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

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!!!