Since I have been in Chile, there have been 3 earthquakes (it’s possible there has been more). However, I haven’t felt anything, until the other week. I was sitting in my bed reading, when all of a sudden my bed started shaking for a bit. It was just a little shake and didn’t last very long. While it was happening, I didn’t really comprehend what was going on. I just kept on reading and thought it was weird that my bed was shaking. Once I actually thought about what happened, I realized I had just felt the earth tremble. So that was kind of cool.
At work, there is this one girl, I’ll call her Danielle (not her real name), who lies a lot. It’s normal for kids to lie, all kids lie. I actually found out from my roommate, Ben (who is a social worker), that it’s a good sign when kids lie because it shows that they are going through a developmental stage (where the child is learning to separate themselves from others). Normally, when a kid lies, it’s to exaggerate something that happened or to just completely make something up. In other words, ‘normal’ lies are creative lies. And yes of course kids will lie to get out of trouble, but I mean adults do that too, so that is just normal human behavior…just make sure it doesn’t turn into a bad habit. However, Danielle lies to trick you, to manipulate you so she can get something she wants. She knows when to lie too. When we are too busy working with other kids to double check that what she is saying is true or not is when she’ll lie to you. For example, she had told me she had completed two worksheets and had put them on my bed (while at the beach), and because she had finished the worksheets, she could get paper to color. I was working with 6 other kids at the time, so I couldn’t check if she really finished them or not. However, later I saw no worksheets and confronted her about it and she merely shrugged her shoulders at me. Another example is when we make bracelets we give each girl a limited amount of beads to use. Danielle will get beads and then will come back and ask for more when Isabelle is really busy with 5 or so other girls. Isabelle will say, didn’t you already get some beads and she would say no I didn’t, and there is just no way, at the time, for Isabelle to check so she’ll give her more beads. But then later I’ll see her with double the amount of beads and we’ll have to hassle her to get the extra ones back.
The thing about her lying is that she lies about things that we can check on, so we catch her in her lies every time, just maybe not right in that moment. Lie to me once, ok that’s fine, lie to me twice, not cool…but get caught lying a ton, I had to talk to her about it. It has really been bothering me that she lies a lot. I can’t trust her at all, so whenever she tells me anything I do not believe her. Twice, she had been telling the truth, but I still didn’t believe her. Once I found out she was telling the truth, I immediately apologized. That’s not good enough for me though, I want to be able to trust her. I’m just really worried that her lying isn’t a phase; that it’s something that is always going to be with her. No child wants to be the child who lies because in the end, when it really matters during whatever situation she might be in, no one will believe her side of the story even if she is telling the truth.
I decided to have a one on one talk with her about her lying. (Naturally, I planned out my speech the night before so the conversation would go more smoothly…oh Spanish). I opened up with first apologizing for not believing her the day before about something and then asked her if she understood why I didn’t believe her. To my surprise she responded with, “Because I lie.” I honestly didn’t think she would answer with that, so that was actually pretty awesome. The fact that she is aware that she lies a lot is good, but then it’s frustrating because she is aware of it and continues to lie knowing people won’t always believe her. I followed with saying, “You are such a great girl. You are beautiful and have a good heart, so why do you lie a lot?” She told me that she just likes to lie, that it’s fun. So I tried some other approaches saying things like, “Each time you lie, I know you are lying and it hurts my feelings.” However, I don't think she really cares about hurting my feelings so then I said, “I really want to be able to believe you, but right now it’s hard for me to ever believe you because you lie all the time.” As soon as she heard me say she lies all the time, she was shocked and then buried her face in her hands and seemed as though she was crying. It seemed as though she was very upset, so I told her that I still love her and still think that she is a great person, I just want her to try to stop lying so often because I want to be able to trust her when she tells me things. Right before we finished our talk, I asked her if she thought it was possible for her to stop lying and she shook her head yes. So far, it had seemed the talk went really well. However, I had my doubts on whether she was really crying or just faking it, but that’s ok. Either way, her getting upset, whether it was real or not, was her way of telling me she was done talking.
Later that day, she ended up lying to Isabelle about getting beads. I was so frustrated because we had just talked about her lying, and she couldn’t even wait a few hours to not lie. Once I got home I talked to Ben about the whole situation to see if she had any advise on how to handle the situation. Danielle is one of the girls we have seen signs of sexual abuse, with her, it’s pretty obvious she has been abused and it’s always heart breaking when she does things that shows those signs. When talking to Ben about it, we came to the conclusion that she probably had to lie in order to get basic things in her home. Lying, to manipulate an adult, is a skill she had learn to help her survive, and now it has just developed into lying in order to get anything she wants. I also think that when she lies she feels empowered because not only is she able to get what she wants, but she’s also outsmarting adults. I actually got some really great pointers from Ben. Ben told me not to even make the situation about lying and to try and make it almost impossible for her to get away with a lie. For example, when Danielle had told me she put the worksheets on my bed, I should have asked her to bring them to me and when she couldn’t do that (because she didn’t complete them) respond with, “I know those worksheets are a lot of work and can really suck, let’s go and do them together.” I really like that response a lot because with it I wouldn’t even mention that she lied to me, but instead try and work with her to get the worksheets done. She gave me a bunch of other great tips like that one as well. Over all, we just need to keep a watchful eye on her while at work and do a good job on remembering when we give her things and double check things first rather than later. We’ll see how that goes.
It’s so nice to be living with Ben because she has her Master’s in Social Work and has learned the skills that I need/want to learn. So it’s been really awesome talking through problems with her and hearing her stories. It also makes me so excited to go back to school in the fall to learn skills that I’ll be able to use when working with troubled youth.
During my time volunteering here Chile, we have been running a program called ‘Vamos a Leer.’ Each of the girls were tested for a reading level, and depending on which level they were put in, that decided how many books they needed to read before the summer ended. At the end of the program, to reward those kids who reached their goals, VE threw a carnival for all of the kids. I really enjoyed Vamos a Leer because it made most of the kids really excited about reading. For the younger girls, we mostly read to them, but it was always so great to listen to the girls read out loud. It was really great to hear a girl who struggles with reading read out loud too. Each time she finished a book, you could just tell she felt really good about herself and about completing one more book. Each time a girl reached her goal, completing how ever many books, she would get so excited. I really loved seeing that excitement.
The actual carnival VE threw for the kids was so great! All the kids had so much fun! It was also really awesome to meet some of the other kids from the different institutions. The institution I work for is only for girls and there is a partner institution only for boys. Some of the girls I work with have their brothers staying in the other institution, and it was so neat to see the siblings hang out and play together. It was precious being able to see them interact with each other. The day started out with games for the kids to play. There was pin the tail on the donkey, a fishing game, a bean bag throwing game, a soccer goal game, tossing pennies on to dots, throwing a ball at bottles to knock them down, bowling, throwing a football through a hoop, and face painting. There was also a clown. After the games, we had lunch, and then the kids went swimming. Over all, it was such a great day for all of the kids, but it was so very exhausting for me ha (obviously not that important).
The next day after the carnival, Danielle had a family visit with her dad. This was a really hard day for me, emotionally. As of right now, I do not know what has happened to these girls in the past or who did it to them. In another institution the girls are sometimes allowed to go home for a weekend and stay with their abusers…no idea how that makes sense. So I’m only assuming that when family comes and visits these girls (for supervised visits), they are the ones who have neglected the girls and/or sexually abused them. So far I have been ok with seeing the girls interacting with their families. They are always so excited to see their family; however, this day I almost couldn’t handle watching Danielle with her dad. First of all, the guy gave me the creeps and just did so many weird things. He just made me feel uncomfortable. Danielle has so many problems, and it makes me so sad when I’m reminded of them through how she acts sometimes. Knowing that someone, who she was suppose to trust in her life, has caused all these terrible things makes me so furious. Then seeing her dad that day (who most likely did abuse her because in most cases it is the dad) made me feel so much hatred. I have never felt like that before, ever. I was playing with other girls outside while they were doing stuff together and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. I did not trust him with her at all. As soon as we left work, I just released all of my fury on Isabelle and vented about him.
Feeling that type of hatred towards another person is not healthy. I’m going to need to learn how to separate myself from situations and learn to be more professional. For all I know, he could have done nothing to her, and the abuse could have come from someone else. But if it didn’t come from him, then whom did it come from and why couldn’t he have protected her from it? She can’t live with him for a reason, and the only reason I’m coming up with is that he is the one who sexually abused her. I was just so surprised with myself with how judgmental I was of him and how much hatred I felt towards him (and if not him, then her abuser, whom ever that may be). It also made me realize how protective I am of these girls. I love all of these girls, even when they are being impossible and will not listen to me. They have gone through so much pain, pain I will never know or understand, and they just need positive people in their lives to love them.
On a different note…some random, mostly good, things that happened this week are that I met up with one of the people who works in the office to practice speaking Spanish. We went to a café near where I live and drank freshly squeezed mango juice and just chatted in Spanish for an hour. It was so great. I really enjoyed it. It was so cool to be able to speak about random things in Spanish and understand everything. Learning a language is so self-gratifying because you can immediately see the results of your hard work. Also on that note, I have made an intercambio connection. One of the workers in the office went back home this week, but she told me she had a Chilean friend who wants to practice English and thought of me. She gave her friend my email and her friend contacted me. I now have a local to practice my Spanish with, and I’ll get the chance to return the favor and help her with her English. I’m excited to start! I’ll keep ya’ll posted on how that goes.
I live on a busy street, so it’s almost always loud. Cars are screeching constantly on the street right outside my window. The other night, while I was on the couch, I heard an extra long screech and then that BANG noise you always wait to hear following the screech. That’s right folks, a car accident has finally occurred. Quite frankly, I am surprised that it took me this long (5 months or so) to finally see/hear a car accident down here in South America. The driving is sooo crazy; I don’t know how I’m not seeing accidents all the time. The accident was minor, so no one got hurt; however, it was still quite exciting ha. And in good ol’Chilean fashion, they were pretty nice about the accident, very calm and rational, and zero yelling occurred.
This week at work a 7 year old and a 4 year old corrected my grammar. That’s always great when that happens…a nice little confidence booster for me ha. It happened in Argentina, and I’m sure it will happen again.
On Friday, something really cool happened at work. I was leaving and one of the older girls asked me a question and I immediately responded. The reason why this is cool is because normally I think of my response in English and then translate it into Spanish in my head (this process has gotten faster since being down here). But this time, I just automatically responded in Spanish, without the translation step. It happened so fast that I didn’t even realize I did it until I was walking to the metro and was just like whoa what just happened? Ha I know that that sounds kind of dumb, but it was a very exciting moment for me!
