Most of my students are really great. They ask a lot of questions and seem excited to have a teacher from a foreign country, especially one that is pretty far away. Some students are uninterested in English, however, because their "carrera" (major, which is really more than a major, because it prepares them directly for a specific job once they are done with school) doesn't really involve using English, so they just have to take it as a required class. But most are interested, and many people get paid more at their jobs if they can speak English.
There is a janitor at my school named Magali. She is the sweetest woman. During the first week of class, she came into my classroom after my class was over, to just sweep and she saw me crying. (The first week and a half of classes I was basically on the verge of tears at all times, and I looked it, so if someone asked or I was alone, it just came out). She doesn't speak any English, but she immediately asked me why I was crying, in Spanish, and told me everything was going to be okay. She asked me if I believed in God and I said yes, and she told me I had to have hope that he was going to make it better. It was such an encouraging moment. She then took my water bottle and told me she knew where to get cold water (all water, for the most part, is room temperature here and ice isn't always a thing) and refilled it for me. Every day after that she asked me if I was okay. Some days I'd be crying, and I'd tell her what I was upset about. She told me to write about it, tear it up or save it if I wanted, talk things about with the people in my life. It was such a comfort. Now that I'm doing better, she still asks how I am but I get to say good, or okay and she smiles and just chats away about how life can be hard, but worth it. She has a husband and 3 kids and she's shown me their pictures. She's talked to me so much and during a time when I wasn't really good at Chilean Spanish or could even concentrate on it, so I'm sure there's so much more she's told me that I just don't know. But she is definitely a person I'd want to give a gift too, or write a little card for. Why did I leave my stationary at home?! (note to self, thing to buy)
Dan and Mary Allison are the leaders from Florida who are here to help the church in Santiago. They have had me over to eat so many times, and offered many more and it has been such a blessing. It's hard for me to find food/eat here. I've had talks with both of them about how I'm struggling, spiritually and otherwise, and they have been more than here for me. I'm so grateful for them. I also feel like they are adopted parents in Santiago. Like I mentioned, they are in their 60s and both parents and grandparents, so they feel like a mother and father to me. They make sure I have everything I need and feed me any chance they get. They give me advice and listen to me and help answer my questions. Definitely 2 people I want to thank constantly for what they do and who they are.
Hannah is one of the people who is also in TeachingChile (my program), and teaches at the same campus as me in Santiago. She is from Bath, England and taught English through English Opens Doors in Quillota, Chile last year. She learned all of her Spanish there in just 4 months or so and that amazes me. She's extremely intelligent and very witty. We've shared a lot with each other these past 3 weeks or so, and I've confided in her about a lot of things. She gives great advice and I'm so grateful to have her as a friend and to have her at the same campus as me as well! We've been talking about going to a bunch of places in Chile and hopefully we can go to some places together!
Speaking of that, places I want to go in Chile:
- Viña/Valpo (again, and many times more. Dana and Kylie, I'm coming for you guys!)
- Concepcion (Brock and Erica!)
- Chillan (my Chilean family (for future reference their surname is Figueroa) is there!)
- Los Lagos (Adolfo Jr., oldest son of the Figueroa family, showed me a picture of the stars you can see in this place (they went there this summer/go there every summer?) and it looked amazing!!! So many stars and lots of lakes)
- A Pisco distellery
- Iquique (the desert! You can also find paragliding there!)
- Chiloé (an island in the very south of Chile, also the location of Isabel Allende's novel Maya's Notebook, that has beautiful old churches and many other amazing things. It looks beautiful!)
- all of Pablo Neruda's houses (one in Santiago, one in Valpo, and something on Isla Negra)
- Isla Magdalena- penguins!!!!!
- Chinchorro mummies- near Anca, prehistoric, 7,000 year old mummies, remarkably intact!
- Easter Island (veryyyy expensive, but a girl can dream, right?)
- The Andes!!! They are right here! I want to go skiing/hiking/stay in a cabin up there. Being from the Great Plains, mountains are amazing things to me. I want to explore them!
- PATAGONIA! The first time I ever saw a picture of Patagonia was in July, when I met two lovely gentlemen from California, who had been traveling the world all year. One of them showed me a picture of this place and all I remember feeling is the strongest desire to go there for real, more than any other place I think, because it felt like it was really possible. This is my number one place to go while in South America, so it's a major priority. The trouble is when to go, because I'd love to go during my break in July, but that is winter time here, and the further I go from the equator (south, which is where Patagonia is), the colder it will be. My best bet is to go during summer (December ish).
Also a side note: this list of places was mostly gathered from a book I found in our hostel in Viña. There was a book shelf and there were books in Spanish and German, no other language, except one book, a guide to Chile, which was in English. I would've read it any way if it was in any other language, but it helped that it was in English. That is something I regret not buying/bringing here before I left. When I traveled in Spain, I had a guidebook given to me by my cousin Laura. It was written in 2009 and I used it in both 2011 and 2013. It helped SO much. A lot of the prices and places were different, but all mostly the same. This guide to Chile, also written in 2009, left at the hostel in 2011 by an English gentleman, RL Brown, had a list of top places to see in Chile, and a guide to the whole country, split up into regions. I can't wait to devour the book more. I'm excited to discover this country, and I'm grateful to know that there's more to it than just a few cities.
My feet are also really tan now, or possibly permanently dirty. Hard to tell.
Besos,
Ally
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Second week of teaching, weekend, apartment options
This post is coming pretty late. Sorry about that. My second week of teaching already feels so far in the past, as today is the second day of my third week, but I'll give an overview.
My second week of teaching went a smoother than the first, which seems pretty predictable. It really didn't feel like it was going to though. Monday-Wednesday were really really hard. Finally, by Thursday I felt like I had the hang of things, I had planned all of my lessons ahead of time (instead of an hour or two before) and I felt more practiced.
The problem with teaching right now is that I feel like I was not really prepared for this beforehand. I don't have a degree in teaching, I haven't really taught (minus dance clases and swim lessons here and there through high school and college), and the school sort of just handed us our books, told us where to go and said, alright cool have fun. I took an TEFL certification, but all that did was remind me of the structure of our language, which I had learned in 7th grade and obviously forgot... but no one showed us how to present the material, how to TEACH it to someone. After observing a couple other teachers' classes, and remembering how I was taught in school, I have somewhat figured it out. It's all just going to come with time.
Another reason why I think everything got easier Thursday: I had 3 apartment options that day. It felt wonderful to at least have options. Deciding between these options became a different battle entirely, but at least I had options.
