Sunday turned out to be a bit of a lazy day for me. After waking up and hitting snooze on my alarm, I decided to stay in Santiago rather than going to Viña del Mar after all. 2 more people moved into the house, and they are both from Mexico City. They are studying here in Santiago and only arrived here last week. We were chatting and decided to do some grocery shopping and then hang out in Bellavista. I found a churro cart with delicious churros (and they even make them with filling too) for much less than at the coffee shop I have gotten them at before, and it was cool talking about the places I had visited in Mexico that they knew.
As we were walking back home, I decided to swing by the hostel to catch up with friends while my roommates headed back home. Then we had the power outage. This happened as I was on the patio debating if there was a change with Daylight Savings Time or not with some other gringos. We hung out on the patio and discussed conspiracy theories that we had heard about the earthquakes and things along those lines while some others still debated what time it actually was then.
After about 15 minutes later, the lights were back on at the hostel. It was getting close to 10 (or 9 depending on who you asked), and since the lights were back on I thought it would be a good idea to head home. When I stepped outside, I realized that besides the hostel almost no one had electricity. It was pitch dark, and apparently everyone else in Santiago had the same idea about going home. The metro was shut down, and so lots of people were wandering the streets. At my bus stop there were about 50 people waiting for a bus. I decided to try and catch a taxi (since I would have to take 2 busses to get home). A lot of other people had the same idea, but after about half an hour I finally got one.
I got home, and some of my roommates had candles lit and were listening to the radio. I found my flashlight and found the extra candles I bought a few weeks ago, and an hour or so later we once again had electricity. I didn´t follow the news close enough to understand why we lost power, but I know that most of the country was without power for a while. If you want to read about it, here is a news article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8567910.stm
Today another teacher in the program and I got thrown into teaching classes on our own. I am so grateful that there was two of us, as it made managing the students much easier. We taught 6th and 7th grade students, and we practiced conversations, played some games, and listened to The Beatles. After that we spent time planning the rest of our classes for the week, and hopefully after this week we will have a set schedule.
Something that is nice is that it turns out that I will have completed my work hours for the week in 4 days, and so I have a long weekend. I´ve decided that Thursday evening I will head out to Mendoza to enjoy some steak, wine tours, and adventure sports. It looks like I can go ziplining and moutainbiking, which I actually haven´t gotten to do in a long while. I´m looking forward to it, especially since I was lazy this weekend.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
The weekend
So when I got home after the earthquakes (I thought it was aftershocks, but they were completely separate earthquakes) it turns out my place was fine.
On Friday evening I went out with some friends to a famous bar in Santiago called La Piojera, which is famous for its drink called the terremoto, or earthquake. The place had people all over the place, and it was loud and chaotic. Perhaps the best part of the bar was the clown that was going around making balloon animals and other things. I had a blast and am glad that I went.
Today was a lazy day, as I mostly stayed at home besides for a shopping trip and stopping by the hostel to catch up with some friends from the program. People are going out again tonight, but I am opting to stay in tonight so I can get up early and go to the beach tomorrow.
I am learning my way around, and it's a really satisfying feeling knowing how to get around the city with the bus and metro. I am able to go grocery shopping without a problem, and I can ask where to find things or for help if I need it being understood by people and understanding what they are saying. It's a nice feeling that I am starting to become integrated here and makes me realize that my Spanish isn't that bad after all.
The weather forecast for tomorrow in Viña is 72 and sunny. Hopefully it will stay way so I can enjoy the day.
On Friday evening I went out with some friends to a famous bar in Santiago called La Piojera, which is famous for its drink called the terremoto, or earthquake. The place had people all over the place, and it was loud and chaotic. Perhaps the best part of the bar was the clown that was going around making balloon animals and other things. I had a blast and am glad that I went.
Today was a lazy day, as I mostly stayed at home besides for a shopping trip and stopping by the hostel to catch up with some friends from the program. People are going out again tonight, but I am opting to stay in tonight so I can get up early and go to the beach tomorrow.
I am learning my way around, and it's a really satisfying feeling knowing how to get around the city with the bus and metro. I am able to go grocery shopping without a problem, and I can ask where to find things or for help if I need it being understood by people and understanding what they are saying. It's a nice feeling that I am starting to become integrated here and makes me realize that my Spanish isn't that bad after all.