Until Next Time,
Liz
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
High School
This post really isn’t about Chile per se; it’s more of a reflective piece that gets a little more personal in content. It’s something that I have noticed about myself and have reflected on for a bit. No one ever comments on my blog, so I don’t really expect that to change, but with this particular blog I’m kind of curious what others think. Whether you agree or not or just think I’m super creepy, I’d like to know. You don’t have to comment on my actual blog, you can just send me a message via facebook, or obviously you can just not say anything at all. And just a warning, my thoughts are a little scattered.
One day I found myself getting on facebook a lot through out the day. I was kind of disgusted with myself with how much time I wasted “stalking” people on facebook. Everybody stalks each other, and I am not ashamed of the fact that I do this by any means, but this particular day I was checking out a lot of people’s pages that I went to high school with. More in particular, I was stalking people’s pages that I haven’t talked to or seen since graduation. I think that this is normal, if not, sorry for being a creeper. However, something that I noticed about myself is that while I’m looking at these people’s profiles I find myself going back to high school and being in the same mind set I was, and feeling the same feelings I had in high school about people and various situations. This was really frustrating to me because here I am, 23 years old, graduated from college, living in Chile, and yet I still find myself thinking about high school. Pretty cool of me, I know.
I really didn’t understand why I did this. Why do I have this unbelievable urge to see what people I went to high school, who I haven’t talked to in years, are up to? I want to know where they are living now, who has a boyfriend or girlfriend, who has a job, who’s gone out of the country and to where, who’s going on to more education after their undergrad., who still hangs out with other people from high school, and so much more. Something that also stood out to me is that I don’t really do this with people I met in college. Don’t get me wrong, I stalk my college friends too, but it’s different than with people from high school. A little side note that is kind of related...whenever I become friends with a new person (whether it was during college or after) I always wonder what this person was like in high school. I wonder if he/she went to my high school who would he/she have been friends with, would he/she been my friend? I had no idea why I did this, but I almost always wonder this about people I meet. I started to think about why I do all of this (the whole facebook thing and trying to place new friends into my high school experience) and this is what I came up with…
Over all, I had a really great high school experience. I loved my friends, dated, enjoyed school for the most part, played sports, and really liked my grade as a whole (don’t get me wrong though, I had some struggles along the way). High school is a really big transition period in a lot of people’s lives. For me, it’s where I started to feel comfortable with being myself and who I was as a person. You go through different groups of friends until senior year where you figure out who your true friends are, where you fit in, whether that be one specific group or multiple groups.
During high school there are so many firsts that you experience. It’s the first time you get to drive, it’s the first time you get a taste of small freedom (before going off to college), it’s the first time you go to a dance with a date, the first time you go on a date with a boy or girl where your parents don’t have to drive and pick you up, the first time you actually watch a high school football game, the first time you fall in love, the first time you get your heart broken (always the worst one), prom, the first time you drink, the first time an adult may actually listen to your opinion and applaud you for your thoughts, etc. Of course there are some firsts that others may have experienced, but these are some major ones for me. Because of these big milestones in a teenager’s life, I think that’s one of the reasons why we hold on to high school. A lot of memories we have from our childhood come from high school, so it’s a time we tend to not forget.
Along with these milestones most of us experience, the people I spent those four years with (6 years with a lot, since Marist starts at 7th grade) played a big part of shaping my personality and who I am today (not that I’m saying I haven’t learned a thing or two since graduating from high school). For me, I’m still really close to my best friends I had in high school. We could not talk for a year or so, but the next time we hang out we can pick up right where we left off. What is it about a high school friendship that seems to have a special bond you can’t really find anywhere else? At Marist, and high school in general, you grow up with these people. Who you were in 7th (or 9th grade) was not the same person you were once you were a senior. People can change drastically during those years. It was always really interesting to me to see how people changed (for better or for worse). I also thought it was really interesting to see who was able to climb up that wonderful social ladder during high school. The girl who was super religious and judgmental about drinking in 9th grade, will end up being the sloppy drunk senior year. The guy who doesn’t really have that many friends in 7th and 8th grade suddenly becomes really popular in high school because he plays football and is good at it. Guys suddenly become popular senior year because they “suddenly” become hot over the summer (when they actually look the same, but the right girls just started to notice them).
Because our grade was fairly small, you knew everyone and everything about each person (on a superficial level), so everyone had some sort of a reputation, whatever that may have been. I would say that that final reputation you had senior year is the one that sticks with others. If you were a weirdo, you’ll always be a weirdo, if you were a backstabbing gossiper, you’ll always be a backstabbing gossiper, if you were an a-hole, you’ll always be an a-hole…you get the point. These reputations stick in people’s minds because it’s the last impression you get of the majority of the people you graduate with because, for the most part, you don’t really talk to most of them after graduation. Most people have an idea of what their reputation was, but of course there are always those people who are delusional about how people perceive them or those people who couldn’t care less (which I think is the way to go). I’m a little curious to see what others thought about me, but in hindsight it doesn’t really matter.
We spent 7 hours or more together 5 times a week for 4 or 6 years, that is a major chunk of your life spent with the same people. We actually spent more time together when you include sports, plays, band practices, retreats, other school activities, the weekends, and whatever else. Every person I was friends with in high school, every guy I dated (apparently a lot…I got called out on this fact, rightfully so, during a senior retreat ha…I have this problem where I pretty much am almost always dating someone, eh no one is perfect), the people I didn’t get the chance to get to know but still really respected (one girl I really regret not getting to know was quiet, the most artistically gifted person I have known, and was pretty funny too - she wore a pretty hilarious Halloween costume senior year), every person I interacted with during those years played a big or small part in shaping who I am today.
After saying all of that, high school is also the time when you start to lose your innocence and are slowly becoming less naive to the world you live in. However, Marist in no way represents the real world (it’s a private, Catholic school, that is dominantly White…in Atlanta), but I started to learn some pretty good life lessons while in high school (granted I learned a lot more once going to college, but high school was a good starting point). I began to learn not to care what other people thought of me (something that can always improve), I began to learn how to feel comfortable being myself, I learned what type of people I want to be surrounded by and who I want to be friends with, I learned that being in love doesn’t last forever (hopefully you find that one person that it will last forever with), I learned that you don’t have to be friends with just one group of friends, that it is actually possible to be good friends with a wide variety of people, I learned that time really does heal pain, and other various things. A lot of these things I began learning in high school, I took with me to college and continued to learn, am still learning. I think essentially, I am the same person I was in high school. However, today I think I am more mature, more self-confident in myself, and have improved in various small ways. In other words, I’m growing up, and I can only hope that I’m making improvements in myself rather than taking steps backwards.
I think one reason why I want to see new friends of mine in my high school scene is because I want to see how far they have come as a person since then. I want to have seen how they have changed along the way. The friends I am still close to from high school have seen this process for me and I have seen it in them. It makes me so happy to see how some of my friends have grown into these amazing people. They have come so far since we were in 7th/9th grade. It’s been so great to be a part of that process. I wish I could see that in the new people in my life. I have met some truly amazing people since I’ve been to college and have been living in South America. I want to see how they became their awesome selves; I want to know the experiences they have had.
Because of all of this, because I was a part of the Marist class of 2007 and the fact that we all went through a lot those 6, 4, or less years together, I am curious where everyone is now with their lives. How they have changed (for better or for worse), if they have a job or not, what kind of jobs they have or are striving for, if they are still in school (med school, law school, dental school, and various other grad. programs), if anyone is married, engaged, has a kid (there actually are a few people who are married, engaged, or has a kid…ah we are growing up!), who has gained or lost weight, who’s still dating since high school (we have quite a few people still together from high school), who’s losing their hair, who doesn’t live in Atlanta anymore - who still does, how people have changed, who’s still the exact same, and so many more things. For these reasons, this is why I creep on facebook. I feel like it’s not that weird of a thing to do, but maybe admitting it in the long-winded way I just did is weird, but oh well. It can’t be that uncommon to be curious about these things, that’s what high school reunions are for. For the most part, I’m just curious how people have matured since graduation back in 2007. I hope the backstabbing gossipers have grown out of that phase, I hope the a-holes aren’t a-holes anymore, I hope those who hated high school because they didn’t feel accepted have found their place in life, and I hope people care less about what others think of them (as we all know this is a big aspect of high school). I know how the story began for most of them, now I’m just curious how the story continues. Whether we were friends or not, whether you liked me or not, I just genuinely hope that the people I went to high school with are happy, enjoying their lives, and that they are becoming people they are proud to be.
Sorry for getting a little cheesy towards the end there, but I really do feel that way, plus it’s good to have a little cheese in your life every now and then.
Until Next Time,
Liz
One day I found myself getting on facebook a lot through out the day. I was kind of disgusted with myself with how much time I wasted “stalking” people on facebook. Everybody stalks each other, and I am not ashamed of the fact that I do this by any means, but this particular day I was checking out a lot of people’s pages that I went to high school with. More in particular, I was stalking people’s pages that I haven’t talked to or seen since graduation. I think that this is normal, if not, sorry for being a creeper. However, something that I noticed about myself is that while I’m looking at these people’s profiles I find myself going back to high school and being in the same mind set I was, and feeling the same feelings I had in high school about people and various situations. This was really frustrating to me because here I am, 23 years old, graduated from college, living in Chile, and yet I still find myself thinking about high school. Pretty cool of me, I know.
I really didn’t understand why I did this. Why do I have this unbelievable urge to see what people I went to high school, who I haven’t talked to in years, are up to? I want to know where they are living now, who has a boyfriend or girlfriend, who has a job, who’s gone out of the country and to where, who’s going on to more education after their undergrad., who still hangs out with other people from high school, and so much more. Something that also stood out to me is that I don’t really do this with people I met in college. Don’t get me wrong, I stalk my college friends too, but it’s different than with people from high school. A little side note that is kind of related...whenever I become friends with a new person (whether it was during college or after) I always wonder what this person was like in high school. I wonder if he/she went to my high school who would he/she have been friends with, would he/she been my friend? I had no idea why I did this, but I almost always wonder this about people I meet. I started to think about why I do all of this (the whole facebook thing and trying to place new friends into my high school experience) and this is what I came up with…
Over all, I had a really great high school experience. I loved my friends, dated, enjoyed school for the most part, played sports, and really liked my grade as a whole (don’t get me wrong though, I had some struggles along the way). High school is a really big transition period in a lot of people’s lives. For me, it’s where I started to feel comfortable with being myself and who I was as a person. You go through different groups of friends until senior year where you figure out who your true friends are, where you fit in, whether that be one specific group or multiple groups.
