Feliz Cumpleaños (5/27)

Deb and I went to a birthday party for a friend from church. Claudio is "Super simpatico!" as they would say here. He's a great fellow, teaches photography at a local technical institution, a bachelor who's not a bit shy, and now 35 and proud of it. (That is, except when his mother starts telling stories.) So he had a party for himself at his and his mother's apartment. There were lots of people from the church. We stayed later than we imagined we would and almost spent the night. But we decided to call a taxi at the tune of $16. We made it home by 2AM.

But let me tell you about an unexpected element of the evening. A part that wouldn't surprise many who know me well, but always seems to catch me off guard. We met another friend, Fernando, at church before the party. He was at choir practice, and we met him there so we could go to the party together. While waiting for Fernando, I made a little friend named Esteban who also came to the birthday party with us. He is a wild four-year-old who was running all over while his parents rehearsed with the choir. His parents are a blind couple, and, with his sister, they attend the church faithfully. Despite his need for speed he was super easy to engage in conversation. We talked about many things, but there were four seeming favorites; his little plastic animals, his birthday where he will turn six despite the fact that he is only four now, "brujas" or witches, and some words he knew in English. He attached himself to me surprisingly fast. He sat with me as we rode the bus to the party. At the party he came and went, sometimes sitting on my lap and sometimes disappearing under the table. (How his blind parents care for him I do not know.) Anyway, I had fun with Esteban. It's times like this when I feel like I would like to have children. But... (Sigh.)

Sheer Beauty! (5/25)

In the London School District, when it's particularly bad, fog delays school's start. In the mornings, you look out and wonder if it's foggy enough for the district to declare it dangerous and delay school. This is a tough call because someone will disagree. Here, smog weilds the same confusing power. Smog is nasty! When you look outside or up at the mountains at the haze of smog, you are forced to deal with the reality. It's there. It may not delay school (parents would have a fit because they value education too much and pay to send the children to private school), but it does prevent physical activity -- LIKE PE!!! Children get so upset when PE is cancelled too. Smog is bad, so RAIN is good!!!

While skies are usually clear, spotless, not even a whisp of cloud, these last few days we've had big, dark clouds overhead. Sometimes, they look like they crashed into the mountains and you can see them spilling over slopes. Other times these clouds are up high above the mountains, but dark and luminous still. Everybody has been looking up at the clouds and hoping. We only had one shower in the last few days, but people keep hoping. Now, the stage is set for the "Sheer Beauty" part of my thought. I love the mountains, and they look so different with the clouds. It's like a game of Hide-and-Seek or Peek-a-Boo! And the sunsets have been gorgeous. It's like the mountains are wearing the formal attire and are dressed to the nines!!! One picture just doesn't capture it. But here's what I've got.

Tutoring (5/23)

Today was the first rainy day since I've been here. I've been here 97 days (Wow!!! I think that's right?!?) and I have witnessed only one rainy day. It has rained twice during the night also. But that seems like very little rain. Maybe for that reason, everyone here loves rain. Smog is a big problem in Santiago, and everyone appreciates the cleaner, fresher air after the rain.

Anyway, I wanted to write about tutoring. I gave my first private tutoring lesson. I am tutoring two boys in English. But, my methods are unusual. The parents and I agreed that lessons should be fun and conversational. So I don't give homework and we aren't studying grammar. We are simply playing. Today I took a board game, Parcheesi. They definitely practiced their English. We had a great time. They already look forward to the next "class".

La Lechuga (4/21-22)

As you may have witnessed, sometimes I open my mouth before I seriously think about the consequences of what is coming out. Well, I agreed to go jogging with a 53-year-old before I considered all the circumstances. Gustavo, who cleans and cares for our condomium, and I are kinda chummy. We chat and make jokes all the time. He is a progressive working class type, all about a good attitude and positive perspective. He does physical work, often outside, and, when I was excersizing, he informed me that he jogs every weekend. He offered to go jogging with me, and I immediately said OK. We went yesterday.

Not only is Gustavo in good shape, but he can jog long distances and uphill with little winding. "Como lechuga" ("Like lettuce") to quote the humble fellow. Poor, out-of-shape me! I tried my best to hang in with him (and I feel pretty good about how well I did), but I had to stop jogging and walk three times or face a heart attack. Gustavo was immensely pleased with himself, as compared to the condition of his 20 year junior jogging partner. I made it back home, despite the rather ragged condition. Today, I am so stiff. I just won't let Gustavo see me limping.

