Strikes

Effective Friday of last week, Liceo Mariano Latorre went on strike along with hundreds of other public schools nationwide. The reasons behind it are a little vague to me but it essentially has to do with a "historical debt" owed to the teachers by the government. Back in 1981, administration of the public education system was transferred to the municipalities. In the midst of the change many teachers lost their jobs and paychecks went missing. Flash forward 30 years, and teachers are still demanding the payment of this "historical debt". The government passed a resolution to pay the debt but failed to deliver the funds within the deadline. "And now, the only thing we can do is to strike," my host teacher explained.

It's been one week and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. The strike is declared "indefinite" and we've been told that it's quite possible it could last through the rest of the semester - November 20th. This isn't the first time teachers have taken action and demanded missing payments. Last semester public schools closed their doors for 3 weeks until negotiations with the government reached a satisfactory compromise. I am not familiar with the details - something to do with unpaid bonuses - but clearly the compromise, or perhaps another unfulfilled promise, has failed to quell frustrations.

It seems that educators from both sides of the equator can sympathize with the woes of underpayment considering the important service they provide. Nonetheless, it's hard for me to feel passionate about the teachers' position. From my perspective, 30 years is a very long time and it seems strange that this wasn't addressed and resolved decades ago. Most of the teachers I work with daily were students or recent university graduates when this debt accumulated; I'm not sure what they stand to gain from their demands, if anything. I actually feel more sorry for the students. They already have to make up the lost hours of classes from last semester's strike, and now it's possible that they will have to make up another month's worth of school if things aren't resolved quickly. Frustrations are amplified at high schools like mine where 4th year students need to prepare for the PSU (the university admissions test, or the equivalent of the SAT in the States). In Chile, admission into a university is determined almost exclusively on this score. They don't have the luxury of relying on a stellar essay to compensate for a lower score. As long as the strike continues, they are losing valuable opportunities for assistance in preparing for the exam.

As a foreign volunteer, I have a substantial degree of immunity which I intend to take advantage of for students' benefits. We're lucky that our teachers recognize this and don't mind if we want to continue with the English workshop and the radio program. Nonetheless, I still have a lot of spare time on my hands. Considering that so little time is left, a part of me hopes this strike ends soon so I can move forward with the brilliant plans I had for upcoming lessons and also meet my goals I hoped to accomplish with the students by the end of November. On the other hand, unrestricted by partisanship, I can't help but feel tempted by opportunity the strike presents for more ambitious travel excursions...

Below is a link to a Santiago Times article offering more information. If you'd like to read more, just type in "Teacher Strikes" in the site's search bar and a few more recent articles will pop up.

http://www.santiagotimes.cl/santiagotimes/index.php/news/education/chile-public-schoolteachers-cancel-classes-indefinitely.html

Happy Bithday Liceo! Week of Sept. 28 - Oct. 3

El Aniversario del Liceo: Alliances, tests of knowledge, races and relays, dance-offs, banners horns and chants, the spirit of fierce competition, and whisperings of an injustice…These are some of the highlights from the celebration of Liceo Mariano Latorre’s anniversary. I’m well over a week late in writing about this one but it was so immensely entertaining, as well as baffling, that I simply can’t omit it.

The Alliances: All classes and grade levels are divided into teams – Las Alianzas Roja, Naranja, Amarillo, Azul, and Verde (the Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, and Green alliances). What follows is a week-long intense competition among the teams in celebration of the school’s anniversary. The busiest street in town was closed down for foot and bike races as police monitored traffic. A rowing race took place on the river – quite a spectacle as students scrambled to avoid each other and the shores. Their classmates came out in mass blowing horns, waving flags, and cheering each other on. Meanwhile, academic challenges took place in the classrooms as students demonstrated their knowledge in sciences, math and history.

Each day after these tests of brains and braun, everyone headed to the municipal gym for challenges of a more artistic nature – almost exclusively in the form of dance. In one such competition, each alliance was represented by student-student and teacher-student pairs of dancers who boogied to a never-ending remix of pop, salsa, cumbia, reggaeton, and of course the Cueca. Pairs lasted until the judges (other teachers) determined that their dance skills weren’t up to par, and by a long process of elimination a winner was declared. A word of note: bumping and grinding with each other and/or your teacher is perfectly acceptable…in fact, that’s apparently how you dance to reggaeton and cumbia; so the more you shake it, the better your chances of winning.

Body-painting was next on the agenda. A student from each alliance was painted from head to toe and a teammate described to the judges what the images represented. I was surprised by the creativity and symbolism that went into each student-canvass. Notions of peace, cross-cultural collaboration, humanitarianism and environmentalism were all evident in one team or another. At the same time, I began to recognize the extremes the anniversary competitions were beginning to reach. Races and relays are pretty typical, as are academic challenges. Dance-offs aren't far-fetched but they spanned the spectrum of popular to traditional to provocative. Now body painting? And the next night was to be the legendary, highly-anticipated “Full Monty” – What? Seriously? You’re kidding, right? But based on some of things I had seen during the anniversary as well as other background information I could apply, I anticipated that this grand affair was going to live up to its name...

The Full Monty: And my suspicions proved to be correct – “The Full Monty” was racy, original, provocative, inappropriate, politically incorrect and absolutely hysterical! First, allow me describe the setting: it was a Thursday night and we’re back in the municipal gym. There was a well decorated stage at the front flanked by large speakers. The two emcees paced the stage as they announced the next act/competition and the DJ in the back of the venue managed the music and disco lights. Down in front were the judges’ tables – teachers. The bleachers/stands were once again packed with the alliances divided into their sections, blasting their horns, waving their flags, applauding, screaming, and chanting when the music isn’t drowning them out. Seated in rows on the floor of the gym were all the other teachers, the director, sub-director, and us WolrdTeach volunteers, etc. Basically the VIPs. Thus, the backdrop for the madness of the Full Monty. Now for the activities, and if you were wondering – stripping was most definitely involved, I kid you not. (I'd like to reiterate that this is in front of teachers and parents).

