Live & Learn

By now I have a list a page long of things I want to write about but never seem to find the time. So much happens on a regular basis and although there's so much I want to share, I’ve acquiesced that I simply can't explain it all. However, through all the occurrences, there is at least one constant: I am continuously discovering new things about myself and I’m enjoying the process despite the stumbling blocks.

Robbed in Pucón: That’s twice now that I’ve been robbed in just three months. The first occurrence was in Santiago when my camera was ripped right out of my hands. I replaced it for a hefty price and hoped it wouldn’t happen again…Still, I had a hunch that my luck would run out and that it was only a matter of time before I’d come face to face with another misfortune.

Last weekend we went to Pucón, a stunningly beautiful location south of the Bío Bío Region. An enclave on Lake Villarica surrounded by the Andes and the active Villarica volcano, Pucón reminds me of a scene out of Jurassic Park with it’s greenery and mountains that pop straight out of the earth with peaks veiled in clouds. Eight other volunteers from various cities and I all congregated in Pucón. For me, it was a much needed break from Curanilahue and the frustrations of constant Spanish “miscomprehension”. It was rainy, windy, and cold all weekend but it didn’t effect our moods, our determination to have a great time, or the dramatic scenery. Through the course of the weekend, we enjoyed white water rafting, canopying through a zip-line course, as well as a fantastic BBQ complete with music, dancing, and laughter back at the cabin. Our last night is when things went south. At about 5:00 in the morning, someone broke into our cabin, rummaged through our bags in our rooms as we slept and managed to get away with my purse, another volunteer’s backpack and a pair of shoes. Unfortunately for me, my purse was his grand prize. He scored my camera, my phone, credit card, my Chilean ID, about $30, and a book about applying to law school if he speaks English and is suddenly struck with inspiration to ambitiously change career paths.

Things are cleared up now after a week of replacing most of the missing pieces. I had a lot of time to reflect on the occurrence and realized that my general reaction was curiously calm. So how do I feel about it? Surprisingly, less violated than I did the first time I was robbed. Am I frustrated? Certainly. Am I angry? No, not really. Mostly just disappointed. There are worse things that could have happened and all I wanted to do was keep moving forward. It’s an occurrence that I don’t want or have the energy to dwell on. In fact, I was more immediately distracted by a sudden improvement in Spanish upon returning home. Whether induced by the adrenaline inflicted by the robbery, the calming effect of travel, or by some other phenomenon, this discovery, even if it ends up being a fleeting coincidence, initially overshadowed much of the frustrations and disappointment of losing my possessions. In a way, I find this to be a testament to a shift in priorities since living in a foreign culture. The desire to fit in, to feel capable of normal tasks, to comprehend and communicate in Spanish, to maintain a sense of confidence which has been eroded through the process of culture shock is so strong and prevalent that lamenting the personal violation of a robbery and consequent lost possessions seems close to trivial.

I learned that right now, my priority is just to move forward and continue with teaching and learning. Hopefully, I’ll have the opportunity for a Pucón do-over later.

Thoughts on Language Learning: I have found that learning a language is a constant cycle of brief and exciting progress followed by long, aggravating plateaus. It starts out as a cacophony of strange sounds that seem impossible to grasp. Then, you start to figure out what some of the words mean, and then you start putting them together. A sense of confidence and euphoria starts to set in. You say the phrases with pride and satisfaction even though you still sound like an idiot. It dawned on me a little over a month ago that despite this new found ability, I simply can’t fathom the significance the words have to a native speaker. In this sense, learning and using the new phrases is practiced as if playing with a new toy – fun and engaging but used flippantly. For example - You are beautiful; I love you. Think about how strong those phrases are in English. There’s a lot of emotion both in speaking and listening to those statements. Now consider them in Spanish – tú eres linda; te amo; te quiero. These are just examples but if you didn’t grow up hearing these all the time, they just don’t have the same impact in your ear. Thus, in the beginning, you're uttering and hearing statements without fully comprehending their value. I don’t know when the true weight and meaning of words in one language transcends into the other or if it ever does, but I have a sense that it takes a long time.