Fun with Friends! (5/20)

Andrés, Priscilla, and Benjamin came over today. We had dinner and went for a walk (because there isn't enough room for Benjamin to play in our appartment). We wanted to have them over because so much has changed since their last visit. And it was Priscilla's sister who made our lovely curtains. So we wanted to have them over. Though we now have a red parrot to occupy Benjamin, we went outside to a local playground when he grew antsy. Deb took a good picture of our fun. I love these guys.

Chilean Red Tape (5/15)

Today, I went to downtown to finalize my visa and begin the process for obtaining an identity card. (I am a nobody here in Chile because I don't have an identity.) But the process is complicated, attention is given to tedious details, and sometimes personnell can be tempermental. Few complete the entire process without near fatal injuries.

Fortunately, I had very little trouble getting my visa. Teachers, especially English-speaking teachers, have little trouble because Chile currently values the foreign influence in education. BUT, I am not unscathed. After getting my visa, I went to the international police station in a different part of town to certify that I am who I say I am. Then I had to go the civil registery in another part of the downtown (walking, mind you) to apply for the card. After waiting in line for an hour, I reached the desk where they asked for photocopies. No one told me I needed photocopies of anything. So I had to leave, go around the corner, and have copies made. They lady there knew what I was doing so I told her my story. She told me I should be able to go to the front and not wait all over again. So, when I arrived, I went right to the lady who told me to get the photocopies and asked if I had to wait in line again. She said she would help me. BUT (this is the scathing part), she found that the name on the paper issued by the international police station didn't have my middle name. So she wouldn't complete my application!!! I had to go back to the international police station and get another certification.

After finding that I could go to the front of the line once, I wasn't going to wait in line again. :o)

La Oreja de VanGogh (5/13)

Deb and I feel that a vital part of our cultural experience is exploring the music available to us here. Actually, there is an absurd amount of music from the 80's available to the listening ear at any given moment. But we have been trying to get into the Latin music scene. One of the groups that Deb has liked since her first trip to Spain is La Oreja de VanGogh (VanGogh's Ear?!?!). I have acquired the taste as well, but I am not able to sing along in Spanish (though I can hum a pretty mean version). Anyway, when Deb heard that they were coming to Santiago, she never stopped talking about wanting to go. So we did!

We got tickets kind of late and the concert was almost sold out, so we got turf (cancha) seats (which really is a misnomer, because there were no seats). But being the unintentional Gringos that we are, we took some folding canvas seats that we brought from the states. Well. When we walked in with them, we got a lot of stares. When people saw what they were, they relaxed, but we were clearly labeled. Oh well. Another irony is we met people from school there. A parent and her daughter came up and we chatted for a long time. I felt very culturally hip.

The concert was a blast. I am so sore from all the jumping. The music, despite the fact that I couldn't intelligably sing along, was great! It was two and a half hours long. (There were four albums worth of music to sing.) Only getting home was a problem. There were so many cars and people, we didn't even try to move until about an hour after the concert. It was worth it though.

Parent/Teacher Conferences (5/11+12)

I don't mean to make comparisons, but I have to share my parent/teacher conferences experiences. No matter what country you teach in, one of the facinating dynamics about teaching is you get to know students so well, but have no idea who some of the parents are.

Honestly, though,I am actually surprised at how many I have gotten to know. Here parents stop by with a degree of regularity. They are paying for their child's education, so some of them are definitely making sure their child benefits as much as they can from it. Many parents have come to ask favors of me or to check in on their child's behavior. These have mostly been pleasant exchanges. Conferences seemed to be an extension of these contacts. I handed out report cards and discussed grades, study havits, and behavior with parents. Parents were outstandingly happy to have a native English speaker teaching their child, saying their child's English has improved so much already. I had lots of good things to say too. And the things that weren't so great, I "sandwiched" between pleasant things. (This was a trick taught to me by Leesa Hisem and Rhonda Bryant back in London.) I really enjoyed these meetings. Most of these conferences were done in a mix of Spanish and English. Most parents here have a degree of English proficiency. Some were done entirely in English. But some had to be done all in Spanish. I am happy to say there were very few things I didn't know how to say in one way or another.

Two items of interest: 1) I was surprised at what some teachers told parents. They said pointed things that I could never have said. But they felt that they needed to be said, so they did. And parents took it because teachers are "professionals" and respected more than they are in the states. 2) Children weren't really invited to the conferences. Since there was no school, they were encouraged instead to help with a flea market of donated items that were being sold during the two conferences days. And may did. Stuff brought in was sorted by grade level and students helped sell their grade's stuff. The money then goes to class activities (mostly the month long senior trip after they graduate). So kids worked with a passion. Parents came to support the activity. And, I think, the conference attendance in turn was high. Not a bad system.

