La Familia

My first encounter with my family illustrates some of the Chilean personality attributes perfectly so here´s where I´ll begin. I was picked up at the La Serena bus stop by my Chilean mother, her sister, and a teacher who spent some time in Australia in case I didn´t speak any Spanish. When they discovered I do speak a minimal amount of Spanish however, the floodgates were opened and I now live with the constant challenge of understanding the fastest, most colloquial Spanish en este mundo. They exhausted their English phrases pretty fast with ¨what is your name, door, chair, grandmother.´Upon walking into the house my mother pinched me on the side and told me I would gain at least 10kg living with her, y mi casa es tu casa. She then led me up the narrow staircase, where if I didn´t duck my entire upper body would be swiped off, and introduced me to the 87 year-old grandmother, who smiled and told me I am so young and pretty. After dropping my things off in my Catholic-cross adorned room I came back downstairs to be force-fed an array of empanadas and pasteles de choclo (corn and sugar based things). I was introduced to the daughters of the family, a Kinesiology student age 24, and a Kindergarten teacher age 28, and the father, a taxi driver. He was immediately patient with my struggling Spanish.
Then came the swarm of women. The school inspector, other office women, and a few teachers all came into our house to meet the Canadian girl. I was peppered with questions, the first of which is ALWAYS ´¿tiene un pololo?´ (do you have a boyfriend). They also are constantly checking up on my body temperature since it´s rather cold right now, and they think it´s crazy to only wear socks around the house so shoes it is. OH the name Kelsey is also very difficult to pronounce; they think it sounds like the word ´crazy´. We had more sugar-filled treats, tea and ice cream-coffee, and they laughed when I failed to follow the conversation and told them it was because they all talk at once!

The three of us with my two ¨sisters¨ at La Cruz de Coquimbo

My school is called the Estado de Israel Institución de Administración y Comercio and yes, although there are no Jewish students to be found, our fences and courtyards are decorated with the star of David. It is considered quite a good school by Chilean standards, but as is the case with Liza´s school, the students speak NO English and are accustomed to music, cell phones and wandering about in class. When the students were asked if they have ever come in contact with a native English speaker before, only about 3 of the 45 said yes. Also, the English teachers here tend to describe people as ¨tender¨ and ask the meaning of ¨dairy,¨ so I am excited to be an English resource to the school. When the students were given the opportunity to ask me questions they delved right into it (still almost all in Spanish) - do you smoke, boyfriend, age, music taste, do you dance etc. So I am 23 with a serious boyfriend, in case you were wondering. I have already led a few classes but am excited to start official teaching next week and will give an update on how it goes!


-Kelsey.

Coquimbo or Bust

hello friends!

Sorry that it has been so long. There has been a lot happening and computer time is rather limited. Pictures will soon follow suit, when i can get to Kelsey´s house to post them. Yes, she has a computer.

After the somewhat organized orientation, we boarded an 8 hour bus heading north from Santiago, to the town of Coquimbo. Arriving in Coquimbo we were met by our regional coordinator, and sent off to meet our families. For the next two months I am living with a lovley, happy family. Alexis, the 36 year old father speaks some english, so it helps when i get a little confused. The 29 year old mother, Alejandra, is as kind as they come, but speaks not a word of english, however the house is never quiet. The three children - Cameron (10), Stacy (6) and Kahel (1) make enough noise for all of us. The house is very well located, as the centre is but a 10 minute walk, and the Mormon church only a block away. Oh yes, they are Mormons. I experienced my first religious gathering the other day, in Spanish of course. This will take some adjusting, but its always interesting to learn... Kelsey´s house is a 15 minute walk from mine, and is often a haven of cafeine for me, as i am not allowed to consume any in my house. Its great to have a familiar face around the corner too.