I mentioned that language learning is full of progress and plateaus. Well, I’ve moved past the exciting Spanish-is-my-new-favorite-toy stage and hit a particularly long plateau. At times I have felt like I am drowning, lacking the faculties of communication and unable to stay afloat. Feeling in way over my head, there have been days when I just want to shut myself off from everyone and quit trying all together. Frequently embarrassed, conscious of how ridiculous I sound, and fatigued from the labors of obsessing over correct conjugations there’s nothing to do but keep at it. The drive to communicate pulls me out and forces me to persevere. Maybe I’ll wake up one of these days and be pleasantly surprised to hear the words flow confidently and correctly out of my mouth. Until then nothing is easy, but knowing that things will get better motivates me through the challenges.

And how is it going with the students?

Changing your tune: I can hardly believe it but Fiestas Patrias marked the halfway point of my time teaching here in Chile. The realization arrived and is growing more and more prevalent in chorus with the change in the seasons. Spring is beginning to make its presence known and the warmer weather is just another reminder that time is short and there’s still so much I want to accomplish. With the shift in seasons, I’ve also felt a shift in sentiment towards certain things. For one, I’m starting to feel more of a connection with my students. It’s hard to know what they really think of me, but not a day goes by that they haven’t put a smile on my face or made me laugh. Our comical efforts to communicate with each other – whether it’s in English or Spanish – are so endearing; the thought of only having 2 months left with them is like watching the good times run headlong into an expiration date.

Thinking about this has also helped remind me that part of the reason I’m here is for them. For a while, despite my determination to create awesome lesson plans, my outlook was that the students were not really going to learn much from me in such a short time period and that my efforts might be next to pointless. I suddenly realized how self-defeating that attitude is. I needed to change my tune and focus on the positive outcome of this experience for the students. In small ways I am still improving their English, and even if they don't remember a thing, there’s a possibility that one of them might be inspired to volunteer, or teach, or travel abroad because of their time in my class. It’s their futures that I hope to impact by taking on this experience, no matter how brief.

Slang of the day! If there is anything the student’s have learned from me, its English slangs. Each time I meet with a class, I teach a new “Slang of the Day” and the students latch on to them like you can’t believe. I often hear them shouting from across the courtyard “Miss Tara! What’s up?!” hoping I’ll respond with “Not much.” Other favorites are Awesome, Sweet, Chill out and Peace out. I’ve tried to teach these using hand gestures that compliment the word and it seems to significantly impact the likelihood that they’ll remember it once they leave the classroom. I’ve started applying the same strategy throughout the rest of my lessons when I can.

Advanced English Workshop: My favorite part of volunteering! Once a week, Erin and I work together with some of the more advanced students for an English workshop. They’re a great group that has demonstrated a keen interest in learning English. Some are more advanced than others but I’m surprised at the breadth of their English vocabulary. The group meets on Wednesday afternoons and the lesson is very loosely structured. Erin and I pick a few interesting topics (sometimes controversial) to encourage discussion. A few important vocabulary words are reviewed and then we dive right into the subject. For example, it was recently reported in the news that Argentina has legalized possession of marijuana for personal use. We incorporated this issue in the workshop. All students who agreed with the measure sat on one side of the room, all who disagreed sat on the other. We asked them to share their opinions and a very interesting debate between the two sides ensued. It was fascinating to hear their differing opinions and exciting to see that they were doing it in English! In order to lighten things up a little, we ended the class with a very intense discussion about which Chilean soccer team is better and why.

A couple amusing happenings while teaching: During the week of Fiestas Patrias, I never knew if I’d have a full of students, whether only 3-4 students show up, or if my classes were cancelled for the day. My plan each was just to show up and see what happens. For that reason, instead of focusing my lesson of the week on the English language, I decided to demonstrate the difference between the 4th of July Holiday vs. Chile’s Fiestas Patrias. New vocabulary was still reviewed but the objective was to convey similarities and differences between our cultures and the way we celebrate. At the end of one of my classes we had some spare time. A few of the boys had been fixated by a big map of the U.S. in my class so I asked if they had any questions about it. Two of them leapt up with great enthusiasm and asked me a question in rapid-fire-Spanish. I had no clue what they said. Others joined in, trying to explain but all I heard was a cacophony of 8+ voices exclaiming indistinguishable words. Obviously I wasn’t getting the picture. At this point, two of the tallest boys in the class stood up tall next to each other with their hands at their sides. A third got up, turned sideways, stuck out his arms like an airplane and pretended to fly into other boy’s chest. Upon impacted he pretended to crumble. They were demonstrating the 9/11 attacks – the two boys were the Twin Towers and the third was a plane! They wanted to know if I had been there when it happened. Explaining this in writing just doesn’t communicate how comical their little act was. Everyone laughed in particular at the demonstration of the airplane. I use miming all the time to explain new vocabulary so it was touching to see them practice the same strategy to help me understand. It lets me know that I must be doing something right.