Option 1- a room with a sister in my church. She's Chilean and understands and speaks a little English but not that much. The place is near Santa Ana, which has some unsafe streets, but where the place was was fine. The woman is so sweet, kind, and we definitely have a lot in common spiritually. She's in her 30s I believe, so just a little older than me, and works for an optometrist. The place was so nice, it was very clean and decorated. It felt very homey. Two of my friends from the program, Hannah and Lizzi, live within walking distance of this place. Other plus, right near La Vega, the huge fruit and vegetable market where I want to be able to buy all my food. And final, amazing plus side: this woman offered me the place for less than a fourth of my monthly salary!!! I almost cried when she told me that. I asked why, and she said it was because I'm in a new country, at a new job, in a strange city, I'm stressed out and she could tell. She said I didn't need to have the added stress of paying a lot for somewhere to live. She can afford to have me there for that much and it was up to me. The downsides to that would be, the area, and living with someone who isn't really close to my age, who I also don't know very well.
Option 2, which is now no longer an option- a place in Manuel Montt, 2 metro stops from where I am now, a 35 min commute to school. It was with a Chilean and a Spaniard. Manuel Montt is a really awesome area, with bars, restaurants, things to do, health food stores and vegan food. My Chilean family lives 4 blocks away from where this place was. The 2 roommates were muy tranquilos (very chill) and it was a good location. Also, I'm drawn to any Spanish accent ever, so I was like, perfect! I could try to keep my Spanish accent instead of picking up the Chilean one (not a fan of it yet haha). But, the rent was half my salary per month and I needed the place to really wow me for that, and it did not. So I decided to eliminate it as an option, sadly.
Option 3- this option came later in the weekend, maybe Friday or so. Jenni, one of the teachers here that did our program last year and is back this year. She is living a block away from where I am now in the hostel, on the same main road, Vicuna Mackenna. She lives with a Chilean, Marisela, and they have a third room. Since I arrived here the room had been going to a Colombian girl, but she got really flaky and Jenni and Marisela decided to just tell her she couldn't have it. Jenni offered me the room. The pros of this include that Marisela is Chilean, they speak Spanish together... Marisela also works at a vegan restaurant, and they cook a lot of vegan, healthy food at home. They both love yoga and are spiritual (a different kind of spiritual than me, but I love that) and we all just get along and click really well. The downsides include the rent, which is still within my budget (1/3 of my salary of less), but after getting offered to pay so little with Option 1, everything feels so expensive. And the other downside, the building is kind of old and not that nice. But the girls want to paint it and make it look nicer. I'd also be paying for the location, which is a really great one. More pros, Jenni and I get along really well already, have similar sense of humor and want a lot of the same things in life/are confused about a lot of the same things. Marisela also apparently studied psychology, so she'd understand a lot about what I go through with depression and anxiety. They like having people over, being social, eating food, hanging out. They are both my age too (Jenni's 23, I guess I don't know how old Marisela is, but I'm assuming around that age).
So I was struggling between Option 1 and Option 3 for the past 5 days or so. I asked advice and input from people. Basically so many elements, and good and bad sides to both. As of last night, I made a decision!!!! I was walking home from the grocery store and it just hit me, which was the right one. I've been waiting to feel that way and I definitely think it was God answering my major question. It was suddenly just really clear.
So I move into my new place tomorrow (Wednesday)!!!! Hopefully by then or Thursday/Friday I will be settled and I'll post a picture on Facebook!
This past weekend was really nice. It was my first real weekend in Santiago (minus the first weekend, when the whole program was here, before everyone left for other cities, etc.) On Saturday night we went to an area called Las Condes, which is on the west side of Santiago. It's cleaner, both in the streets and in the air, and a lot nicer. We (Hannah, Lizzi, Natalie, and I) went to meet a friend of Natalie's, and he and his 3 friends. They made us dinner, which was delicious, and I could eat a lot of it! Yay! And then we went dancing at a club. It turned out differently than we had hoped, but it was still a good experience and I liked that I was able to meet more Chileans. I hope I can meet more and more.
My next post will be about random things I have noticed and people in my life here.
Besos,
Ally
My second week of teaching went a smoother than the first, which seems pretty predictable. It really didn't feel like it was going to though. Monday-Wednesday were really really hard. Finally, by Thursday I felt like I had the hang of things, I had planned all of my lessons ahead of time (instead of an hour or two before) and I felt more practiced.
The problem with teaching right now is that I feel like I was not really prepared for this beforehand. I don't have a degree in teaching, I haven't really taught (minus dance clases and swim lessons here and there through high school and college), and the school sort of just handed us our books, told us where to go and said, alright cool have fun. I took an TEFL certification, but all that did was remind me of the structure of our language, which I had learned in 7th grade and obviously forgot... but no one showed us how to present the material, how to TEACH it to someone. After observing a couple other teachers' classes, and remembering how I was taught in school, I have somewhat figured it out. It's all just going to come with time.
Another reason why I think everything got easier Thursday: I had 3 apartment options that day. It felt wonderful to at least have options. Deciding between these options became a different battle entirely, but at least I had options.
Option 1- a room with a sister in my church. She's Chilean and understands and speaks a little English but not that much. The place is near Santa Ana, which has some unsafe streets, but where the place was was fine. The woman is so sweet, kind, and we definitely have a lot in common spiritually. She's in her 30s I believe, so just a little older than me, and works for an optometrist. The place was so nice, it was very clean and decorated. It felt very homey. Two of my friends from the program, Hannah and Lizzi, live within walking distance of this place. Other plus, right near La Vega, the huge fruit and vegetable market where I want to be able to buy all my food. And final, amazing plus side: this woman offered me the place for less than a fourth of my monthly salary!!! I almost cried when she told me that. I asked why, and she said it was because I'm in a new country, at a new job, in a strange city, I'm stressed out and she could tell. She said I didn't need to have the added stress of paying a lot for somewhere to live. She can afford to have me there for that much and it was up to me. The downsides to that would be, the area, and living with someone who isn't really close to my age, who I also don't know very well.
Option 2, which is now no longer an option- a place in Manuel Montt, 2 metro stops from where I am now, a 35 min commute to school. It was with a Chilean and a Spaniard. Manuel Montt is a really awesome area, with bars, restaurants, things to do, health food stores and vegan food. My Chilean family lives 4 blocks away from where this place was. The 2 roommates were muy tranquilos (very chill) and it was a good location. Also, I'm drawn to any Spanish accent ever, so I was like, perfect! I could try to keep my Spanish accent instead of picking up the Chilean one (not a fan of it yet haha). But, the rent was half my salary per month and I needed the place to really wow me for that, and it did not. So I decided to eliminate it as an option, sadly.
Option 3- this option came later in the weekend, maybe Friday or so. Jenni, one of the teachers here that did our program last year and is back this year. She is living a block away from where I am now in the hostel, on the same main road, Vicuna Mackenna. She lives with a Chilean, Marisela, and they have a third room. Since I arrived here the room had been going to a Colombian girl, but she got really flaky and Jenni and Marisela decided to just tell her she couldn't have it. Jenni offered me the room. The pros of this include that Marisela is Chilean, they speak Spanish together... Marisela also works at a vegan restaurant, and they cook a lot of vegan, healthy food at home. They both love yoga and are spiritual (a different kind of spiritual than me, but I love that) and we all just get along and click really well. The downsides include the rent, which is still within my budget (1/3 of my salary of less), but after getting offered to pay so little with Option 1, everything feels so expensive. And the other downside, the building is kind of old and not that nice. But the girls want to paint it and make it look nicer. I'd also be paying for the location, which is a really great one. More pros, Jenni and I get along really well already, have similar sense of humor and want a lot of the same things in life/are confused about a lot of the same things. Marisela also apparently studied psychology, so she'd understand a lot about what I go through with depression and anxiety. They like having people over, being social, eating food, hanging out. They are both my age too (Jenni's 23, I guess I don't know how old Marisela is, but I'm assuming around that age).
