Family Life.

I would like to make a quick note on one of the many things I love about Latin America: The Importance of family.  It seems like in American media, pregnancy is a downer.  When women become pregnant unintentionally in the movies it’s always a disaster.  No one looks forward to parenthood and Children become a burden.  I was recently watching a Novella in which the main character suspected she might be pregnant with her boyfriend’s baby.  They were not married nor did they intend to be (due to complications that only a Novella could pull off) but when she told him the news, the joy was remarkable.  There was no moment of fear that one’s youth is over.  He merely commented that this was what he had been waiting his whole life for.

I thought this was a bit much, until I considered all of the young parents I knew in Costa Rica and remembered how much they loved their Children and how much they claimed their lives had been improved because of them.  Then yesterday, when teaching one of my night classes, some of my students, told me about their sons and daughters.  None of them was embarrassed, they were all incredibly proud of their accomplishments as parents and knew that they were in school to try to better the lives of themselves and their children. 

            One of my favorite songs is called “More adventurous” by a band called Rilo Kiley.  In the song the main singer claims that “maybe ours is the purpose of all mankind, get loved, make more, try to stay alive.”  I similarly, like to think that we exist for each other.  It’s possible that I come from such a loving family, that my perspective is too rosy to be realistic, but even so, I think that if the entire region of Latin America gets it, It shouldn’t be so hard for the rest of us.  Family life, ought to be encouraged.  This doesn’t mean that we ought to rush into things that we aren’t ready for, but rather that we should consider the stigma that comes along with young families.  It’s not sacrificing youth, it’s just a matter of choosing a different path.  

That's all that I really wanted to say for now.  I'll put up a real post soon.  (Oh also, I temporarily lost my cell phone, so don't try to call for now.)

It´s a disaster. Naturally.

I´m a bit of a disaster.

You see, today was my first day of class and it did not go according to plan. No, you see, despite my having left the house over an hour before class was supposed to start, I still somehow managed to arrive 20 minutes late to my own first class. Excellent first impression don´t you think. The buses were so packed this morning that the first one I tried to get on shut its doors on me. That is to say it tried to, it was unable to actually shut the doors because a number of junior high school kids who were standing on the steps had blocked the bus doors with their backpacks. When I finally got on a bus at 8, the traffic was so bad that it took even longer than usual to get to school.
I hate being late. I always have. I don´t like tardiness from others and I certainly don´t condone it myself, so when 8:30 struck and i was still about 2 miles away from school I started to have a minor panic attack. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was sure that I was going to be fired, before I had even started the job.
Once I finally got to school, I ran up the stairs to find all of my doe eyed students waiting for me intently with their day old facial hair and mullets in tow. After my seriously delayed arrival class went quite well. The students were all able to introduce themselves and I got a chance to gauge their english abilities. They seem promising.
I didn´t get in trouble with my bosses, they just told me that sometimes these things happen and to try to leave earlier next time. I still felt terrible, but luckily, Brendon had just gotten to campus and was able to give me a hug and a pep talk before I headed to the gym, which was really the best medicine for the day. Also, my cell phone isn´t letting me make calls, but I do not understand that because I just put money on it last week. Moral of the story: Call me, don´t wait for me to call you.
In other news, life in Santiago is still pretty great. It is still hot and dry here, which is nice. This weekend I went into Santiago on Friday night to hang out with some friends. I also met a couple of the volunteers from last year, who have been kind enough to take us under their wing and show us around Santiago. Brendon found a jazz club on Saturday night that I can´t wait to visit and we have finally started to discover the best restaurants in and around Santiago. That´s all for now. I have some pictures to post, but I can´t connect my computer to the internet to transfer them, so you´ll just have to wait a little bit longer. Happy Spring forward! To all of you east coasters, next week Chile falls back so we will be in the same time zone. Note it.
Rad

