Settling into September

It is hard to believe that I have been here for almost two months. Time has really flown, and we are now nearing the halfway point of the semester. School here goes from the last week of July to the end of November, and then summer break is from December to mid February, and then mid February to July is really the first semester. A lot has happened since I last wrote, but I will try to update you in the most interesting way possible. To discuss in this email: settling in more and being a teacher, community life, Chilean friends, and the month of September. Here we go.

1. I feel as though I have settled in a lot more. I have somewhat of a schedule at school now, which consists of going to about 3-4 English classes a day Monday through Wednesday and assisting however I can, and then going on retreats with the Pastoral staff on Thursdays. I go to a few English classes with Brian, a few with John, and a few on my own. The boys have been really good teachers to me; I’m learning a lot about what works and what doesn’t for each age. I go to the elementary/middle school levels with Brian and the high school level classes with John. I’ve learned, for example, that you must be very explicit with the younger kids, be intentional about using and repeating vocabulary they should know, and don’t tolerate it when they misbehave. It’s harder with high schoolers because I feel like I want to be their friend since we’re only about 5 years apart – there’s a harder line to walk. Victoria, one of the high school English teachers, repeatedly tells me to be more forceful with them especially at the beginning of class when we’re trying to get the attention of 40 rowdy kids. I don’t like yelling at kids, so making the transition from camp counselor to teacher has been a little hard to manage. I still haven’t decided which age I feel most inclined to work with in the future, either. They all have their pluses and minuses! Overall, I do feel more comfortable at the school. The personnel is all really nice and welcoming, and what with going to events and meetings after school I feel like I’ve gotten to recognize all of the teachers and staff and talk to a few of them besides the English teachers and Pastoral staff that I work with. And just through being a presence, being around, I think I’m even being more accepted by the kids, even the middle schoolers who think it’s really cool to ignore me when we pass each other in the hallway after we JUST had class. Other than that, adjustment has gone well. I’ve learned how to cook a little bit a la chilena, and I’m finally adjusted to lighting a lot of matches to turn on the stove and the hot water heater every day. Haha. I am really looking forward to the day when I have all my visa stuff taken care of, too. I’ve applied for a work visa but it takes a while to process, and then from there I can get my Chilean ID card…blah. Until then, I might have to leave the country while I’m still a tourist and go to Argentina for a weekend. Poor me…

2. Community life: things are going well at Pasaje General Armstrong 2367 (our address). Shanna, Joe, Brian, John and I haven’t had any major problems yet! If we were all sleeping at this house, though, there might be some problems due to a lack of space. Although John and Brian are over here the majority of the day, if we all had to shower in the morning there might be some issues. We live community life by sharing responsibilities of cleaning and cooking, and once a week we have “noche comunitaria,” or community night, where one person is in charge, makes a niceish dinner, and then we eat, enjoy each other’s company, and then talk about whatever we want, which usually takes a spiritual turn. For example, during my community night, I made a chicken salad with soup, and then we read a passage from the Holy Cross constitutions and talked about how we had seen this in our lives at school. It’s nice to be able to talk about deeper stuff than simply “how was your day?” but at the same time I hope that we can continue deepening the conversations and be intentional about living simply and in solidarity with the poor. We do continue to go over to the priests’ house nearby though once a month, which is always a fun time. I really enjoy that!

3. Chilean friends – I’ve finally gotten to meet up with some of my friends from two years ago! These people include Fran and Valentina, who are Chilean friends from the university I went to here in Santiago during study abroad; Pablo and Lauren, who, respectively, are a Chilean friend from the university and an American I met while studying abroad who returned to live with her pololo (boyfriend), Gigio (a nickname for Rodrigo); and Catalina, my Chilean sister from my host family. It’s been really good to see them. A funny thing is that what I’m doing down here has sparked several conversations. I guess that technically my “title” is “missionary,” (although I somewhat dislike that term for the intolerant historical imagery it conjures) and it’s been a struggle to reconcile myself with this, and learn more about how Chileans see missioners. I prefer telling people that I’m an English teacher, but then the conversation inevitably steers toward the fact that I’m teaching in a Catholic school. While Chile is a Catholic country, many people, especially young people, rebel against the institution. It’s strange to not be at Notre Dame anymore where it’s kind of taken for granted that you’re a practicing Catholic. Yesterday, for example, I was at Lauren and Gigio’s apartment for a barbecue. He had a few friends over and we talked about the merits and problems with the Church for about two hours. So it’s interesting that some of the “mission work” that I’m inadvertently doing is taking place outside of the Holy Cross school context. Above all, though, I’m loving the fact that I get to meet up again with these people I’ve kept in contact with for a year and a half. I’m making new friends too – principal among these are some gringos that teach English at St. George through the Chace (Chile-ACE) program that you can do after you spend two years teaching through ACE at Notre Dame.