During high school there are so many firsts that you experience. It’s the first time you get to drive, it’s the first time you get a taste of small freedom (before going off to college), it’s the first time you go to a dance with a date, the first time you go on a date with a boy or girl where your parents don’t have to drive and pick you up, the first time you actually watch a high school football game, the first time you fall in love, the first time you get your heart broken (always the worst one), prom, the first time you drink, the first time an adult may actually listen to your opinion and applaud you for your thoughts, etc. Of course there are some firsts that others may have experienced, but these are some major ones for me. Because of these big milestones in a teenager’s life, I think that’s one of the reasons why we hold on to high school. A lot of memories we have from our childhood come from high school, so it’s a time we tend to not forget.
Along with these milestones most of us experience, the people I spent those four years with (6 years with a lot, since Marist starts at 7th grade) played a big part of shaping my personality and who I am today (not that I’m saying I haven’t learned a thing or two since graduating from high school). For me, I’m still really close to my best friends I had in high school. We could not talk for a year or so, but the next time we hang out we can pick up right where we left off. What is it about a high school friendship that seems to have a special bond you can’t really find anywhere else? At Marist, and high school in general, you grow up with these people. Who you were in 7th (or 9th grade) was not the same person you were once you were a senior. People can change drastically during those years. It was always really interesting to me to see how people changed (for better or for worse). I also thought it was really interesting to see who was able to climb up that wonderful social ladder during high school. The girl who was super religious and judgmental about drinking in 9th grade, will end up being the sloppy drunk senior year. The guy who doesn’t really have that many friends in 7th and 8th grade suddenly becomes really popular in high school because he plays football and is good at it. Guys suddenly become popular senior year because they “suddenly” become hot over the summer (when they actually look the same, but the right girls just started to notice them).
Because our grade was fairly small, you knew everyone and everything about each person (on a superficial level), so everyone had some sort of a reputation, whatever that may have been. I would say that that final reputation you had senior year is the one that sticks with others. If you were a weirdo, you’ll always be a weirdo, if you were a backstabbing gossiper, you’ll always be a backstabbing gossiper, if you were an a-hole, you’ll always be an a-hole…you get the point. These reputations stick in people’s minds because it’s the last impression you get of the majority of the people you graduate with because, for the most part, you don’t really talk to most of them after graduation. Most people have an idea of what their reputation was, but of course there are always those people who are delusional about how people perceive them or those people who couldn’t care less (which I think is the way to go). I’m a little curious to see what others thought about me, but in hindsight it doesn’t really matter.
We spent 7 hours or more together 5 times a week for 4 or 6 years, that is a major chunk of your life spent with the same people. We actually spent more time together when you include sports, plays, band practices, retreats, other school activities, the weekends, and whatever else. Every person I was friends with in high school, every guy I dated (apparently a lot…I got called out on this fact, rightfully so, during a senior retreat ha…I have this problem where I pretty much am almost always dating someone, eh no one is perfect), the people I didn’t get the chance to get to know but still really respected (one girl I really regret not getting to know was quiet, the most artistically gifted person I have known, and was pretty funny too - she wore a pretty hilarious Halloween costume senior year), every person I interacted with during those years played a big or small part in shaping who I am today.
After saying all of that, high school is also the time when you start to lose your innocence and are slowly becoming less naive to the world you live in. However, Marist in no way represents the real world (it’s a private, Catholic school, that is dominantly White…in Atlanta), but I started to learn some pretty good life lessons while in high school (granted I learned a lot more once going to college, but high school was a good starting point). I began to learn not to care what other people thought of me (something that can always improve), I began to learn how to feel comfortable being myself, I learned what type of people I want to be surrounded by and who I want to be friends with, I learned that being in love doesn’t last forever (hopefully you find that one person that it will last forever with), I learned that you don’t have to be friends with just one group of friends, that it is actually possible to be good friends with a wide variety of people, I learned that time really does heal pain, and other various things. A lot of these things I began learning in high school, I took with me to college and continued to learn, am still learning. I think essentially, I am the same person I was in high school. However, today I think I am more mature, more self-confident in myself, and have improved in various small ways. In other words, I’m growing up, and I can only hope that I’m making improvements in myself rather than taking steps backwards.
I think one reason why I want to see new friends of mine in my high school scene is because I want to see how far they have come as a person since then. I want to have seen how they have changed along the way. The friends I am still close to from high school have seen this process for me and I have seen it in them. It makes me so happy to see how some of my friends have grown into these amazing people. They have come so far since we were in 7th/9th grade. It’s been so great to be a part of that process. I wish I could see that in the new people in my life. I have met some truly amazing people since I’ve been to college and have been living in South America. I want to see how they became their awesome selves; I want to know the experiences they have had.
Because of all of this, because I was a part of the Marist class of 2007 and the fact that we all went through a lot those 6, 4, or less years together, I am curious where everyone is now with their lives. How they have changed (for better or for worse), if they have a job or not, what kind of jobs they have or are striving for, if they are still in school (med school, law school, dental school, and various other grad. programs), if anyone is married, engaged, has a kid (there actually are a few people who are married, engaged, or has a kid…ah we are growing up!), who has gained or lost weight, who’s still dating since high school (we have quite a few people still together from high school), who’s losing their hair, who doesn’t live in Atlanta anymore - who still does, how people have changed, who’s still the exact same, and so many more things. For these reasons, this is why I creep on facebook. I feel like it’s not that weird of a thing to do, but maybe admitting it in the long-winded way I just did is weird, but oh well. It can’t be that uncommon to be curious about these things, that’s what high school reunions are for. For the most part, I’m just curious how people have matured since graduation back in 2007. I hope the backstabbing gossipers have grown out of that phase, I hope the a-holes aren’t a-holes anymore, I hope those who hated high school because they didn’t feel accepted have found their place in life, and I hope people care less about what others think of them (as we all know this is a big aspect of high school). I know how the story began for most of them, now I’m just curious how the story continues. Whether we were friends or not, whether you liked me or not, I just genuinely hope that the people I went to high school with are happy, enjoying their lives, and that they are becoming people they are proud to be.
Sorry for getting a little cheesy towards the end there, but I really do feel that way, plus it’s good to have a little cheese in your life every now and then.
Until Next Time,
Liz
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Work while at the beach? Ok!
Things this week got changed up a bit. I didn’t have work on Monday or Tuesday, and on Wednesday I went to the beach through Friday to work. But before all this happened, a few other things happened along the way.
In Spanish class, we are starting to learn a new tense, the subjunctive. I have never learned it before, so I’m struggling with it a bit. The part that is hard about it is that we don’t really have this tense in English, so it doesn’t exactly translate. Learning Spanish is a lot harder for me when there isn’t a clear translation, but I’m slowly getting the hang of it. Class has just been hard on my brain, but it’s good! So we’ll see how that goes.
I learned a new phrase this week: Estar en las nubes. It means to be daydreaming, but the direct translation is: To be in the clouds. I think that that is pretty cute.
One of my roommates, Isabelle, moved out this week. So sad to see her leave, but I’ll still see her a lot since we work together and take classes together. Our new roommate, Bri, is one of the old volunteers and she lived in this apartment right before we all moved in. We actually made an Atlanta connection. She’s from Boston and she has met a family that went to Marist, the Long family. Claire Long was in the grade above me. Any who…just thought that was interesting. She’ll be living here for two months. I’m excited that she’s living here now because she knows the area really well and will be able to give us good information about the area, like where good restaurants are and what not. Hopefully that goes well!
Tuesday night we went to go move Isabelle in to her new apartment and we had dinner with her new roommate and some of his friends. That was so much fun! All the guys are from Chile, so it was a great night of practicing Spanish. I had been a little stressed out about my Spanish after class that day (because I was struggling with the subjunctive), but it was really easy to carry on a conversation with all of them during the night. I was so excited! We talked about a lot of random things, so it was just nice to be able to see that I can actually be conversational with people around my age. For me, talking in class and at work are very different than when you’re conversing with people your on age. So to say the least, it was a very exciting night for me! Ha oh man I’m such a nerd sometimes, oh well ☺
On our way out of the building, I found this lovely surprise in the hallway:
I got really excited! I love their pizza and the garlic sauce…mmm mmm mmm! It’s just nice to know that there is a piece of home here. I’m going to try not to order from Papa John’s while I’m down here, but maybe I’ll just save it for when/if I have a really hard/bad day.
Algarrobo:
Wednesday morning, Isabelle and I got on a bus and headed to Algarrobo. It’s a beach town that is about an hour and a half away. It had been really nice to have four days off from work, but I got kind of bored. When I saw the girls for the first time, I suddenly realized that I had really missed seeing them. The girls greeted us with hugs and excitement, which was just lovely. By the time we had gotten to the house, it was time to go to the beach. The first time the girls saw me in my bathing suit they kept touching my stomach and talking about my boobs. It was kind of funny, but a little weird. The next day, one of the girls who is around 10 years old started talking about my boobs while we were laying on the beach and she was like, “I’m starting to get boobs just like you.” It was funny. It’s about a 30-minute walk to the beach, but took us a little bit longer because we were with young girls. The beach was beautiful!
The water was absolutely freezing (obviously not important to the girls), and the weather was perfect. The girls were pretty self-occupied, so we didn’t really have to do much while at the beach. Every now and then I would help a girl with digging a hole, which is always fun to do. I tried showing one of the younger girls how to make a drizzle castle (because they are so awesome!), but she was not impressed ha. Some of the girls who I taught the Hannah Montana dance to wanted to go over it on the beach, so I did that with some of them. We stayed at the beach till about 8:00 and then headed back to the house. The sunset was pretty:
Once we got back to the house, we ate dinner, the girls all showered, some colored before bed, and Isabelle, Allison, and I read bedtime stories with some of the girls. There was some more Hannah Montana dancing going on that night as well. We slept in one big room that had a ton of bunk beds in it. I was a little worried about how well I would sleep, but that night I slept like a rock.