Last week I taught Daily Routines which included vocabulary such as wake up, take a shower, brush your teeth, etc. I needed a means to demonstrate “wake up,” and so I thought why not go all out on this one: I got on the floor, rested my head against a chair like it was my pillow, closed my eyes like I was asleep, and then mimicked the sound of an alarm clock, waking me up. I certainly got a lot of laughs. I next asked all the students to get out of their chairs and model the same actions with me as we repeated vocabulary for Daily Routines of the morning. To my surprise, all of them got on the floor and pretended to sleep, and then one student whispered if he could please be the alarm and make the noise to wake everyone – of course! I thought to myself, these are high school kids; I expected them to think they were too cool to act this out, but instead they loved it! I doubt many teachers have gotten on the floor to demonstrate the subject matter of a lesson for them, especially since Chileans tend to put a lot of emphasis on appearance and finely pressed clothing. I mentioned earlier that I wanted to use more gestures to help students remember the words. It worked fantastically. My measure of success is through the little victories like these.

Learning from each other: I given a lot of thought lately to what I am gaining from my time in Chile and likewise what the students are learning from me. In my reflection, it occurred to me that there are some parallels to how we each relate to this experience. For the school and the students, having a volunteer native speaker from North America is a short lived anomaly and it’s hard to say how much they will really gain form my efforts. With a hint of doubt, they must be asking themselves “Why does this school have a native speaker? Why is she in Curanilahue of all places, and how much can she really teach me in one semester?” The reality is probably not much. As for myself, everything about this experience is new and convoluted in its purpose. Why did I choose to volunteer in the first place? Why did I choose to teach? Why in Chile? I can’t say I really know the complete answer to these questions. For these reasons (coupled with the language barrier) I sometimes feel as if both the student’s and I study each other with a bit of timid curiosity, not entirely understanding the circumstances that have brought us together and not wanting to put too much stock in something that’s not going to be around for very long. However, with that said, there is already so much I have learned about myself and the world around me. I feel the impact of these things everyday but it’s impossible to know the extent to which I will be affected by them. Likewise, it’s impossible to know how much any one student will learn. For now, all is still veiled in fascinating bewilderment. I press on with continuous effort, and look forward to what else we might learn from each other.

Las Ramadas al Liceo Mariano Latorre

One more video from Fiestas Patrias: This one was taken by one of the other teachers at the school. He told me about it this morning and watching it shows how the ramadas are put together. You also get a chance to see some of the students in their element. Erin and I make a little cameo appearance as well.

Fiestas Patrias!!!

Feliz Dieciocho! Fiestas Patrias is Chile’s independence day and marks the beginning of the country’s independence process which began in 1810. This stately holiday is recognized every September 18th. However, in practice, there’s been some sort of festivity everyday since the first of the month, with the grand finale taking place this past weekend. Events have included constant Cueca dancing, two parades (one of which I marched in with the school), games, our local park was converted into a carnival, las ramadas, which was open 24/7, and lots of food and drinks – truly, I had no idea it was possible to consume so much food for so many consecutive days. Chileans have shown me an entirely new level of holiday eating.

Here’s a few examples of the traditional foods I’ve been enjoying:
Empanadas: in appearance, they’re very similar to the Italian calzones; usually made with meat, onions, egg and always had one little olive.
Longaniza: sausage
Anticuchos: kabobs; usually include steak and longaniza
Sopaipillas: those doughnut-like pastries I’ve mentioned before
Mariscoes: seafood, specifically muscles and clams
Humitas: Chilean tamales
Carne, carne and more carne: steak, steak, and more steak
Alfajores: two sweet biscuits topped with powdered sugar and joined together by sweetened condensed milk and tastes like caramel (their a little too sweet for me)
Mote con huesillo: a sweet drink/dessert with husked wheat (mote), with sun-dried peaches (huesillo) and mixed with surgar water
Chicha: a fermented beverage, and in Chile it’s usually made from grapes or apples (delicious!)
Ponche: basically it's fruit punch but it was frequently made with Fanta
Wine: from Chile of course

It all sounds so healthy doesn’t it!

