Chile: A Night with the Milky Way

Stunning, isn't it? 

We were in Palena, Chile working with Patagonia Sur Foundation and made friends with a local guy who happens to be the coolest, nicest Patagonian (along with his friend, Fabian) fly fisherman. Ricardo not only took this photo but he invited me along with Sarah and Heather into his truck for a ride out to see the stars. You may be used to dancing until 5AM at a Santiago disco or going to the movies with your significant other in Anytown. This trumps most music festivals and fine dining nights.

We piled into a truck at the Fondation house and took wine and fancy cameras to check out God's brilliance. Poor beyond-pregnant Esmeralda the house cat was left behind with a wood burning stove. Patagonia late summer nights are chilly: I had on 2 pairs of pants, socks, 3 top layers and a hat and on the way out there we laughed and sang, without any idea of how marvelous and stunning of a night sky we were about to see.

Just a few minutes out of town and we were surrounded by clean, pure air and the silhouette of jet black mountains. Staring into one slice of the sky was like having God turn a kaleidoscope for me; more and more stars appeared.

Heather captured the Milky Way on her camera & uploaded it to Instagram

Within minutes shooting stars shot across the curved sky and the Milky Way loomed overhead, the brightest and most incredible rainbow of stars. There is just no way I can describe how amazing this night was - to see so many stars, no lights and be surrounded in all directions by mountains.

Song lyrics streamed through my mind… "You placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name." Indescribable. There isn't anything like seeing such a luminous, unfiltered and curvaceous Milky Way, feeling like it I could walk across its arch or I could reach up and polk a star.

Blue and red, bright and clear. Sarah, Ricardo and Heather each had fancy cameras; I've got an iPhone.  They had a holiday shooting and we had a blast setting some fun photos!

And had an encounter with the local police. Of course. Drinking in public in Chile? Not okay. Shoot! Once the gentlemen found out we were with Ricardo and just taking photos, they left us in peace. Ricardo mentioned that their department has an outstanding balance at his store; so, Ricardo is the boss of the police right now! Good man to have around!

I felt like I was wrapped in a blanket of twinkling stars, protected by the strength of the mountains and that all 4 of us were filled with a magical energy from the far away heat of Blue Supergiants and White Dwarfs. We danced, we strained our necks and we soaked in the millions and millions of white, blue and red stars that danced above us.

Teaching English in a Santiago High School

Yikes. I'm back in the classroom after a 10 month hiatus and it feels good to be around wild and wacky teenagers that bounce a basketball in the classroom and pass notes and try to get away with chewing gum. CHEWING GUM.

42 hormonal and energetic 9th grade students in 1 classroom for an hour and a half. In the US, a lot is 28 students. I'm at an at-risk high school in a barrio called Renca, Santiago. It's about 1 hour 20 minutes from my house, by metro + bus.

Bringing the TFA "we will close the gap or die trying" mentality to this job? Will I be sacrificing personal life to plan, grade and plan some more? No way. But I will be using Teach for America resources (thanks English Language Learner online community!) to plan games, get ideas for ways to facilitate 42 kids talking and listening.

Twice a week for 3 hours: 1.5 with 9th grade and 1.5 with 10th grade. Plus, I can keep my private lessons going. Hooray!

First mistake? Expectation: 100% English. 

Try 60% Spanish and 40% English. But, we'll get there! These kids barely know "What's your name?" and only a few know "What time is it?"

Today was Day #2 and a lot better than Class #1, that's for sure.

Kids wear uniforms, all have dark brown and black hair and brown eyes. They all looked the same. Alonso is really good at English. Yerko is very competitive. Fernanda doesn't want to be wrong; and it usually correct. Catalina is the 'pretty girl.' Sam is the wanna-be tough kid. Andy loves positive reinforcement and is a good teacher's helper. Francisca is funny. Alan is bright.

I'm already falling for this kids. Why do I love Latino kids so much? Or is the vulnerable, at-risk students that I love? One thing is sure - I felt that "teacher tiredness after a day in the classroom" today.

Did I mention I'm teaching kids that don't speak English? Love it.

Teaching English in Chile

Took a gig teaching an English taller for Colegio San Joaquin in Renca, Santiago. Familiar with Santiago? It's FAR. The mountain at the edge of the city that says, "Renca, la lleva" is where I am heading Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 - 5:30PM.

My Commute starts at A and ends at B. 

9th grade has 42 kids in ONE classroom. WHAT? And people in the US say 30 is too many in a class. 42 kids in the same uniform all with dark brown hair. Talk about disrespect. Talking. Bringing out a basketball (where did you have that!?), chewing gum, doing art homework in English class and not looking at the teacher when I talk. Is that what public school is like in the US, too?

First day and we had a heart to heart. Rule #1? If I am talking, you are silent. Silent is not equal to quiet.

First question I asked, "If you like Colo-Colo, stand up." WOW. So, they do understand a bit...

It made me miss DSST: Stapleton. For 90 minutes. 