The weather forecast for tomorrow in Viña is 72 and sunny. Hopefully it will stay way so I can enjoy the day.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Replicas
So earlier today there were some strong aftershocks. I was in the teacher's lounge since I had a free period, and we all felt the shaking. After a few seconds we got up and made our way outside. The students made their way outside with our help, and we were out in the very middle of the campus for about 10 minutes or so.
The students were told to stay outside, but the teachers were given the OK to go back inside and get anything they needed. As some teachers ventured back in, everything started shaking again. We were then outside for about another half hour or so. There were some kids that were upset, and parents started coming by to pick up their kids from school.
Once the students were safely inside and their classes resumed, Erin (the other teacher in the program at my school) and I headed off to the Civil Registry to pick up our international IDs. Teachers told us that they would still be open despite the aftershocks, so we headed out. We got there around 1:30, as they are scheduled to close at 2. They were closed, so we will have to come back another day.
I decided to grab some hot chocolate and churros at the same place I went with friends after we were at the Registro Civil about 2 weeks ago, and altough it was expensive it was good as always. And they have free wifi, which was a plus so that I could update this and let everyone know I was ok.
I haven't been home yet, but I am assuming that my place is not damaged. Our electricity or internet may not be working there, but that is something I can live without for a while.
I just hope that Chile calms down soon.
The students were told to stay outside, but the teachers were given the OK to go back inside and get anything they needed. As some teachers ventured back in, everything started shaking again. We were then outside for about another half hour or so. There were some kids that were upset, and parents started coming by to pick up their kids from school.
Once the students were safely inside and their classes resumed, Erin (the other teacher in the program at my school) and I headed off to the Civil Registry to pick up our international IDs. Teachers told us that they would still be open despite the aftershocks, so we headed out. We got there around 1:30, as they are scheduled to close at 2. They were closed, so we will have to come back another day.
I decided to grab some hot chocolate and churros at the same place I went with friends after we were at the Registro Civil about 2 weeks ago, and altough it was expensive it was good as always. And they have free wifi, which was a plus so that I could update this and let everyone know I was ok.
I haven't been home yet, but I am assuming that my place is not damaged. Our electricity or internet may not be working there, but that is something I can live without for a while.
I just hope that Chile calms down soon.
One Month Already: The beach, furniture hunting, hiking, adventures in cooking, and school
It's hard to believe that I have been traveling for a month. A month ago today I was sitting in the New York JFK airport staring sadly at the snow and wondering if my plane was going to take off, while today I am walking the streets and navigating the busses of Santiago in sunny 80 degree weather.
This past Saturday I went to Viña del Mar, but because of the cold and overcast weather (which was a direct contrast to the warm and sunny weather in Santiago that day) it was a bit of a washout. Luckily Viña is close enough that I can go back another time.
Sunday I finally got to do furniture shopping with Fabiola and Gustavo. But first I had to get cash to be able to buy said furniture. After walking to 7 (yes, seven) different ATMs, I was finally able to get cash. We took the bus there, and Fabiola insisted on taking pictures of me and Gustavo on the bus.
The Bio Bio market was huge, and I can understand why people say that you can easily get lost in it. It is laid out in a huge grid, and there are rows after rows of people selling furniture and all types of housewares. Then when you get to the end of it, you realize that you can cross the street to find another huge grid of the market.
Fabiola negotiated prices on my behalf and got me a nice armoire and a rollable table/TV table, and I got both purchased and delivered for a sweet 66,000 pesos (about $135). I think the best part of the delivery was sitting in the back of the truck and watching the back door fly open as I stared out the back of the truck.
That afternoon I went hiking with some friends up the San Cristobal Mountains. At the top there is a huge statue of the Virgin Mary as well as some delicious empanadas. The hike up was a bit strenuous and reminded me that I need to get back into shape, but the hike was worth it. It turns out that there is a quasi open air church set up outside, and it looks like they do church services there on Sunday mornings. It would be interesting to attend something like that, and I think I will do so before I leave Santiago.
My first few days at school have gone pretty well. I have mostly been observing the classes to get a feel of what the students know and their levels so far as well as how the teachers teach. The young students are adorable, and singing songs with them is a lot of fun and reminds me of how I miss teaching kindergarten. I have already gotten to teach them the Days of the Week song I used in my kindergarten class. The older kids are interesting in seeing what they know and how far along their English is. They seem more reserved about talking with me and speaking English, but I figure with time they will come out of their shells.
