Who burns chairs???

As i watched the pigeons this morning from my usual park bench, I sat and collected my spanish thoughts before entering the school. My mind wandered to somewhat philisophical thought. How do pigeons not get dizzy walking the way they do, head bobbing and all? I feel as though i borrowed that thought from another, so credit to the creator... but really, how? Preparing oneself to enter a school may seem a little unnecessary, but when your first class on a Monday morning decides to set fire to a few of the chairs in your classroom, any form of thought collection can be vital for survival. Today was also pleasant when i discovered that three of 6 windows had been smashed in over night and the kids thought throwing shards at one another was a good game. Unfortunately I had to stop that one. However, not all classroom behaviour is quite so destructive. Distracting might be a better term as students yell ¨Miss, I love you¨and¨ my personal favourite from Juan Pablo every morning, ¨Miss, you have such beautiful eyes¨. Darlings, really. Over the past week we have been working on basic questions such as ¨how old are you?¨ This may seem incredibly simple, but the level of english that my students possess is minimal to say the least. When i asked ¨When is your birthday¨, I think that my favourite response was ¨I like listening to music¨... Well that´s nice Jorge, but when is your birthday??? Although the students seem crazy and a little hard to control sometimes, I find that containing their energy and using it to enhance the lesson is often more rewarding than a class full of apathetic students. As my teaching was shortened due to the strikes, I have made up for missed time by volunteering at and english lab in downtown Coquimbo, with Kelsey, teaching adults on Wednesday evenings, and kids on thursday afternoons. I have also started teaching with Kelsey at her school on Friday´s, as i have no classes of my own. Sometimes i feel that those classes are more entertaining for us than for the students. Jeopardy last week us doubled over in fits of laughter as translations of days of the week went a little awry.

As much as i seem to mock my students english, my spanish is nothing to be desired. It is improving though. When i fisrt arrived here i often told people that i was married when trying to express that i was tired. For future reference, Casada= married and Cansada= tired. I also give almost everyone a laugh when i explain that my dog here is named Sále. In fact, the dogs name is Flake, and Sále means ¨get out!¨.. which is why it would make perfect sense that they yelled ¨Sále¨everytime the dog came in the house. Smart Liza. Aside from minor confusion my communication skills are increasing and i can now speak, using selective verbs, in past and future.

The past two weekends filled our stomachs and our cameras with good food and great photos, respectivly. Our weekend in Elqui Valley took Vianna, Colin, Kelsey and I to the beautiful valley, the mountains, the home of Pisco, and a magnificent observatory.

Pretty from an Elqui lookout

We visited the observatory on June 21st, which was a perfectly clear evening. It is great to experience all of that on the shortest day of the year! We learned all about globular and closed clusters, nebulas, supernovas, and the 88 constellations. One in particular, the Southern Cross, had until now been hidden to me by the northern horizons back at home. This past weekend showed me my very first gay pride parade, which considering gay pride history in Latin American countries, had a great turn out and proved to be a very entertaining night. In anticipation of Canada Day, we prepared a feast at La Casa de Kelsey.

Food and Friends at Kelsey´s.

Pancakes, banana bread, tuna melts, grilled cheese, microwave bacon and maple syrup made their premier appearance to the Chilean families, and were welcomed by the Canadians with expectant eyes and grumbling stomachs. All was eaten, and all were content. Papa Carlos enjoys every last drop of Maple Syrup