So I was struggling between Option 1 and Option 3 for the past 5 days or so. I asked advice and input from people. Basically so many elements, and good and bad sides to both. As of last night, I made a decision!!!! I was walking home from the grocery store and it just hit me, which was the right one. I've been waiting to feel that way and I definitely think it was God answering my major question. It was suddenly just really clear.
So I move into my new place tomorrow (Wednesday)!!!! Hopefully by then or Thursday/Friday I will be settled and I'll post a picture on Facebook!
This past weekend was really nice. It was my first real weekend in Santiago (minus the first weekend, when the whole program was here, before everyone left for other cities, etc.) On Saturday night we went to an area called Las Condes, which is on the west side of Santiago. It's cleaner, both in the streets and in the air, and a lot nicer. We (Hannah, Lizzi, Natalie, and I) went to meet a friend of Natalie's, and he and his 3 friends. They made us dinner, which was delicious, and I could eat a lot of it! Yay! And then we went dancing at a club. It turned out differently than we had hoped, but it was still a good experience and I liked that I was able to meet more Chileans. I hope I can meet more and more.
My next post will be about random things I have noticed and people in my life here.
Besos,
Ally
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Viña del Mar
Okay so! Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. It was an amazing weekend!
So originally, we wanted to leave on Friday night, get there around 10 pm, drop our stuff off at the hostel, and then go out for the night.
Dana and Kylie were still living in their hostel in Viña, called El Jaguar, and there were about 10 or so of us coming from Santiago (Me, Hannah, Lizzi, Natalie and a guy named John all went together. Mike, Miller, Allen, Joe, and Kevin all went together, separate from us). I went online to make a reservation at their hostel and the website never confirmed my reservation. I didn't receive any kind of confirmation, and I tried calling and emailing them and they didn't answer. So with Noah's help we found another hostel nearby, in a really cool area of Viña, pretty much on the main strip.
We ended up getting to the bus station really late, and the tickets for the night were all sold out. So we went back to Lizzi's apartment, had some pasta and wine (exnay on the pasta for me :) ) and just hung out. We bought bus tickets for the next morning around 9 am. We all met at the bus station that morning and took the hour and a half bus ride west to the the ocean. Arriving in Viña, around 11 am, I was immediately impressed. I thought, "Wow, I wish I lived here." It reminded me so much of southern California, and the ocean was there, so for me it was just a no brainer.
We walked around and went to the beach for a few hours. It was really nice and the weather is relatively mild. We were having trouble getting a hold of Dana and Kylie, but we eventually did around 8 pm and went to their hostel. All the other guys were there too, and apparently there were a bunch of empty rooms in the hostel we could've stayed in! If only they would've answered their phone... oh well.
When I saw Dana and Kylie again it was like a missing piece of me was back again. It sounds so silly but they are definitely two people I felt an immediate connection with and I was so happy to see them again. We drank wine, hung out at the hostel, Allen and Miller cooked some food (salad, grilled veggies, steak (none for me thanks!)) and it was a great time. The night reminded me a lot of what it is like to study abroad. You meet people and you bond with them almost immediately, and very deeply, because you're all in this boat together, no matter where or what background you came from. You're all still teaching English in Chile. It's a pretty cool thing.
All night Dana was talking about going to a salsa bar, and as it got later, I think people were thinking it wouldn't happen. But Dana was telling me all night that no matter how late it got, we were still going. So around 1 am, we left for the salsa bar.
Viña and Valpo are two different cities, but they are basically right on top of each other, so it takes about ten or fifteen minutes to get from one city to the other. The salsa bar was in Valpo, so we hopped a bus (there are literally hundreds of these little buses that will stop anywhere, on any street and just pick up people and take them from Viña to Valpo or the other way around. They swerve and speed down the roads and part of me felt a little unsafe on the way there, but it turned out okay! We arrived in one piece.
The salsa bar was super cool. To get in it was about 3,000 pesos, which is about $5, and that included one drink. We went in, I got a pisco with ginger ale, and we went upstairs to the dance floor. The bar was themed like a pirate ship, and had wooden blanks on the walls and cool wooden columns with ropes around them throughout. We danced a little salsa (well, I tried) but mostly enjoyed the music and each others company. I watched people couple up within the group or with random people on the dance floor. Some Chileans tried to hit on me and told me I had beautiful eyes, but once one of them asked me if I ate McDonalds every day (cause I'm American, so duh), I was like okkkkaaayyy no more. I danced with Lizzi and Dana, a little with Kylie (but she's also a gringa so that drew some attention) and met these really cool Argentinian girls. They were from Buenos Aires, and also staying in the same hostel as Dana and Kylie. They were so sweet and tried to teach me to salsa (I just don't have latina hips).
Around 5 am we headed home. I got into bed around 6 am and had to wake up by 9 to get the bus back to Santiago with Lizzi. It was overall a VERY fun trip and weekend, and I was sad it had only been one night with all of us together. I wish we could've spent the day at the beach all together too. But in the end I was was more tired, hungry and just feeling sick. I hadn't gotten good sleep since then, but I was still feeling pretty sad in the days leading up to Viña, so it was good for the soul. I felt uplifted and less alone and maybe like I'd start to be a little happier and more adjusted here.
Next post about my second week of classes, apartment options (help! I need advice!), and my second real weekend in Chile.
Besos,
Ally
So originally, we wanted to leave on Friday night, get there around 10 pm, drop our stuff off at the hostel, and then go out for the night.
Dana and Kylie were still living in their hostel in Viña, called El Jaguar, and there were about 10 or so of us coming from Santiago (Me, Hannah, Lizzi, Natalie and a guy named John all went together. Mike, Miller, Allen, Joe, and Kevin all went together, separate from us). I went online to make a reservation at their hostel and the website never confirmed my reservation. I didn't receive any kind of confirmation, and I tried calling and emailing them and they didn't answer. So with Noah's help we found another hostel nearby, in a really cool area of Viña, pretty much on the main strip.
We ended up getting to the bus station really late, and the tickets for the night were all sold out. So we went back to Lizzi's apartment, had some pasta and wine (exnay on the pasta for me :) ) and just hung out. We bought bus tickets for the next morning around 9 am. We all met at the bus station that morning and took the hour and a half bus ride west to the the ocean. Arriving in Viña, around 11 am, I was immediately impressed. I thought, "Wow, I wish I lived here." It reminded me so much of southern California, and the ocean was there, so for me it was just a no brainer.
