primera semana de escuela

So my first week of school is OVER. It has been a VERY long week. Good, but long.


The first day (Monday) I woke up in time! It took me a lot longer to get ready for school because it is hard to creep around a hostel, trying not to wake up anybody. Luckily the phone also has a handy dandy flashlight in it. It was pouring rain when I woke up, perfect for my first day. Luckily, my new purse had an umbrella built into it. I grabbed some tea and bread and quickly walked to the Metro Banquedano. This metro station is HUGE, granted it is one of the main ones in Santiago. It was a bit of a maze (since I used the red line entrance and not the green line entrance), but I made my way down deep in the ground to the green line (Linea 5). I rode it all the way until I got to Laguna Sur and walked a few blocks into my school. I was let into the large red building and have got to say, first impression is ¨This looks like a prison yard from TV¨. There is a large open and paved yard in the center, and on the perimeter are the classrooms. If you go up the stairs, there are three flights of floors, and they all have a set of classrooms that are on the perimeter of the yard. So you can be standing on the third floor and look down into the courtyard. The middle area has a hanging overhead to protect from rain, but you are still basically outside. Therefore, it doesn't really matter what you wear on top since you are wearing your jacket all day. 

I met with all the jefes (bosses) where I had the look of a deer in headlight since I did not understand a word that they were saying to me. Then I met with the head of the English Department. There are four English teachers in my school, 2 girls, 2 guys, and I spent an English class with each of them in all different grades. Instead of saying freshman (9th), sophomore (10th), junior (11th), and senior (12th), they say primera (1), segundo (2), triecera (3), and cuarto (4). The classrooms are theirs, not the teacher's. They stay in the room for the entire day while the different teachers come into their room. Therefore they are with the same students for the entire day, and basically their entire school "career".  They are separated by their field of concentration: tourism, marketing, secretarial, telecommunications, engineering, etc. Therefore in one class, they were all boys except for one girl. The majority of classes have about 45 people. I basically observed the teacher teach the lesson, and then would help groups of students with the activity. It was impossible for me NOT to speak Spanglish, even though the program aims for 100% of English during the class. The class is a double period of 1hr and 30min and then after each session of 1 hr. 30 min., the kids get a 15 minute break. The students call out when they want. They kind of lie on each other and snuggle if they are pollolos (boyfriend/girlfriend) and there is always usually some buzz of talking. In some classes, they talk but still pay attention and do their work, and in other times, they just don't do anything. So that part is the same as America.

So I only had 4 different classes, but was teaching all the same material. The day was good, and I had lunch with one of the teachers (I think she really misses the American who was here last semester) and was done at 3:15. I took the metro back, ready to relax at the hostel, but SO MANY teaching Chile people arrived there and had taken over the hostel. Everyone is really nice and chill, there are just a lot of us and I was pretty pooped from the day and wasn't being very gregarious.

Tuesday, I went to a "sister school," called Colegio de Alma Mater. It is where Christina (the woman who interviewed me and is from Boston) works. She is the vice principal there and also the Director/Coordinator of the English Program. I was there to train, to watch her teach and get my schedule. On Mondays (8:15-3:15), Tuesdays (11:30-6), Wednesdays (9:45-5:30), Thursdays (9:45-5:30), and Friday (9:45-1:00). Tuesdays I teach teachers English after school. Early Fridays is pretty sweet!!!

To get to Colegio de Alma Mater, I had to take the red line, transfer to the blue line, wait for Christina, then transfer to the BlueA line, then wait on the street for the principal to pick us up since the school is in a REALLY bad area. Basically, a pain. I just followed Christina around and covered classes with her if the teacher wasn't there. Teachers can just not show up to school and can not be in school for basically any "medical reason", like being work-related sadness. The administration can't fire anyone until the end of the school year. And if you worked at the school for 10 years, you get 10 months pay when you leave. When we went to different classes that day, we allowed the students to ask me any questions they wanted. Where I was from, if I had a boyfriend, what I liked to do, etc. I answered in English and had over-exaggerate EVERYTHING, my words and movements. Lots of repetition and very slowly. I realized, I really can teach this in ALL English and the kids will all benefit. 