4. The month of September – a beautiful time of the year! Everyone is immediately in a better mood because September means springtime and Fiestas Patrias (Independence day). The joke among the old people is that if you make it to September, you’ll live another year (because you just lived through another winter). Before Fiestas Patrias, though, is September 11 – a date also significant for Chileans because in 1973 (fun fact: also a Tuesday) it was the day of the military coup when General Augusto Pinochet took power from the Socialist President Salvador Allende and declared himself dictator until 1989. While for some Chileans September 11 signifies the beginning of better times and is thus cause for celebration, the deaths that happened on that day and the human rights violations which occurred throughout the dictatorship cannot be overlooked. There are still a lot of riots that happen on September 11 every year, including kids running around and cutting the electricity in various parts of the city, although thankfully nothing too serious happened near me. It’s kind of a day to just lie low – we only had a half day of school on that day so everyone could get home early, because the buses stop running. Luckily, Fiestas Patrias is right around the corner. I had the entire week off although Independence Day is only really celebrated on the 18th. Thanks, Chile, for turning a one day holiday into a whole week affair! It’s a week to rest, dance the cueca, and eat a lot! When I was here before, I traveled to Peru during this weeklong vacation, which is like going to Canada for July 4, haha. So this was my first Fiestas Patrias. Our school had a fonda last week, which is just kind of an evening festival, with a Chilean style mass with Andean music and outfits, a dance show by all the cursos in traditional garb, and traditional food including shish kebobs, empanadas, mote con huesillo, chicha (fermented grape juice) and more. It’s so delicious and I probably gained 5 kilos last week. This past weekend I went to a fonda with Shanna, Lauren, Gigio, and Pablo on Saturday, and then on Sunday went to the barbecue at Lauren and Gigio’s. It was a really fun week and weekend (and I even got to see the Notre Dame vs. Michigan State game – amazing victory! at a bar owned by gringos) and I’m (maybe not quite) ready to get back to school tomorrow.

5. Random stuff you might enjoy:
• I got asked to teach a basketball elective class one day when the regular coach wasn’t there. Did I mention that it was a class for 30 5th and 6th grade boys, I was asked one hour in advance, and I don’t yell in Spanish or have a whistle? You can guess how well that turned out.
• Birthdays are a huge deal in Chile – it was John’s birthday Sept 9 and we celebrated four times with different groups of friends. I’m really looking forward to November 10.
• Wine is about three dollars a bottle here, and peanut butter is almost 8 dollars a jar. WHAT?!
• Salads consist of only one vegetable. And it is not uncommon for dressing to be mayonnaise.
• I continue embarrassing myself in Spanish – Alejandro, one of the young guys who works in the PE department at school, asked me if I had talked to Humberto (the head gym coach guy) yet about possibly starting a girls’ basketball team. Humberto recently came back to school after recovering from an accident involving his car and a horse (a story in itself) and I didn’t want to accost him. Trying to say “accost,” I told Alejandro that I hadn’t talked with him yet because I didn’t want to “acostar” him so soon. Too bad “acostar” means to go to bed. I got a really strange look from Alejandro. Despite events like this, I think my Spanish is improving.
• I’m continuing to run, and I just have to run really fast when I see any dogs. Sometimes they chase me but I have to act cool so they know I’m not scared.

That's about all for now, hasta luego!

Hello from Chile! I will be in Santiago, Chile for the next 18 months with the Holy Cross Overseas Lay Ministry program. I found this program through the University of Notre Dame, where I went to college, because Holy Cross is the religious order that founded the university, much as the Jesuits and Franciscans and other orders have founded other institutions! I decided to commit the next year and a half to this program because I wanted to do a period of service after graduation. As I have learned from my church, St. Cecilia's, and my time at ND, service is inherently connected to our faith. It is something that God calls us to do. I hope, during this time, to not only learn how to love and to serve with my whole being, but to know myself more. The goal of the program is to assist the Holy Cross mission in Chile (Holy Cross has had a presence here since the 1950s) through teaching at one of the two Holy Cross Catholic schools in Santiago, serving at another one of their outside projects, or "apostolados," and living in community. I spent the fall semester of '07 studying abroad here in Santiago, so it's really really good to be back despite the cold - it is winter here now! Anyway, I will try to write regularly to this blog in order to let everyone know what's going on down in the southern hemisphere.

I arrived in Santiago on July 26, after a two week long training at Notre Dame and Maryknoll, NY. During this time we learned a lot about the art of international service and various problems we might encounter, including culture shock, dealing with violence and other trauma, and of course, health issues such as giardia and explosive diarrhea. Luckily in Chile I am able to drink the water so I don't need to worry about that, thank goodness! Anyway, on July 26 I arrived in Santiago with Shanna Pereira and Joe Coulter. Shanna and I were friends from Notre Dame. We get along very well. She's one of the most passionate, joyful people I've ever met - about everything! She says it is because she's from Hawaii and there's nothing to be sad about. Joe, originally from Boise, recently graduated from the University of Portland (also Holy Cross) and he is great too. He's very outdoorsy so this is the biggest city he's ever lived in. I think it will be a great year and a half together!