We walked around and went to the beach for a few hours. It was really nice and the weather is relatively mild. We were having trouble getting a hold of Dana and Kylie, but we eventually did around 8 pm and went to their hostel. All the other guys were there too, and apparently there were a bunch of empty rooms in the hostel we could've stayed in! If only they would've answered their phone... oh well.
When I saw Dana and Kylie again it was like a missing piece of me was back again. It sounds so silly but they are definitely two people I felt an immediate connection with and I was so happy to see them again. We drank wine, hung out at the hostel, Allen and Miller cooked some food (salad, grilled veggies, steak (none for me thanks!)) and it was a great time. The night reminded me a lot of what it is like to study abroad. You meet people and you bond with them almost immediately, and very deeply, because you're all in this boat together, no matter where or what background you came from. You're all still teaching English in Chile. It's a pretty cool thing.
All night Dana was talking about going to a salsa bar, and as it got later, I think people were thinking it wouldn't happen. But Dana was telling me all night that no matter how late it got, we were still going. So around 1 am, we left for the salsa bar.
Viña and Valpo are two different cities, but they are basically right on top of each other, so it takes about ten or fifteen minutes to get from one city to the other. The salsa bar was in Valpo, so we hopped a bus (there are literally hundreds of these little buses that will stop anywhere, on any street and just pick up people and take them from Viña to Valpo or the other way around. They swerve and speed down the roads and part of me felt a little unsafe on the way there, but it turned out okay! We arrived in one piece.
The salsa bar was super cool. To get in it was about 3,000 pesos, which is about $5, and that included one drink. We went in, I got a pisco with ginger ale, and we went upstairs to the dance floor. The bar was themed like a pirate ship, and had wooden blanks on the walls and cool wooden columns with ropes around them throughout. We danced a little salsa (well, I tried) but mostly enjoyed the music and each others company. I watched people couple up within the group or with random people on the dance floor. Some Chileans tried to hit on me and told me I had beautiful eyes, but once one of them asked me if I ate McDonalds every day (cause I'm American, so duh), I was like okkkkaaayyy no more. I danced with Lizzi and Dana, a little with Kylie (but she's also a gringa so that drew some attention) and met these really cool Argentinian girls. They were from Buenos Aires, and also staying in the same hostel as Dana and Kylie. They were so sweet and tried to teach me to salsa (I just don't have latina hips).
Around 5 am we headed home. I got into bed around 6 am and had to wake up by 9 to get the bus back to Santiago with Lizzi. It was overall a VERY fun trip and weekend, and I was sad it had only been one night with all of us together. I wish we could've spent the day at the beach all together too. But in the end I was was more tired, hungry and just feeling sick. I hadn't gotten good sleep since then, but I was still feeling pretty sad in the days leading up to Viña, so it was good for the soul. I felt uplifted and less alone and maybe like I'd start to be a little happier and more adjusted here.
Next post about my second week of classes, apartment options (help! I need advice!), and my second real weekend in Chile.
Besos,
Ally
Friday, March 14, 2014
The First Week of Classes
So just a general discloser: I'm noticing that my posts are pretty hastily written and not edited... so they aren't turning out as well as I had hoped :( My writing is suffering. Maybe after a month or two of getting settled that will change, but I'm not sure.
Also, the reason I have been posting very, very little is because these past 2 weeks have been pretty awful for me. I won't go into the sad details, but honestly the adjustment was so hard, and everything that was going on with work, missing people, etc, all I was doing was crying, feeling miserable, and wanting to come home. Nothing was going right, and the people I was talking to on the phone were thankfully people who are close enough to me to know that I just needed to vent and complain and cry. But I didn't want to taint my blog with that, or be a debbie downer to everyone who was excited to read about my adventures. With that in mind, this post will be a little that way. People asked how my first week went, so here it is, pretty honest. At least there's a good ending!
So, my first week of classes. AHHHHH. The first 3 days (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) were ROUGH. I felt like the first day I was just thrown off the deep end into the world of teaching. I have a TEFL certifcation, and we went to orientation, but no one told us how to lesson plan, what to expect, what the students are allowed to do and say or not do and say, and if someone did tell us that, someone else would contradict them. So my first day of class was awful. I didn't know much English my students knew (I have 4 English 101 classes, and 1 English 201 class), and it turned out to be a mix. At least when I went to Iowa, they did a language test before I entered the university to see what level I should go into. Here, if it's your first year taking English at Duoc, you're in 101. Even if you've taken 7 years of it in high school or something.
My lesson plans for Monday went awful and I confided in my mentor, Jenni. Jenni is a 24 year old from Texas who did this exact program last year. Duoc is very strict on their policy of not rehiring us TIPs (those who come for a year through a teaching english program), but Jenni pushed and persisted, reapplied and got the job. She helps answer a lot of my questions, and basically she offered to have me come sit in on 2 of her classes. Once I did that, everything started to turn around.
I had an idea for a lesson plan, and a structure to use as a base. I went through my Tuesday classes with a little more ease, but found that it was still difficult and didn't quite have the hang of it. I felt like I hated teaching, that I wasn't good at it, and maybe in this capacity it wasn't for me
Then Wednesday came. I only have one class on Wednesday. I was at the school, hanging out hours before the class was supposed to start. I was sitting on a computer in the teachers lounge and the watching the clock on the computer. When it said I had 30 min to class, I walked downstairs to Duoc's little chapel to have a pray and a breather before going to teach. The next thing I know, one of the school administrators is calling my Chilean cell phone and asks me to come to the office. Two of my students are there and I'm like, what's going on? They said I missed my class. I was so confused and upset. I had been watching the time, I had the whole lesson planned. The whole class showed up and then they all left before I didn't come. The computer clocks were an hour off. I was on the verge of tears, I felt so awful. I found an empty classroom and taught my lesson to the two girls that stayed, and went to talk to my boss about it afterwards. He told me it was fine and not to worry, but it still felt pretty bad. I'm worried now for the students because they're now a week behind the rest of my classes and the first exam is in 3 weeks.
I woke up Thursday and had 3 classes to teach that day. Since it was the exact lesson I had prepared for Wednesday, I felt comfortable. The students were attentive and they asked a lot of questions. By the end of the day I felt like I might really like being a teacher. My last class of the day is at 7 pm. It's a class of about 15 boys and 1 girl. They all have jobs and come after work to learn English. They're so dedicated and interested and I love it. One older man came in an hour late and miss the whole first 2/3 of the lesson. I stayed with him after class and taught the whole thing again. But I didn't even care! I loved it. I love the look on people's faces when they finally understand something and I get to help them get there.
Today (Friday) I had one class at 11 am. It was my English 201 class. It went really well, but I know I could've planned more creative stuff into the lesson. Gotta learn how to do that. Some of the girls in the class were talking almost the entire way through, but finally I told them to shut up, in a stern, respectful way of course, and I think it helped get them to respect me as well.
