Wednesday August 27, 2008

On Tuesday, than again this was coupled with our talk that we gave to a conformation group, which was fantastic. I gave a talk about my walk with Christ and some of the struggles that I went through. It was nice to be able to give my talk to the kids, even though it was in spattered Spanish. It was also interesting considering I was giving a talk to a Catholic conformation of which I have not been confirmed. It was also a little different for the school we were talking at was St. George’s which is the private privileged school in Santiago. For example, 70% of the government in Chile went to school at St. George’s. Which meant that my talk was skewed towards a bunch of rich private school kids, trying to get them to do some mission work, (or at least to have their parents give some money to help fund the stuff we are trying to do). So it is weird to be in that situation we are in because we are a link between the rich school and our contacts with the Americans there and also working at the poor school that we work at.
On Wednesday we had our little community night, which was nice. We decided to splurge and have some Chinese food. We also did a personality test, which was very informative. It was also interesting to see how we interact with different people, which will help with having us live together for the next year and a bit. It showed how we typically deal with situations and also with arguments. So it was good to get that out in the open and to realize how the other person deals with certain situations.

Monday August 25, 2008

Today was a pretty basic day at school, but it was nice to see that the kids that we went to the mountains with seem to have a much closer connection. They are all more willing and able to discuss with us. Tonight we had community night with the Andes house, which was good, it was a good test of my Spanish and also how we fit in with the community and I think that I passed both of the tests. I would not say I have anywhere near a mastery of the language but I think I now have a basic understanding, instead of simply nodding my head continually like I did for the first two weeks. So Monday was a rather interesting day because it was so full. My classes went along swimmingly, then off to a meeting for the end of the year mission trip that Brian and I are helping in. I didn’t do much at the meeting because they don’t trust my Spanish enough for me to do anything really important. So I feel a bit like an ornament, but then again people are just assuming that I don’t understand. It is interesting to see how people talk about you when they think you can’t understand.

Sunday August 24, 2008

So we got back from the mountain a little bit ago and it was amazing. I was a little hesitant about going on the trip at first, but it ended up being an absolute blast. The kids themselves were very well behaved and it seemed that everyone was looking to get out of the city for a little bit and just enjoy nature. There were about 20 kids and about 6 chaperones including Brian and I. We just played in the snow and went sledding and what not on Saturday. The night was fantastic for it has been a while since I have seen stars like that. It was fun just to spend some time outside looking at the stars and enjoying nature. We ended up staying in a little cabin that was pretty nice, it basically consisted of a little kitchen and entry way and then a bunch of beds, very functional. Today on Sunday we went on a walk for a couple of hours that was beautiful and rather interesting. The guide told us about some of the avalanches that had happened and how many people had been trapped and killed. It was a reminder of the beauty and also the unpredictability of nature. That no matter how hard we try to control the elements, there are many things in life that we cannot control. All in all the weekend was good to get out of the city for a while, to get away from the hectic life of the city for a minute and be able to recharge the batteries a little. It was also good to spend a lot of time with Spanish, getting to understand some of the slang that the kids use. But in the end I don’t know how much rest I actually got. We also have a pretty busy week coming up and I wasn’t able to get any of the stuff done that I needed to. But all in all I was very happy with how the events took place this weekend.

