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Hola mis amigas!
So, if anyone actually even reads this, I apologize for the
delay! The past week has been a whirlwind. I know I haven’t written much, or at
all, about what I have actually DONE here so far. I don’t anticipate that this
blog will work like a journal; I want to share a combination of my experiences
here, but also my observations and reflections about traveling/living abroad
and Chilean culture as a whole.
Having said that though- I do want to share what I’ve been
up to. So without further ado, here are the highlights of the past week:
Orientation with Teaching Chile:
Okay, so this was over a week ago (actually it was our
second day here…) but this was when we met with our program coordinators,
Andrea and Bruce. They gave us the run down about what to expect here and they
focused mainly on safety. Chile is the safest documented country in South
America, HOWEVER, it, ironically, has the highest rate for petty theft. Pick-pocketing,
snatching phones or cameras out of peoples hands, etc. They gave us a free
strap that buckles that allows ones bag to be secure to your belt loop. Too bad
I wear a lot of skirts and dresses! But no worries, I am a master of guarding
my bag like gold on the subway, and I use a lot of cross body bags, which are
much harder for thieves. I never carry more money than I need on me and I only
bring my camera when I feel the journey may lead to new photos. I also lock up
my valuables in my room in my locked suitcase, and have a bike lock that
attaches to the foot of my bed. It may sound a little overboard, but better
safe than sorry! And so far so good! I had a scare earlier today when I
couldn’t find my iPod, but I realized it was tucked away in my computer case.
But of course, why would I think to check where it should be?!
We also got our Chilean cell phones- it’s so tiny and basic!
Figures, I get an iPhone for Christmas and within 2 months I’m back to an old
school phone. But it was super nice of them to purchase them for us and put
some money on them and it is a relied not to have to walk around using an
expensive phone. We also got our BIP! Card which functions both as a subway and
bus card. But man that money goes fast. I was thinking at first how nice it
would be not to drive and worry about gas, but it probably evens out
considering how much money I’ve already put on and used with this card!
Exploring Cerro San Cristóbal:
We were told that are two “hills” (cerros) here that are very well known and beautiful places to visit
in Santiago. The “little” one, Santa Lucía, we planned to explore first, but
once we learned there was a pool halfway up the bigger one, Cerro San Cristóbal,
we were sold. However, everyone was so exhausted after our first weekend in
Santiago (more about that later!) that we all slept in, and didn’t really get
to the base of the hill until 4. The pool closed at six, and as it cost $6,000
CLP ($12 USD) we figured we would wait until we could make a full day out of it
to go to the pool. But we hiked on until we got to the top! Two hours later,
after stopping to take pictures and take in breathtaking views, we made it to
the top and stood under the towering Virgin Mary statue. Us “Gringas” (Spanish
word for foreigner that can vary from derogatory to endearing, depending on how
it is used) stood out like a sore thumb among the Chileans, who clearly took a
taxi to the top, as many of them were dressed up. For many it was their last
day of summer, it’s back to school time here! We took a bit of a short cut back
down and made it home before dark. The following Sunday we planned better. We
got up early (well, before noon) packed some sandwiches, and spent the day at
the pool. It was glorious. There are gorgeous trees all around and you can see
the mountains all around you while you swim in the giant pool or bask in the
sun. Speaking of the latter, I got quite the interesting sun burn! But it
wasn’t awful- I tried to reapply sun screen as much as I could, and by the next
day it had calmed down. Unfortunately the pool closes for Fall on the 14th,
and as I have my first class to teach tomorrow (more about that later, too!) it
looks like it’s adios to paradise for now!
The Language Company:
Okay, so now we’re at why exactly I’m here! I will spend my
time here in Santiago, Chile as an English teacher for The Language Company.
They serve both youth and adults in Santiago who wish to learn English to
broaden their opportunities in life. Currently Chile has about a 3% English
fluency rate. The President has made it a national agenda to make Chile a
bilingual country. This is where we come in. Teaching Chile is a company that
started as a purely volunteer organization called English Opens Doors. It
expanded when a past participant, our coordinator Bruce, decided to put his
business background to use. He founded Teaching Chile where native English
speakers would come to Chile to teach English and earn a teacher’s salary, thus
making it more accessible to young people who wish to travel and work abroad while
simultaneously benefitting more Chileans as with more teachers, they will have
more exposure and opportunities to learn English. They send teachers to work in
schools (“colegios”), universities,
or other agencies (TLC!!) to receive teaching placements. There are about 65
Teaching Chile participants at the moment, and 15 of them, including myself,
are directly employed with The Language Company.