I'm really more hopeful about teaching and life here. School doesn't eat my whole life (and it shouldn't, I only work around 20 hours a week), I have plans to travel, meet people, try new things, look for a yoga studio, and a gym. FIND SOMEWHERE TO LIVE (ahhhh please keep praying about that for me), and much more. Things are looking up.
In about an hour, Lizzi, Natalie, Hannah, and I are going to Viña!!!! I am so excited, I've heard amazing things about this place, and it's originally where I wanted to live here in Chile. Kylie and Dana will be there so hopefully we'll get to hang out with them as well. I need a weekend of some beach time, relaxation, and hopefully a bit of wine to get me rejuvenated for next week!
Miss you all!
Besos,
Ally
Also, the reason I have been posting very, very little is because these past 2 weeks have been pretty awful for me. I won't go into the sad details, but honestly the adjustment was so hard, and everything that was going on with work, missing people, etc, all I was doing was crying, feeling miserable, and wanting to come home. Nothing was going right, and the people I was talking to on the phone were thankfully people who are close enough to me to know that I just needed to vent and complain and cry. But I didn't want to taint my blog with that, or be a debbie downer to everyone who was excited to read about my adventures. With that in mind, this post will be a little that way. People asked how my first week went, so here it is, pretty honest. At least there's a good ending!
So, my first week of classes. AHHHHH. The first 3 days (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) were ROUGH. I felt like the first day I was just thrown off the deep end into the world of teaching. I have a TEFL certifcation, and we went to orientation, but no one told us how to lesson plan, what to expect, what the students are allowed to do and say or not do and say, and if someone did tell us that, someone else would contradict them. So my first day of class was awful. I didn't know much English my students knew (I have 4 English 101 classes, and 1 English 201 class), and it turned out to be a mix. At least when I went to Iowa, they did a language test before I entered the university to see what level I should go into. Here, if it's your first year taking English at Duoc, you're in 101. Even if you've taken 7 years of it in high school or something.
My lesson plans for Monday went awful and I confided in my mentor, Jenni. Jenni is a 24 year old from Texas who did this exact program last year. Duoc is very strict on their policy of not rehiring us TIPs (those who come for a year through a teaching english program), but Jenni pushed and persisted, reapplied and got the job. She helps answer a lot of my questions, and basically she offered to have me come sit in on 2 of her classes. Once I did that, everything started to turn around.
I had an idea for a lesson plan, and a structure to use as a base. I went through my Tuesday classes with a little more ease, but found that it was still difficult and didn't quite have the hang of it. I felt like I hated teaching, that I wasn't good at it, and maybe in this capacity it wasn't for me
Then Wednesday came. I only have one class on Wednesday. I was at the school, hanging out hours before the class was supposed to start. I was sitting on a computer in the teachers lounge and the watching the clock on the computer. When it said I had 30 min to class, I walked downstairs to Duoc's little chapel to have a pray and a breather before going to teach. The next thing I know, one of the school administrators is calling my Chilean cell phone and asks me to come to the office. Two of my students are there and I'm like, what's going on? They said I missed my class. I was so confused and upset. I had been watching the time, I had the whole lesson planned. The whole class showed up and then they all left before I didn't come. The computer clocks were an hour off. I was on the verge of tears, I felt so awful. I found an empty classroom and taught my lesson to the two girls that stayed, and went to talk to my boss about it afterwards. He told me it was fine and not to worry, but it still felt pretty bad. I'm worried now for the students because they're now a week behind the rest of my classes and the first exam is in 3 weeks.
I woke up Thursday and had 3 classes to teach that day. Since it was the exact lesson I had prepared for Wednesday, I felt comfortable. The students were attentive and they asked a lot of questions. By the end of the day I felt like I might really like being a teacher. My last class of the day is at 7 pm. It's a class of about 15 boys and 1 girl. They all have jobs and come after work to learn English. They're so dedicated and interested and I love it. One older man came in an hour late and miss the whole first 2/3 of the lesson. I stayed with him after class and taught the whole thing again. But I didn't even care! I loved it. I love the look on people's faces when they finally understand something and I get to help them get there.
Today (Friday) I had one class at 11 am. It was my English 201 class. It went really well, but I know I could've planned more creative stuff into the lesson. Gotta learn how to do that. Some of the girls in the class were talking almost the entire way through, but finally I told them to shut up, in a stern, respectful way of course, and I think it helped get them to respect me as well.
I'm really more hopeful about teaching and life here. School doesn't eat my whole life (and it shouldn't, I only work around 20 hours a week), I have plans to travel, meet people, try new things, look for a yoga studio, and a gym. FIND SOMEWHERE TO LIVE (ahhhh please keep praying about that for me), and much more. Things are looking up.
In about an hour, Lizzi, Natalie, Hannah, and I are going to Viña!!!! I am so excited, I've heard amazing things about this place, and it's originally where I wanted to live here in Chile. Kylie and Dana will be there so hopefully we'll get to hang out with them as well. I need a weekend of some beach time, relaxation, and hopefully a bit of wine to get me rejuvenated for next week!
Miss you all!
Besos,
Ally
Monday, March 10, 2014
Chilean culture and life, as I know it
I wanted to do a post on Chilean culture and some other things I have noticed about life here in Chile and Santiago as well. I'm in the middle of my first week of classes, but I figure I will save that post for a few more days from now when more experience to go off of.
Stray dogs: So there are stray dogs here by the hundreds of thousands. Literally, I think someone told me it was around 100,000 dogs living on the streets in just Santiago alone. They all look really well fed, and some even groomed, and most of them are full breeds, not really any mutts, so part of me wonders if they have 'homes' somewhere, or just random dog lovers looking after them. The amazing part to me is that for every 40 stray dogs I see, there is a cute little puppy on a leash as a pet. Someone else told me that people buy puppies, and when they get tired of them they let them out on the street. There are no pounds or shelters here and that is part of the problem. A few days ago, Hannah and I waked past a store that had 3 kittens in the window and a sign that read, "Se regalan gatitos" and in tiny font, "condición los gatitos se deben ir vacunados"... which basically translates to, "We will give these kittens to you/anybody for free as long as you vaccinate them." It was super tempting not to take one.
Chilean food: A lot of people were excited about all the amazing food I would get to eat. Most of central and south America has a reputation for good, cultural food. Chilean food is definitely cultural, but it's nothing to get worked up over. They like a lot of bread and a lot of mayonesse. (did I spell that right? this computer is in Spanish spell check so apologies for any previous or further spelling errors). The only thing I'm a fan of so far is: 1. the fresh produce. What we consider "organic" in the states, which is just natural fruits and veggies, with no chemicals or added growth potions, is the normally sold produce of Chile. I love it! It tastes amazing and it's cheap. and 2. the Pisco! Pisco is a liquor made with mostly grapes I believe, but it's not wine. It's really good and you mix it with coke, ginger ale, or even beer apparently.
