I love days like these

Tuesday... busy day
1. School: Woke up, went to school, saw a lot of San Mateo students standing by the metro. When I asked one student why he wasn't in school, he said "Toma." I walked to the school and sure enough the school was taken over. There were desk and chair legs sticking out through the bars of every possible entrance to the school. A few students were sitting guard to make sure that intruders did not come in. After searching for the teachers, I found two walking back into a back building behind the parking lot or "car park". I waited there for about an hour just to be told that there will be no school until Monday. Go home. Sure glad I made the trek... couldn't even get good pictures since my camera's battery was dead from the weekend.

 The only two pictures I got before my camera died. Chairs and desks shoved up against the fence to show that the school has been taken over. 

2. Karen: I had told Karen the day before that I could not eat at Maritas because I had school. Since that turned out to be false, to Maritas we went. I stopped by the hostel to get some ski information since we all have been itching to go. It costs around 70.000 pesos for one person to get ski equipment, lift ticket, transportation, and clothes. We might have to wait til paycheck, who knows. Still pretty pricey. Well then we walked to my place, then Santa Lucia, then Plaza de Armas, where I finally got to use the post office, and then I went back home while Karen went to make lesson plans.

3. More of the unplanned: I went home and then ended up going back to the hostel. Hung out there a bit with the same crew, Kelsey, Piper, Dan, Cori, and Jamie. We all decided not to go skiing, but now I don't have to rent clothes since apparently I can fit into Dan's pants! Good or bad thing? We went to Dalai Lomo and then I peaced out so I could meet up with Jorge for our first lesson. When I got there, he didn't answer the cell or apartment phone, so I just waited in the lobby. In Chile all of the houses are behind fences and to get in an apartment, there is always a doorman/receptionist. If you don't live in the building, you must give your name and apartment number so they can make sure with the tenants that it is okay that you are there. I made my final call to him and was let up... out session started 15 minutes late. We literally just talked in English. He was telling me a lot about some of Chile's history and I would just ask questions, repeat what he was saying so he could hear the correct pronunciation and grammar and fix what he was saying. It was quite interesting and our time was up pretty quick. I  had promised to meet some people at 8:30 and I ended our session at 8:30. I guess I am becoming more familiar with Chileans since I was running on Chilean time. Too bad I was meeting gringas.

4. Some of the planned: I met Ronna and Marissa at the metro stop since we were going to some Italian restaurant in Las Condes (the ritzy part of Santiago). It could have possibly been a goodnight dinner to Marissa since she is a student here, but hasn't been able to take classes with all of the University protests. She was in the middle of debating whether she should go back to the states or stay in Chile and ride it out. She decided yesterday to stay in Chile. So much for the goodbye part of the dinner. Well we met up with Lewis in Las Condes, where he lives but has no money, kind of contradictory for that area. The restaurant he wanted to go to had an hour wait... I guess it must have been good. We instead went down the street to a restaurant called Olivia. After we ordered the electricity went out and we were just sitting in the dark for 5 minutes. I hope that's the reason that our food came out over an hour later.

5. Nacho: After dinner, I hopped on the metro, which was closing soon. I really wish the metro was open at least past midnight, its quite ridiculous how early it closes! Well I made it to my stop and since the exit that Nacho told me to use was closed, I used the other exit. I then was disoriented and lost in Las Condes, again. Who am I kidding, I probably would have been lost even if I went out of the correct exit. Nacho being the nice man that he is sent Tomas to come get me. So I sat on a bench in front of Burger King and watched two stray dogs look for food and hump each other. Tomas and JP came and got me from the bench and we walked to Nacho's place for another small birthday get together. I met Tomas at Nacho's asado on Saturday and JP is Antonia's brother and has been best friends with Nacho since they were like five, as well as Diego.

It is interesting that students are with the same classmates for their entire educational career that they become family. It is normal for them to bond for life. This other guy Joaquin, who was at the asado. His mother and Nacho's mother were friends from class. Nacho's dad and Joaquin's dad were also classmates. They each started dating their significant other and now they are married. The women have known each other since Pre-K and same with the men. Their school bonds here are tight, which is pretty normal! Nacho wants to meet my friends here, but the only friend that is a true friend and knows me really well, and not a friendly acquaintance, is Regina. And we have really only been friends for a bit over two years. All of my TeachingChile friends are awesome and I can't wait to bond more, but it realistically has only been 3 weeks. The only friend that I have truly had for that long is Kristin, and we are running on 18 years of friendship!!!

Well back to the night, there were a lot of political talks and it was sweet that JP, Tomas, and Nacho were asking if I could understand the conversation so I could stay afloat. Basically everyone there could understand English better than I can understand Spanish.  Man I can't wait til my Spanish is fluent. Diego ended up driving us all home again... what a sweet soul.

Wednesday and Thursday
Literally slept all day and night. and got some laundry done...  Even though I've been sick and needed sleep, I still feel like a HUGE bum. These days were also Paro National, national strike day all across Chile for any organization that dealt with the government basically... banks, transportation, schools, etc. That was another reason keeping me indoors. I wasn't affected by it at all but I heard a lot of ruckus and people said nighttime was really bad...Parts of me think Chileans just like to protest.

Things to look forward to:
1. Building houses with Nacho in Puente Alto on Friday and Saturday.
2. Drinks with Renato.
3. TeachingChile Family Dinner on Saturday.
4. Lucian's going away party.
5. Getting paid on Wednesday.
6. Groceries! Being at home so much has helped the funds but not so much the amount of food in the house... Oh man! I just realized that I can't go to the farmer's market by my house tomorrow since I'm building houses. Oh well, gotta cut my losses.

Please be careful at home with Hurricane Irene on the loose!

1.000 pesos will get you far

But only for certain things...

Friday I didn't have school since my loverly students took over again. They all took a vote while we were in school on Wednesday to see what they should do. I saw them all taking the vote but had no idea what it was for, they tried to tell me but I was extremely confused having 10 of them talk to me at once in rapid spanish. Now I know "tomar" means to take. And if I remember correctly, then on Thursday the Hannover students all joined up again in the courtyard and stormed out of the school so they could participate in the march over the national issue. To make it clear, when my students take over the school, it is for a very different issue than the national free university education protests. My students basically want the Hannover students out of their school. The school was planning on having class cancelled on Friday so all of the students could participate in a Hannover/San Mateo get along together activity. Instead the students took over the school, so no get together /bonding activity.

