right before we leave.

Departure date and time: July 24th 3:38 pm.

Getting ready to head out on a jet plane...

2009-06-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

Packing has never been my strong suit. Im always nervous I am going to forget something or I will not have that one thing I need when I get down there. When I first got accepted into the Chile program, I had it in my mind that it was going to be warm down there. But much to my surprise, its winter down there! Apparently hemispheres make a difference. :) So after having already purchased some warm season clothes for down there, I had to switch it up. I am now sorting through my winter clothes trying to find things that are not too heavy that I can take down. I bought two new fleeces and a rainjacket so hopefully that will keep me warm enough. Apparently in the region I am headed to it can get to below 30 degrees.

I still need to figure out what Im going to do without a laptop. I bought a new camera so I guess Ill just burn cds of my pictures. Without access to my music, I guess Im bringind down cds!

I am leaving on the 24th of July and returning the 16th of December. I am going to travel down there for two weeks after I am done with the program. Hopefully one of my friends is coming down to travel with me for a week, otherwise I will try to do it on my own!

Chao!