I can already see that teaching here is very radically different in a variety of ways. For example, a class size of 35 is completely normal and they are allowed to have class sizes of 45. There are no overhead projectors, and the rooms are almost completely bare with the exception of the desks, chairs, and a white board. Teachers bring their own white board marker and even their own eraser. Students stay in the same room, while teachers move from room to room. Becuase of this, it is impossible for them to have anything written on the board and prepared for students in advance. The students also seem to have more liberty to chat amongst themselves throughout the class period. I am not viewing this things as a negative, but rather as a cultural difference that influences the education students get and the school environment here.
I finally decided to brave the kitchen and cook something for myself after all this time. So I decided on some pasta with chicken and tomato sauce, figuring that that couldn't really get too complicated. Well, I had a surprise. It turns out when you buy chicken breast at the supermarkets in Chile, they not only give you the chicken breast, but they also give you the bone and ribs of said chicken attached to the chicken breast. Luckily one of my roommates helped me carve it. After that, I was able to cook everything without too much of a problem. This is what it looked like when I finished:
It looks pretty appetizing, but the mixture of chicken flavored with oregano, salt, and pepper did not mix well with the whole grain pasta and tomato sauce. Despite that, I am proud that I did not burn the house down or end up in the hospital becuase of my eating.
Wednesday I met up with another teacher in the program at the Estacion Central to catch up on everything from the past few weeks since we both moved out of the hostel. We came across a huge shopping mall attached to the bus station, and we walked around and did some shopping for our apartments. I now have a few rugs and a few other small things for my place. Afterwards we got a bite to eat at a small restaurant:
This weekend I am hoping to get to the beach and/or do some mountain hiking. We shall see what the future holds.
This past Saturday I went to Viña del Mar, but because of the cold and overcast weather (which was a direct contrast to the warm and sunny weather in Santiago that day) it was a bit of a washout. Luckily Viña is close enough that I can go back another time.
Sunday I finally got to do furniture shopping with Fabiola and Gustavo. But first I had to get cash to be able to buy said furniture. After walking to 7 (yes, seven) different ATMs, I was finally able to get cash. We took the bus there, and Fabiola insisted on taking pictures of me and Gustavo on the bus.
The Bio Bio market was huge, and I can understand why people say that you can easily get lost in it. It is laid out in a huge grid, and there are rows after rows of people selling furniture and all types of housewares. Then when you get to the end of it, you realize that you can cross the street to find another huge grid of the market.
Fabiola negotiated prices on my behalf and got me a nice armoire and a rollable table/TV table, and I got both purchased and delivered for a sweet 66,000 pesos (about $135). I think the best part of the delivery was sitting in the back of the truck and watching the back door fly open as I stared out the back of the truck.
That afternoon I went hiking with some friends up the San Cristobal Mountains. At the top there is a huge statue of the Virgin Mary as well as some delicious empanadas. The hike up was a bit strenuous and reminded me that I need to get back into shape, but the hike was worth it. It turns out that there is a quasi open air church set up outside, and it looks like they do church services there on Sunday mornings. It would be interesting to attend something like that, and I think I will do so before I leave Santiago.
I can already see that teaching here is very radically different in a variety of ways. For example, a class size of 35 is completely normal and they are allowed to have class sizes of 45. There are no overhead projectors, and the rooms are almost completely bare with the exception of the desks, chairs, and a white board. Teachers bring their own white board marker and even their own eraser. Students stay in the same room, while teachers move from room to room. Becuase of this, it is impossible for them to have anything written on the board and prepared for students in advance. The students also seem to have more liberty to chat amongst themselves throughout the class period. I am not viewing this things as a negative, but rather as a cultural difference that influences the education students get and the school environment here.
I finally decided to brave the kitchen and cook something for myself after all this time. So I decided on some pasta with chicken and tomato sauce, figuring that that couldn't really get too complicated. Well, I had a surprise. It turns out when you buy chicken breast at the supermarkets in Chile, they not only give you the chicken breast, but they also give you the bone and ribs of said chicken attached to the chicken breast. Luckily one of my roommates helped me carve it. After that, I was able to cook everything without too much of a problem. This is what it looked like when I finished:
It looks pretty appetizing, but the mixture of chicken flavored with oregano, salt, and pepper did not mix well with the whole grain pasta and tomato sauce. Despite that, I am proud that I did not burn the house down or end up in the hospital becuase of my eating.