Chilean concept of time: This is SUPER frustrating for me. It's also confusing. People hardly ever arrive to things or start on time. My first week of work and meetings all would call for a 5 pm start time, for example, no one would get there until 5:30, and the meeting didn't start til 5:45, and me, like an anxious 22 year old at my "first job", arrived 15 minutes early. It feels completely disrespectful of my time, and I think I am going to appreciate punctuality much more when I get back home.
La Vega: The AMAZING, beautiful fruit market. It's mostly fruits and vegetables, but there are some fish and meat areas as well. They sell spices and nuts, etc and in some places around the market there are little restaurants. The food is all fresh, delicious, and cheap. I absolutely love it there. The market is massive and so many people get food from there. I want to live close enough that I can go buy my groceries there for the week.
Coffee: of the things that you'd think would be most amazing in South America, one of them is coffee. Here, no way. It's amazing to me that Brazil and Colombia and all the coffee beans are HERE and Chile literally has the worst coffee I've ever tasted. Every single place you go and ask for coffee, any home you're in, anything, it is also NestCafe, or whatever that powdery, mix into your hot water stuff is. It is so sad to me. I love seeking out a good, little café and having a nice latte or americano. That is not a thing here. Three of us were talking about it and lamented how we had to resort to Starbucks to get something that even resembled good coffee.
Stares: I'm a gringa, people stare at me. It's a a bit much sometimes, It happened in Spain, but here they whistle and the way I notice some men looking at me makes me feel downright violated. Other gringas here say I'll get used to it, but I don't know how I could. It's a little frustrating
Prices of things: everything is REALLY cheap. I love it. Rent in the best part of the city can easily be found at around $400 a month, for a good place, with all the utilities included. A full, large pizza with all the fixings, on good artesian bread, at a pizzería costs about $5. I just bought a kilo of bananas for about $1. It's pretty good
Lolla tickets: I'm going to Lollapalooza Chile! I'm super excited. It's next weekend, and I'm going with the other girls from our program who are here in Santiago. The line up is a pretty different from the line up in Chicago, and being the proud Chicagoan I am, I can barely refer to it as Lolla, cause it's just not. It still has some great artists though and I'm referring to it as just an awesome music festival. I'm super excited :)
Viña del mar: We are going this weekend! I'm pretty excited. Dana and Kylie are there and the rest of us girls here in Santiago are making the trip. It's about an hour and a half bus ride.
Moving out: So I am officially one of the last 3 people left in the hostel from our group. It's super lonely and even more stressful, as I'm trying to teach and lesson plan, and I have the worry of where to live on my shoulders as well. I have a few more places to look this week and I am PRAYING that one of them works out. I'm feeling a little hopeless, so if y'all could just pray that I find something, that'd be awesome. My next post will update you on that hopefully, and how classes are.
Street food: such a cool concept. Not much you find in the States. People make food in their homes and sell it on the street. Usually, it's really good, cheap, authentic, homemade food, and for the most part, way better value. I even found some vegan street food! It's amazing! Over the past 6 days I've bought I vegan empanada, a vegan hamburger, and a vegan hamburger pita. Yuuumm!
Next post about first week of classes!
Besos,
Ally
Stray dogs: So there are stray dogs here by the hundreds of thousands. Literally, I think someone told me it was around 100,000 dogs living on the streets in just Santiago alone. They all look really well fed, and some even groomed, and most of them are full breeds, not really any mutts, so part of me wonders if they have 'homes' somewhere, or just random dog lovers looking after them. The amazing part to me is that for every 40 stray dogs I see, there is a cute little puppy on a leash as a pet. Someone else told me that people buy puppies, and when they get tired of them they let them out on the street. There are no pounds or shelters here and that is part of the problem. A few days ago, Hannah and I waked past a store that had 3 kittens in the window and a sign that read, "Se regalan gatitos" and in tiny font, "condición los gatitos se deben ir vacunados"... which basically translates to, "We will give these kittens to you/anybody for free as long as you vaccinate them." It was super tempting not to take one.
Chilean food: A lot of people were excited about all the amazing food I would get to eat. Most of central and south America has a reputation for good, cultural food. Chilean food is definitely cultural, but it's nothing to get worked up over. They like a lot of bread and a lot of mayonesse. (did I spell that right? this computer is in Spanish spell check so apologies for any previous or further spelling errors). The only thing I'm a fan of so far is: 1. the fresh produce. What we consider "organic" in the states, which is just natural fruits and veggies, with no chemicals or added growth potions, is the normally sold produce of Chile. I love it! It tastes amazing and it's cheap. and 2. the Pisco! Pisco is a liquor made with mostly grapes I believe, but it's not wine. It's really good and you mix it with coke, ginger ale, or even beer apparently.
Chilean concept of time: This is SUPER frustrating for me. It's also confusing. People hardly ever arrive to things or start on time. My first week of work and meetings all would call for a 5 pm start time, for example, no one would get there until 5:30, and the meeting didn't start til 5:45, and me, like an anxious 22 year old at my "first job", arrived 15 minutes early. It feels completely disrespectful of my time, and I think I am going to appreciate punctuality much more when I get back home.
La Vega: The AMAZING, beautiful fruit market. It's mostly fruits and vegetables, but there are some fish and meat areas as well. They sell spices and nuts, etc and in some places around the market there are little restaurants. The food is all fresh, delicious, and cheap. I absolutely love it there. The market is massive and so many people get food from there. I want to live close enough that I can go buy my groceries there for the week.
Coffee: of the things that you'd think would be most amazing in South America, one of them is coffee. Here, no way. It's amazing to me that Brazil and Colombia and all the coffee beans are HERE and Chile literally has the worst coffee I've ever tasted. Every single place you go and ask for coffee, any home you're in, anything, it is also NestCafe, or whatever that powdery, mix into your hot water stuff is. It is so sad to me. I love seeking out a good, little café and having a nice latte or americano. That is not a thing here. Three of us were talking about it and lamented how we had to resort to Starbucks to get something that even resembled good coffee.
Stares: I'm a gringa, people stare at me. It's a a bit much sometimes, It happened in Spain, but here they whistle and the way I notice some men looking at me makes me feel downright violated. Other gringas here say I'll get used to it, but I don't know how I could. It's a little frustrating
Prices of things: everything is REALLY cheap. I love it. Rent in the best part of the city can easily be found at around $400 a month, for a good place, with all the utilities included. A full, large pizza with all the fixings, on good artesian bread, at a pizzería costs about $5. I just bought a kilo of bananas for about $1. It's pretty good
Lolla tickets: I'm going to Lollapalooza Chile! I'm super excited. It's next weekend, and I'm going with the other girls from our program who are here in Santiago. The line up is a pretty different from the line up in Chicago, and being the proud Chicagoan I am, I can barely refer to it as Lolla, cause it's just not. It still has some great artists though and I'm referring to it as just an awesome music festival. I'm super excited :)
Viña del mar: We are going this weekend! I'm pretty excited. Dana and Kylie are there and the rest of us girls here in Santiago are making the trip. It's about an hour and a half bus ride.