So anywho. I got a loverly phone call from Carolina on Friday morning saying that I didn't have school and unless I wanted to stand in the parking lot all day, I should stay at home. I much rather not stand in the cold all day and not get paid then stand there for hours in the freezing. I think that is why I am sick now: on Thursday the administration cancelled the last block of classes so teachers could prep for the day of fun for Hannover and San Mateo, so the students got to leave. We had our English Department meeting, but even though we started an hour and a half earlier, we still had to stay all the way until 5:30. Carolina and I felt pretty useless since there wasn't much we could do to input test grades and data. So instead we talked about the differences in American/Chilean/and Korean culture and went of facebook. I think I am going to default carry around cards or something.

Okay so back to Friday. I got to sleep in a little and then lollygagged around, tidy up, and pack up to go to Rancagua where I would be spending the loverly weekend there with Regina in her new apartment. I got to the station by Metro U. de Santiago and got on a bus. However while waiting for the metro, someone asked me for directions in Spanish and I had to answer in Spanish! Small milestones each day! Back to the bus, I got on the one that said Rancagua (Estacion O'Higgins) It only cost a mil and I told the man I was heading to Rancagua. I took a nice little nap since I was still feeling sicky, and because I figured I would have no troubles getting to my destination, I had been on buses plenty of times in the U.S. and Regina had told me it was super easy and that it is the last stop on the bus and takes about an hour and fifteen. Also there is a man whose job is just to collect money and inform people when their stops are coming up.
I wake up about an hour and half into our drive thinking, yeah I need to get off soon, this is taking longer than I thought. "Hmmm I wonder how far we are... wow it doesn't look like we are stopping soon...there are a lot of new people on this bus." I also am no longer seeing road signs that state how many kilometers we are away from Rancagua, now the signs are saying how far they are from Talca. I take out my handy dandy travel guide and Talca looks pretty far south. I go to the front of the bus and say. "Disculpame" (Excuse me). The man whose job it is to get people off the bus just stares at me, opens his eyes widely, and shakes his head. He knows he messed up. I continue to say "Estaba dormiendo y necesito ir al Rancagua." (I was sleeping and I need to go to Rancagua. He just looks back and says "mierda" (shit). The driver asks what's going on and the man tells him. The driver then stares at me and says "Rancagua?! Mierda!" We went all the way to Curico and then they put me on a bus back to Rancagua free of charge.  So I left around 2:40 to get to Rancagua around 4. I got to Rancagua at 7. Poor Regina was running around Rancagua at different terminals trying to wait for me. I also was dropped off at the side of the highway in Rancagua. So shady!

Regina got me safely and we went back to her apartment. She had to lend me a 1.000 pesos since the cab ride was 2.500 pesos and I only had 1.500 and some change on me. I hadn't eaten anything all day and so we had to go eat something or else I probably would have eaten my foot. We got a pretty pricey meal for not that much and pregamed at her house. Regina lives with a guy named Sam from New Mexico (he has been in entries before). Its a one bedroom place so Regina has a full size bed in the bedroom and Sam has a bed/futon in the living room. They have an amazing view of the city and mountains. So we drank some piscolas and went out. Regina's co-worker's son, Nacho (short for Ignacio) also went out with us. He was kind enough to drive. It is his birthday on Tuesday and Sam's birthday is today (Monday), same as my daddy's!

Regina, Sam, and me on Sam's bed!

We went out at like 12, which is really early for Chileans and just danced. Remember in Chile, a discoteca is a dance club. A night club (which is a dance club in the states) is considered a strip club. Don't confuse that if you go out here. Well we went back home and slept. In the morning, Regina and I got some groceries and Sam made us eggs, bacon and toast. Regina paid, Sam cooked, I cleaned. Pretty sweet deal. We then walked around the city in the center of town and just checked out the street vendors and enjoyed the weather. Rancagua is pretty commercial, at least more so than Santiago. There was some awesome live music going on and just a lot of families and people out. Rancagua has got some cute babies! Regina and I then went to the mall to look for some odds and ends around the house and then ended up taking a nap.

Me and Regina with delicious chocolate and nutty ice cream in the center of Rancagua

(sorry mommy, had to try my first delicious ice cream)

We took a short hour nap and then we went to Nacho's house since his parents were throwing him an asado for his birthday. The house was really beautiful and his parents and family were SOOOO nice! I am jealous that Regina gets to work with Nacho's mom. She is really sweet and wonderful. They gave us these potato things and bread with warm cheese for an appetizer. Then we had barbequed meat, potatoes, corn, salsa, salad, and basically everything delicious. We also had as much beer, wine, and pisco that you could want. A bunch of Nacho's friends were there and it was great speaking Spanish/Spanglish/English with everyone. Everyone was extremely nice and fun to hang out with! A lot of them are a bit upper class so their level of English is pretty high. It was great for me to meet all these people since the majority were just in Rancagua for Nacho's birthday and they live in Santiago (Nacho included) Hopefully I will keep in touch with a few and we can do Spanish/English exchanges over coffee and such. 

Everyone inhaling their asado food (my camera is terrible, I have no eyes)

After eating we just had an amazing time dancing and talking with everyone! Its so fun to dance with people who can actually dance with some structure. Fantastic night!!! Sam made an awesome video of the weekend by putting together photos with music (Check it out on facebook). The following morning, Regina and I got some empanadas and walked around. Then I packed up my stuff and we went to a shopping plaza. I accompanied Regina while she did errands. It is really nice to have her on the weekends, someone who knows what I am also going through and someone that I can totally be myself around. I left for Santiago kind of late around 9 and was super paranoid about getting to Santiago. I watched carefully, and got even more paranoid as my phone clock moved forward an hour. I had no idea it was Daylight Savings Day. 