I was supposed to return back to my school, but there is a lot going on there. There are three sister schools that are owned by the same owner (Colegio de San Mateo (mine), Colegio de Alma Mater, and Colegio de Hannover. Colegio de Hannover has been under construction for a while, and they were supposed to be back up and running by the start of classes in July. During the construction, half the students were relocated to my school, and half to another location. The parents and students are annoyed that Colegio de Hannover are not back in their original school and have been told that it might be AT LEAST another two months. On Tuesday, in protest, Hannover was taken over and San Mateo was almost taken over. Taken over, I think, means that the people sneak inside the gated school and take chairs and tables outside, pointing the legs through the gate to show they got taken over. They said that they were not going to leave until the construction was finished. But how can the workers finish the construction if the students have taken over the school.... TV Coverage of the Takeover

Just to be safe, I went to Alma Mater on Wednesday and Thursday. And on Wednesday, San Mateo was taken over. However, both days were pretty much the same. I went into school at 8 am and left at 6 pm. Working with the kids was good and they for the most part are pretty receptive of me. At Alma Mater, there are kids from kindergarten to 12th grade so it is really bright, lively, energetic. It also has a BEAUTIFUL view of the Andes Mountains [wish I got a picture of it :(]. It has a similar layout to my school but is more colorful and youthful. But I was glad to be back at my school on Friday. I was there from 8-11:15, which was awesome. I like my school since that's what I thought was going to be mine from the getgo. It is also WAY easier to get to, just a green metro ride away and a short walk. Also the teachers are nicer to me and that helps. I took a nice looong nap to catch up on my sleep deprived week. And got a nice hot shower and am now just waiting for people so we can go out to eat at Bellavista. 

   

Alma Mater School from the courtyard, which is similar to my school, 

but it does not have an overhanging to protect from weather and is more courtyard-esque, while my school is more basketball court-esque.

Other highlights of the week:

• Regina left for Rancagua :(
• I missed out on a lot of festivities at the hostal for school... oh well, I'll catch up to it later.
• There was a "barbeque" at the hostal, which had some amazing looking food. I didn't pay and eat it though because I had already eaten barbeque at school for lunch. There was a really high attendance rate in a sixth grade class, so they through them a lunch in the courtyard. I got to sit with sixth graders and chat with them.
• Students are amazed that Christina and I are both "gringas" or basically that I am a "gringa," since I am asian. She has to tell them repeatedly that Americans can all look different.
• I looked at an apartment after work on Wednesday, but it was quite a trek since I went from the Blue line to the blue line to the red line, to the green line, the metro skipped my stop, and then I had to walk to see the apartment. It is with two Chilean teachers (so I can practice my Spanish with them). The place is really small, but I don't need much. The price is really good for the area and it is right across from the Green Line, which is perfect for me. So we will see how the apartment search goes. I will try to get my own place by January and then that way people can visit me, and have more space...
• New people are ALWAYS coming to the hostal so it is impossible to just come home and go to bed. You must talk to at least 7 people for half an hour before getting some shut eye. At the same time, people are leaving now to go to their "real" school locations.
• Christina gave me an electric blanket, but I don't think it works :( Oh well, nice of her to give it to me.

Santa Clause is coming to town

People in my hostel during the Chile and sopapillas night

(US, Australia, Holland, Spain, Chile, England)

So I was planning on updating this everyday, but I got tied up the past few days... but here is what happened... I will just update a little later than planned

Sunday 7/23

Let me just start this off by saying: its pretty sad, but my arm is kind of sore from carrying all the heavy groceries.

Well for the real highlights of the trip... the sopapillas (which are a deep fried pumpkin pastry with salsa on top) were awesome, as well as the mulled wine (warm with cinnamon and oranges). Regina arrived!!! I tried waiting up a bit beacuse I was worried that she wouldn´t get into the building. At our hostel, they lock the gate during night for security reasons and the doorbell is hidden from the street---I dont know how I would have known if she arrived, but nonetheless I tried to wait. Finally went to bed and woke up to 2 people walking in the room. It felt like Christmas morning when Regina got here, as if I was peeking to see if Santa was really coming down the chimney. Sure enough, Regina arrived at 4 a.m. We silently screamed and hugged each other. I ran out of the room so I could talk to her and I fell flat on my butt/back. It was actually quite a graceful and painless fall. (The floors are slippery and I am a goof.) We finally went back to bed so we could start the morning off.