The next day we woke up around 10, ate breakfast, colored, made bracelets, read some books, had lunch, and then went to the beach. Before the beach, we did a little more dancing too. I’m so happy that I knew about that dance, the girls love to dance and they are all really good at it. One girl in particular is amazing at dancing. She doesn’t just copy me, she makes the moves her own. She could really go far with her dancing, I hope she’ll be able to take classes or become part of a dance team while she’s in school (unfortunately, this could just be wishful thinking on my part though). She’s so good at it, and it would be really great for her to be able to do something positive with it. That day during the beach, one of the older girls, who is 13, asked me to help her look for shells and cool rocks. That was a fun way to spend the day. Later on she hooked arms with me while we were walking. It’s so great when the older girls do this to you. I know it’s something really small, but to me it’s special. It shows me that the girl feels comfortable around me, that she has some kind of trust in me. The girl sees you like a friend, someone she can count on. Whenever small gesture like that happen, it makes me happy. It probably doesn’t mean all those things to her and might not be that special to her, but I think it’s a great step forward in the relationships we are trying to building with these girls. On the way back from the beach, one of the girls who is 10 years old, but very mature for her age, told me, in English, that she loved me with her whole heart and that she would never forget me. My heart sank after she said that. She’s one of the girls I taught the dance to, so I’ve spent a little more time with her. It was just so cute to hear her say that, plus it was in English, which was so precious to hear her speak. I had a pretty great day at the beach that day.
The people who lived on the same property as the house we were staying in had a few horses, some chickens, and a couple dogs. So there were some animals walking around that the kids could see and play with.
Friday was the same as the other days, however we woke up a little bit later and didn’t eat breakfast till about noon. The previous night was a pretty rough night. There was almost always a girl crying through out the whole night, so there was not a whole lot of sleeping going on. A lot of the girls (those who are 8 years old or younger) have problems with wetting the bed. Most of the girls are too old to be wetting the bed, but when you have been abused (especially sexually abused), it’s common to wet the bed. The Tias wake the girls up through out the night and make them go to the bathroom. Waking the girls up alone causes them to cry, but if a girl wakes up in a wet bed she’ll start to cry as well. There was some crying the first night we were there, but I slept right through it all. However, this night was a lot worse then the previous night. I haven’t seen too many signs that the girls have been abused, so seeing this was really sad to me because it just reminds me how troubled these girls really are.
Isabelle and I left late Friday afternoon to head back to Santiago. There were some struggles through out our time there. A few times some of the girls wouldn’t listen to me, I struggled getting some of the girls to do whatever I needed them to do, and of course there were a few tantrums. Something that I find super frustrating is that I have the skills to talk to children when they are acting out to figure out what is really going on behind the tantrum, but with me the problem is that I can’t express myself like I can in English with Spanish. There’s only so much that I know how to say, and what I know is not helpful at all. If I do get a girl to respond to me to tell me what’s really going on, most of the time I don’t understand what she is saying so I can’t take the conversation further. It’s really frustrating because I really want to help these girls and use the skills I have, but my Spanish ability limits me greatly. During these situations I have to really dig deep to use every ounce of patience I have within me. However, it is really great to see the social workers talk to the girls and calm them down. They never need to raise their voices and the problem almost always gets resolved (unlike when the Tias try and handle a situation, there is almost always a lot of yelling involved). Hopefully, while I’m down here my Spanish will improve enough for me to put my skills to practice.
Before Isabelle and I left, the same girl I looked for shells with on the beach, had given us signs with our names on it that said she loves us a lot.
We were sooo happy! We rarely hear the words please and thank you from the girls (we do hear them, just not in every situation), so when one of the girls tells you they love you, tells you something really sweet, or gives you something that shows you they appreciate you, it’s really special.
These past few days were a really great experience. A lot of frustrating things happened, but again, there were a lot of good things that happened as well. We were able to get closer to the girls and I thought that it was really great that we were able to read them bedtime stories. Something almost every kid gets while growing up is having their parents read them bedtime stories. However, these girls don’t get that opportunity, so Isabelle and I really enjoyed the fact that we could give that to them, even if it was only for two nights. Every child deserves to be read to at night, to know that they have someone in their life that cares enough to read a few books to them before they go to bed. I think that was one of the really special things that Isabelle and I were able to offer the girls while we were there.
On a completely different note…the weather is starting to change here. Instead of the high being in the mid 90s, it’s now in the low-mid 80s. I am a big fan of this change. Fall is just around the corner :)
The other night, when we were taking a bus to a friend’s house, at one of the bus stops a dog got on the bus, stayed on for a few stops, and then got off. It was hilarious. I really wish I had had my camera with me. The dog just plopped down in the aisle, and laid there for a bit. Some of the Chileans were taking pictures and laughing at the dog as well, so I was glad to see that that isn’t a common thing to happen. Only in Chile…
Until Next Time,
Liz
In Spanish class, we are starting to learn a new tense, the subjunctive. I have never learned it before, so I’m struggling with it a bit. The part that is hard about it is that we don’t really have this tense in English, so it doesn’t exactly translate. Learning Spanish is a lot harder for me when there isn’t a clear translation, but I’m slowly getting the hang of it. Class has just been hard on my brain, but it’s good! So we’ll see how that goes.
I learned a new phrase this week: Estar en las nubes. It means to be daydreaming, but the direct translation is: To be in the clouds. I think that that is pretty cute.
One of my roommates, Isabelle, moved out this week. So sad to see her leave, but I’ll still see her a lot since we work together and take classes together. Our new roommate, Bri, is one of the old volunteers and she lived in this apartment right before we all moved in. We actually made an Atlanta connection. She’s from Boston and she has met a family that went to Marist, the Long family. Claire Long was in the grade above me. Any who…just thought that was interesting. She’ll be living here for two months. I’m excited that she’s living here now because she knows the area really well and will be able to give us good information about the area, like where good restaurants are and what not. Hopefully that goes well!
Tuesday night we went to go move Isabelle in to her new apartment and we had dinner with her new roommate and some of his friends. That was so much fun! All the guys are from Chile, so it was a great night of practicing Spanish. I had been a little stressed out about my Spanish after class that day (because I was struggling with the subjunctive), but it was really easy to carry on a conversation with all of them during the night. I was so excited! We talked about a lot of random things, so it was just nice to be able to see that I can actually be conversational with people around my age. For me, talking in class and at work are very different than when you’re conversing with people your on age. So to say the least, it was a very exciting night for me! Ha oh man I’m such a nerd sometimes, oh well ☺
On our way out of the building, I found this lovely surprise in the hallway:
I got really excited! I love their pizza and the garlic sauce…mmm mmm mmm! It’s just nice to know that there is a piece of home here. I’m going to try not to order from Papa John’s while I’m down here, but maybe I’ll just save it for when/if I have a really hard/bad day.
Algarrobo:
Wednesday morning, Isabelle and I got on a bus and headed to Algarrobo. It’s a beach town that is about an hour and a half away. It had been really nice to have four days off from work, but I got kind of bored. When I saw the girls for the first time, I suddenly realized that I had really missed seeing them. The girls greeted us with hugs and excitement, which was just lovely. By the time we had gotten to the house, it was time to go to the beach. The first time the girls saw me in my bathing suit they kept touching my stomach and talking about my boobs. It was kind of funny, but a little weird. The next day, one of the girls who is around 10 years old started talking about my boobs while we were laying on the beach and she was like, “I’m starting to get boobs just like you.” It was funny. It’s about a 30-minute walk to the beach, but took us a little bit longer because we were with young girls. The beach was beautiful!
The water was absolutely freezing (obviously not important to the girls), and the weather was perfect. The girls were pretty self-occupied, so we didn’t really have to do much while at the beach. Every now and then I would help a girl with digging a hole, which is always fun to do. I tried showing one of the younger girls how to make a drizzle castle (because they are so awesome!), but she was not impressed ha. Some of the girls who I taught the Hannah Montana dance to wanted to go over it on the beach, so I did that with some of them. We stayed at the beach till about 8:00 and then headed back to the house. The sunset was pretty:
Once we got back to the house, we ate dinner, the girls all showered, some colored before bed, and Isabelle, Allison, and I read bedtime stories with some of the girls. There was some more Hannah Montana dancing going on that night as well. We slept in one big room that had a ton of bunk beds in it. I was a little worried about how well I would sleep, but that night I slept like a rock.
The next day we woke up around 10, ate breakfast, colored, made bracelets, read some books, had lunch, and then went to the beach. Before the beach, we did a little more dancing too. I’m so happy that I knew about that dance, the girls love to dance and they are all really good at it. One girl in particular is amazing at dancing. She doesn’t just copy me, she makes the moves her own. She could really go far with her dancing, I hope she’ll be able to take classes or become part of a dance team while she’s in school (unfortunately, this could just be wishful thinking on my part though). She’s so good at it, and it would be really great for her to be able to do something positive with it. That day during the beach, one of the older girls, who is 13, asked me to help her look for shells and cool rocks. That was a fun way to spend the day. Later on she hooked arms with me while we were walking. It’s so great when the older girls do this to you. I know it’s something really small, but to me it’s special. It shows me that the girl feels comfortable around me, that she has some kind of trust in me. The girl sees you like a friend, someone she can count on. Whenever small gesture like that happen, it makes me happy. It probably doesn’t mean all those things to her and might not be that special to her, but I think it’s a great step forward in the relationships we are trying to building with these girls. On the way back from the beach, one of the girls who is 10 years old, but very mature for her age, told me, in English, that she loved me with her whole heart and that she would never forget me. My heart sank after she said that. She’s one of the girls I taught the dance to, so I’ve spent a little more time with her. It was just so cute to hear her say that, plus it was in English, which was so precious to hear her speak. I had a pretty great day at the beach that day.
Isabelle and I left late Friday afternoon to head back to Santiago. There were some struggles through out our time there. A few times some of the girls wouldn’t listen to me, I struggled getting some of the girls to do whatever I needed them to do, and of course there were a few tantrums. Something that I find super frustrating is that I have the skills to talk to children when they are acting out to figure out what is really going on behind the tantrum, but with me the problem is that I can’t express myself like I can in English with Spanish. There’s only so much that I know how to say, and what I know is not helpful at all. If I do get a girl to respond to me to tell me what’s really going on, most of the time I don’t understand what she is saying so I can’t take the conversation further. It’s really frustrating because I really want to help these girls and use the skills I have, but my Spanish ability limits me greatly. During these situations I have to really dig deep to use every ounce of patience I have within me. However, it is really great to see the social workers talk to the girls and calm them down. They never need to raise their voices and the problem almost always gets resolved (unlike when the Tias try and handle a situation, there is almost always a lot of yelling involved). Hopefully, while I’m down here my Spanish will improve enough for me to put my skills to practice.