Next? Off to 28 much calmer 10th grade students. We had FUN: playing Simon Says, interviewing each other in English, asking me questions to learn about me and then I'd give silly commands like, "If you understand me, touch your nose." or "If you understand me, put your head on the desk." They think head is hand. Guess they do sound the same.

Did I mention I already took a cell phone today? Some kid was texting in class.

Is this going to be work the 1 hour 20 minute commute?

But, it is fun because… they are crazy teenagers. 

It's "Chilean Culture"

Imagine you are in the mall, checking out the fall's collection. I haven't shopped in… 6 months. Why?

As soon as you walk into Falabella, Ripley or Paris (Chile's 3 department stores - think JC Penny, 3 times), you are not greeted, you are bombarded. "Te atiendo?" No, quiero mirar. 

These women are all dressed the same: pants, button-down shirt, vest and a keychain around their neck. All the same color, same pattern. Same. It's a uniform to work in a fashion store. That makes no sense. So maybe the store isn't about fashion. It's not about the experience because they are on you like ants. Who thinks ants crawling all over them is a fun experience? I just want to browse, try on some clothes for fall weather and move on.

The instant you touch a piece of clothing, you are theirs. Be aware: if you pick something up and carry it with you, you'll have one of them, let's call them Consumerism Zombies….In a are no bigger than your kitchen there are 3 women. Multiply that and you've got 20 women, all dressed the same with no style and not even wearing the clothes they are selling, all up in my business.

Try something on and like it? They know. They are waiting for you when you leave the dressing room. Mind you, the girl that watches the dressing room is texting her boyfriend, and doesn't care if you take a number. But those Zombies, they don't leave you any breathing room or think time.

What really got me pissed off was I was waiting, patiently and with no reason to be rushed, to pay. This Zombie grabbed my goods and asked me how I am going to pay for them. Not if I liked everything, or if she could take the clothes from my hands. Then she started to walk away. To another register with another line. WHAT?

She basically pushed the women working off the register, while someone was paying for her new clothes AND was going to "jump" the line and get my money, but another woman was waiting - patiently - for her turn.

I told her, "Pase, llegó primera y eres próxima." She smiled, then laughed and told me, "Ugh, Chilean culture." She's Chilean.

Why take my things, walk me to another line, cut off you co-worker and not even attend to the women in line in front of me. Sidenote: half of my memories of Santiago are the inefficiencies of: Queueing. If she earned commission off walking my 3 items 50 meters away, to hand them to her co-worker, I'm mad because the women was not nice or friendly but too damn pushy and rude. Let me be!

Santiago: A Day in the Life

Well, my life isn't boring here. That saying, "The Land of Opportunity" applies to living in Chile!
In the past 2 weeks…

A cornfield in the park? Yes.

• I was offered a English conversation class job at an awesome high school in Santiago. They are breaking social & economic class barriers; students in this at-risk neighborhood are working to earn test scores equal to that of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Santiago. Fight for educational opportunity! 
• New English clients = 3. And they are a 7-year old daughter of Pablo's high school teacher, and two brothers, 13 and 14, that I met through a friend of a friend. 
• Picked fresh corn from the urban public park. There's an agricultural art project across the street. Think: Denver's City Park with 0.5 acre of corn, for anyone to pick. Freshly boiled corn for dinner? Corn in April? It's fall in Santiago these days. 
• May just start translating math problems from an international test from English into Spanish. 
• 2 people asked me if I was German
• Someone thought Sarah & I were going camping on a Saturday afternoon. We were headed to an asado. And we both felt the most clean & cute we'd been in weeks...

Stray Chilean dogs LOVE us. And the Chileans love their dirty white poodles.

As for Daily Life…

Since Sarah and I got back from our epic 7 week trip through Northern Patagonia+, I had to send out emails saying, "Let's start English class again!"And, I'm excited to start! 

7:30AM Alarm to Black Eyed Peas, "Party All the Time" goes off in a pile of clothes too far to reach from bed. 

7:55 AM Starbucks for an Americano (it's less than a block away)

8:20 AM On the metro, for a Metro + Micro (bus) trip, estimated time? 1.5 hours

9:00 AM Arrive to Colegio San Joaquin. Met with 3 of the most positive, energetic and encouraging women I've met in Chile. They are at the forefront of breaking through Chilean public education barriers for at-risk kids.

10:20 AM Ecstatic. You are reading about the next English Conversation teacher! Twice a week, 1.5 hour class each with 9th and 10th grade students from Renca, Santiago, Chile. 

12:30 PM Playing on swings with Sarah in our front yard, the fancy public park 

3:30 PM Teaching 7-year-old E English: reading Dr. Seuss & endless counting & colors

6:00 PM Confirming 3 old-student English classes to restart next week. Phew! 

8: 00 PM Waiting for Sarah… she went climbing with her group of Chilean climbing friends. 

The day we harvested corn from a public urban park.  

Tonight? Party at the apartment for Rafa's birthday. Maybe a night of Pisco Sours at La Jardin, Patio Bellavista or Lastarria is in store?