My observation week at the school - where i followed the teacher around like a lost dog - has finally come to an end, and i will be placed in my own classroom as of Monday. For me, the school has been the most shocking part. The students are on their cellphones and mp3s during class, putting on makeup instead of doing the work, and ive encountered only a few (out of the 150 i will be teaching) that know a word of english. Liceo Diego Portales, my school, is a bit run down with minimal windows still in tact, few doors that actually close, some classrooms have lights, and one is hard pressed to find a classroom without graffitti all over the walls. Its no Havergal or Lakefield, thats for sure! Despite all of that, the school does look out over a harbour filled with fishing boats, and is backed by a beautiful mountain range in the distance. There is however, lot of room here to make a difference. As the week concluded my feelings of frustration were rising, as i felt almost useless in the classroom, I have difficulty getting my point across in Spanish, and i figured that no one would benefit from me being here as i had yet to encounter a single student interested in learning. Things change. I helped to teach a 4th grade (grade 12 for us) english class yesterday, and i was appraoched by one of the students. Jose was very reserved about the english he would use, but as we began our conversation he opened up in english and was not afraid to make mistakes. He mentioned that I was the only foreigner that he had ever spoken to, in english or spanish. e sat with me for the better part of the class asking as much as he could, improving each time he spoke. I went home after school that day excited to go back and teach. Monday will be challenging, but if i am able to reach even one student, then everything has been worthwhile!

A new found Torontonian - a fellow volunteer - Steph, is placed in a smaller town about 40 minutes away called Tongoy. She will be coming into Coquimbo this weekend and staying with me, so that Vianna, Kelsey, Steph and I can explore together! Also, a friend from the program, Colin - from Vancouver - is in Coquimbo with us. e has sort of been MIA for the past couple days but we hope to meet up with him this weekend.

I hope that all is well at home, wherever that may be.
All for now!
amor siempre Liza.

Back in Santiago

While it only took us a few days to master the metro and markets of Santiago, we have yet to figure out how to order food. Arriving famished, hoping to get a traditional Chilean dish, bistec a lo pobre, Vianna and Kelsey managed to order one beef sandwich to split. After demolishing it in about 2 seconds, we pointed to the picture and got our food MOUNTAIN, fries topped with beef stew and two fried eggs. With snickers from the entirely male tables in the surrounding area we polished off the entire mountain. Neauseatingly delicious. Liza gets along just fine.


Before our orientation began we had the chance to explore some other events around the city. Highlights include a day trip to Valpairaiso, a picturesque seaside city with elevators up the steep hillsides. The houses are full of character and we enjoyed wandering the streets. Our big goal was to reach the ¨Mirador,¨which usually indicates a lookout. After 40 minutes of uphill climbing after these Mirador signs - behold! - a construction site of the new Mirador apartment complex.Another favourite was the Hipodrome horse races, where we witnessed yet another activity primarily dominated by males. Arriving at a spontaneous hour, we had the pleasure of watching two races. Due to the fact that none of us knew how to place a bet - let alone in spanish- we just picked random horses with pretty colours. Kelsey´s horse, number 13, was chosen due to ´peppyness´... he won. It was also a good cultural experience to take in Villa Gramaldi, one of the torture and execution camps from the Pinochet era.

Valpo

In recent news, all the other volunteers have arrived and we have been in orientation for the past 3 days. After briefing how to teach, we´re moving off to our placements in the morning. We are all in the city of Coquimbo in the region of Coquimbo (about 7 hours North of Santiago) and are teaching in different high schools. We´ve received vague information about our families and will provide details when we meet!

-Las Tres

Torres del Awesome

Punta Arenas lookout at sunrise (8:35am)
- After a 4 hour delay in the Santiago airport due to fog, we arrived later than expected in Punta Arenas. As the sun sets around 4:30 at the end of the world, we had little time to explore before heading to Puerto Natales, the Gateway to Torres del Paine National Park. We did however, manage to make it to the city lookout for sunrise which showed us the true colours of the city. Each building really is a differenct colour. The view of the Magellan strait and Tierra del Fuego on the horizon is enough to stop one in their tracks, but we had a bus to catch....
A brief stop in Puerto Natales linked us up with some fellow trekkers, thus a Brit, a Welshman, and an American later, we were on our way into the park. The 18km hike in showed us the epitome of Torres weather. In a 5 hour span we experienced first incredible wind, then a downpour of rain, followed by snow, sleet, some ice like things, and then a bit more rain. The last hour the sun graced us with its presence and we were finally able to see the mountains...or so we thought. We arrived at the only open Refugio in winter to find the most friendly, patient, and bored Chileans we have met this far. Cristian and Javier quickly became our friends finding most of their daily entertainment in our attempt at Spanish, not to mention the flailing run and giggles that could be heard from us as we ran to snap pictures of the Guanaco in our backyard. By the end of the first night there we had sleepingbags for free, and endless laughter as we taught them our favourite card games in mediocre broken spanish.