Before Isabelle and I left, the same girl I looked for shells with on the beach, had given us signs with our names on it that said she loves us a lot.
We were sooo happy! We rarely hear the words please and thank you from the girls (we do hear them, just not in every situation), so when one of the girls tells you they love you, tells you something really sweet, or gives you something that shows you they appreciate you, it’s really special.
These past few days were a really great experience. A lot of frustrating things happened, but again, there were a lot of good things that happened as well. We were able to get closer to the girls and I thought that it was really great that we were able to read them bedtime stories. Something almost every kid gets while growing up is having their parents read them bedtime stories. However, these girls don’t get that opportunity, so Isabelle and I really enjoyed the fact that we could give that to them, even if it was only for two nights. Every child deserves to be read to at night, to know that they have someone in their life that cares enough to read a few books to them before they go to bed. I think that was one of the really special things that Isabelle and I were able to offer the girls while we were there.
On a completely different note…the weather is starting to change here. Instead of the high being in the mid 90s, it’s now in the low-mid 80s. I am a big fan of this change. Fall is just around the corner :)
The other night, when we were taking a bus to a friend’s house, at one of the bus stops a dog got on the bus, stayed on for a few stops, and then got off. It was hilarious. I really wish I had had my camera with me. The dog just plopped down in the aisle, and laid there for a bit. Some of the Chileans were taking pictures and laughing at the dog as well, so I was glad to see that that isn’t a common thing to happen. Only in Chile…
Until Next Time,
Liz
Sunday, February 12, 2012
A Short Week of Work
The girls love dancing, and as I have said before, the dancing is pretty inappropriate. So on Monday I taught the girls a Hannah Montanan dance. They really loved it, even the older girls. It took me over a week to get the hang of this dance, but all the girls picked it up pretty quickly. The song is called Hoedown Throwdown, check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkITjgLiqkM
Monday night we fought back against all the bugs in our kitchen. I bought some raid, so we let it rain with that stuff in the kitchen. Before we sprayed the kitchen we decided that we should clean it first. While we were doing that, we moved the fridge out of the corner and what we found was so gross. There were sooooooooooo many bugs; it was disgusting. Our sandals were very useful that night. Behind the fridge we found an old box of oatmeal that didn’t belong to any of us. The box was crawling with a ton of bugs. We didn’t even open the box because we were afraid of what we would find, so we just threw the box out. We think that that box was one of the main sources the bugs went after. We sprayed the kitchen a few times that night. For the next couple of days there weren’t really that many bugs. However, now, I’m starting to see more and more. Our landlady offered to fumigate our apartment, which I’m all for because I just want these bugs gone, but my roommates do not feel that comfortable with having the fumes in the apartment. The bug problem isn’t too terrible. They stay contained in the kitchen for the most part and they only really come out at night, so I can deal with it. However, if it gets worse, we’re going to see if it’s possible for them to only spray in the kitchen. I’ll keep ya’ll posted! Here’s one of the videos we made while killing the bugs:
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2915492241072
On Tuesday, I continued teaching the dance to a few of the girls. For some reason there was a lot of crying by many different girls this day. I saw one girl run out of the porch, so I ran after her to see what she was doing. When I turned the corner, I saw her picking up her shoe and just asked her if everything was ok, and she burst into tears. She went and sat next to a tree. I asked her if she wanted to be left alone and she said no, so I asked her if it was ok if I sat by her, she said yes, and then I told her if she wanted to talk about it she could but she didn’t have to talk to me. She cried for a few more seconds then she came closer to me and kind of nestled into my body and started bawling. It was so sad to see her upset like that, but I hope the fact that she had someone to cry into helped her feel better. Once she finished crying, she took my hand and we went inside to work on her bracelet she was making.
We actually had a pretty nice day on Wednesday. One of the Tias took about half the girls somewhere for most of the day, so work was pretty relaxing and quiet for a change. Also, this was my last day of work for about a week because the girls went to the beach on Thursday. They will be at the beach for 10 days. Next week I’ll be joining them Wednesday-Friday. Hopefully that goes well!
Later that night, a big group of us met up at this restaurant/bar to officially welcome the new coordinator and the new intern. Normally, I am too wiped to do anything social after work, but with the combination of a relaxing day at work and not having work the next day, I was able to power through my tiredness (plus I took a quick nap beforehand, always helpful!). It was a fun night! I got made fun of for ordering a White Russian, apparently that’s not that common of a drink. Oh well, ha, it’s my favorite and it’s tasty! I’m pretty sure everyone was just jealous of my awesome drink ☺
During my two days off, I studied a lot of Spanish, worked out, updated the blog a few times, and read Harry Potter. I finished chapter 2, very exciting! Even though it takes me a good bit to read Harry Potter, it’s so neat to be able to understand the story in Spanish. This past week I fed my friend’s cat (she went to Patagonia for the week). She lives pretty close to me, so I usually just run to her apartment and then run back. While I was running to her place one day, I tripped over something and fell. I have no idea what I tripped over, knowing me though I probably just tripped over my own feet, but I felt like I was falling forever ha. I was able to complete a couple thoughts before I actually hit the ground because I kept trying to catch myself, but failed miserably. I didn’t get scratched up or anything, so the fall wasn’t bad at all. I fell right in front of this couple, and they came over to check on me. My immediate response was, “I’m ok. I’m ok,” of course in English. I then realized I was speaking English so switched over to Spanish. I felt dumb for falling, but for also speaking English ha. Oh well, good times!
The only book I brought down here with me is my Spanish Harry Potter. I figured I didn’t need to be reading books in English while down here; that I should practice my Spanish as much as possible. It worked out pretty well in Argentina. However, I had a TV in my room, so I could fall asleep to TV shows in English. Here, I do not have a TV, and I have really really missed reading. At the VE office, there is a whole bookshelf full of English books, so I have been reading books from there. I read Digital Fortress by Dan Brown (a really good book, if you like his other books you’ll like this one), and I just finished reading A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs. This was a really great book. It’s about his life growing up with an abusive, alcoholic father. He also wrote Running with Scissors. I haven’t read that yet, but I really want to now, just have to wait till I get home. I started my next book last night; we’ll see how that one goes.
Two big things happened this week. The first, which isn’t that big compared to the next one, is that I bought boxed milk for the first time since I have been down in SA for the past 4 and a half months (wow I’ve been gone for a good bit, crazy!). The reason why this is a big deal is because they do not refrigerate their milk, it’s kept on the selves. That freaks me out a bit. But I have really missed eating cereal, so I gave in. It’s been a good week of eating cereal; I’m almost done with my second box ha. The other big news, which is better than my milk situation, is that Jason’s older sister got married the other day. However, her family didn’t even know she was engaged (she doesn’t have a bad relationship with her family or anything like that). She had been engaged since January, and they went and got married at a courthouse. Travis is moving out of the country for a bit and he's going to try and become a legal citizen where he's going, so to make things easier for Sara when she moves out there, they got married quickly (they were planning on getting married anyways). That's so exciting though, I'm really happy and excited for them. This summer she wants to have the reception in Colorado, so hopefully I can make that!
I cannot believe I have already been in Santiago for a little over a month. It’s crazy how time really does fly down here. I feel like I have been away from home forever, and I really do miss everyone, but I know I will be home in no time. I’m pretty much halfway through with my South America trip. CRAZY!
Until Next Time,
Liz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkITjgLiqkM
Monday night we fought back against all the bugs in our kitchen. I bought some raid, so we let it rain with that stuff in the kitchen. Before we sprayed the kitchen we decided that we should clean it first. While we were doing that, we moved the fridge out of the corner and what we found was so gross. There were sooooooooooo many bugs; it was disgusting. Our sandals were very useful that night. Behind the fridge we found an old box of oatmeal that didn’t belong to any of us. The box was crawling with a ton of bugs. We didn’t even open the box because we were afraid of what we would find, so we just threw the box out. We think that that box was one of the main sources the bugs went after. We sprayed the kitchen a few times that night. For the next couple of days there weren’t really that many bugs. However, now, I’m starting to see more and more. Our landlady offered to fumigate our apartment, which I’m all for because I just want these bugs gone, but my roommates do not feel that comfortable with having the fumes in the apartment. The bug problem isn’t too terrible. They stay contained in the kitchen for the most part and they only really come out at night, so I can deal with it. However, if it gets worse, we’re going to see if it’s possible for them to only spray in the kitchen. I’ll keep ya’ll posted! Here’s one of the videos we made while killing the bugs:
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2915492241072
On Tuesday, I continued teaching the dance to a few of the girls. For some reason there was a lot of crying by many different girls this day. I saw one girl run out of the porch, so I ran after her to see what she was doing. When I turned the corner, I saw her picking up her shoe and just asked her if everything was ok, and she burst into tears. She went and sat next to a tree. I asked her if she wanted to be left alone and she said no, so I asked her if it was ok if I sat by her, she said yes, and then I told her if she wanted to talk about it she could but she didn’t have to talk to me. She cried for a few more seconds then she came closer to me and kind of nestled into my body and started bawling. It was so sad to see her upset like that, but I hope the fact that she had someone to cry into helped her feel better. Once she finished crying, she took my hand and we went inside to work on her bracelet she was making.
We actually had a pretty nice day on Wednesday. One of the Tias took about half the girls somewhere for most of the day, so work was pretty relaxing and quiet for a change. Also, this was my last day of work for about a week because the girls went to the beach on Thursday. They will be at the beach for 10 days. Next week I’ll be joining them Wednesday-Friday. Hopefully that goes well!
Later that night, a big group of us met up at this restaurant/bar to officially welcome the new coordinator and the new intern. Normally, I am too wiped to do anything social after work, but with the combination of a relaxing day at work and not having work the next day, I was able to power through my tiredness (plus I took a quick nap beforehand, always helpful!). It was a fun night! I got made fun of for ordering a White Russian, apparently that’s not that common of a drink. Oh well, ha, it’s my favorite and it’s tasty! I’m pretty sure everyone was just jealous of my awesome drink ☺
During my two days off, I studied a lot of Spanish, worked out, updated the blog a few times, and read Harry Potter. I finished chapter 2, very exciting! Even though it takes me a good bit to read Harry Potter, it’s so neat to be able to understand the story in Spanish. This past week I fed my friend’s cat (she went to Patagonia for the week). She lives pretty close to me, so I usually just run to her apartment and then run back. While I was running to her place one day, I tripped over something and fell. I have no idea what I tripped over, knowing me though I probably just tripped over my own feet, but I felt like I was falling forever ha. I was able to complete a couple thoughts before I actually hit the ground because I kept trying to catch myself, but failed miserably. I didn’t get scratched up or anything, so the fall wasn’t bad at all. I fell right in front of this couple, and they came over to check on me. My immediate response was, “I’m ok. I’m ok,” of course in English. I then realized I was speaking English so switched over to Spanish. I felt dumb for falling, but for also speaking English ha. Oh well, good times!