Ronna, Karen, Regina, and I, followed by Sam (another TeachingChile person who is living in the same city as Regina in Rancagua) all went out to lunch in Patio Bellavista. It is a short walk away and is filled with bars and restaurants. It is a really cute area and I can´t wait to try out more places there. Then we girls dashed out since we realized we were going to be late for our free walking tour if we did not book it! We somehow got there in time, but this day was not very warm. It was quite chilly and none of us were dressed the part. We walked around for 3-4 hours and got a pretty personal tour from 2 locals on good and bad places to dine, drink, party, see art, shops, etc---all your typical touristy things. There are a lot of places that I saw and wanted to go to, but at a later time and as its own event, such as Pablo Neruda´s house and hiking up a large hill with the VIrgin Mary on the top with a ¨fabulous view of the city.¨Besides that, here are some of the things I learned:

1) The downtown area is DEAD on Sundays and the majority of shops are closed. Must come back on the weekdays.

2) There are tons of stray dogs in Santiago but the Chileans take very good care of them. They get clothed and fed on the streets and it is very normal for dogs to accompany you on your walk. After all we did have one dog follow us around for the tour. He must have been very interested in the culture. They are pretty harmless and just looking to kill a little time by hanging out with you. They are also medium to large sized breeds of dogs. According to the tour guide, Carolina, who was very nice and plays in an alternative rock band, the mayor of Santiago is trying to get rid of the dogs on the street. He plans on doing this by making it illegal to help the dogs. This in turn would make the dogs hungry and mad, attacking humans, so when they do, the city can gather them all up and kill them. Apparantly this has already been done in Valpariaso. Que triste. Sorry Rachel (besides the filth of them, you would go crazy oggling at all the dogs)

3) Chileans are very politically active and there are multiple education protests going on around the city. The one that we witnessed walking around were university students are running around the city, carrying a flag for 1000+ hours. According to Carolina and Javier (owner of tour), they have extremely creative and non-threatening ways of protesting.

4) Christina knows what she is talking about.The things that the tour guides and locals were telling me to do, are the things that Christina already recommended to me. Good taste!

5) Santiago rocks and I can´t wait until I am a local!

After the tour, we rested a bit and went out to dinner. Karen, Regina and I went back to Calle BellaVista and Pio NoNo to eat at a Chilean restaurant that Javier recommened. Upon arriving inside, I mutually recognized some Brazilians who were vacationing around South America and are staying at our hostel. We joined tables with them and ate and drank for hours. We ate, they drank. They were really cool guys and their English was excellent, which we found out they learned from friends. Not friends like personal friends, but American TV sitcom Friends. To say the least, a laughed A LOT during that dinner. We were supposed to meet with other people from our hostel at a Salsa Club so we all went on a journey. I doubted her, but good ol´Regina got us there. It looked a bit dead so we instead decided to go to another bar to chill. After a lot of walking around and a lot of conversing, we retired to a nondescript restaurant that kind of smelled in the front.. The back was better and we had a typical chill night out drinking. No boobies, but we did play ¨swaying, pass the quarter game¨. Went to bed around 3:30 to 4 and had to wake up at 7 for my first day of work. ¡Oh vey!

Me, Regina, Sam, Karen, Ronna

     

Parque Forestal with our new best friend

Spicy Chile Walking Tour

($300 a night to stay in the hotel behind us)

Good company, food, and beers with the Brazilians

I am extremely tired from two long days at school. There is a lot to tell and a lot going on. I want to do it all justice since I find it VERY interesting! However, I do not have the strength to do it now. I am so tired and running on about 7 hours of sleep in 2 days. Love you all! Thanks for your patience!

So this is winter in Chile

I spent my first real day here in Chile, which is amazing thus far. It is crazy that it has only been a day and a half because it definitely feels longer.

I got to my hostel, Hostal Providencia, (http://www.hostalprovidencia.com/) where I was greeted with a welcome package from TeachingChile. There was a convenient plug converter so no worries about my computer dying! Took a little nap in my 8-person shared hostel room, where I woke up with a very cold nose and chilly feet. In my room are two other TeachingChile girls, one from LA (Ronna) and one from Australia (Karen) who uses cool lingo. Man, I love accents. They are both Filipino so now I am finally a part of an asian posse. We went to a little hole in the wall place where I got salad, soda, bread, fish, rice, and dessert for like 3.500 pesos, which is roughly $7. What a steal! Had an early night since we were all tired from the day of traveling.