Within TLC, you will
either work with children or adults/businessmen to wish to learn English. I
believe I will be teaching mostly if not all children, which I am very excited
about! It’s been awhile since I’ve been in the classroom and I’m excited to get
back at it! Though technically, that “classroom” may be their living room. TLC
sends teachers to the clients’ home or office, which is a pretty cool concept
when you think about it. Remember taking a foreign language class in school?
Trying to memorize things and engage in dialogues when there are 20 other
people around, either distracting or judging you, and you have a million other
things on your mind instead of conjugating verbs. TLC makes learning both
organic and fun. Children will feel comfortable learning in their home
environment and generalizing their English skills to objects in their home and
activities they do- (and likewise businessmen in their offices) it makes it so
much more personal! Plus a full analysis is done on each “client” so you know
exactly what level they are at, what areas they need improve, and the areas
either they or their parents wish to be focused on. TLC also encourages games,
as sessions generally meet only once or twice a week. To maximize retention,
children (and adults!) need to be fully present and engaged, and what better
way to do that then to make it fun? I planned my first lesson which is
happening tomorrow from 6:00-7:30. It is a group of 3rd grade
triplets! I was told though that I would work with each student one on one for
30 minutes, so it will be nice to get to know each of them on a personal level.
I will definitely post about how that goes later this week!
Last week we had a full week of orientation. The TLC office
is absolutely beautiful. Everyone who works there was once a teacher
themselves, and thus they are extremely friendly, helpful, and quite funny as
well! I really can’t say enough good things about these people, especially the
HR manager, Emily. The woman is a saint. Everyone took turns doing various
presentations on everything from icebreakers/getting to know you games to
behavior management and logistics such as paperwork and tax forms. Emily though
has also held several (both official and impromptu) sessions on
apartment-hunting, a topic that is the bane of my existence at the moment I
can’t even bare to elaborate on it! She has called people for us, set up
appointments, and for those who speak no Spanish, gone or arranged for other admin.
workers to go with them. At the end of the week, we had a “social event” mixer
at a bar/restaurant near our hostel. They graciously told us the first round
was on the house, but as we proceeded with the night, continuing to buy food
and drinks, one of the founders showed up, and further extended the company’s
financial generosity. Have I mentioned how much I love these people?!
Food, Drinks, Nightlife and Hostel Fun!
While there are times when sharing a room with four other girls is difficult
and the lack of privacy and, more importantly wifi and hot water, at times, are
rather annoying, I am really enjoying my rent free time at our hostel. I’ve
never stayed at a hostel before, but I had pretty bleak expectations. Our place
is really pretty beautiful though. Everything is painted in vibrant covers, we
get free breakfast, staff who clean our rooms daily (usually..) and a beautiful
courtyard and backroom that host both planned parties and hang out spots on the
week night. It’s like being back in the dorms in college again! I really will
miss everyone once we find our own apartments.
The food to eat: empanadas. It is similar in nature to a crêpe, in that it’s a
breaded substance that you can stuff with anything, but they are so much
thicker! They don’t have quite as many kinds (at least not that I’ve seen) but
two popular ones are Queso (cheese) and Pino (a combination of beef, onion, a
part of a hard boiled egg, and an olive). They are delicious quick and cheap
meals!
The drink to drink: pisco sour. It’s essentially a popular
type of liquor that you can mix with virtually anything, though the two popular
ones are sprite or coke (“pisco sour” or “pisco coke”). I haven’t explored
greatly the vino here (Chile is quite
famous for their wine!!), though I did find a delicious Sauvignon
Blac that I enjoy- that is from a local vineyard. The hostel hosts
Bike & Wine tours, where you literally bike in the vineyards. I definitely
want to try that!