One step at a time

Hello again from a beautiful and narrow land.  I have finally arrived at my host family’s house, I have unpacked and am ready to begin the new academic year; more or less.  The last two weeks have been so filled with activity, I hardly know where to begin.  Our hectic schedules continued throughout orientation, leaving only enough time to walk home in the afternoon in order to enjoy the last of the daylight.  The Santiago summer heat is slowly beginning to fade and the cool nights are becoming more frequent.  Still, the last month has felt distinctly like a vacation.  Living in a hostel for a month and hearing the tales of everyone’s travels within Chile is a real challenge because it desperately makes me want to go on vacation to see all of the supposedly breathtaking sites I have heard about.  From what everyone says, I may never want to leave Chile. 

This orientation could not have been more unlike last year’s.  I had daily internet usage, I was constantly surrounded by Gringo’s and I only had to use Spanish when ordering food in restaurants.  Not to mention that I have yet to shed a single tear this time around. 

            Last year, I constantly felt as though I was on the brink of tears.  As if the whole experience was too much and that I needed to turn around and go home, where I would find something less frightening to do with my life.  In contrast, this year, I have almost constantly felt as if the coming year won’t even be a battle.  I have my own bedroom and bathroom with hot water.  I have a cell phone and a TV.  What else could I possibly ask for?   

            It’s funny to think that I am doing WT again.  They are entirely different programs with the same mission.  I am here to provide excellent English instruction so that my students, who have been disadvantaged until now, might be better able to improve their well being as well as that of their families.  You can’t change the world all at once.  You can only help one person at a time, but that’s the only way to do it. 

            During the last week of Orientaion, we met the rest of the English Teachers from different programs.  I considered a couple of the other programs but I am really glad that I chose World Teach again because the compensation from the other programs is still pretty minimal and they have to find their own housing.  Not to mention that they receive about 4 days of in country training.  I’m sure that they are perfectly capable, I’m just glad that I chose the path that I did. 

            In other news, we also learned how to dance the Cueca, which is the typical Chilean dance.  It’s not nearly as fun as Salsa, but at least I have another Latin American Dance under my belt.  I need a little more practice with the Cumbia and I need to learn the Tango, but then I am good to go. 

            I also took my first Capoiera class, which is a form of Brazilian Martial arts that reminded me a lot of dance classes.  It’s a strange combination of gymnastics, Martial Arts and Dance, but it was a complete blast.  I am definitely going to try to take more classes over the course of the year.  I can’t remember the last time I had such a great work out.  Bottom line: I want to keep that going if I can.   

            So now: a word or two on my new digs.  I must say, my situation has vastly improved since last year.  My house is 3 stories.  I live on the second floor.  There is also a little office and a second bathroom on my floor which my host siblings use.  My host siblings Aranza (10) and Joaquin (7) live on the third floor in a kind of attic/open space.  My parents live on the ground floor.  The living room, kitchen and laundry room are all on the ground floor.  The house is really quite cozy and the family is terrific. 

            Brendon lives a few blocks away, so I anticipate seeing him, just about every day.  Our school meetings got cancelled today so he and I are going to go on an adventure in Santiago.  I feel so lucky that he is my neighbor here.  I really couldn’t ask for someone nicer or more outgoing.  He’s just a sweetheart.  The rest of the volunteers laugh because we constantly refer to one another as “Hermano” and “Hermana” but that’s what it feels like.  He is my long lost little brother from Michigan. 

            Also, I found out that our host families are staunch Pinochet supporters.  Or they were, so, that will be interesting.  I shouldn't say it as if it's a bad thing, I was just surprised.  I have to remember to tread softly on that note.  I have to keep the socialist in me under wraps. 

I finally got my official Chilean Identification card by the way.  It's pretty exciting, It's like a belong here now.  More or less.  Brendon's wasn't ready because he somehow messed up his fingerprinting the day that we initially went through the extremely tedious process of getting ID's.  So now, he has to go back some time next week to pick his ID up.  

            Alright, that’s enough ramblings for one day.  Stay tuned for more notes from the Other Hemisphere.