I woke up this morning again to the cold, followed by a hot shower. Got to say, I miss America for the nice hot, plumbing. This is something I am not going to like getting used to---standing there freezing trying to adjust the hose-like stream of water to become something warm, as well as standing in my bath water. Then it was time for breakfast in the hostel's cute and colorful dining room, which was also free. I am going to have to take advantage of the free cereal, bread, and instant coffee.

I then met with Andrea from TeachingChile for my personal 1-on-1 orientation, in the dining room (super convenient), since I am the only person that starts work and training on Monday. I got to hear all the fun terror stories of Chile, where I learned what I already knew...the thieves here are crafty and swift-so I must be craftier and extremely cautious in the streets. I already am walking with my purse over my shoulder, in front of me, with the important stuff locked up inside the bag. Andrea was extremely nice and helpful! I wish I got to meet Bruce, but he is sick. We then went to the mall so I could get photos taken. The mall was huge and very American-esque. I got to take the metro back to the hostel all by myself like a big girl and joined Ronna and Karen for lunch. I got a "burger" simple, which was just thinly sliced meat on bread. However their "fancier" burgers had so much mayo on it that... let's just say, I am glad I got the burger plain and they won't be looking at mayo for a while.

We then strolled around the town, heading to Plaza de Armas. In one block I passed by a guy dressed as Homer Simpson, and a real live llama!!! How cool is that?! Everywhere there are the Andes Mountains in the background, which have snow on the tops!!We walked through Parque Forestal, which runs through a ton of Santiago. There is a ton of PDA on the streets (and for my parents: PDA stands for Public Displays of Affection, also known as making out). It was so nice out! I was walking around in T-shirt, jeans and boots. Granted it gets cold at night, but when the sun is out, it feels like a beautiful warm autumn day!

(L-R, Ronna, me, Karen at Plaza de Armas)

Finally we did a little grocery shopping and headed back to the hostel, where I am resting on my bed and feeling like a giant since I am on the bottom bunk. I will try to take a nap and maybe watch some of the Wire. But then at 21:00 (they do army time here), there is dinner in the hostel of Chilean food, wine, and dancing. So we will check that out and possibly go out. Regina is en route and will arrive here late tonight! Can't wait!!! Sorry it was so long, but thanks for checking in!

P.S. The time here is the exact same as in Jersey and the East Coast. My bad!
P.P.S. I got my cell phone, the number is 06-650-7623, and I get all incoming calls and texts for free. So call 011-56-96-650-7623. I'll try to find out how to send a text! Or call through Skype: pick Chile for the country code then type in 96-650-7623.

24 horas... and then some

I started this journey 24 hours ago from Margate, NJ and have now almost reached my final destination in Providencia, Chile. For only being on a plane for a little over 10 hours, this was a very long trip. However thankfully I am in one piece with all of my original luggage on dry, cold yet dry land in Santiago. I must thank the parents for putting up with me this morning in my dazed and confused state. I started the journey out at the wrong airline and then they paid for and repacked my extremely overweight luggage. 

It is interesting how very different everyone looks in Chile, yet they all will open their mouths and speak perfect, fluent Spanish. I hope to be one of those people soon...where people expect only to hear English or broken Spanish, but instead they hear grammatically and perfectly-pronounced Spanish. That will be awhile. Instead they get to listen to me read off the menu and recite the words that I had to formulate and practice in my head for 5 minutes. This is why my first meal just consists of a coffee, eggs, and bread. Es muy deliciouso pero es muy simple. I must be braver at just speaking up!

Now I am going to wait for Christina and watch some of the Wire before my computer battery dies. Must get a plug converter...

bienvenidos

Welcome to my very first blog! So my original plan for my first post was to say farewell to the United States and show off my new Chilean-ready hairdo. I was prepared to do this by taking a photo with my mother's garden as a pretty, scenic, and homey background. However, my plans were thwarted since the little webcam does not like to take large-sized photos. When I finally gave up and went back into the house so I could continue packing, I came to discover that the door jammed and locked me out of the house. Mission FAILED.

Luckily, I did have my computer and internet access. So my lovely sister then called up my parents to let them know of my sad status. My mom will be home in an hour to let me in. Maybe I'll go kayaking while I'm out here waiting...