Moving out: So I am officially one of the last 3 people left in the hostel from our group. It's super lonely and even more stressful, as I'm trying to teach and lesson plan, and I have the worry of where to live on my shoulders as well. I have a few more places to look this week and I am PRAYING that one of them works out. I'm feeling a little hopeless, so if y'all could just pray that I find something, that'd be awesome. My next post will update you on that hopefully, and how classes are.
Street food: such a cool concept. Not much you find in the States. People make food in their homes and sell it on the street. Usually, it's really good, cheap, authentic, homemade food, and for the most part, way better value. I even found some vegan street food! It's amazing! Over the past 6 days I've bought I vegan empanada, a vegan hamburger, and a vegan hamburger pita. Yuuumm!
Next post about first week of classes!
Besos,
Ally
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Gringa's First Pisco
Written: March 4th, 2014 (one day ago)
Well, it's been about an eternity since I arrived here in Chile, so I thought it was time for an update! Today and yesterday have been really good days for me, so I think that'll add a nice, positive voice to this post.
A few weeks before I left for Santiago, our program director sent an email to both me and 2 other people, telling us that we'd be on the same flight to Santiago together, and ride to the hostel together.
They're Brock and Erica. Both from Illinois, but Brock had been living in Portland for a few years. We met at O'Hare, waited there together for 4 hours when our flight was delayed, sat on the plane together, waited together for 2 hours in Panama City when we missed our first connection, sat on that plane together, and landed together in Santiago almost 20 hours later. All 3 of us definitely connected right away. The two of them have been friends for 7 years (they're 27 and 28) and met in Costa Rica during a study abroad trip. They are so funny together, because they fight like siblings, and are totally open, honest, and not afraid to be themselves. I totally fed off of people like that, and I got along with them right away. Erica is like me in a lot of ways: she loves yoga and natural supplements (peppermint oils and St. Johns Wart remedies), meeting new people, and speaking Spanish. She asks a lot of questions and listens very well. Brock is a huge diva, but I can tell he loves life and wants to live it to the fullest. He is so genuine, and really knows who he is and what he wants out of every situation. They both inspire me, and make me laugh! I hope we can stay friends for a long time!
We got picked up at the airport in Santiago and shuttled to the hostel, and arrived at about 5 am Santiago time. We immediately crashed and went to bed.
The hostel is HUGE and very cool. The wifi is nothing less than perfect, but the showers are terrible. Last night I heard from Erica where the best shower in the hostel was, and I traded her information for use of my hair straightener yesterday morning... #hostellife So that at least has gotten better!
The day after we arrived we walked around the area of Santiago that we're in (Providencia) and got lost a lot. But, it has to happen! We were so sleepy and hungry and tired. It was a rough combination.
The next couple of days were a blur of being tired, hungry, hot, annoyed, homesick, etc . There were highlights in it all though (always gotta look at the positive!)... The first night, Brock, Erica and I went to dinner and drank a bottle of Chilean wine and talked about life. It was uplifting and encouraging. I feel like I've known them for years and I am so sad, because they were leaving for Concepción, a city 6 hours away by plane for the year to teach.
Which leads me to another note. I seem to have made best friends with all of the people who are leaving for Concepción or Viña del Mar. The group I got closest with consisted of me and 4 other people. Two to Concepcion (Brock and Erica), two to Viña (Kylie and Dana). I'm the only one staying in Santiago and I having been avoiding the thought that they're leaving because it is so sad!
This past Sunday I went to church here in Santiago. For those who don't know, I am a member of a nondenominational church (ICOC) and we have churches all over the world (I've been to one in Chicago, Madrid, Irvine, Iowa, etc). The church here is led by Dan and Mary Allison, they're a couple in their 60s from Florida. They've lived all over the world, pretty much as missionaries, serving the churches and helping build them up. They mentioned living in places like India and the UAE. They fed me after church (they had been eating vegan and gluten free for the few weeks before I arrived, and I hadn't been eating well up to that point) and it was delicious! They let me nap at their apartment as well, which was a huge blessing, because it's so hard to nap at the hostel during the day.
My room in the hostel is very small, and there are 5 of us living in it, with all of our luggage for a year. It's not too bad, but it'll start to get difficult soon. They're all really sweet girls; 2 from Davis, CA, one from England, and one from Northern Ireland. All 5 of us are staying in Santiago to teach, so we've been trying to get to know each other and hang out, have food and drinks. We have about 15 more days left to live in the hostel, so we've all been trying to find somewhere to live.
An update on that: Originally, I was looking to live with a host family. It turns out that the way to do that was much more difficult and somewhat sketchier than had been implied. So I've changed my mind to looking to live with Chileans. I haven't found anything too promising yet and I'm a little nervous, but I still have time!
I spent the rest of the week figuring out how to use the Metro (success, and I love it! It's so easy and cheap and makes me feel like a real chilena) and went out with people one night. It was fun having the whole group out, and we went to a place where we could dance to some Latina music, and it was great.
Yesterday we had our first day of orientation at one of the campuses of Duoc. We are all working for this school, but we are split up in campuses. There are 2 in Valpo/Viña, 1 in Concepcion, and probably about 8 or so in Santiago. The one campus we met at for orientation just so happened to be the one I will be working at. I'd been so nervous and stressed and on edge all the time because I feel like I had NO information. I walked into this building and immediately felt relief. Just to know something tangible, that it was real and I had more information than before, was so so nice.
Yesterday and today we have training at this place. After being there and getting SO much information about our classes, the other people we will be working with, etc. I am really starting to get excited about teaching. They told us more about our students as well. They are people probably the first in their family to go to college. They are studying things that they can finish in 2 years and go directly into the working world: mechanics, construction, cooking, tourism. English not something they would necessarily be studying primarily or be too passionate about, but it is something they will need very much in the working world. The sight coordinators played this video for us and it made me smile SO much. These are Duoc students (from campuses all over Chile, not just mine) and they seem so happy and fun loving and enthusiastic. I think I'm going to like being a teacher.
And finally, today of all the days. It has been wonderful. After our orientation, we all came back to our hostel. It was everyone's last day who are leaving for their cities (tomorrow afternoon). So we all decided to go on a hike that Noah had mentioned to me (he did it while he was here in Santiago almost a year ago), but is also very well known around here. It's a hike up a mini mountain to a statue of La Virgen (the Virgin Mary). It overlooks almost the entire city, and you can see the Andes surrounding everything. We left our hostel with the group of us, Dana, Kylie, Brock, and Erica, plus another friend from out program, who is teaching in a high school here, Mike. We had so much fun, got some good exercise, hung out, and sang a little too, as we hiked. The view from the top was absolutely amazing... At the top, there is a sign that says, "Silencio, lugar de oracion", which means, "quiet, place of prayer." It was very serene and peaceful up there. The view was spectacular and we all took a moment to sit separately and be within our own thoughts and it was beautiful. Here are some photos!
I don't have one of all 5 of us together, but Mike does, so hopefully I can get it from him, or at least get tagged in it on Facebook. I really hope to do this hike many many times, and hopefully before I leave the hostel because it was so easy to get to.