When I arrived in Santiago the metros were closed so I had to take my very first Micro (local buses in Santiago) to my house. I successfully accomplished that and went to bed. Today (Monday) I woke up feeling like crap! My head was pounding, my body ached, and my nose...you couldn't breathe through my nose. Luckily Carolina called me saying that the students stayed in the school over the entire weekend and that they were meeting with the school owners today. She had warned me about this last night and told me she would call. I'm glad someone at school has got my back. Well so this Monday was spent in bed and I got some organizing and laundry done. I also met with Christina's future father in law. He wants English lessons, so that's what I will be doing everyday for an hour. He lives about a 15 minute walk away from me so yay! This will also be good for some extra cash since if I have cash on me, it disappears. Apparantly I can last a school week with spending only 1.500 pesos and can take a 4.5 hour bus ride for 1 mil, but within 2 days with Regina, I spend quite the many pennies. 

Hopefully the weather will be getting better and I won't be sick. I have quite the weekend planned: Saturday: build temporary low-income houses with Nacho, Saturday night: Lucian's going away party, and Sunday: skiing! I better be healthy for all of this, which means lots of rest this week. I love that if it warm the Andes are super green and lush. But if it is cold, the mountains are like pure white...

The Andes Mountains from my metro stop on Friday

And most importantly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY AND DADDY! It was my mommy's birthday on Sunday and my daddy's 60th birthday on Monday. I hope you are having a wonderful time and you are always in my thoughts! Thank you so much for all that you do! I would never be who I am or where I am now without your love and support. I LOVE YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!! :) 

its been a long hard day

I started my morning off well. Woke up, showered, and made myself my first real meal in the apartment... an American breakfast. The only thing that would have made this breakfast better would have been some cheese in my eggs or some hot sauce. (Ketchup comes in a bag here Rachel, you could eat it OUT OF THE BAG)

Breakfast of champions: sausage, eggs, toast, kiwi, and tea

I really thought I would be starting my normal schedule since all the teachers were out last week, but alas Karen is still out. They think she might be out for another 11 days (that is how many days you need to miss in order to get a "medical license" so you can still be paid). So today was normal, now my definition of normal is when my classes are crazy--- half the class is interested, but the other half could not care one bit. It would be fine if classes didn't normally have 45 students. Man I miss New Brunswick, it was paradise.

In my last class, to start off, a bunch of them wouldn't come into the classroom when I told them. Way to not respect the little bit of authority that I have and take advantage of the cultural and language differences. Also, one of the students took the teacher book while I was preventing all the other students from leaving the class early, and wrote in some fake grades for another student. I had to tell other teachers because I don't know how to deal with that type of problem. I hope I am not there alone again. Sadly, one of the other teachers told me that this class is so sweet. There were a ton that wanted to learn, but a few crazy ones that I had to stay on top of. Isn't it sad that some people can ruin a good thing for others? I am so mentally exhausted from days like today, and they are the majority for me around here. :( I am going to stay afterschool on Mondays to see if any students want to have more intimate, small lessons with me. It'll be volunteer based so I'll know they are motivated. I also had my third straight week of not having any teachers for the Elementary English lesson. They don't know it exists, Karen was supposed to tell them, but she hasn't been here for 2 weeks now.

I then went to go sign up for the gym after work since I feel like a blob. The woman who speaks English wasn't there and they insisted that I come back at seven to see her. I went to visit the hostel and got an empanada along the way. When I got back to the gym, everyone was gone. Is this the world telling me to get fat and not work out? Everyone already knows I do not like to go to the gym...

Also, random sidenote, but I thought of it since there is a business card on my nightstand. When Regina and I were at dinner on Saturday, a guy sat at a table next to us and then started speaking to us in English. He was very nice and at the end gave us his business card and told us to call him for anything, directions, to practice Spanish so he could practice English, etc. I am still not sure what to make of Chilean people. I hear they are super sweet and generous to foreigners, not so much to their own kind. Someone told me how his friend puts on a spanish (from Spain) accent if he needs directions, since otherwise the Chileans won't help me. I have heard so many stories from friends here who always speak of the generosity of Chileans. I haven't seen it so much... maybe its just me or my idea of generosity and kindness differ. I don't know. I am not sure if I just love the experience of being independent, living alone, exploring a new country and language, or if I love Chile. I am feeling a bit cynical right now, hopefully its just a combination of the novelty wearing off and a bit of homesickness. Don't worry, I still love this! But whatever this funk is, I think its mostly school related. I hope things get a bit better schoolwise. I miss you all!

Santa Isabel #41

Thursday was pretty quiet. Normal day or so I think? I don't quite remember, but only Jose Luis was at school today. He did sound/look pretty sick. Let's just hope I don't catch whatever they have.  I had company from a gringo buddy, Lucian on the metro to school. He works, or should I say worked at my sister school, Hanover. He just quit this week so his last day of school was on Friday. Just when I had another friend at school... it gets taken away. So the school is desperately trying to find a replacement so all you gringos who want to move to Chile, apply asap and use my name! We also had an English Department meeting at Colegio de Alma Mater, I hitched a ride with my vice principal and had a nice long broken Spanish conversation. The meeting was supposed to go until 5:30, but some of the teachers had other obligations...so they left early. Oh well, that's how things go here. Went home and went to get a drink with other TeachingChile people. Sopaipillas on the street are soooo good, too bad they aren't healthy. Just some flour pastry that is deep fried and delicious. Oh yeah and thanks to Piper and Kelsey I am hooked on this candy bar called Super Ocho. Have to say, they did warn me...

Friday was also a pretty standard school day. Nothing out of the norm, but I did take the metro back home with Lucian. I love that the kids make noises any time I walk around or talk to any male. We both saw our students on the street. Students either yell "Hello MISS," make cat calls, or avoid me. One of my students at the metro looked like he wanted a hug. I gave him one and one of his classmates goes "He loves you." I replied with I love you ALL! Lucian and I then went into the same metro car as them. Lots of random looks toward us the rest of the trip.