Friday August 22nd

Yesterday, I went on a religious retreat, like we do every Thursday, with 2nd graders. It was interesting and very different from the other retreats we had previously had because they were so much younger than the other kids we have taken. We spent a lot of time talking about the difference between right and wrong and trying to instill in the kids a basic sense of morality. It is interesting to note the amount of kids that come from broken homes. In this neighborhood it seems to be all too familiar. I am trying to be the best example possible, but I find it sometimes difficult to relate to the kids. Not simply because of the language barrier but also because I come from a phenomenal family and I have been blessed with having a functional loving family. We have a very busy next couple of days coming up, we have work tomorrow and also have to go pay the bills, which seems to be a bit more of an arduous task than in the States. Then on Saturday we are going up with the 10th graders to the mountains, which should be fun. But sometime this weekend we have to prepare for next weeks classes along with come meetings that we have. On Monday we have a meeting for the planning of the mission trip that the school goes on in January. I personally don’t have anything specific to do because I a) don’t have any musical or artistic talents and b) don’t have a mastery of the language so the jobs have been split between the rest of the people in the group. Then on Tuesday we (Brian, my roommate, Michelle, a good friends and also the last member of the old program, and I) are giving our spiritual journey reflections to a conformation group, in Spanish. So, that is one of my big tasks this weekend. It is weird to think that this upcoming Sunday it will already have been 4 weeks here. Time is just flying. I can remember like yesterday getting onto the plane to come here, but at the same time I have created good relationships here and I am starting to create relationships with the kids.
Today is Friday and i went to school and helped out with some of the classes but i spent a majority of my time setting up lesson plans for next week, because we are not going to have much time this weekend, becayse we are going up to the mountain with the 10th graders. So that should again be interesting. Being chaperones to High School functions was not something that i intended to be doing for a very long time. But later today i am going to play soccer with some of the other professors, which should be fun. Then we got invited to a going away party for the Juliens(two Canadian kids that have been here for as long as we have, i acutally taught both of them). But i think Brian and I are going to go to that so taht should be fun and interesting. Gotta say again that i love you all and hopefully this blog is giving a bit of insight into what i am doing.

Tuesday August 19th

So Saturday Brian and I went out to the ocean with Michelle, Father Mike and his niece Mary and it was really nice. It was nice to get outside of the city for a little bit. We were a little touristy and saw some of the tourist stuff and walked around with our cameras all day. We saw a bunch of the sites that the Holy Cross has a hand in and it is pretty impressive. I bought some little gifties and what not and just got to see rural life of Santiago a little bit. We saw sunset on the ocean coast and when we crossed over the hills we saw a full moon just peaking over the Andes. It was a beautiful site to see. See the sun set and what seemed to be the moonrise in a matter of minutes. I don’t know if this is true or not but I think that the moon felt bigger over here.
Today is Tuesday and it is another week. Teaching is fun and it is nice to start to develop a relationship with the students. My position has an interesting dichotomy for I am a teacher but at the same time I am only 22 years old so the students are able to relate to me easily. It is interesting having the younger girls fawning over you. They giggle and get embarrassed and run away. Brian has actually had a girl confess her feelings for him. It is like being taken back through time, you see the awkward social encounters of High school and Middle school kids. You see kids secretly stealing kisses or holding hands in the hallway, and when they realize that a teacher has seen them they immediately act as if they had never seen the other person in their lives. Brian and I have been playing basketball with some of the kids after school and we decided to have the kids over last night, (Monday) for some treats and soda. There were seven kids between 14-16 that came over and just hung out. Brian made some delicious cookies and we just listened to them talk for a while. Just trying to create an environment where they feel safe and create a community. We will actually be going up to the mountains with them this weekend if all goes according to plan. The thing is that I am drastically underprepared for an outing in the mountains. Yet, as usual it seems that I will just wing it. I am looking forward to it, but it is going to be weird that on this trip I am a chaperone and a responsible adult. So far, the kids have seemed to be very well behaved, but this weekend might be a test of that prognosis.

Saturday August 16th

So the last couple of days have been rather interesting. I have been fairly sick and ended up spending most of (or basically all of) the day in bed trying to get over a bad cold. Wednesday Michelle came over for community night which was nice, we just hung low and talked about what some of our problems or concerns were with moving into the a new situation. Thursday Brian and I went on a religious retreat with 2MA which is like Sophmores. We have been fairly close to this class for they are our homeroom. The picture is one i took on the retreat. Friday was a holiday so that was very nice to be able to have some time to relax. At the same time it was an untimely reminder of the situation that we live in. We had two girls that I teach that were selling hot dogs door to door in the pouring rain. Yes, it has been raining here for a full day straight, which is causing the house to leak in some inconvenient places. But after the girls stop by about an hour later there was a pounding at the door. They had been hassled by a group of kids who were sexual harassing them. We had them come in and offered them tea to get them to calm down. It was nice to know that they felt comfortable coming here, but at the same time it is sad, but a reality, that we live in a neighborhood where people get sexually harassed in broad daylight.
It is sometimes hard to come to terms with that kind of harsh reality especially coming from a very different background in the United States. But I think that this is an example of us making a positive impact here in Chile. The neighborhood is not really a ghetto by any standards, but I am not comfortable having girls walk around here alone, especially not a t night.