Planetarium Field Trip (5/9)

We were learning about space in Science and decided to take a trip to the planetarium to add to our experiences. Back home field trips are big deals because they are very expensive. But our small group paid everything themselves. Everyone brought in a permission slip, $7, and a snack, and off we went. We ate and sang on the bus. The planetarium was full of surprises. First, it was a rather exiting show (not quite what I expected) and many students from several schools were rarely quiet. Then there was no introduction, so when the lights went out and the projector came out of the floor, it scared many children. During the show, the lights gave the distinct impression that we were all moving. (It made me a little sick.) While on our way out, students from my class raved about how we were actually moving during the show. I tried to explain it but they didn't understand.

I was nervous and found it all choatic, but it was fun. There were remarkably few rules for our trip. It was all great until I told the kids they had to clean the floor of the bus. Field trips don't happen like that back home, that's for sure.

Casa Comoda! (5/7)

We got some new furniture and just hung some curtains. (Yeah! We've lived here 2 months now and JUST hung curtains!)

Deb and I have been eating in a very mideastern fashion. We've been sitting on the floor when we sup at home. Granted, we eat out a lot, but we thought it would be nice if we could have a coffee table and some stools to sit on around the kitchen island. So we went to the wood furniture street (Av. Matta) and bought a few items to make our home more comfortable. And then we had Priscilla's sister make curtains for us. Deb picked out a lovely fabric and we dropped it off to have curtains made. Well, we just brought them home and humg them up. And I am glad to say they look fantastic! (Nice work Irene!!!) So between the furniture and the curtains, I think our apartment has really become our "Home, sweet home!"

Incredible Friends! (5/6)

Our friends Andres and Priscilla invited us and others to their house for an "asada" (barbecue). There were others there as well, people Deb works with and their spouses. (Andres used to work at ADS, but has moved on.) It was a real test of my ability to understand and speak Castellano (the preferred name for the "Spanish" language here). Sometimes, people slowed down to accommadate or repeated themselves, but I had to have my brain in gear or I couldn't participate. I did manage to add a bit to the din, but was happy playing with Benjamin when my brain needed a rest.

But the best part was after lunch and a few hours of chatter, the others went home and Deb and I remained. We washed dishes, our car, played music, made dinner, put Benjamin to bed, and stayed until 11PM. In a very real way Andres and Priscilla have made their house ours as well. But, this friendship isn't free. They know my intensions to make a chocolate/manjar cake. I am suppose to prepare said cake for Saturday, May 20 because they are coming over to judge it. I hope I can put my cake where my mouth is.

Edifica Fair (5/6)

Deb has been working hard! The nature of her job here involves fixing some existing problems, so from time to time she comes home rather stressed. She also works long hours and has a long commute, so though we leave at the same time in the AM she usually arrives home about an hour or more after I do. (If you know how I frequently stay after school, you know that Deb is putting in the time!) She is paying back all the money ADS spent in bringing us here in blood, sweat, and time.

But this weekend she switched roles a bit. She went to a Construction fair called Edifica. She represented ADS with others as people stroled by inquiring about the many aspects of building. And believe me their is an incredible amount of that going on in Santiago. So, here, Deb and Ernesto are posing for us in the ADS display at the fair. But it wasn't all fun. Here is a picture of Deb working too. (I was the company photographer for the morning.) I had fun anyway.

Cajon de Maipo (5/1)

Upon the recommendation of friends from church and school, we took a trip to Cajon de Maipo. We were able to convince some church friends to go with us (largely because we didn't know how to get there). We met at the church and seven people packed into two cars. We drove a little south east of Santiago to a little canyon and hiked into the hills to see some beautiful scenery and two waterfalls. What a wonderful way to get to know some church friends! We had a great time.

Like myself, Claudio came armed and took many pictures during the excursion. Unlike myself, he carried a manual-focus, uses-film camera from the stone age. I later discovered he teaches photography at one of the local universities. That explained his "focused" efforts in obtaining pictures. I found myself photographing the photographer. Needless to say, his pictures are fantastic!

We also made a new friend on this trip. Irene just started coming to this church. She is a Chilean that lives in the states in Worchester, PA, close to Philly and where I grew up. We both spent time in Guatemala City and witnessed poverty that makes you want to cry. She also sent her son to Lincoln while they lived here in Chile. So we feel kindred in a way. We hope to get to know each other better. What a fun trip this turned out to be!