I went back to the loverly hostel just to move out. I was getting pretty used to it. Ideally, I would have had my apartment secure and milked out my entire stay at the hostel.  It was a really easy move. My first trip there, I took my rollie suitcase and backpack. The reception man asked me questions and then proceeded to call my apartment to make sure that I indeed was moving in. Now when I see him he is super nice and says my name. I went back to the hostel, hung out for a bit before I fully moved out. I met a really sweet couple from Ohio who are TeachingChile, but are only in Santiago for a bit since they are moving to a town near Pucon. Its funny, the hostel set them up in a private room, but it has two twin beds. They thought they were brother and sister since they have the same last name. In Chile, you don't take your husband's last name.

The wall once you enter the hostel...

I got the last of my groceries and my laundry and walked on back to my new place. I unpacked all my things and took a nap. I went back to the hostel and met up with Lucian, Dan, Amber, and Arden. It was cute, the staff there cheered a bit when I walked into the hostel. I felt like a celebrity. Gotta say, I will miss that place. It seemed like there were a lot of new people there--- I liked meeting new people there. Oh well we went to Cafe Dosciento dos to listen to Lucian's friend DJ and drink some beers. Then we went to this place called Urban Bar by BellaVista/Cerro San Cristobal. We had a free pass to get inside, compliments of Hostal Providencia, and did some dancing. There were some hostel staff, us, and then Piper, her boo, Kelsey, and Cori also arrived. Good night overall...

Lucian, Amber, Arden, Dan, me at Cafe Dosciento dos

Saturday I had plans to meet with Ronna, Karen, and Megan to go hike up Cerro San Cristobal. I was obviously thinking of home since I wore my Ale n' wich t-shirt and Rutgers hoodie. While I was waiting for them at Plaza Italia I got to see from start to finish, the man who dresses up like Homer Simpson. He has long hair and two children that help sell photographs and help him get dressed in his suit. It was fun people watching everybody walking by him in awe. It was also kind of sad to watch him with his kids. Something about going there every weekend to sell photos on the street...

Well the four of us went to lunch, got some lovely fresh juice and I actually had a piece of chicken that had vegetables on it! Granted the fries were super greasy and gross. I am not all too impressed with Chilean food yet. It is good, but I am glad that Santiago has other types of restaurants. I really miss Korean food. I need to find out how to cook rice on a stove and find some kim chi. Ashley met up with us and we started our hike up Cerro San Cristobal. It took a little over an hour to walk up there. The views were really pretty, pictures don't do it justice. I want to do a real hike soon and not just a walk up paved roads up a hill... I love walking around. At the top of the cerro is the Virgin Mary. You can see her on the streets of Santiago lit up, so obviously she is quite big. 

Karen, Ash, me, Megan, Ronna below the Virgin Mary at Cerro San Cristobal

View of Santiago from the top of Cerro San Cristobal

At the top, I got a drink called Mote con huesillos, it is a tea with wheat and peaches. Quite sweet, yet something that is normal up at the top of the hill. It was so sweet being at the top of the hill during sunset. We took the lift back down since it was getting dark and got to watch the city light up against a purple and pink sky. I went home and met up with Regina. We hung out for a bit and she got to see my apartment. We walked to the Santa Ana area to go to Megan and Laura's apartment, which took about 45 minutes... yikes! They were having a little pregame party and then we were going out for Laura's birthday. We all hung out there for a bit and then were asked to leave since there were too many of us. We went to a salsa club and danced some salsa and bachata. Reggie and I slept in my little twin bed together. Somehow she got up in the morning so she could go back to her apartment in Rancagua and move into her new place!

All of us at Laura and Megan's apartment

Sunday I went to lunch with Ronna and Hannah. They haven't been out of the house much since this pair of roomies is always sick. They both needed a shot of penicillin for their sicknesses. We went to the hostel to visit the people. I was out of the house for two days and already visited it on Saturday and Sunday. I left to do some grocery shopping, and some laundry at the house. Its nice to have a washer in my place. However it will probably take 3 days for my clothes to dry... I did not enjoy being at the market today. I tried to buy some soda in a glass jar. In Chile, you have to bring back the bottles. The lady at the store was not very nice and she gave me crap for not having a bottle to exchange. How am I ever supposed to get a bottle to return if I can't buy one to begin with? Luckily there was a guy behind me that knew a bit of English to translate what the mean woman was saying. Some days I feel like my Spanish is improving a lot... and then I have moments like that. :(

The door leaving the hostel

Even though I moved out of the hostel, I still miss it in some ways.
(some of the little things I will miss)

Monday, there was no school since it is a national Chilean holiday for the Virgin Mary. I woke up with a runny nose, hopefully it doesn't progress any further and I don't catch what everyone around me had. It was pretty cold outside so Karen and I went to the mall in the La Florida neighborhood. We walked around a bunch and I got a dry erase board, pillow, speakers, and a few more groceries. I came back to my place and put up some decorations. Oh yeah and I also printed some photographs to make my home more homey. I spent quite some time trying to put a tack into the wall to hang my dry erase board. Carolina later told me that that wall was made out of concrete so it is impossible to put a nail in there...

My new baby room. Miss you all very much!

 

Oh yeah and I think I mentioned this but I don't remember... I am living with two Chillean women who are also teachers. And my official address is Santa Isabel #41, Departamento  807, Santiago de Chile. Only one block away from the metro!!!

Apartment hopping

So yesterday was another scheduled protest. I woke up to pots, pans, whistles and chants. I walked to Santa Isabel, paid my rent, got my keys, and headed to school. When I got to school, I found out that 1. Jose Luis was not there again, but his new substitute was and 2. Students wanted to go to the protests so a bunch of them gathered in the courtyard and literally stormed the gate. They left the school, and there weren't that many students left. We still taught what we could with only 15-20 students in a class. (that's about half of what is normally there). The last block of classes were cancelled, and the teachers were allowed to leave at 4:30.(Normally on Tuesdays I am supposed to stay until 6 to do a private class with teachers). Most of the teachers were happy, but I was pretty bored for the last hour or so...