To talk a bit more about community life, I must explain that it is not merely me, Shanna, and Joe together. We also live in community with two guys thathave been here for a year, Brian Smith from ND and John Power from UP. They will leave in 6 months, and then a year from now, another group will come. So each group stays for 18 months. The idea was to live all together but the house that they lived in had only three bedrooms and they were unsuccessful in finding a place big enough for five. So they moved out of their house, we three moved in, and they moved to an apartment complex about two blocks away. We've finally been invited over after 3 weeks now that it is "furnished" - I think there was some sneaky bachelor pad stuff that they didn't want us to see. Just kidding. The house we're living in is small but very cute! There are three rooms downstairs, all in a line, if you count the tiny kitchen as one room. The tv room doubles as a dining room, and then there's a laundry room in the back that is always freezing. Climb up the winding staircase (top stair is broken) and there is Shanna's room, my room, Joe's room, and a small bathroom at the end of the hall. My room is the smallest (and it's without a window since it's in the middle), but it's also the one with a library that various Holy Cross volunteers have added to over the years, which I really like. And since Brian and John were accustomed to living here, they usually hang out after school every day and eat here.

Aside from these 4 other gringos, I am part of the Holy Cross community of priests, brothers, and sisters. The first Monday we were here we were invited to the Holy Cross house to eat dinner with Father Mide, the district superior, and his four priest roommates. Apparently some sisters live nearby too, who we have yet to meet. It's definitely interesting being part of this majority men, majority older, community, but I like that it seems to give my purpose here more meaning, more ground. It's good to realize too that religious folk are people too - very normal human beings.

The two Holy Cross schools in Santiago are Saint George's College and Colegio Nuestra Senora de Andacollo (pronounced On-duh-coy-yo). I am working at Andacollo with John and Brian, while Shanna and Joe are working at Saint George's. There is a definite difference between the two schools. While they are both Holy Cross founded, Andacollo is located in the center of the city, where we are living, with a more urban population - poorer kids who might not go to college after they graduate. St. George's, on the other hand, is one of the best colegios (primary and secondary) in the country. It serves a wealthier sector of the city, people with lighter skin and more money. These are the future leaders of the country though, so working there does have a huge impact.

Work has gone ok so far. I work at the school four days a week, and then on Fridays I will work at one of the other social projects that Holy Cross has, like a soup kitchen or Confirmation classes or something. Thursdays are jornada days, or day-long retreats for each curso, or homeroom class, who stays together from first grade until 12th. I'm also working with the pastoral team, so each Thursday I will go on the jornada. So basically I will teach English three days a week as a teacher assistant, help the Pastoral team on Thursdays, and then work somewhere else on Friday or Saturday.

Teaching has been interesting too. Finding classes to help with has been difficult, though. Something about the Chilean school system that I didn't realize before is that at each colegio kids are divided into two classes of about 40 kids each, which is called a curso, and this homeroom class, or curso, stays together for all their time at the school. They don't switch classrooms as we did in middle and high school but rather the teachers switch classrooms and visit each group of kids. There seems to be benefits and drawbacks to this system - the drawbacks being that 40 kids is a huge class size, and also there are no "advanced" classes, so the teachers get the slower learners along with those who pick the subject up quickly in the same class. an advantage would be that being together for 12 years makes you like family. Most college age Chileans who went to private school would still consider kids from their curso their best friends.

After two days, I decided to be proactive and find a class to help out with. John told me that all the teacher's schedules are posted in the teacher's lounge, so after lunch on Tuesday I went there, intercepted Claudio, one of the three English teachers, and asked to accompany him in his next class, which turns out to be 11th graders. Excellent. We are learning phrases like "slightly more than half," and "roughly a quarter," etc., and then Claudio announces the assignment. The students are to break up into groups and write three questions for the other 11th grade curso, which as 36 students in it. The idea is to be able to ask the other curso questions so that the answers coming back will be reported as a fraction. Each group's questions should have a theme, like, "pets." "Does your family own a dog?" should suffice. I walk around the room, making sure the students are writing in English, and I ask one group what their topic is. One guy answers, "Losing your virginity." I thought for sure he's just messing with me, but I look and sure enough the questions are "How old were you when you lost your virginity?" "Do you use condoms?" I was totally taken aback and said something like, "Por favor, chiquillos, a nicer question..." and then headed to another group while Claudio handled that situation, but the next group's questions were all about marijuana and drug usage in general. Yikes! I was definitely not prepared for that. It will certainly be an interesting time at this school!

Well, I think this is enough for now. Please pray for me, I'm going to need it as I struggle to get my schedule as set as it can be in Chile, struggle to get back into Spanish-mode, struggle to relate to kids who are dealing with things I never thought about in my comfortable home, and to survive the cold - Chileans don't use central heating and nights are freeeezing! But I'm really happy to be here, back where no one looks at you strangely for putting three (heaping) spoonfuls of sugar in your tea, where I know what direction I'm going by where the mountains are, and dwhere little children run up to me daily on the pasillo of the school and scream "HOLA TIA!" (Hello Aunt! Respectful term in Chile) and offer me their right cheek for a kiss. Future posts won't be this long, I promise!