The only book I brought down here with me is my Spanish Harry Potter. I figured I didn’t need to be reading books in English while down here; that I should practice my Spanish as much as possible. It worked out pretty well in Argentina. However, I had a TV in my room, so I could fall asleep to TV shows in English. Here, I do not have a TV, and I have really really missed reading. At the VE office, there is a whole bookshelf full of English books, so I have been reading books from there. I read Digital Fortress by Dan Brown (a really good book, if you like his other books you’ll like this one), and I just finished reading A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs. This was a really great book. It’s about his life growing up with an abusive, alcoholic father. He also wrote Running with Scissors. I haven’t read that yet, but I really want to now, just have to wait till I get home. I started my next book last night; we’ll see how that one goes.
Two big things happened this week. The first, which isn’t that big compared to the next one, is that I bought boxed milk for the first time since I have been down in SA for the past 4 and a half months (wow I’ve been gone for a good bit, crazy!). The reason why this is a big deal is because they do not refrigerate their milk, it’s kept on the selves. That freaks me out a bit. But I have really missed eating cereal, so I gave in. It’s been a good week of eating cereal; I’m almost done with my second box ha. The other big news, which is better than my milk situation, is that Jason’s older sister got married the other day. However, her family didn’t even know she was engaged (she doesn’t have a bad relationship with her family or anything like that). She had been engaged since January, and they went and got married at a courthouse. Travis is moving out of the country for a bit and he's going to try and become a legal citizen where he's going, so to make things easier for Sara when she moves out there, they got married quickly (they were planning on getting married anyways). That's so exciting though, I'm really happy and excited for them. This summer she wants to have the reception in Colorado, so hopefully I can make that!
I cannot believe I have already been in Santiago for a little over a month. It’s crazy how time really does fly down here. I feel like I have been away from home forever, and I really do miss everyone, but I know I will be home in no time. I’m pretty much halfway through with my South America trip. CRAZY!
Until Next Time,
Liz
Friday, February 10, 2012
My Apartment
As I have told ya’ll, I live in an apartment with three other people. There are a lot of good and bad things about living in my apartment. However, all the positives greatly overshadow the negatives.
Good Things:
We have a pretty big bathroom (although you can't really tell in the picture). In the bathroom, we have our own washer machine, which is really useful and convenient. In some other apartment buildings there will only be one or two washer machines for the entire building.
Our landlady is really great! She speaks English, which is really helpful, so if we have any problems we can just send her an email in English and she normally responds pretty quickly. I have heard some pretty bad stories about other landlords, so I feel really lucky to have such a good one.
Even though I share my room, the rooms are big enough that I don’t feel crowded at all. Plus, the bed is a great size and pretty comfortable as well!
The apartment itself is in an amazing location. I literally could not have asked for a better location. I love it! It’s also right next to the metro, which is great since I ride the metro everyday for work. An extra perk is that the VE office is just around the corner, so that’s pretty convenient.
Once a week our apartment gets cleaned. It’s really nice that we don’t really have to clean all that much, just our dishes. The maid brings us fresh towels and sheets for the beds. How lovely ☺
Rent is also really cheap, which is always a wonderful thing!
Bad Things:
Our kitchen is literally a closet. There is only room enough for one person to be in there at a time. It’s really not that big of an issue, we just have to take turns.
Speaking of our kitchen…we also have a little bug problem, but we’re dealing with it. I have a story about the bugs, but I’m saving that for my next post.
Our apartment is right on a busy street, so it is constantly really noisy. Luckily, noise doesn’t bother me a whole lot, bit it is definitely the loudest place I have ever lived. Horns are constantly honking, the busses are so loud, and when an ambulance or a police car drives by the noise is almost unbearable (ha, thankfully those only last for a few seconds or so). But like I said, noise doesn’t bother me too much, so it’s not too bad. However, it is going to be so nice to sleep in my own bed back home where it’s silent day and night.
There’s a bus stop right outside our window, so the busses are constantly stopping by there. You can’t really see it, but there’s a hill behind that tree, I’m curious to see how the view will change once it starts getting cold.
Also right outside our apartment, on the sidewalk, is a man who sells fruits and veggies. Alllllll day long he is yelling some phrase that is incomprehensible for all of us. It’s the same phrase over and over and over again. I’m curious to see if he’ll still be there once it gets cold.
And that's it for the negatives, see they aren't too bad, definitely manageable for 6 months.
Here is what the living area looks like. This is where we all spend the majority of our time when we’re home.
This is our toaster. It looks shanty, but it gets the job done.
Over all I really do like where I’m living. Every place has its ups and downs, and I didn’t come to Chile to live in a luxurious place. This apartment is home to me right now, and I’m enjoying it. Plus my roommates are really great. I haven’t had the best of luck with roommates in the past, so it’s been really great to live with mature people who act like grown ups.
Until Next Time,
Liz
Good Things:
We have a pretty big bathroom (although you can't really tell in the picture). In the bathroom, we have our own washer machine, which is really useful and convenient. In some other apartment buildings there will only be one or two washer machines for the entire building.
Our landlady is really great! She speaks English, which is really helpful, so if we have any problems we can just send her an email in English and she normally responds pretty quickly. I have heard some pretty bad stories about other landlords, so I feel really lucky to have such a good one.
Even though I share my room, the rooms are big enough that I don’t feel crowded at all. Plus, the bed is a great size and pretty comfortable as well!
The apartment itself is in an amazing location. I literally could not have asked for a better location. I love it! It’s also right next to the metro, which is great since I ride the metro everyday for work. An extra perk is that the VE office is just around the corner, so that’s pretty convenient.
Once a week our apartment gets cleaned. It’s really nice that we don’t really have to clean all that much, just our dishes. The maid brings us fresh towels and sheets for the beds. How lovely ☺
Rent is also really cheap, which is always a wonderful thing!
Bad Things:
Our kitchen is literally a closet. There is only room enough for one person to be in there at a time. It’s really not that big of an issue, we just have to take turns.
Speaking of our kitchen…we also have a little bug problem, but we’re dealing with it. I have a story about the bugs, but I’m saving that for my next post.
Our apartment is right on a busy street, so it is constantly really noisy. Luckily, noise doesn’t bother me a whole lot, bit it is definitely the loudest place I have ever lived. Horns are constantly honking, the busses are so loud, and when an ambulance or a police car drives by the noise is almost unbearable (ha, thankfully those only last for a few seconds or so). But like I said, noise doesn’t bother me too much, so it’s not too bad. However, it is going to be so nice to sleep in my own bed back home where it’s silent day and night.
There’s a bus stop right outside our window, so the busses are constantly stopping by there. You can’t really see it, but there’s a hill behind that tree, I’m curious to see how the view will change once it starts getting cold.
Also right outside our apartment, on the sidewalk, is a man who sells fruits and veggies. Alllllll day long he is yelling some phrase that is incomprehensible for all of us. It’s the same phrase over and over and over again. I’m curious to see if he’ll still be there once it gets cold.
And that's it for the negatives, see they aren't too bad, definitely manageable for 6 months.
Here is what the living area looks like. This is where we all spend the majority of our time when we’re home.
This is our toaster. It looks shanty, but it gets the job done.
Over all I really do like where I’m living. Every place has its ups and downs, and I didn’t come to Chile to live in a luxurious place. This apartment is home to me right now, and I’m enjoying it. Plus my roommates are really great. I haven’t had the best of luck with roommates in the past, so it’s been really great to live with mature people who act like grown ups.
Until Next Time,
Liz
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wine Tour, Asado, & the Super Bowl
This past weekend was my first weekend where I wasn’t bumming around and actually did some fun stuff!
WINE TOUR: Cancha y Toro
On Saturday, a group of nine of us (all girls) went on a wine tour. It was right outside the city so it was super close and pretty cheap. I am a big fan of both of those characteristics. We just rode the metro till the last stop and then took a 10-minute bus ride to the winery (super easy and only cost $2 – the metro plus the bus). When we got to the winery, we asked if it was possible to get a discount at all and they said they only give discounts if you have a student ID. Well, most of us did not have those with us (mine is conveniently back home); however, a driver’s license passes for a student ID very easily down here ☺. So instead of most of us paying $8000 ($16) for the tour we paid $6000 ($12). Felt good to save those four dollars! This was my first winery tour, and I thought only paying $12 for it was pretty cheap! The winery was beautiful. There was so much open space and wonderful greenery. Apparently it is the second largest winery in the world. I find this hard to believe, but if it’s true, that’s pretty neat!
Of course the grape vines were so great as well! I don’t know why, but I think it’s so cool to see grape vines. When I see them the phrase wild grapes comes to mind, and it just makes them so much cooler ha. I’ve seen green grape vines before, but this was my first time seeing red grape vines. It was quite an exciting moment in my life.
During the tour we got to try one white wine and one red wine. Surprisingly, I liked the white wine a lot more than the red. Normally, I only drink red wines, but this white wine was very refreshing a fruity. We got to see a bunch of the barrels where they store the wine. That was pretty neat as well.
At the end of the tour we got a complimentary wine glass that had the name of the winery on it. I was pretty excited about that one! One of my favorite wines back home is a mixture of three different red wines. It is absolutely delicious and it’s cheap. At the winery’s gift shop, they had a wine called Trio. When I saw it, I knew I had to buy it. I didn’t even need to try it first; I knew I would love it. I was correct, the wine is really good. Good thing I bought 2 bottles!
Asado:
After the wine tour, we all went over to one of the coordinators,’ (Jamie), house from VE. She is American and is dating a Chilean. They live out in the suburbs of Santiago, which is pretty funny, but it was really nice to see their house and the area they live in. The food was really yummy! There was guac., steak, and choripan! Oh how I have missed choripan. For dessert, they cut a hole in a green melon and poured white wine in it. Traditionally, you are supposed to drink directly from the melon, but Jamie ended up cutting the melon up and putting the whole mixture in a pitcher. It was pretty tasty! Once it is melon session back home, ya’ll should try making it. Over all, it was a great day of wine and food!
Super Bowl Sunday!