Postre Perfecto!!! (4/27)

Usually I prefer to avoid writing on this blog about the food I eat. But I have discovered true paradise in pastry form. Deb and I were invited to the birthday party of the father of two of my students (twins). (Did you get that?) At this party the host/birthday boy and some of the guests bragged about the cake we were going to share. It apparently has a reputation. Chocolate cake with "manjar" (Dulce de leche or a cousin of caramel)! Of course, anything with manjar sounds wonderful to me. I love the stuff. But I was unprepared for the utter perfection of this dessert. A cousin of Tres Leches, it was three layers of chocolate cake, moist with a manjar sauce, and topped with (yep, you guessed it) manjar. My tastebuds hit heaven over this dessert. I will not rest until I learn how to make it.

A Fun Week! (4/24-28)

This was a fun week! (Read with lots of dripping sarcasm!!!) This was end of the quarter (here they say "bimester") and we had a week of serious testing (Global exams). Anyway, children were very concerned about doing well on these tests. They're are weighted twice as much as any other test. I made the Science and Math test, and I administered the Social Studies and English tests. I am proud to say (after grading the darn things) that my students did pretty well, generally speaking. And I feel happy about the overall performances in Science and Math. I think I scared the heck out of everybody just before, so they all studied hard. Children here value their education, and work hard for good grades.

Besides the exams, we (all of 4th grade) were responsible for an assembly on Weds. We were assigned this assembly project largely because of my big mouth (see I Did It Now! March 27-30). Fortunately we were granted an extra week to get the project together and practice, but it was another big stress in the middle of an already stressful week. So on top of the review we spent LOTS of time practicing our assembly. And, bless their hearts, the students drove me crazy. They are dedicated and focused when activities are structured, but, when things lack structured, they will do whatever they can get away with.

So I made a powerpoint presentation and Pily (the other 4th grade teacher) talked about violence in our school. My class acted out a skit about how to treat others in a friendly way, then Pily's class acted out a skit. We ended our program with a song that I accompanied on the guitar. After all the hard work, I am glad to say it went very well. We received many compliments.

La Chascona (4/23)

Pablo Neruda is a famous Chilean writer, winning the Nobel Prize in 1971. He was a politican and well know for many reasons. Needless to say he had money -- a lot of it! He had three houses. Deb and I have seen two, La Isla Negra (see Isla Negra and Algarrobo March 12) and, now, La Chascona. We went after church because Neruda attempted to hide his house in an unusual part of the downtown. This house originally was for a mistress he had when his second marriage was falling apart. This unusual house was designed to hide out with Matilde Urrutia, who later became his third wife.

Notable for it's small rooms, unusual furnishings and trick doors, Neruda entertained guest here. One gets the impression that he was a big kid. He like to surprise his guest with his tricks, like popping out of trick doors. And, he had a special level of his home for writing. His home had a good view of the city, but was difficult for him to traverse as he got older. For that reason, he built a third house in Viña that Deb and haven't yet seen. In failing health, Neruda died in 1973 shortly after hearing that Pinochet stormed the Moneda (Chile's White House) and President Allende was dead. Later, the military raided Neruda's house destroying the majority of his belonging there... Thus was the beginning of a new era in Chile's history.

Church Group Get-Together (4/22)

This is a picture of some friends Deb and I made at the Presbyterian Church here in Santiago. We got together for discussion and tacos. I was amazed out how friendly everyone is. (Chileans are naturally very attentive people. The culture is laid back about most things, so Chileans take time to visit and talk with their friends. They also frequently comment, saying "True. Certainly. I get it." And they are enthusiastic talkers! Conversations are fun to watch or participate in.) These friends and others from the church have really made Deb and I feel at home.

Another way this church is good for us, it gets us out of our little part of town for visits to the downtown. After church, Deb and I frequently walk a few blocks to the Plaza de Armas where we get some ice cream, sit in the park, and walk around looking at shops. It's a super pleasant Sunday afternoon activity.

Amazing Mountains! (4/21)

I know some have heard all this before, but I just can't help it. The mountains here are so amazing. I don't know how to describe them and pictures just don't do them justice. They are sooo big. They loom over everything. There is no getting lost here, you just have to look around and find the mountains. All directions can be told in relation to the mountains. But people here don't seem to notice them. Some days I am struck, amazed, and even immobilized by the beauty, detail, and color, yet everyone else seems oblivious. The mountains change so much throughout the day. They are very complex combinations of brown, green, and yellow. But In the morning they look bluish. And in the afternoon and toward evening they turn orange, red, maroon, and purple. they never seem to look like they did the day before. They are my soap, and I am hooked.

Deb and I took a ride on the teleferico (cable cars up a mountain) at Cerro San Cristobal. This provided an excellent view of the Santiago valley. This shot shows how the mountains surround the city.