Since I had such a lazy Monday in my bed, I decided I should do something with my day. I met Ronna and Hannah in Plaza de Armas, visited their new little place. We hung out there for a bit, then Hannah and I went to see Karen, Ashley and Amy's new place. It is so nice and pretty spacious there for a Chilean apartment. Then 4 of us left to go to Megan and Laura's new place so we could surprise Laura for her birthday. Megan made her a chocolate cake and we did the lovely American singing of happy birthday. I got to see three new apartments in a span of hours!!! I hope I am as happy in my new place as my friends are in theirs. It was already 11:20 by this time and I was scared that I was not going to get home safely. I got into the deserted metro, walked out and felt like I was going to get locked in the Metro overnight. All of my normal exits were blocked off and I was a mouse in a maze looking for some freshly polluted Santiago air. Luckily I got out in one piece, a little sweaty and shook up, but nonetheless out. (Dan had called me to see if our street was crazy because of the protests, and when he realized I wasn't back yet, had offered to pick me up if the metro was closed... don't worry family---still being safe). Banquedano was very tranquil, nothing like it was last Thursday. According to other people, there was a lot of damage, some car burnings, and your typical chaos. I  just witnessed a lot of people gathering, families on the corner banging their pots and pans, and marches with banners. We shall see what happens Thursday though... that's the deadline that the student leaders gave the government to create a positive and alternative solution to the education problem.

Happy 22nd birthday Laura!

(Me, Megan, Ashley, Laura, Karen, Hannah)

I was cutting it a little too close getting to school today. I'm sure the VP is just glad that I was there since NONE OF THE ENGLISH TEACHERS WERE IN SCHOOL TODAY! The English department today consisted of me (the gringa), Ramundo (has been at school for 3 days), and Fernanda (has been at school for 1 day). I did make a time to meet with two of my students to have 1-on-1 English lessons with my more enthusiastic English learners. However, only in one of the classes did I feel effective... I did confiscate A TON of rubber bands and about 5 cell phones though. I even had a class today, that I am supposed to teach on a regular basis, that I met for the first time. I have no idea what my schedule is since I never follow it. Glad its so easy for teachers to not show up for work. I don't know what to do... I would be okay teaching alone if that is what the job called for, but I just feel a bit taken advantage of... Oh poo. Hopefully things start becoming "normal," whatever that is, and tomorrow is better day. What's left of the hostel family (Dan, Kelsey, and Piper) is going to get our food and drink on!

Oh yeah and this is my lunchtime buddy Bruce

(now you can put a name to the face Tasker) and he likes to do tricks for food.

So they don't just storm the gates for education...

Friday was a really good day at school, I was with the new substitute for the first two days and actually felt like I was making a small impact with the students and creating a good positive rapport with a bunch of them. I think it will just take time for them to get acclimated to my style and me to theirs.

I met with my new roommates at night and talked to them for an hour and half in Spanish. Living with them is really going to improve my Spanish. I need to buy some curtains and things to make my room more homey.  However I did see some things by Santa Lucia that I wanted to get for my room...Let's just home I don't go overboard. Tuesday I pay for the month and Friday is move in day. So many people are moving out of the hostel this weekend, its just a few us left...so Kelsey, Piper, Jolene, and I moved into Dan's 6 person room. I like it in the room better, I don't feel like I am in a hostel as much, it's more like my own room.

The TeachingChile crew that was there during the time of the picture

(there are so many more of us, and more to come)

Piper, Karen, Amy, Regina, me, Ashley, Ronna, Dan, Hannah

Regina came again on Friday night, she loves and misses us and Santiago! I'll have to visit Rancagua soon after she gets an apartment. We caught up over dinner and were actually on Chilean time that night for dinner and when we went out. We went to Alto Barcelona, the place that the ladies went to last Wednesday for Miercoles Po. The place is in a parking garage, very bizarre. It was packed and we waited in a long line. By the time we got to the front, they weren't letting more people in since it was so busy. Some bystanders also waited in line were getting a little tooo impatient and they were banging on the gate. They moved the barricade to the entrance and we all got pushed inside and up the stairs to the bar entrance. Then Karen, Regina, and I were just standing in a small room with a closed entryway. We walked back downstairs and into line. We felt so bad for the club workers, Chileans are passionate about a lot of things, not only education, but booze and reggaeton. We finally got in and met up with Ashley, Amy, and the fellows. However, it was good music, good company, good time! Make sure you talk to cabbies before you get in the cab. Three of them tried to charge us 4.000 pesos to get home. we got home for like 850 pesos.

Ignacio, Paolo, Reg, me, Ashley, Mario at Alto Barcelona

Going out in Chile is pretty comparable to the United States, however the lateness of it all is pretty ridiculous.

Saturday, Regina and I wanted to walk up San Cristobal (where the Virgin Mary is and is supposed to have a phenomenal view of the city), or Santa Lucia, however it was too cloudy. Instead we got some empanadas and walked around town. We went to the shops at Santa Lucia and I got a simple ring and a cool owl necklace. Sadly, the owl necklace kinda looks like it could come from Urban Outfitters. I am definitely going to go back there to get some UPPs (unproductive pants, Kelsey has inspired me and coined the name). I will definitely be buying things here for cool Chilean souvenirs and gifts. <3

At night, Hannah, Regina, Piper, I headed to the rich part of Santiago, Las Condes. We went to a "pregame" there, but ended up just hanging out for the night. They even had strobe and disco lights at their house. One of the guys there said, "everyone in Santiago has a car."  So false. Maybe everyone in Las Condes has a car, because if you live there, you are pretty rich and well off. We took the metro there, and got a ride back, pretty easy night. Not surprising, since I am so loud, a woman loudly, in English, told us to be silent. She was not thrilled to have us gringas on the metro. Sunday was an unproductive day as well... I really should go adventure into the city more, but its been pretty cold and dreary so its hard to sightsee. There was also supposed to be a protest on Sunday, so I was trying to stay out of the streets. It all seemed pretty calm though.

