Mas quegues or queques?

Day 5 – Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Funny…I’ve traveled thousands of miles to find a country completely new to me, learn a new language, experience a different style of life…and befriend yet another prep boy!

Pat lives about seven minutes from my house in Broomall. He graduated in 2004, so he knows no one I know…except for…you guessed it…McCloskey! “The McCloskeys are a big family at the Prep…” This should come as no surprise to anyone reading this blog! O, Sean – the connector of all connectors! (Pat actually knows Brian McCloskey – Sean’s brother? Feel free to comment here Sean – I will find out Pat’s last name). I’ve also met a guy from Upper Darby – Bob’s old stomping ground. I wish I would have known this pre-departure!

Today, we practiced teaching through group demonstrations. My group, Team Awesome (clearly channeling Laura Dolan) presented family vocabulary by using the Simpsons as an example. The cartoon is supposedly crazy popular here. The lesson went well, not great, but well. I think it will be more natural in front of an actual classroom with high school students. More of a challenge, but it will be easier to develop a style. It’s difficult to read a room of 25-30 year old native English speakers when reviewing words like: brother, sister, etc.

I’m curious to see how I will rate as a teacher. It’s an entirely different train of thought when you teach English as a second language. How do you give directions about simple concepts when your class might not understand the words of the instructions? The program hopes we will only speak English – so explaining further in Spanish will not be an option. I’m excited for the challenge. I think I have enough repressed creativity to get me through the next four months! I look forward to knowing if I could pursue it as a profession.

The heat does not exist in classrooms here. People must adjust though because the instructors in my classes wear normal clothes, while we (the students) bundle in fleece, down, and wool. It’s not an extreme cold here, but its enough to numb your fingers. The walk to our class building is only one block from the hostel. It’s lined with gorgeous old buildings that remind me of the brownstones in Philadelphia. The most ornate ones look abandoned with broken windows and graffiti. I imagine the upkeep of these buildings make them unaffordable. Across from the class building, there are two markets. One of which is run by an older woman with fabulous pastries including empanadas con queso that taste like cheese croissants and the most delicious cupcakes that taste more like a cross between pound cake and animal crackers. Tomorrow, I hope to ask her how to make them. The vanilla tastes slightly different. No worries – I will surely learn how to recreate them! Mark from Virginia suggested having the cake with strawberries and whipped cream…it would be a most fabulous Chilean strawberry shortcake!

We still are not sure what day we will depart for Calama (pronounced: Ca-llama). My guess is Saturday…but it could be Friday. Speaking of pronunciation…so many people at home (some of this audience included) corrected my pronunciation of Chile in the past few weeks. It turns out that most people here say: Chile (Chili – not Chil-lay). In the defense of some of you, I’ve heard both pronunciations – but all of our instructors you have been living here for years say Chile (Chili).

Last night, a group of us traveled to the other side of town to search for teaching supplies. We saw many exciting things: a Porsche, a Pizza Hut (yes, a stand alone Pizza Hut), and a Blockbuster. It’s not exactly as third world as I was anticipating…I’m positive there are super poor areas, but nothing like what I’ve heard about Peru and Bolivia. I knew that Santiago would be a developed city, but I did not expect it to be as advanced. The schools sound like they lack resources such as functioning printers and computer labs. I’m curious to see how they compare to the underprivileged schools in Philadelphia. As a travel tip, I’ve also heard that the Argentinean side of Patagonia is much cheaper and equally as beautiful.

I’m hoping to upload more photos tonight. The internet is extremely slow…so it’s tough to populate this page with the images I describe. I can’t wait to escape the city and start my real journey through Chile!

Hold the Phone

I had a cupcake today....

and crepes with nutella and bananas...

Will write you more tomorrow!!!!

Day 3

Day 3 – Monday July 28th
Buenos dias!

My plane landed Saturday morning in Santiago. I had no idea, but a few volunteers were on the plane with me. Dan actually sat right behind me on the plane. He could identify me by my ponytail, which apparently fell between the seat and window as I slept! Three of us – Kristin, Dan, and I – met on the shuttle to the hostel. I lucked out because Dan just graduated in May with a degree in Spanish. He acted as a great translator for Kristin and me.

When we arrived to the hostel, we waited to check in then started to explore the city. In the Plaza de Armas, we sampled our first “completo” – a hot dog with the works. The Plaza also contained the church of Santiago (a gorgeous European-style cathedral), the National History Museum, and many street vendors. We toured a few grocery stores and practiced our Spanish. I was able to buy a “chip” or SIM card. My cell phone number is +569 0-79499564. Brandon figured how to call internationally and rang me this morning! It was great to receive a phone call and hear his voice! I can forward anyone the instructions. Any incoming calls are free for me. Otherwise, I’ve been trying to master skype. My brother bought me an unlimited plan, so I can call any land line when I have an internet connection. I also have a 610 number if anyone would like to call me when I’m online or leave me a voicemail. I’m writing this offline, so I will have to add it to this posting when I get an internet signal.

Sunday, Kristin, Monica (a girl who will also be in Calama), and I explored more of the city. We stumbled across a hill and castle in the middle of the city. It was strange that such a structure exists among more modern buildings. The views of the city and mountains were beautiful from the castle’s many look-out points. Unfortunately, with our exploration, we missed lunch. We returned to the hostel to have our first meeting and to start the Visa process. This lasted about 4 hours. After the first hour, we were starved and ordered Dominos. We ate in the dining room and watched the Hills (I had to stop and remember that I was not in Ardmore!). An hour or two later, I still didn’t feel myself. While walking to get a picture for my Visa, I started to crash. I asked to go first and waited for someone with whom to walk back. Half way back, I got sick in the middle of the street. Very embarrassing. I spent the rest of the night sick, which brings me up to Monday morning (today).

Weakling me stayed back from the first part of orientation this morning to sleep a bit. I have my suspicions about the tetanus shot I received last Thursday. Equipped with stale bread, Gatorade naranja, and bananas – I sit in the computer room ready to start a speedy recovery! Blaring from the radio is all American music (an R&B song – you cut me open – I know the song, just not the name). The new Coldplay album is 4th on the charts here this week.

Day 1
Exploration: Got Lost and Found our Way

Kristen, Charlie, Dan, and I left the hostile without a plan. We wandered the streets and found our way to the main part of Santiago. We saw street performers, two churches, great architecture mixed with many buildings from the 1970s, and the Chilean White House. I wish I could write more - but its late and my brain is exhausted!

Throughout all of our adventures, we tried to find a SIM card, which apparently is called a chip! We finally found one in a three story mall in the main part of town. We navigated pay-as-you-go cell phones. Even the most practiced Spanish-speakers could not understand the various cell phone words. We felt incredibly stupid once we had our cellphones working....how do you call?! Each provider apparently has a different code, very confusing.

We had our first hot dog in the Plaza Aramas. A hot dog smothered with mayo, tomato salsa, and a dense roll.

The four of us traveled 12 hours together – then met each other in the taxi on the way to the hostel. After another 12 hours together - we've become good friends. I'm looking forward to the next few months!

Kristen – Great North
Dan – Patagonia
Charlie – Patagonia (found Charlie in the lobby of Hostel)


Wine:
Gato Premium – Carmenere – 2000 – Valle Central (terrible)
Gato – Cabernet Sauvignon – 2004 Valle Central (not bad)
Carmen – Rhin – DO Valle Central (probably better chilled)