Well y'all, I think that's it for now. I can't think of anything else that I should mention, but really I feel like I'm forgetting a million things. Comment if you have questions and I'll reply!
Tonight we're going out for one final night on the town. I'm so excited, but I feel the onset of sadness coming. I'll put it off till tomorrow. For now, vamos!
Miss and love you all,
besos,
Ally
Well, it's been about an eternity since I arrived here in Chile, so I thought it was time for an update! Today and yesterday have been really good days for me, so I think that'll add a nice, positive voice to this post.
A few weeks before I left for Santiago, our program director sent an email to both me and 2 other people, telling us that we'd be on the same flight to Santiago together, and ride to the hostel together.
They're Brock and Erica. Both from Illinois, but Brock had been living in Portland for a few years. We met at O'Hare, waited there together for 4 hours when our flight was delayed, sat on the plane together, waited together for 2 hours in Panama City when we missed our first connection, sat on that plane together, and landed together in Santiago almost 20 hours later. All 3 of us definitely connected right away. The two of them have been friends for 7 years (they're 27 and 28) and met in Costa Rica during a study abroad trip. They are so funny together, because they fight like siblings, and are totally open, honest, and not afraid to be themselves. I totally fed off of people like that, and I got along with them right away. Erica is like me in a lot of ways: she loves yoga and natural supplements (peppermint oils and St. Johns Wart remedies), meeting new people, and speaking Spanish. She asks a lot of questions and listens very well. Brock is a huge diva, but I can tell he loves life and wants to live it to the fullest. He is so genuine, and really knows who he is and what he wants out of every situation. They both inspire me, and make me laugh! I hope we can stay friends for a long time!
We got picked up at the airport in Santiago and shuttled to the hostel, and arrived at about 5 am Santiago time. We immediately crashed and went to bed.
The hostel is HUGE and very cool. The wifi is nothing less than perfect, but the showers are terrible. Last night I heard from Erica where the best shower in the hostel was, and I traded her information for use of my hair straightener yesterday morning... #hostellife So that at least has gotten better!
The day after we arrived we walked around the area of Santiago that we're in (Providencia) and got lost a lot. But, it has to happen! We were so sleepy and hungry and tired. It was a rough combination.
The next couple of days were a blur of being tired, hungry, hot, annoyed, homesick, etc . There were highlights in it all though (always gotta look at the positive!)... The first night, Brock, Erica and I went to dinner and drank a bottle of Chilean wine and talked about life. It was uplifting and encouraging. I feel like I've known them for years and I am so sad, because they were leaving for Concepción, a city 6 hours away by plane for the year to teach.
Which leads me to another note. I seem to have made best friends with all of the people who are leaving for Concepción or Viña del Mar. The group I got closest with consisted of me and 4 other people. Two to Concepcion (Brock and Erica), two to Viña (Kylie and Dana). I'm the only one staying in Santiago and I having been avoiding the thought that they're leaving because it is so sad!
This past Sunday I went to church here in Santiago. For those who don't know, I am a member of a nondenominational church (ICOC) and we have churches all over the world (I've been to one in Chicago, Madrid, Irvine, Iowa, etc). The church here is led by Dan and Mary Allison, they're a couple in their 60s from Florida. They've lived all over the world, pretty much as missionaries, serving the churches and helping build them up. They mentioned living in places like India and the UAE. They fed me after church (they had been eating vegan and gluten free for the few weeks before I arrived, and I hadn't been eating well up to that point) and it was delicious! They let me nap at their apartment as well, which was a huge blessing, because it's so hard to nap at the hostel during the day.
My room in the hostel is very small, and there are 5 of us living in it, with all of our luggage for a year. It's not too bad, but it'll start to get difficult soon. They're all really sweet girls; 2 from Davis, CA, one from England, and one from Northern Ireland. All 5 of us are staying in Santiago to teach, so we've been trying to get to know each other and hang out, have food and drinks. We have about 15 more days left to live in the hostel, so we've all been trying to find somewhere to live.
An update on that: Originally, I was looking to live with a host family. It turns out that the way to do that was much more difficult and somewhat sketchier than had been implied. So I've changed my mind to looking to live with Chileans. I haven't found anything too promising yet and I'm a little nervous, but I still have time!
I spent the rest of the week figuring out how to use the Metro (success, and I love it! It's so easy and cheap and makes me feel like a real chilena) and went out with people one night. It was fun having the whole group out, and we went to a place where we could dance to some Latina music, and it was great.
Yesterday we had our first day of orientation at one of the campuses of Duoc. We are all working for this school, but we are split up in campuses. There are 2 in Valpo/Viña, 1 in Concepcion, and probably about 8 or so in Santiago. The one campus we met at for orientation just so happened to be the one I will be working at. I'd been so nervous and stressed and on edge all the time because I feel like I had NO information. I walked into this building and immediately felt relief. Just to know something tangible, that it was real and I had more information than before, was so so nice.
Yesterday and today we have training at this place. After being there and getting SO much information about our classes, the other people we will be working with, etc. I am really starting to get excited about teaching. They told us more about our students as well. They are people probably the first in their family to go to college. They are studying things that they can finish in 2 years and go directly into the working world: mechanics, construction, cooking, tourism. English not something they would necessarily be studying primarily or be too passionate about, but it is something they will need very much in the working world. The sight coordinators played this video for us and it made me smile SO much. These are Duoc students (from campuses all over Chile, not just mine) and they seem so happy and fun loving and enthusiastic. I think I'm going to like being a teacher.
And finally, today of all the days. It has been wonderful. After our orientation, we all came back to our hostel. It was everyone's last day who are leaving for their cities (tomorrow afternoon). So we all decided to go on a hike that Noah had mentioned to me (he did it while he was here in Santiago almost a year ago), but is also very well known around here. It's a hike up a mini mountain to a statue of La Virgen (the Virgin Mary). It overlooks almost the entire city, and you can see the Andes surrounding everything. We left our hostel with the group of us, Dana, Kylie, Brock, and Erica, plus another friend from out program, who is teaching in a high school here, Mike. We had so much fun, got some good exercise, hung out, and sang a little too, as we hiked. The view from the top was absolutely amazing... At the top, there is a sign that says, "Silencio, lugar de oracion", which means, "quiet, place of prayer." It was very serene and peaceful up there. The view was spectacular and we all took a moment to sit separately and be within our own thoughts and it was beautiful. Here are some photos!
I don't have one of all 5 of us together, but Mike does, so hopefully I can get it from him, or at least get tagged in it on Facebook. I really hope to do this hike many many times, and hopefully before I leave the hostel because it was so easy to get to.
Well y'all, I think that's it for now. I can't think of anything else that I should mention, but really I feel like I'm forgetting a million things. Comment if you have questions and I'll reply!
Tonight we're going out for one final night on the town. I'm so excited, but I feel the onset of sadness coming. I'll put it off till tomorrow. For now, vamos!
Miss and love you all,
besos,
Ally
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