The Endless Celebration: The last couple of weeks flew by so quickly I’m hardly able to recall all that I saw and did. Throughout the month, I’d frequently show up to school prepared to teach a class only to find the students had been excused so they could practice marching for the parade or watch their companions in a Cueca competition. It was frustrating at times, never knowing what to expect, but it's been enjoyable watching how enthusiastic Chileans are about this holiday.

The school converted it's quad into a fairground (las ramadas, or booths decorated with branches to look more like a fort) in which the students sold traditional foods, dressed as huasos, and danced the Cueca. We also celebrated twice with the teachers at the school. The feasts included BBQ'd anticuchos, empanadas, wine, and desserts. It was interesting to watch our supervisors get a little tipsy and dance with each other. Earlier in the week, we were invited to another teacher's home to spend the day eating and meeting his family. His son took the three of us on a tour of Lake Lleu Lleu, a few beaches in the area, and introduced us to Curanilahue's nightlife.

Friday: With my stomach still full from each previous day's mountains of food, I took a deep breath, tried to suck it in, and braced myself for Friday and Saturday. On the illustrious 18th, we went to Violeta's home and enjoyed watching her make empanadas (straight out of a mud oven) with the company of her entire family. Chilean’s are said to be quick with the quips, and Violeta and her family are no exception. They’re quality of life is different, in fact I’d certainly say it’s less than ideal – I feel guilty that my own circumstances permit me to recognize this difference. Nonetheless, they are some of the most amusing people I have met here and offer such a true impression of the real Chile. I left her home with renewed appreciation for the option between lamenting what you lack and cherishing what you have. It’s such a cliché thing to say, especially since poverty is everywhere and everyone knows it. But recognizing this doesn’t make poverty any less palpable to the onlooker. I saw how happy her family is in each other, how they make do with what they have, and considered how much worse things could be. I admire all of them.

Saturday: By now I was so full that the prospect of any food for the next year seemed too soon. Just one more day…We ate and celebrated at our host mother’s son’s home. Everyone sat around a long table with lots of conversation, and of course, endless offerings of food. Each night, these sorts of celebrations continued for hours and hours with no one retiring to bed until around 3:00 am - exhausting! I looked about in complete bewilderment as to how my Chilean friends and family had the energy to continue like this. Conclusion: Chileans love to party and are exceptionally good at it.

Now that holiday has passed and school has resumed, I'm looking forward to things getting back to normal...then again, I'm not entirely sure what normal is anymore. Routine is what's desired right now. There was so much to take in, I'm in need of a good quiet week to wrap my head around all that passed and let things sink in.

Cueca Dancing

La Cueca: Since I have been seeing to much of this traditional dance lately, I thought I'd share a video of how it's done. I filmed this video at my school last week during the school's celebration of Fiestas Patrias. More to come on that subject soon. The dancers are students dressed in Chilean huaso attire.

A breif explanation for the blog title

The title of this blog is associated with some cultural information about Chile so I thought it would be appropriate to provide a brief explanation:

Although the Spanish is the spoken language here, Chileans have their own dialect with many unique qualities, distinguishing them from the rest of their Latin American brothers – there are enough Chilenismos (Chilean slang) to fill a pocket dictionary, for example, but that’s a different story. I chose this title because Chileans tend to add “ito” to many of their words. It’s a suffix typically used in Spanish to indicate something small; gatito for example is the word for kitten. It can also be added at the end of a loved one’s name, similar to a term of endearment or a nickname. However, here in Chile, “ito”is used far more frequently:

Tea – té (normal Spanish), técito (the Chilean way)
Coffee – café, cafecito
Bread – pan, pancito
Dog – perro, perrito
House – casa, casita
One minute – uno momento, uno momenito
Afternoon nap – siesta, siestita
Small or Tiny – chiquillo/chiquilla, chiquitito/chiquitita

The list goes on and on.

This little and endearing term used so frequently in Chile inspired the title.

It's Chile...

The last week was packed with a whirlwind of cultural and after school activities. Everyday, I wake up thinking I know exactly what’s planned for the day but before lunch all those plans have changed and there are a number of new surprise engagements, cancellations, or changes to remember. When in Chile – be liquid! Before last week hit, I thought I had too much spare time. Now I’m scrabbling to remember what comes next.

