Chile in Pictures

Petrohue

So I hopped on a bus with the Turismo group at school for a field trip to Petrohue. I have to say I really needed that jump start today. This past week has been a little crazy. Winter vacations begin Friday and nothing has been normal. My classroom is occupied for the week and my host teacher has been grading papers like crazy, so we've been watching a lot of movies and such. I've come home bored and uninvolved searching like crazy for conversations and news from the States, making me all the more homesick. But today, I got involved.

A few things I need to realize while in Chile:
1. My Spanish is not that bad; stop being intimidated by it!
2. I need to speak Spanish more with the students so we can actually get to know each other.
3. I have to get involved more in classes and after school. My efforts need to be stronger.

Today snapped me out of my slump. The weather was absolutely beautiful and splendidly sunny (a RARE RARE occurrence in this rainy part of the country) and I was able to see the volcanoes and mountains. The students were the tour guides and they took a special interest in explaining everything to me, which was awesome! I even made a few jokes in Spanish =) The tour was incredible and so is this country.

I feel excited again to be here, and now I am traveling to Argentina to ski with some old friends. I'm glad to be back to my old self again!!! Thank God for the sun!

CHILOE

Another adventure in the books here in Chile. There is a large island, the 2nd largest in Chile, very close to Puerto Montt and Rosie, my host mom, has friends there. So this past long weekend we went for a visit.

Our bus had to ferry across the sea until we got to Castro. Rosie's friends live in the country side (campo) and when we arrived, I was greeted by a very sweet older couple and was introduced to about 10 extra lbs on my body. We did nothing but eat in Chiloe! Tia cooked everything fresh, and when I say fresh, I mean that they owned a butchery right next door where the cows entered and after exited edible, if you know what I mean. We had fresh meat, fresh fish, fresh eggs and fresh bread smeared in pig grease to make it that much more delicious!

(PS: this sheep was stuck in the fence! I felt sorry for it, but also thought it was pretty funny.)

I looked around the house and saw lots of Bibles and pictures of Jesus. These must be religious friends of Rosie, so after introductions when the couple asked if "Tu Crees en Dios?" (Do you believe in God?) I answered, "Si, soy catolica" (Yes, I am Catholic). I left out the part that I've written a 50 page essay on my thoughts on religions and the power of belief systems, but I didn't want to offend anyone.

The grandparents had a granddaughter, Connie, who was very interested in English. She's 15 and couldn't stop staring at my blue eyes over lunch. We went downtown later and she wouldn't stop questioning me! One question after the other about English and pop culture in America. Sometimes I wish I were more into the pop scene so I could share a love for Britney Spears or something, but I couldn't break her heart by saying that I live in a small mt. town in Tahoe and dislike shopping, pop culture and everything that sparkles in the American culture. Kudos to her curiosity though!

Saturday Rosie and I took a bus to visit a state park. It was absolutely pouring buckets of rain and then the heavy wind blew it all around. The bus dropped us off at the national park at 10:30. Rosie said it was picking us back up at 1:00pm. Whoa. So I was a bit fussy about walking around seeing nothing in the torrential downpour, but after I got soaked, I embraced the adventure and enjoyed our walk in the rain through forests that reminded me a lot of New Zealand. (Notice that my pants look like they're about to fall down; they are heavy with rain!)

So Chiloe was a beautiful adventure filled with good people, good food and good views. And the old fashioned stove kept us all warm!! (Notice how much taller I am than everyone in this country! Cheers to being a foreigner!)

My First Field Trip

Now I believe I am in Patagonia! The past two weeks have been rainy and cloudy and so I have been unable to see the volcanoes that stand nearby. I kept telling everyone that I didn't think they really existed, but now I'm a believer.

The school had an optional field trip this past Saturday and so I went with my host teacher, the students and a few other teachers. We took a bus tour to an incredible Parque National and I felt like I was right back in New Zealand. The river was running glacier blue, it was lush and green and waterfalls were pouring out from everywhere. I was a very happy girl.