Regina, Raul, Constanza, me, Piper, Ramundo, Hannah, Ricardo

I also need to be careful about how much money I am spending. I don't get paid until I get my Chilean identification card... and I still haven't sent in that paperwork because I am waiting for the proper people to sign it! Turns out I get 8.000 pesos more a month than I thought originally. Not much, but still sweet. I need to find things to do that are cheaper. Speaking of spending money, I want to go to Buenos Aires to visit Flor and plane tickets are relatively cheap! I also don't have school next Monday, so maybe a weekend trip to Valparaiso? AND I had my first Chinese food in Chile, had no clue what to order (but Dan, when you visit, you will like it). Still need to try Chilean pizza.

There is supposed to be another protest tomorrow starting at 10:30. I wonder how this one will go... Another English article about the Education protests

School today again was really good. I am really glad that I decided to follow my passion and go into teaching. I really love it! I've realized today that I have spent more time teaching alone than following my schedule.
          Monday: training, first day
          Tuesday-Thursday: At Colegio de Alma Mater
          Friday: normal schedule
          Monday: normal schedule
          Tuesday: Gustavo's classes
          Wednesday: Karen's classes
          Thursday: normal schedule
          Friday: showing the substitute the ropes
          Monday (today): Jose Luis' classes
We shall see what tomorrow brings. I am getting used to teaching alone and enjoy running my own class. I think they are starting to respect me more. Students speak up more to other students to quiet them down, so now I have allies doing crowd control with me. Now that the noise levels are pretty under control, I need to find a way to motivate the kids that think English is useless. I like bonding with the kids, building a rapport with them, and am trying to learn all of their names. I think they are starting to get me and my style. Its great that some are really enthusiastic to learn English and to learn English from me. There are SOOO many of them in one class. A large pitfall of teaching solo is that I can't plan great lessons since I don't know I am teaching solo until school starts that day, or the period of. So interesting how teachers can just not show up one day. It was cute, one of the teachers today told me that the kids were wondering why I wasn't in class with them. Sorry kids, I was teaching another class...

A few more things of note:
1. I still cannot get used to the fact that people don't say bless you after they sneeze.
2. I will never get tired of looking at the Andes Mountains.
3. I can't use Pandora, Hulu, or Netflix in Chile. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing...
4. My new dog lunch buddy's name is Bruce.

Holy Protests

So today I woke up groggy and didn't even get to make a lunch since I had a late start. Hung out with Flor, Roberto, Karen, and Paola (one of the receptionists from the hostel), what a surprise... It was my last night with this crew... It is no longer though since Flor left today and Roberto is out since his Chilean friends are throwing him a farewell party. Yesterday there was also another asado that I did not participate in. Our hostel was swarmed with people from other places, here to check out the hostel. Mario (owner of the hostel) is a great businessman.

Roberto, me, Flor, Karen, Paola

School was finally normal... or so I thought since they had other teachers cover the English classes. It was a pretty easy day, especially in comparison. The last class of the day was cancelled since the students all were gathered in the courtyard to hear other students speak about what is going on with the education protests all throughout Chile. Oh yeah, and I finally signed my contract today! But after school, I got called into the Vice-principal's office... thought it was about my contract, but instead he wanted me to have a conversation in English with a prospective substitute English teacher. The guy was hired on the spot, and was a really nice guy. Instead of following my normal schedule tomorrow, I am going to all of his classes to help him out for his first day. Since I don't come in til the 2nd block of class, I offered to come into school earlier so he wouldn't have his first class alone. I know what it feels like to be the new guy, pretty confused. Hell, I still am the new guy. I was told by a ton of people to be careful in the streets. The substitute took the metro back with me and dropped me off at the hostel. We got off a stop further than normal since Metro Baquedano is in the center and had a lot of action with protesters. I guessed something was going on since there was talk yesterday and there were carabineros already by the metro in the morning.

The carabineros are US version of the SWAT team. I got back to the hostel, a met up with Roberto and went with him to get a hot dog. When we let the gas station, there were more carabineros on the street. We sat on a bench to talk, and a HUGE crowd of people started running towards us. We went into the hostel so Roberto could get ready for his farewell night and to get out of the street. I went outside to say bye and got stung with tear gas. That stuff works fast! It makes your throat, nose, and eyes burn and your eyes swell up with tears.

I went inside and watched all of the action. Ronna, one of the housekeepers and I were watching from an upstairs window. We watched police cars file down the streets, we saw a student get taken down and brought into the squad car, we watched tear gas bombs get kicked around, and cars pouring tear gas down the streets. Mobs of people have been on the street in front of our hostel for over two hours. Actually, all day since this has been going on since the afternoon. Oh yeah and there are helicopters and the police spray people with sewer water. We have a very central location since it is across from a University. According to my broken Spanish conversation, students all over Chile are protesting at various universities. For a bit, they weren't letting people even leave the hostel. Karen was stuck in the Metro and then stuck in the station.

View of the protest (all the cop cars and students) from the upstairs window of the hostel

In one way its kinda cool how involved people in Chile are in their politics and country. In another sense, I don't think they are the best thought out plans and its a little scary. To get real information, Chilean students protest article Don't worry loves, I am being smart and safe. Love you!

Oh man! Even in the hostel like 3 hours later, we got hit with tear gas since people were watching the crowd with the window open. All of us moved downstairs because the tear gas is SO potent and powerful. We ate some lemon juice to help soothe the sore throatness from the gas.

And in random other news, not only did Roberto drunkenly tell hostile man receptionist that he was disrespectful and cold. He did it again last night... He kept saying rude comments to us while we were talking last night. So Roberto politely told him again that basically, he sucks at this job. Roberto had an apology note waiting for him this morning.

All by myself...

So another teacher wasn't in school today, so I had to take all four of her classes by myself. Apparantly she is sick for the next 11 days. Some kids would refuse to do work. So I wrote their name down on a piece of paper. It worked for some, but not for others. I threw the list away, but it was pretty effective during class. Way to have my first real week of school/ second week in Santiago.  I don't know if I mentioned this, but yesterday these were the questions that stood out. 1-a) Do you have a boyfriend? No. 1-b) Do you have a husband? No. 1-c) Do you have a baby? No. 2-a) Do you smoke? No. 2-b) Do you smoke marijuana? No. 2-c) Do you do cocaine? No. These are not good questions to ask in school. It still only is my first real time teaching solo- man talk about sink or swim.