Joined a band: Yup, seriously. Never thought this would happen. Liceo Mariano Latorre takes its music and arts programs very seriously. For example, the school has a renowned orchestra and one of my students is a national champion violinist. One of the music teachers, the sub-director of the school, and four other Curanilahueans are members of a local band and practice twice a week in the evenings. When the teachers heard that I play piano and Erin plays guitar, the band immediately invited us to observe one of their sessions. Our observation quickly turned into more of a karaoke event as they insisted that Erin and I sing along to their songs. Subsequently, they asked if we would consider performing with them at some point. I can’t believe this but we both accepted under the condition that we have sufficient time to practice before this supposed performance. They decided that they want us to perform “I Can See Clearly Now," and at this point it’s unclear when we are expected to take the stage. I got the feeling the rest of the band knows and decided to keep things vague. Surprises are a constant occurrence and I wouldn’t be the least bit shocked if they suddenly decide that Erin and I should also play an instrument. I've begun adopting a saying to help explain the unexpected: "It's Chile." Plain and simply I never know what's going to happen next.

English Radio Program: I was very excited my first week when I heard that the high school has its own radio program; certainly a great and unexpected asset for a school in this small town. Last week one of the English teachers approached us with yet another surprise. The school had decided they wanted to start broadcasting a regular English program and Erin and I have been appointed to put it together along with three students. Just like that. No questions, ifs, ands, or buts. Done. In addition, we were instructed to begin that afternoon. All I could do was shrug my shoulders and say “sure, why not.” It sounded exciting and presented another opportunity to continue working with some of the more advanced students. Never mind that I’m caught completely off guard by this new directive and have no idea what I’m doing – it’s Chile.

We met that afternoon for about an hour and a half but only to discuss when we should meet to actually start the project. So essentially, this was a long meeting to discuss when we should have a meeting – brilliant. The 30 minute program will include interviews (starting with me and Erin), music news and information, and English music by various familiar pop/rock artists. Despite the fact that most of the listeners probably won't understand much of what is said, I'm excited and looking forward to continue working on the project. I never imagined I’d hear my voice on the radio, or that I’d ever be in a band for that matter. Adventure is what I wanted, and no matter how big or small, everyday is turning out to be one.

Fiesta del Camerón: It seems there’s reason to celebrate absolutely anything in this country. Saints’ days are important celebrations here along with all other typical holidays. There are a few random surprises though. Camerónes are basically crayfish and a specialty in Chile. Fiesta del Camerón is an annual festival dedicated entirely to the celebration of these little aquatic creatures. Saturday afternoon, my Chilean family and a few of our host mother’s friends attended the event. Camerónes were served in soups and in empanadas. There was spiced wine, beer, desserts, dancing, and singing. People gathered from all over the province. My host mother raved about how delicious the camerónes were. I tried to eat them but was not quite as impressed. It will be interesting to see what other surprise celebrations we might have…

Mapuche Culture: The Mapuche are an indigenous people who inhabited the southern regions of Chile. Their role in the country’s history has been an important one and on Sunday, we joined a few members of our church to spend the day observing, participating, and feasting at a traditional Mapuche ceremony. The event took place on a scenic lake about an hour south of Curanilahue. Surrounded by small sheep farms, hills, and the lake, there wasn’t a sound to be heard outside of our camp. It was very serene. Everyone packed food to share, pots and pans to cook, plates and utensils. Upon arrival early in the morning, we made fires to stay warm and start cooking. Next, the ceremony began. It was conducted almost entirely in the Mapuche language so it was difficult to glean much from it other than the fact that the navigational directions played an important role in the tribe’s customs as did a certain kind of tree which was more or less the focal point of the ceremony. Samples of the day’s meal were placed under the tree as everyone marched/danced around it to the beat of drums, flutes, and occasionally the sound of a horn. Afterwards, a prayer (Christian) was said and the food was served.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, the marching/dancing around the tree would sporadically start again. Some participated, others chatted and watched, and some explored the area. Feeling like I had already marched in enough circles around the tree, I opted the latter two choices. It was all a little strange, but interesting nonetheless. How many opportunities does one have to observe and participate in such a unique and old tradition?