We walked in when the excitement had already begun. They were in the middle of the competition “El Gordito Más Sexy”– yes, that’s sexiest fat boy. Basically, a representative from each team got up on stage, stood on the scale, his weight was announced, and then they shook their stuff as they removed articles of clothing to impress the judges. This was followed by “El Chiquillo Más Sexy” - because little guys can be sexy too! More displays of teenage male sexiness included Señor Speedo and Señor Musculo. There was essentially no difference between the two except the participants were different people. In both occasions, they started out wearing just enough to take off and then danced sexy-style in either a Speedo or their underwear.

Not to be left out, there were a few opportunities for the ladies to show off their sexiness as well. After all, if you’re going to have a Speedo competition, you have to follow up with bikinis, right? Now get ready for this next one: “Señorita Cuerpa Perfecta” – Miss Perfect Body. These curvy teens, clad in either bikinis or 80’s style gym clothes, took the stage and were measured (ah-hem, by boys/fellow students) at the chest, waist, and hips. Erin and I debated what Chileans might consider the perfect body – are we aiming for the hourglass look? Boyish figures? A big booty? What’s the preference here? Our discussion was determined inconclusive considering the range of measurements announced.

Now for the dancing! I think this is the part where the Full Monty reached the pinnacle of hilarity. Each alliance had a group of about 8 students who performed a choreographed striptease...that's right, a striptease for your classmates and teachers! Who comes up with this? And who approved it? Go figure.

First up – the boys: Each of their performances generally included a medley of selections from “I’m Too Sexy”, “Sex Bomb”, “You Sexy Thing”, “YMCA”, you get the idea. I have to hand it to them, they were pretty creative and put some serious thought into how they were going to take off their clothes. A favorite of the night was a group who began dressed as panderas, or bakers – white outfit, hats and all. Apparently things got a little hot in the kitchen: think dance moves that resemble kneading bread…but más sexy of course! The grand finale involved hand prints of flour on their bottoms. As inappropriate as it may seem to strip down to your boxers, the entire gym was on their feet with laughter and cheers. I can only imagine how much fun they must have had in choreographing these routines. Next, the girls: Their musical tastes leaned more towards the Brittney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Shakira genres. In contrast to the boys, they were disappointing to watch. They all started out with fewer clothes and their stripping lacked a plot line – come on girls! You’re better than that! In a nutshell, they missed the mark in terms of humor and crossed over into más sleazy.

I feel it needs mentioning that there was another round of dance routines that did not involve removal of clothing. The best was a group that danced to a medley of songs from the Grease soundtrack and it was great to watch, but these were eclipsed by the main attraction.

Nothing was more obvious than how blatantly the “Full Monty” activities fly in the face of our notions of American political correctness, prevention of sexual harassment in schools, and the highly sensitive and statutorily guarded boundary between the under-aged and adults. I was utterly baffled and torn between cracking up and wondering why this is considered ok. After watching this, I sincerely hope they don’t actually wonder why teen pregnancy is so common in this town.

Friday: Things were starting to wind down with no activities during the day, but that night the students took it to the streets! Out of the beds of trucks meant for transporting timber along the highways, they built floats covered in balloons, confetti, streamers, and massive paper mache mascots that resembled Pokémon characters. Students packed themselves into the truck beds waving their flags, blowing their horns, chanting, shouting, singing, and tossing confetti as more teammates did the same walking close to the truck and parading up, down and back again through the center of town. By this point, I had decided to take sides. I tried to remain neutral but Alianza Naranja’s team spirit and underdog status won me over. Erin and I joined their procession; the excitement and enthusiasm was contagious.

Saturday: The competitions were over, the winner was announced, and what better way to wrap things up than attending the Fiesta Gala at the school gym? Curiosity sucked us in, and Erin and I went to Prom, Chile-style. Originally just planning to dress casually, our “host-brother’s” sisters-in-law recommended that we borrow one of their dresses. They opened their closets and unloaded piles of gaudy, puffy, sparkly dresses. (I’m frequently encountering evidence that Chile is stuck in the 80’s and the options laid before me seemed to be another exhibit to add to the list). Hot pink, short dresses with confetti sparkles and tulle are plain and simply not my style. I may be trying to immerse myself in another culture but I just didn't feel like compromising on this one. I settled for something a little more “me”. Next, the younger of the two, Javiera – who is also one of my students – straightened my hair while the older, Paula, applied the makeup. The Prom deja vu was getting a little intense. When the girls were satisfied with their work, I looked in the mirror and for the first time since July, I felt…well, less like a volunteer.

So what was Fiesta Gala? It’s Prom with cigarettes, and the DJ plays reggaeton and cumbia instead of rap and hip-hop. They still crown a king and queen, except in Chile it's "La Reina" and "El Rei Feo". Why they add the feo is a mystery to me but I find it comical.

Post Anniversary: In the week following the school was still talking about the enjoyment of the Aniversario, but there were also rumors of an injustice. It was Alianza Amarilla that won, but many thought it should have been Naranja…Although I had heard it before, I had an up-close experience to appreciate that Chileans are very competitive people. The creativity and dedication invested into taking every competition above and beyond average was remarkable. I also noticed that they are generally good sports if they don’t attain the glory of the coveted first place. Shocking, interesting, impressive, it was all in all awesome to watch and share the student’s excitement throughout the anniversary week.

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.