I’ve also found coffee rather strange here. It seems like it’s
either instant coffee (NesCafe) or espresso. There is no middle ground! There
is a dunkin donuts at the sub centro of our metro and I didn’t even see just “coffee”
on the menu. So far the hostel coffee is so-so, resulting in my severe
undercaffination until I get to the TLC office. BUT the instant coffee here is
actually pretty good. Not as strong as the real stuff, but much better than the
instant I had back in the states
The place to go at night: Barrio Bellavista. There are tons
of restaurants, clubs, and bars to go to within walking distance. The hostel
got us in for free at this great club called Urban on both Friday and Saturday
night of our first weekend AND gave us a one free drink voucher. We had so much
fun both nights. We got some salsa lessons on Saturday, and later danced the
night away to a combination of both Spanish and English dance songs. I
instantly knew I was at home when EVERYONE freaked out when Danza Kuduro came
on!!
Subways, Buses, and Spanish, oh my!
Now, those of you who know me, know that directions aren’t
exactly my forte. And my Spanish is rusty and so-so at best. Good thing I chose
to live in the capital of a Spanish speaking country where I am totally
dependent on pubic transportation! But I also love a challenge. The first few
days were super overwhelming, and I’d be lying if I said I still wasn’t
overwhelmed, but I never expected this to be easy. Every teacher knows that’s
now how you learn! The metro is pretty straightforward though. It’s actually a
beautifully run system, it is clear and color coordinated, and very clean, as
they close around 11:30 to keep it looking nice. There is one large exception
though: rush hour. Oh sweet Jesus. This is not for the faint of heart, overly
polite, and definitely not for the claustrophobic. Imagine the most crowded you
have been on a subway and multiply that by at least 10. I experienced this
after my first day of orientation when Deirdre and I decided to check out the
mall after work. Mind you, that put us about 4 or 5 stops from our destination
instead of 8 as the mall was in between “work” and “home”. We were warned that it would be crowded
during rush hour, but I never expected the extent to which it would be.
Countless people pushed their way on at every stop we made, pushing us farther
and farther back from the one and only door that opens. I practically took some
poor bystander out with my hangers that I had purchased. Luckily a lot of
people seem to get off at our stop, so we didn’t have to shove too hard to get
off. But- the solution to this we learned, is obviously to avoid traveling at
this time OR just get to the side of the door, grab the bar, and hold on for
dear life- don’t move!!
I’ve had less experience with the buses, but they will soon
become a part of my daily commute as I begin my lessons. I rode it for the
first time today as I did a trial run about how to get to my first class just
to make sure I knew where everything was (which was a success!). We were told
the buses could be equally crazy- in that they don’t always stop at every stop
if people aren’t there. Thus, you must be very vigilant about when you need to
get off, either pushing the button ahead of time, telling the driver when you
get on where you need to get off, or both. However, I had an absolutely lovely
time on the bus today! Granted I rode it around 4, which is far before rush
hour and far before when my class will be tomorrow… But it was very pleasant.
One of my bosses advised when helping me plan the route that I get off a few
stops before the actual stop where I NEED to get off, incase for some reason
the driver were to fly past it (the next stop for this route would be very far
away, in which case, good bye class). So I simply asked the driver when getting
on if he would stop there, he said yes, and then he reminded me as we were
getting close. All in Spanish I might add, haha. I know it’s pretty basic, but
it’s good to know I can ask for and receive directions when I am traveling
around the city. I don’t always get 100% of what is said back to me, so
sometimes gesturing is necessary, as is smiling and nodding, and asking another
person a little while later. We learned that it is typical of Chilean culture
to want to help people so much they may give false directions as it is more
favorable to them than saying they don’t know. So always ask at least two
people! But it’s true that Chileans are so eager to help. Later when getting
back on a different bus to go home, the driver told me when I enquired that it
wasn’t in fact the correct bus, but he gave me detailed instructions about how
to get to the correct one. Then while on the correct bus, the person sitting
next to me asked where I was going, and as we approached it, he along with
another person who overheard us, reminded me we were close. Sometimes it pays
off to be a Gringa!
My class schedule is extremely light this week, so before I
get more work in the weeks to come, I may take a weekend trip with some friends
to a nearby beach town called Viña del Mar and it’s neighboring famous town Valparaiso.
Stay tuned for updates about how my first class went, and how this weekend
adventure pans out.
¡Hasta entonces!