My Sunday started out like most every other Sunday. I went to the market and the grocery store to buy food for the week. Studied some Spanish, worked out, and did some laundry. However, this Sunday was a very special Sunday because it was SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! Before I left for South America, I went over a list of things (mostly TV shows) with Jason that I would be missing while I was gone for the next 9 months, and the Super Bowl was one of them. I honestly didn’t think I was going to be able to watch it, but we got it down here! Most of the volunteers, and them some other friends we have made, all got together for a potluck dinner to watch the game. The food was delicious! We had loads of guac., this amazing Spanish tomato dip, pasta salad with peppers, pesto salad, a veggie rice dish, brownies, and lemon cake. Everything was soooo yuumy! It was also really nice to see everyone else because we’re always too tired to do anything else but rest after work during the week. AND we had one true Giants fan watching the game, so that was really exciting for him! It was really cute, during half time he skyped with his family. They were having a huge Super Bowl party and he got to say hi to his entire family.
This was a really fun weekend, and I’m looking forward to having many more like it! I’m really enjoying my new family down here.
Until Next Time,
Liz
WINE TOUR: Cancha y Toro
On Saturday, a group of nine of us (all girls) went on a wine tour. It was right outside the city so it was super close and pretty cheap. I am a big fan of both of those characteristics. We just rode the metro till the last stop and then took a 10-minute bus ride to the winery (super easy and only cost $2 – the metro plus the bus). When we got to the winery, we asked if it was possible to get a discount at all and they said they only give discounts if you have a student ID. Well, most of us did not have those with us (mine is conveniently back home); however, a driver’s license passes for a student ID very easily down here ☺. So instead of most of us paying $8000 ($16) for the tour we paid $6000 ($12). Felt good to save those four dollars! This was my first winery tour, and I thought only paying $12 for it was pretty cheap! The winery was beautiful. There was so much open space and wonderful greenery. Apparently it is the second largest winery in the world. I find this hard to believe, but if it’s true, that’s pretty neat!
Of course the grape vines were so great as well! I don’t know why, but I think it’s so cool to see grape vines. When I see them the phrase wild grapes comes to mind, and it just makes them so much cooler ha. I’ve seen green grape vines before, but this was my first time seeing red grape vines. It was quite an exciting moment in my life.
During the tour we got to try one white wine and one red wine. Surprisingly, I liked the white wine a lot more than the red. Normally, I only drink red wines, but this white wine was very refreshing a fruity. We got to see a bunch of the barrels where they store the wine. That was pretty neat as well.
At the end of the tour we got a complimentary wine glass that had the name of the winery on it. I was pretty excited about that one! One of my favorite wines back home is a mixture of three different red wines. It is absolutely delicious and it’s cheap. At the winery’s gift shop, they had a wine called Trio. When I saw it, I knew I had to buy it. I didn’t even need to try it first; I knew I would love it. I was correct, the wine is really good. Good thing I bought 2 bottles!
Asado:
After the wine tour, we all went over to one of the coordinators,’ (Jamie), house from VE. She is American and is dating a Chilean. They live out in the suburbs of Santiago, which is pretty funny, but it was really nice to see their house and the area they live in. The food was really yummy! There was guac., steak, and choripan! Oh how I have missed choripan. For dessert, they cut a hole in a green melon and poured white wine in it. Traditionally, you are supposed to drink directly from the melon, but Jamie ended up cutting the melon up and putting the whole mixture in a pitcher. It was pretty tasty! Once it is melon session back home, ya’ll should try making it. Over all, it was a great day of wine and food!
Super Bowl Sunday!
My Sunday started out like most every other Sunday. I went to the market and the grocery store to buy food for the week. Studied some Spanish, worked out, and did some laundry. However, this Sunday was a very special Sunday because it was SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! Before I left for South America, I went over a list of things (mostly TV shows) with Jason that I would be missing while I was gone for the next 9 months, and the Super Bowl was one of them. I honestly didn’t think I was going to be able to watch it, but we got it down here! Most of the volunteers, and them some other friends we have made, all got together for a potluck dinner to watch the game. The food was delicious! We had loads of guac., this amazing Spanish tomato dip, pasta salad with peppers, pesto salad, a veggie rice dish, brownies, and lemon cake. Everything was soooo yuumy! It was also really nice to see everyone else because we’re always too tired to do anything else but rest after work during the week. AND we had one true Giants fan watching the game, so that was really exciting for him! It was really cute, during half time he skyped with his family. They were having a huge Super Bowl party and he got to say hi to his entire family.
This was a really fun weekend, and I’m looking forward to having many more like it! I’m really enjoying my new family down here.
Until Next Time,
Liz
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Work, Work, Work
Later in the day, I had some troubles with one of the younger girls. One girl started riding the bike and the younger one wanted to ride it too, but I told her she had to wait her turn. As soon as she heard me tell her no, something just clicked in her and she started acting out. I kept telling her to listen to me and to stop but she wouldn’t. The other girl on the bike ended up coming over and told her that she could ride the bike, but first she had to apologize to me. She said she was sorry, but was looking at the ground, so the other girl told her to look at me while she said sorry. So she looked at me and said she was sorry, and then the other girl told her to tell me why she was sorry. That was so great that the other girl came over to help me and made her say she was sorry. Later, while the same younger girl was riding the bike, it was time for her to get off and let another girl ride the bike. Of course she was not happy about that and would not get off and started pitching a fit. She obviously wasn’t going to listen to me, so two other girls came over to try and help out. At some point, she ended up telling me to shut up, and one of the older girls kind of pushed her and yelled at her saying that she does not talk to the Tia like that. We eventually got her off the bike, and the two other girls brought her over to me and made her apologize to me again. It’s definitely really frustrating dealing with the girls when they act out and do not listen to you, but I was really happy and surprised that some of the other girls helped me out. Yet another small victory for the day.
After lunch, one of the girls read a book in English to me. At first I helped her out with some of the words. She read it several times, until she was able to read the book without my help. It was so cute because she got so excited that she could read and “understand” English. After that, I helped her translate it into Spanish. Earlier we had read one of her books that is in Spanish. She read the first page and then I was going to read the next page (she was struggling a little bit with some of the words and wanted a break). However, while I was reading, I fumbled over a word or two and she would correct me and help me out. I didn’t even get to finish reading the whole page because she just jumped right in and starting reading out loud again. I think since she saw me struggle with a few words it gave her back some confidence to read again. Glad my struggles could help her out! Even though Monday was a really hard day, a few really great things happened that day. I try and focus on the good things that happen at work rather than the bad things, otherwise I would drive myself crazy.
This week was the first week the other volunteer came back to work (she took a week off for vacation during our first week of work). Isabelle and I work from 10-1 and Allison works from 1-7. At first is was really weird having her there. Things were just different (not in a bad way by any means). I am not going to lie, I am totally jealous of her because not only do all of the girls love her, but the Tias do as well. Now I know she has been working here for 4-5 months, which is significantly longer than my one week, but still. Hmph. I can only hope that I will be able to get close to the girls (and the Tias) like Allison has as time goes on.
On Tuesday we took the girls to the pool. I was relieved to hear that we were going to the pool that day because that meant it was going to be an easy day. Kids are perfectly capable of entertaining themselves when they have a pool. It was definitely a needed break from the day before.
Starting on Wednesday, we had three birthdays (two of the girls and one of the volunteers, Allison). It was so cute to see how they celebrate birthdays at our institution. All the younger girls made handmade cards (with help from Isabelle and I) for the birthday girls and wrapped their presents in shoeboxes and book bags. The presents were all the girls’ used toys. This was so precious and really sad to see. On one hand, it was adorable to see the girls giving up their toys to give to another girl, but on the other hand it was really sad that all the toys were used and old. Nonetheless, it was great to watch. We had one birthday on Wednesday, Thursday, and then Friday. We had somehow ended up making three piñatas, so each day each birthday girl got to break her own piñata. It all worked out perfectly, and the girls really enjoyed that. So it looks like from now on, we might be making piñatas for the girls when it’s their birthdays.
Friday was a pretty interesting day for me. I got to leave the house with one of the other girls and accompany her to buy a present for Allison. I was a little nervous at first, because she’s around 15 years old and I was nervous about my Spanish, but I ended up doing a good job (I think so anyways, not sure what she thought about us talking ha). While we were walking around she would hook her arm around my arm and we would walk together. A few times she grabbed my hand, when we crossed the street or had to run to catch a bus. It was so cute! Even though she was leading me around, it was the first time I ever felt like an older sister. We were out of my work setting, going shopping, and I was with her helping her pick things out. As most of you know, I am the baby of my family (both my siblings are older than me and all my cousins are also older than me too). My whole life I have been the baby; I have always been the one looking up to my siblings and cousins. I know that this sounds kind of lame and I know she doesn’t look up to me like I do to my siblings, but it was still kind of a special moment for me. She ended up getting one of those heart friendship necklaces that says friends forever (in Spanish of course) for Allison. It was honestly the cutest thing I have ever seen. I hope the girls end up liking me as much as they love Allison. Later in the day, when it was Tia Allison’s turn to break her piñata, while she was blindfolded, the older girls poured water and flour all over her hair and cracked an egg on her head. This is not a malicious act; it’s actually a celebratory tradition. They do it Argentina as well. Once you graduate from high school or any school, you do this with your friends. It’s super messy, but looks fun!
This week the stricter Tia was working. Work is always so interesting when she’s there. The kids normally behave a little better when she’s around which is nice, but she treats Isabelle and I like we are complete idiots. (Warning, I’m about to complain a lot and sound really negative ha). One thing that Isabelle and I have noticed is that she changes the way she talks when it’s to us and when she talks to the girls. We understand her perfectly when she talks to the girls, but when she talks to us she talks much faster and never says things in a direct way. She seems to talk in a round about, complicated way. It’s frustrating and annoying, but oh well. One day during breakfast the Tia was telling Isabelle that we were all going to some park with a pool later in the afternoon, but instead of her just saying we were going to a park she said the name of the park. Obviously, we are not familiar with the park and do not know it’s name, so Isabelle asked where we were going (several times) because she didn’t understand what she said and she, very condescendingly, said the name of the park extremely slow in this exaggerated, demeaning voice, like we were babies. She never once said the word park or pool.