After school I talked to my vice principal about my contract, either my Spanish is getting better or everyone is learning to speak slower with me around. Or both, who knows. Either way... yay!!! I can have longer conversations solamente en español. My Spanglish is totally improving though.

I went with a teacher to a supermarket in Maipu, I bought myself some RECHARGABLE dry erase markers and an eraser. The place was huge, like a WalMart. I noted that it looked like a Wal-Mart, and apparantly they bought out the chain "Lider," but left its name the same. The teacher also LOVES the Maipu jokes. Sadly I found out that I do not work in Maipu, but instead Pudahuel. The kids make remarks when I say I live in Providencia since its a hoity-toity rich area. They take it back though when I say there are 8 people sleeping in my room. I just won`t tell them if I really get an apartment in Providencia. I can supposedly get a whole large apartment in Maipu for the same price as a room in Providencia. Hmmmm...

I hope the kids are quieter and nice to me tomorrow. I mean they weren`t bad, there is just so many that it is hard to do crowd control for 45 people.

No pictures today... just wanted to vent about teaching by myself. I really wish I had a camera that could take good pictures of the mountains. They are so beautiful by my school on a clear day.

obviamente gringas

Friday:
I finished work at 11, which was pretty sweet. Got to go back to the hostel and catch up on some sleep. At night, about thirteen of us went out to go eat. There were a few neubie TeachingChile people from Duoc. There are Duoc teachers and Eduteca teachers. I have no idea what I am affiliated it. The cheese stands alone. Oh well, going out, we might as well have held up a large sign, saying "we are foreign, stare at us." The restaurant Lewis wanted to go to was packed since its was a Friday night in Bellavista... So were the other three restaurants that we checked out. Piper, Megan, and Laura decided to eat somewhere else, because there was no way in hell that we were going to find a place to seat all of us. We actually did find a small sandwich place around the corner that was pretty empty, which isn't a good sign, but we were pretty desperate and wanted to end the search. Karen and I split this seven mini-"burger" dish that came with two beers, Cristal, which sounds classy, but is just the cheap Chilean beer. 

hamburguesas 

(Dan, Hannah, Ashley, Chrissy, Karen, Lewis, Ann, Ronna, me, Flor)

We then went to Bar Constitution, which we all heard was amazing from a ton of people. However, it was really early and we were with a huge crowd so they were pretty rude to us "gringas." Even Flor, our lovely new Argentinian friend was mistaken for a gringa. After a long tedious process to get drinks, we each had one drink, left, and then ran into a few more people from the hostel and tried to go to an Irish bar. Once again our plans were thwarted since there were so many of us. We headed back toward our hostel and went into a restaurant/bar. This place was definitely more restaurant than bar since the place wreaked of grilled asado. Ashley, who was at her breaking point went into a little lounge/bar next door. Amy and I left to keep her company. The rest stayed since the staff was sweet and put together a large table for us.

At the lounge bar next door, we became best friends with the waiter, bartender (Carolina), and owner (Ramon). Amy was requesting music, while Ashley was asking how to say small limes in Spanish. Since they were our new best friends, they gave us a few drinks for free. The rest of the girls joined us and we danced there in the very small area and made a new Colombian friend. The night was basically all about Pisco Sours and Piscolas. Pisco Sours, I think taste like LITs, while Piscolas taste like rum and coke. In Chile, the bartenders pour about 2/3 of the cup with the liquor and then the rest with the mixer. Let's just say, you get your moneys worth. We were told of a discoteca that was down the block that had reggaeton and all sorts of music. Ramon told us that it was a really bad club since it was full of young people.

(Me, Bartender Carolina, Amy, Owner Ramon, Ashley, Waiter nearby)

We went anyway since it was so close and Alex wanted to go there. It was her birthday! Feliz Cumpleanos. But boy was Ramon right. The crowd there was sooo young. I felt like if I knew my high school students better, I would have run into a whole group of them. It was a very bizarre club... there was a male and female stripper there. The girl was a nurse and the guy was an army dude. Talk about stereotypical and degrading. We then left to go to another bar. We took a cab to a shady part of town only to find out that we had to pay another cover. Instead a few of us decided to call it a night rather than waste 2 luca (2.000 Chilean pesos), they also use a "." rather than a "," when writing out money to separate the mil/thousand. In Chile, you have to go out past 12:30, and stay out until like 6. Chileans always run late when it comes to time. 


Saturday:
This was a nice lazy day with the Wire and my bed. It was raining, so it was nice to stay in. However, I did go with Kelsey to get my first baked empanada. While we were sitting there eating, a lot of student-aged kids ran by with animal masks on dancing. I have no idea what they were doing, but it was not that uncommon. Regina decided she wanted to come back to Santiago for the weekend, so of course I HAD to go out. : D


We went and got delicious Peruvian food. I had some shredded chicken with rice in this mustardy sauce. Sounds terrible but it was DELICIOUS! I remember Jorge making something with the yellow peppery sauce before. Mmmmmm. Ooh and I also had a mango juice since I am tired of paying more money for bottled water at restaurants. Instead I just have a huge water jug that I keep refilling bottles with. 

We got some drinks and hung out at the hostel. Lewis, my amazing British friend with his British accent and words taught us some games, that I will definitely be bringing back to the United States. Then we went out to Bar Constitution again, but only a few of us went since everyone was tuckered out. Ashley vows that she will never go there again since they were so rude. But Flor and so many locals said it was really nice and I wanted to give it another shot. It was a lot easier with a smaller group. There were 6 of us, and 4 girls were part of the Duoc wave of TeachingChile teachers. There was a room of techno music, and a room for "reggaeton," which was really just America's Top 40 list. Stayed there for a long time dancing, and the tour guide was wrong. Chilean men are pretty aggressive dancing and with personal space. I wanted to get out of that area so just spent some time talking to Regina and her non-aggressive, but really cool, intelligent, and speaks English dance partner. Went home and ended up talking to Roberto, Mexican backpacker travelling by himself. We had seen each other a bunch in the hostel and had a few short conversations, he seemed pretty shy in the beginning, but we talked for over an hour outside. Our conversation finally ended because it was about 5:30 in the morning (Only a few days before that is about the time I was waking up for work) and because someone asked us to be quiet. Apparently we were that loud. Flor told me later on that she also heard us from her room upstairs and was wondering who was laughing so loud in the cold. 