Glacier Grey in Torres Del Paine National Park -- Day 2

On the second day we set out with gorp in hand to find the Glacier Grey. The 22km hike had us in a bit of a sweat, but the 360 view of stunning mountains, lakes, and icebergs kept our spirits high. Unbeknowst to us, icebergs and glaciers are the definition of glowing blue. True beauties. Some of trek was difficult with rocky ups and down, and the distractions of beautiful mountains sometimes allows for a miss in one's step. Liza, in true fashion, took a couple spills, but all is well and no blood was shed. The nicest part about this day was the realization that we were entirely alone out there - except for the Owl and Jack Rabbit that crossed our path. Cristian and Javier informed us that in the summer months, there are over 1,000 hikers in the park on a daily basis. Now?... there were 2. Arriving back at the refugio, we braved the showers. It's not that they were dirty, but the glacier water is a little bit cold. We remained a bit dirty. We then met by two smiling faces, wine and bistek, a warm fire, and some friendly conversation.

Valley of Frances - Day 3

As the weather in the park is often tempermental, the fact that our trek into the valley of Frances was full of blue skies and sunshine was truly a gift. The 8 km path was less strenuous than the previous day, allowing us to bask in the beauty around us. The waterfalls, the winding paths, the visible peaks, the somewhat sketchy suspension bridge, and the snow-covered ground made for an experience we will never forget. Kelsey now embraces 'The Frances' in her.
As the hike turned more into mountain climbing, we heard a tremendous boom. Helicopter? Thunder - on an entirely clear day? No... Kelsey, that's an avalanche. We were on our way down the mountain and managed to witness one of the most incredible acts of nature. The snow broke from the top of a peak and thundered down the mountain side - thankfully the one opposite from us. As we returned to the refigio we told our new friends what we saw, and apparently we are very lucky to have seen such a thing. As we discussed our day back in our rooms, Cristian and Javier's impatient voices could be heard at the end of the hall. `Chicas! Niñas! Cafe? Te? Ven por jugar cartas ahora?'

The trek out us with nothing to be desired. Beauty in it's purest form - untouched wilderness.
Oh yeah, we also made record time. 18km hike in 4 hours. yeaaaaah!!! We're also exhausted, but wouldn't trade this for anything.

We now await the arrival of Vianna and the adventures to come in our teaching placement - Coquimbo!!!

- Liza and Kelsey

First Days in Santiago

After the red-eye from Toronto to Santiago, we dropped our bags off at the hostel and went out in hopes of familiarizing ourselves with this bustling city. The city was not-so bustling. Sundays are a quiet day in Santiago and we found that most things were closed. Not sure of where to go we decided to head for "the big buildings, it must be busy there" - thanks to Kelsey- We indeed found the big buildings with a plethora of other closed shops. As our hunger led us in search of food, we stumbled across a small inlet mall on a street we probably can't pronounce. Reading hand written menus on signs, confusion rose with the beckons of vendors and comments on blonde hair. We eventually found a lovely singing gentleman who ushered us into the busiest family-run cove of them all. Cesar, the singing man, quickly became friends with us, Kelly and Lisa. Through gesturing and broken Spanish Kelly got her chicken with mystery sauce and Lisa got some green pasta, not to mention two glasses of bucket-juice. Don't worry, we're alive and healthy. As Cesar questioned our marital status and nationality, the other 20 people crammed into the cove used us as their dining entertainment. The wonders of that meal cost us a whopping 2,600 pesos or $5 altogether, but that memory is worth at least $1,000.

After picking a direction to walk, we wandered through the cobblestone streets in hopes of finding something cultural. Turns out that our aimless wandering landed us in one of the most famous squares in the city, Plaza de Armas. As the Plaza is surrounded with museums we decided to make use of the free entry on Sundays, and we set out to find the Museo de Arte Precolombiano. Thinking it was blocks away, Liza peered through a small opening in a wall to see a banner. The banner said "Museo de Arte Precolombiano". Fancy that. It was really cool and the explanations helped us with our Spanish.

Since our spontaneity worked out so well yesterday, we braved the bustle of Monday morning and found an amazing street market, Kensington style. ALPACA sweaters galore!!! Two for us, none for you!
Today we also booked our flights to Punta Arenas for Wednesday. Pick up for the airport = 3:45am. Early bird catches the worm!

¡Hasta Pronto! - Kelly y Lisa