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!