Sunday:
Slept late, for obvious reasons. Got lunch with Flor and Ronna at my new favorite and frequently visited hole in the wall restaurant. (Same place I went on the first day). Then Flor and I just spent the day walking around. We got coffee, Regina joined us and entertained us with stories. Reggie and I went back to her labyrinth of a hostel, since my hostel was booked for the month by TeachingChile. I swear you had to go through the living space, through the kitchen, outside, down the stairs, across the courtyard, through another two buildings, just to go to her silent, unlocked room. Pretty cool yet sketchy. 


That night we went salsa dancing. On Sundays and Wednesdays you can take salsa classes and then stay later to dance like in a normal club. My partner, I think he worked there or was a frequent visitor, was a good lead dancer. Now I know what Antonio meant, when he said I just needed to follow his hands and body language to dance salsa. It was really good to learn more officially, and to feel like I had rhythm. We basically only stayed for the lesson and then went home. 

Ladies at Salsa - "Apparantly its BYOB here, bring your own man" - Regina

(Laura, Flor, Karen, Marissa, Regina, Kelsey, me)

Only after we went on a wild food chase for the hungry people with us. Regina got a completo, which I still have yet to try. It is a hot dog with ketchup, mustard, avocado, tomato, and mayo. I hate mayo, so if I ever have one, I will ask for completo sin mayo. Ooh there was also a little pricey creperie stand where some people got delicious looking crepes with nutella and ice cream and goodness galor! Went back to the hostel, talked to Roberto and went to bed. Roberto is going to salsa with us on Wednesday. Who ever heard of a Mexican who didn't salsa!?! Roberto, Karen, and Flor are going to Valpariso tomorrow, wish I didn't have work so I could go too...

Nutella ad

Monday:
I finally had company on the metro. People are finally starting to go to work and I am not the only sad sap leaving at seven in the morning. It was my first real day with my classes that I will be having all semester long. The freshmen are defintely noiser and do not take English as seriously. I also had three classes of workshop, which is worse than actual lessons, since they were just given workbook pages to do. A lot of students would copy and goof off, but for good reason. Who would want to sit there for an hour and half doing workbook pages? I need to find a new way to do workshop and make it more interesting...


I ate lunch in a nearby the park with a teacher and sat and talked. She always goes there, so this little dog, wearing an army jacket comes and joins us. I have learned that dogs like bread, salami, cheese, Frosted Flakes, but not oranges. I think I have to give him a name, he's a little cocker spaniel. I also got a soda in a glass jar. Apparantly if you return any glass or large plastic bottle to the store, you get money back. What a good incentive to recycle!
At home, I went grocery shopping, so hopefully I can start saving some money by eating in. Apparantly my food was in the "free food" bin so some of my pasta is gone along with my pasta sauce. I better go get more since I have some ravioli that I want to eat. I hope that my ramen noodles are still there...


 I have friends that love games just as much as me!!! I played Spanglish/bilingual bananagrams with Dan, Piper, Kelsey, and her Chilean pollolo Jaime. I love those words now, pollolos (couple), pollolo (boyfriend), pollola (girlfriend). The students keep asking me if I have a pollolo, they are definitely not shy. 


Since I don't have work til late on Tuesdays, I wanted to hang out with people. Flor, Roberto, Karen, and I got some pisco (the liquor stores have bars at the entrance. You can't go inside the store, but just tell the man what you want to buy and they bring it to you through the gate) and coke to make our own piscolas in the hostel. I taught Flor and Karen poker. Glad that casino gambling environment came in handy. We then played a fun rendition of "spoons," or "tounges." I then taught them how to play "boobies." Man I have weird sounding card games. Flor is going to bring "boobies" back to Argentina with her. I am so glad it caught on. Flor and Roberto are leaving the hostel on Thursday/Friday morning. :( Que triste... I'm going to miss them, but hopefully I can plan a trip to Argentina in the summer. 

Roberto, Karen, and Flor buying pisco

Oh we also unanimously decided that the man who works at Hostal Providencia (not the owner Mario) is an extremely rude and unlikable man. I have had several encounters with him, where he just rubbed me and everybody else there the wrong way. We decided we are going to talk to Mario about him. Everybody else that works at the hostel is very nice and helpful. Except him. He sucks. 


Tuesday:
No work until 11:30, so I left the hostel around 10:30 and had to put 7.000 more pesons onto my BIP (metro) card. One of the English teachers did not come to school today so I am teaching all of his classes solo. It was quite different. My first class was basically all girls, and they were pretty well behaved. Some of the students there were really fascinated by me and America and I had a really good and long conversation with a few of them. In my second class of all boys, a bunch of boys were trying to hit on me and making me heart-shaped souveniers. I took of my jacket and got cat calls. My last class made me nervous since both the director and English Department Head came into my class. Lets just say it was a very interesting day and I hope I am not teaching by myself all the time. It is hard to do crowd  control. I have found out that high schoolers in Chile like hi-fives and they also like smiley faces on their paper if they did a good job! No teachers showed up to my after school English class today. They are supposed to promote it more. Oh well, it gave me time to write this post. I wonder what will happen tonight. I am quite hungry, time to go home and eat dinner.


A few more things to note:
1) While I love the Metro here since it comes so quickly and it is clean and safe, during rush hour it sucks. There are so many people that you get pushed on and off the tram, rather than walk. 
2) I don't know if I had bed bugs but something was biting me. I haven't been bitten yet in the past day or two. Let's hope it keeps up. I did get all my bed sheets changed and they are doing my laundry for free.
3) I think I am going to start buying groceries in Maipu and then bringing them to Providencia because Providencia is kinda an expensive town. I need to invest in one of those carts, and no not a shopping cart Ronna.