Wednesday I met up with another teacher in the program at the Estacion Central to catch up on everything from the past few weeks since we both moved out of the hostel. We came across a huge shopping mall attached to the bus station, and we walked around and did some shopping for our apartments. I now have a few rugs and a few other small things for my place. Afterwards we got a bite to eat at a small restaurant:
This weekend I am hoping to get to the beach and/or do some mountain hiking. We shall see what the future holds.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Picture update
So here are pictures to go along with my last post:
The awesome clip ons:
My school
Celebrations in the street to help raise money for the earthquake:
When cars came to a red light, people would go out into the crosswalk and juggle or dance and have a small can to get donations from people driving by.
A bus with the now infamous phrase associated with the earthquake, Fuerza Chile 27.02
A fundraiser at my school to help out with the earthquake:
This was the third mini van full of food/clothing donations they got.
Spending time with the roommates watching the national telethon:
Friday, March 5, 2010
Settling down again and school
This week has not been a normal one to say the least.
A few times throughout the week we were without electricity and/or lights, and our internet connection was very slow or nonexistent. I also tried going to the grocery store, and there were huge fences up with police guarding the sole entrance. They informed everyone that the grocery store was closed until the morning. I also faced this same problem when trying to go to an eyeglass place that was inside a shopping mall.
Since my sunglasses were lost or stolen before the earthquake, I tried to see about getitng them replaced. Just as I was dreading, pretty much the only place that could fill the prescription (thanks to my prescription being so strong) would cost close to $500. I was determined to find some clip ons or something cheaper than that, and sure enough I succeeded. After walking down Calle MacIver (which has eyeglass place after eyeglass place), I finally found one that had clip ons. The woman who helped me pulled out a cardboard box with about 5 different types, and I settled on a smaller pair for 4000 pesos (about $8). They totally make me look weird and flip up for extra dorkiness, but at this point I don't really care about that.
I've been getting to hang out with people here too. A few days ago another person in the program told me that a bunch of people were going to a local swimming pool, and so I headed out that way to meet them there. It turns out the pool was closed, so we walked to the Plaza Ñuñoa and sunbathed there. After a while we played some cards, and some people brought along a soccer ball.
I´ve also spent time with the roommates and got to meet Mathias, the German guy that moved in right before taking off for vacation to Bolivia and Peru. It has been nice just sitting around and talking together, and they have been helping me out with little things all along the way. I feel so lucky to have them as roommates.
After the delays with the earthquake, we had out first day at school yesterday. Everyone was friendly and welcoming, and it was just a day for the teachers. There was a lot of talking and meetings, and it was overwhelming hearing so much Spanish spoken so quickly and for such a long time. Both Erin (who is also at the same school) and I were left in a daze.
Today at school was much better. The teachers had almost the entire day to plan by themselves or by department, and so we got to talk with the English teachers one on one and got to see more of the school. Our schedules are not set yet, but we will be observing for the first week to get a feel for the classes and how everything goes.
Tonight there is a Telethon that our school is doing to help raise money for the earthquake victims. From the looks of how they were advertising it when I left it should be pretty interesting. The rest of the weekend I´m hoping to get to do some furniture shopping, maybe go to the beach, and possibly do sky diving with some friends. We shall see what the future holds....
A few times throughout the week we were without electricity and/or lights, and our internet connection was very slow or nonexistent. I also tried going to the grocery store, and there were huge fences up with police guarding the sole entrance. They informed everyone that the grocery store was closed until the morning. I also faced this same problem when trying to go to an eyeglass place that was inside a shopping mall.
Since my sunglasses were lost or stolen before the earthquake, I tried to see about getitng them replaced. Just as I was dreading, pretty much the only place that could fill the prescription (thanks to my prescription being so strong) would cost close to $500. I was determined to find some clip ons or something cheaper than that, and sure enough I succeeded. After walking down Calle MacIver (which has eyeglass place after eyeglass place), I finally found one that had clip ons. The woman who helped me pulled out a cardboard box with about 5 different types, and I settled on a smaller pair for 4000 pesos (about $8). They totally make me look weird and flip up for extra dorkiness, but at this point I don't really care about that.
I've been getting to hang out with people here too. A few days ago another person in the program told me that a bunch of people were going to a local swimming pool, and so I headed out that way to meet them there. It turns out the pool was closed, so we walked to the Plaza Ñuñoa and sunbathed there. After a while we played some cards, and some people brought along a soccer ball.