After, we took a boat cruise to Puella around a big beautiful lake and I could finally see (partial) views of the big Volcan Oserno. There are some beautiful views of mountains and lakes in this area. I am very excited to be here and finally see some of the sights of Patagonia!

My New Home: Puerto Montt, CHILE

Well I've finally settled into the South and have met my new family, which includes my host mom Rosie, my host teacher Rosita and my school Bosque Nativo.

I live in a 2 bedroom house with Rosie and she always keeps the fire going, so there is no need for central heating! She is a quirky character who plants flowers in the middle of the night, buys more plates and silverware than she has room for, and lets me live my life comfortably (vives tu vida!) She also has chocolate all over the house...we were meant to be roommates!

Rosita, my host teacher, is young (about my age), fun and super accommodating. She plans the material and tests and I follow up with speaking and listening activities. Sometimes they go well and sometimes the kids stare at me with absolute blank faces. And some of them are only interested in American swear words. I tell them to learn 10 useful verbs 1st and then maybe I'll clue them in on some bad words. (I think I will win that one.) And we've had some classes off lately in order to watch Chile play in the World Cup (2-0 so far!) It's been exciting!

Puerto Montt lies within the Lake District of Patagonia, Chile. Our port is the most popular in the region and so there are a lot of amenities downtown, like a mall and cinema! I just have to take a cheap colectivo (shared taxi) to get there! I still need to do some more exploring, but there's plenty of time for that later.

So one month into it here in Chile and it's going well. It rains almost everyday, but I'm in the school most of the time anyway.

Stay tuned for more!

Santiago

Santiago

It's been a whirlwind of adventure so far. I get around on the Metro and stay in my little room at Eileen's mom's place. I feel like I have a little home here in Santiago!

Romina's party was a blast welcoming me to Chile. There were so many instructors there who I haven't seen in years! And of course they are party animals and were handing me pisco sour after pisco sour.

Pichilemu was an awesome beach excursion with Eileen's family: we ate good seafood, slept in and enjoyed the sun. The four year olds helped me with my Spanish homework and entertained me when I had no clue what all the adults were talking about.


I am very slowly starting to break down my Spanish speaking hesitations as I find that you still have to live life daily. Nothing is as bad as it seems and you can always find a way to get the important information across, even if it's not everything you mean or want to say.

I'm not really in culture shock or feel that I won't be able to get through this experience. I am so excited to be in the classroom. This trip is certainly different in that my main goal is to be a positive influence in the classroom and not so much to travel and sight see, although that is always part of the package. I find myself taking less photos and writing less in my journal and I'm not sure why. Maybe because I feel more comfortable in traveling or that I've seen the differences between cultures before. Maybe it's because I've become more relaxed and comfortable in my life....who knows. After this trip though, I do feel a little more ready to stay in one spot (hear that Mom??!!) Life is just sorta funny how it is always coming together. You never fully get it, but you're always working towards all those little goals that lead somehow to the big picture.

Goodbye Winter, Hello Winter!

Well, the end of another ski season is here, but not really because the sky keeps deciding to dump down snow. In fact, today was a lovely little powder day, and last night was an unexpected icy slushy ride back from a movie in Reno. Is it really Spring?

We had a great snow pack this year...storms came in pretty regular increments, which even brought some Colorado friends out to me: Stevo and Stacey. They had a pretty quick weekend visit, but it was wonderful to ski with them! Here's a photo of James and Marco trying to dig out one of our Magic Carpets! WOOHOO!

My mom and sis came for a visit over Christmas, which was awesome, but shortened due to some health complications with my Grandpa. We still enjoyed the time we had together.

I brought in a Happy New Year with 3 very good friends as we cross country skied near Donner Lake during the full moon. It was a very peaceful and tranquil way to bring in the new year, but it has not manifested into a year full of more exercise...yet!

And of course the season was filled with karaoke and retro parties!

Now I'm getting ready to embark upon a new adventure: Patagonia Chile. Happy Spring to all of you!!! And for me, another Winter in the Southern Hemisphere =)