Week Two

Hey y´all.
Sorry it has been a while, but we have been super busy as of late. Last week we had Brother Andres week so that was full of a lot of activities and the class that we work with in the morning their professor was out for surgery. So on Friday, Brian and I were in charge of a Sophmore class for the whole day. It is weird teaching and being superiors to people that we are only a couple of years older. For example i help teach a Senior classs in which i am only three years older than most of the kids.
The week went by well and we had a get together last Friday to meet a bunch of the other Gringos (Americans) that are working in Santiago and the surrounding area. It was nice to meet and hear the stories of people that have been doing what we are about to do. Most of them work in the more affluent St. George´s but they are all envious of the situation that Brian and I have.
I was a little anxious about what we are doing here. It seems that we are simply teaching English and i was hoping for more. But it is interesting to see how you affect people without knowing. It is fun to have kids that are truly interested in learning. When the bell rings they don´t spring for the door like is accustom in US. They are willing and they want to stay to finish the last point or to ask another question.
I am teaching mainly High school kids and i am loving it. It is weird being a teacher though. Like i have to confiscate silly string and stuff like that. Some kids try to listen to music or text in class, but i just explain to them that i was doing the same thing litereally 4 months ago. So it is funny when you call them out for texting in class. Or for passing notes, you threaten to read them out loud and see them just almost die of embarressment.
So i have been a little sick lately. It has been going on for about 4 or 5 days now, i just need to get a little more sleep and try and rest a bit. I feel that i am starting to adapt to the schedule and the lifestyle a bit. I feel that i am getting the school life and schedule kinda figured out.
Well i hope this message finds you all in the best of spirits.
Also here is the website for the school. If you speak spanish, or you just like pictures. http://www.colegioandacollo.cl/

Changes

Today is Tuesday August 5th.
Like everything in life, my schedule is constantly changing. Brian and I have just been given a workshop in which we are teaching the teachers at the school English. It felt weird as it was teaching English to people that were only 3 to 4 years younger than i am. But now we are going to be teaching teachers that are up to 40 years our senior. We were also presented with the opportunity to help head up a new program similar to Big Brother. It would be creating a program in which the high school kids would spend time after school with the younger kids that come from troubled families and who don´t want to go home. I am excited about the possibility and i think that it should be beneficial for everyone.
Of course we are also having troubles acquiring our visas. It is a mess of political tape to get them so we have to go tomorrow to the international police station to apply for something i am not quite sure. I am being intergrated into the school which is nice. Brian and i split the grades, where i will take 7-8 grade and high school and he will have the younger kids. I do not speak Spanish to the level that Brian does so i am unable to answer a lot of the questions of the little kids (chiquititos). The older kids, have a better understanding of English so i am more beneficial.
I think i am starting to get sick but it makes sense that it would happen moving to a compoletely different environment. Plus we have been going about a mile a minute so it was just a matter of time before i crashed. I basically spent all day Sunday sleeping and resting.
If anyone wants to have a look at the school´s website it is as follows

Dominicans

So today we got back from the overnight retreat at the Dominican place. It was interesting to meet all of the other Holy Cross priests and brothers and to see how they are each trying to accomplish their mission in Chile. We only had meals with them for the planning and the meeting were a little over our head and pay grade, so we on Saturday went around the city a bit by there. It was interesting to see the little market that they have set up on Saturdays. On Friday on our way home from school we witnessed a pretty vicious dog fight right out in front of our house. It was between a pit bull and another dog that are in the neighborhood, some people were trying to separate them and I figured it was wiser to leave them the hell alone. Brian and I just made sure all the kids were inside their house and out of harms way. It is interesting to notice the difference in the treatment of animals between the U.S. and the rest of the world. Down here they are pets, but that is it. They were trying to save the dog, put if they were to realize it couldn’t be saved they would have simply moved on.
Friday night was fun because we got to meet the priest and then we went through the religious services, but after that was all over at 9 from then on there was happy hour with all the priest intermingling and gossiping like a bunch of high school kids, except the beverages weren’t just pops. But I liked how everyone was very open to question and to debate. I was able to pick up most of it and you had a fair amount of the priests who seemed happy to have an excuse to speak English, so they tended to favor that when addressing me. They all indicated that that was their reason also, they were not insulting my intelligence, but they wanted to practice their English along with keeping me informed on what was going on in the congregation.