I´ve also spent time with the roommates and got to meet Mathias, the German guy that moved in right before taking off for vacation to Bolivia and Peru. It has been nice just sitting around and talking together, and they have been helping me out with little things all along the way. I feel so lucky to have them as roommates.
After the delays with the earthquake, we had out first day at school yesterday. Everyone was friendly and welcoming, and it was just a day for the teachers. There was a lot of talking and meetings, and it was overwhelming hearing so much Spanish spoken so quickly and for such a long time. Both Erin (who is also at the same school) and I were left in a daze.
Today at school was much better. The teachers had almost the entire day to plan by themselves or by department, and so we got to talk with the English teachers one on one and got to see more of the school. Our schedules are not set yet, but we will be observing for the first week to get a feel for the classes and how everything goes.
Tonight there is a Telethon that our school is doing to help raise money for the earthquake victims. From the looks of how they were advertising it when I left it should be pretty interesting. The rest of the weekend I´m hoping to get to do some furniture shopping, maybe go to the beach, and possibly do sky diving with some friends. We shall see what the future holds....
Monday, March 1, 2010
Back to Normal.....
So today it seemed like everything was back to normal.
In the morning I went out towards the hostel to see how all of the others were doing, and we went out for coffee, hung out at the park, got some lunch, and then went out for coffee. There were new people here so it was good getting to meet them. Along the way I picked up a newspaper to hang on to for memory's sake.
I passed by a grocery store on my way home and was puzzled to see a gate and the police guarding the entrance. They told me that it was closed until tomorrow, even though there were people inside and it was obvious that it was open. I found out that they did that to prevent too many people from entering and the possibility of looting or stealing.
While we were enjoying things pretty much completely normal (with the exception of small piles of dirt and rubble and a few streetlamps with a light missing), we saw images of complete destruction, looting, police, and tsunamis after some strong aftershocks south of here. It seemed like we were in a completely different world and hard to believe that about 200 miles south of us such chaos was playing out.
When I returned in the evening, Fabiola and Gustavo were home, and her son Fabian was visiting. Fabiola made some more delicious food for us, and I feel like I would not be eating as well as I am if it were not for her. We watched the news while we ate and talked about random things while we got to know each other better. Claudia (my other roommate) finally made it home, and it was a relief to see her.
We've had some problems with the internet not connecting or being slow, but if need be I can always go to an internet cafe. A few times the lights started to dim, and apparently we might have completely lost power so we turned off all the electricity for a while to be on the safe side. Other than that, here has not been a problem.
Here are some pictures of after the earthquake (and the lack of damage in my area) and spending time with my roommates. I wanted to post some more pictures, but the internet is incredibly slow and I have given up on adding them for now.
In the morning I went out towards the hostel to see how all of the others were doing, and we went out for coffee, hung out at the park, got some lunch, and then went out for coffee. There were new people here so it was good getting to meet them. Along the way I picked up a newspaper to hang on to for memory's sake.
I passed by a grocery store on my way home and was puzzled to see a gate and the police guarding the entrance. They told me that it was closed until tomorrow, even though there were people inside and it was obvious that it was open. I found out that they did that to prevent too many people from entering and the possibility of looting or stealing.
While we were enjoying things pretty much completely normal (with the exception of small piles of dirt and rubble and a few streetlamps with a light missing), we saw images of complete destruction, looting, police, and tsunamis after some strong aftershocks south of here. It seemed like we were in a completely different world and hard to believe that about 200 miles south of us such chaos was playing out.
When I returned in the evening, Fabiola and Gustavo were home, and her son Fabian was visiting. Fabiola made some more delicious food for us, and I feel like I would not be eating as well as I am if it were not for her. We watched the news while we ate and talked about random things while we got to know each other better. Claudia (my other roommate) finally made it home, and it was a relief to see her.
We've had some problems with the internet not connecting or being slow, but if need be I can always go to an internet cafe. A few times the lights started to dim, and apparently we might have completely lost power so we turned off all the electricity for a while to be on the safe side. Other than that, here has not been a problem.
Here are some pictures of after the earthquake (and the lack of damage in my area) and spending time with my roommates. I wanted to post some more pictures, but the internet is incredibly slow and I have given up on adding them for now.
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