Then later in the week, on Allison’s birthday, she asked Isabelle and I if we brought a cake for Allison. For one, we both thought that that was a weird question because why would we bring something for her. If we wanted to do something for her it would have been outside of work. We didn’t bring the other two girls a cake when it was their birthdays, so why would we bring Allison one? That would just make the other two girls feel badly. Work is about the girls, and about the gifts they make, we don’t want to overshadow their hard work. That alone was weird, but the conversation just went downhill form there. She was trying to ask Isabelle if she knew how to make a cake, and Isabelle replied yes, but not without a recipe. However, the Tia for some reason kept going on and on about the cake and focusing on the fact that Isabelle didn’t know how to make a cake, how she didn’t know what ingredients to use. Isabelle kept responding that she did know how to make a cake, but not without a recipe. She loves to cook and has made a lot of cakes in the past just not without a recipe. However, the Tia just kept going on and on and making the conversation really confusing, so we turned to the other Tia looking for help and she started to say something to us and the other Tia just kind of laughed and made a side joke that she has her own personal translator. First of all, translators translate from one language to another. Someone is not a translator when they speak the same language you are (Spanish to Spanish…there is no translation there). Second of all, I don’t even know why she thinks it’s so funny. Clearly Isabelle and I understand Tia Genette perfectly, aka we understand Spanish, so why can’t she just try and work with us instead of talking to us in round about ways? So dumb ugh ha. Once she left the table, I asked the other Tia if they wanted us to make a cake for Allison, and she said oh no she was just wondering if ya’ll know how to cook one. I was so surprised that that was all, and asked her if there was anything more to that conversation and she was like no. That’s when Isabelle responded that she loved to cook, but didn’t know any recipes by heart. That was a rough conversation to watch.
For lunch that day we had some potatoes stuffed with meat and veggies. Isabelle is a vegetarian, so she just ate salad that day. All through out lunch the Tia was taunting Isabelle for some reason. She kept on asking her how she liked the potatoes and then would be like oh yeah I forgot you don’t eat meat. And would keep saying oh que rico que rico (how delicious – referring to the potatoes) and would look at Isabelle. It was so bizarre. While we were eating dessert (peaches covered with condensed milk), the Tia made this comment under her breath about how sweet the peaches were but that they were no cake, and she looked at Isabelle as if really saying, “We should have had a cake but this dumb gringa over here didn’t make/bring one.” Honestly, out of everything that happened that day with her, I thought that that was the rudest comment. I don’t think Isabelle heard her say that, but still, there was no need for that comment.
I kind of expected that the Tias would love that fact that there were volunteers around to help out. We are the ones who are with the girls the entire day, entertaining them. One of the coordinators at VE did warn us that some of the Tias are not as welcoming as the others. She told us that being a Tia is a pretty low-end job. You do not need any degree, and don’t even need to have graduated from high school. In other words, being a Tia is not really a chosen profession; it’s one of the few jobs that are available if you do not have much education. So sometimes the Tias feel inferior to these gringos coming in to their work, doing their job for free, have various levels of Spanish speaking abilities, and can speak English (and possibly other languages as well). Isabelle gets really frustrated with the Tia at work because she makes her feel really dumb with her Spanish (and she’s actually really good with speaking). The way I view the whole situation is that Spanish is the one thing this Tia has over us, and she’s basking in this power trip while she can (she kind of has a bully mentality to her personality too). She can stare at me as long as she wants to trying to make me feel dumb because I can’t understand her, it doesn’t make me feel dumb one bit. I’m here for 5 more months, and my Spanish is going to improve, and eventually she will have nothing over me. Nothing about her situation is going to change. Plus, I’m here to better the lives of these girls, I’m not working for her. If it makes her feel better bullying around a couple gringas then go right ahead and bully us, enjoy it while you can because it’s not going to last very long. Ok, so I know I just did a whole lot of complaining about this Tia (and got a little mean towards the end there), but she does have a soft side to her and you can tell she really does care about these girls. It’s really lovely to see that side of her, but man does she have an ugly side to her.
This week Isabelle and I started our semi-private Spanish classes. It went really well! I have never been so excited about learning about anything in my life. I’m kind of a really big nerd when it comes to learning Spanish. Learning anything for me is a little harder than for most people because it takes me a really long time to be able to retain information, so a lot of my Spanish learning is independent, repetitive studying. I have a mountain of flashcards on my bedside table that I am constantly studying.
Because Spanish is something that I am surrounded by all day long, that easily motivates me to want to improve. Learning Spanish is very relevant to my life right now, so I think it’s ok that I’m really nerdy about it. Also, some really exciting news…our teacher gave us a workbook to do activities in it for extra practice, and on the cover it says Advanced Spanish. I have never been in advanced Spanish before, so that was pretty exciting! Ha
Since I have come to South America, I have yet to find a really good pesto sauce. All the pesto sauces I have had in restaurants has been really dry and leafy. However, this past week I bought a package of pesto sauce that you just add milk to, and oh my goodness was it delicioso! It was so creamy and yummy. That was a great night!
Until Next Time,
Liz
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
My first week volunteering in Chile
After my first day I felt so stressed, frustrated with Spanish, worrying hard-core about my Spanish ability, and super overwhelmed.
It wasn’t actually a bad first day, more so just overwhelming. It started out with breakfast. We met the strict Tia and the morning shift Tia, who is AWESOME! The morning shift Tia is so nice and very understanding. She told all the girls that they need to speak a little slower for us so we could understand and the main Tia was just like, “No, they need to learn to understand me.” Ha I have never encountered someone who flat out says, “No I will not talk slower for you.” Also, when I don’t understand her, she just kind of stares at me as if I’m the biggest idiot. So that’s pretty fun. That doesn’t bother me, or make me feel dumb, just an interesting interaction.
Then two women came by and we started a garden. After the garden, we had lunch (pasta with a tomato sauce with sliced hot dogs in it). After lunch, I had some one on one time with a girl who was teaching me Spanish. We went through an activity book that goes through the alphabet and each letter’s sound and the different sounds some letter combinations make. Overall, not too bad of a way to spend some of my time. Although, I’m pretty sure she thought I was dumb ha, but hey I’m ok with that.
Some of the younger girls don’t really understand that not everyone speaks Spanish. So they just think you are really struggling with your first language, some of them don’t realize that we actually speak English. The girl asked me what year I was in colegio (primary or secondary schooling) and she was so surprised that I said that I have finished college. Proud moment in my life ☺. While I was doing that, Isabelle was helping some of the girls make earrings.
Next we went outside and played. I got a girl to apologize to another girl (that was HUGE!). We were playing chase and she had accidentally hit another girl while running pass her. The girl who got hit (who is a BIG whiner and complainer) came running up to me telling me what happened. So I called over the other girl and asked her what happened and she said she had accidentally hit her while we were playing. I asked her, even though it was an accident, if she could still say sorry; and she did! That was my small victory for the day. This proud moment was about to be overshadowed.
Right as we were leaving we found some girls trying to pierce another girl’s ear. Her ear was not numbed, the “needle” they were using was not sterile, and she was bleeding everywhere. They would not listen to Isabelle or I and would not stop. We were trying to get them to stop for like 15 minutes and getting nowhere, so we had to go get the main Tia to sort it out. If they were doing something that wasn’t that big of a deal, we probably would have let it slide, but so many things could have gone wrong, plus she was bleeding! Any who, that was the first time the girls had blatantly disregarded what we were telling them to do. I’m sure it is not going to be the last.
After work I was exhausted and hungry, a.k.a. in a terrible mood. I honestly hated the world, in particular Chile, Spanish, and where I work. I got home, ate a snack, took a nap, ate some more after I woke up and felt so much better, and all my negative Nanciness had settled down. Once my food settled, I went for a run and oh man, that was honestly the most therapeutic run I have ever been on! I just took all my frustration, stress, worry, and my feelings of being overwhelmed out on that run and I felt a million times better about everything. I just need to be really patient with myself in terms of Spanish and just remember to breath when times are difficult.
Day Two:
This day was a lot better than day one. Everything was calmer, and not overwhelming at all. I read with a few girls and towards the end I played soccer with three other girls. My stats for our two v. two game was two yellow cards, one red card, and 3 goals. Obviously, I was MVP of that game! And, no it does not matter that one girl was ten years old and the other two girls were younger. I just rocked it that day ☺ It was really fun to play with the girls, especially at a sport that I don’t have the much experience with playing. However, none of the girls wanted to be on my team because obviously this gringa Tia couldn’t play, but oh how I proved them wrong. After the game, the older girl wanted to practice shooting with me, and she was so cute about it. Any time she scored on me (which wasn’t actually that much, I’m adding amazing goalie to my resume) she would run around yelling gooooooaaaaaaallllllllllll, while pumping her fists in the air. She got so excited, it was awesome to see that.
Day Three:
We pretty much read all day, and it was awesome. I tried getting the older girls excited about reading (I had brought my book with me and everything), but they didn’t really want to read. BUT I got one girl to read with me. And I figured we would just both read our own books silently, but she thought that that would be lame, so I asked her if she wanted to read out loud to me and she said yes. I was surprised with that because I still don’t like reading out loud today, let alone when I was younger. She read to me for about an hour. It was nice.
Friday we went to a museum with the kids. Car rides are always rough with kids, but just a little bit rougher when there are 10 of them in a car with little AC when it’s hot out. But we made it to the museum. We went with one of the professionals who work at the institution (she is different from the Tias). One of the younger girls (who is 4 years old) was having a mini-fit and the Tia was just yelling at her to get back in line, but then the professional told the Tia to take the other girls, and then she just bent down to be at eye level with the little girl and simply asked what’s wrong. The girl replied that she just wanted to be first in line again and the woman was just like ok then let’s go, and she immediately stopped crying. That was so awesome to see. It just showed that the girls don’t want to be yelled at, and they just want to be understood. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes kids are just throwing a tantrum for the hell of it, but most of the time they just want to be heard.
Friday night all of us (the roommates) were so exhausted from our first week of working so we all stayed in and watched a movie together. It was a good night.
On Saturday my friend Anna, who I met while in Argentina, was in Santiago for two days so we met up in the evening and went to Yogen Fruz. She was only in BA for a month and had been traveling ever since, so we had a lot to catch up on. Once we got to the yogurt place she informed me that she thought she saw one that was a lot closer to my apartment. Not good! I was glad that it was a few metro stops away because then I would only go there to treat myself, but now that I know there is one close to me, I’m in trouble ha.
We came back to my apartment and hung out with the roommates. A little bit later some of the other volunteers came over (Tom, Sophie, and Amy) and we all drank some wine, beer, or gin & cokes for a few hours just chatting and then went out to a club. On our way home, my roommates stopped at this pizza place right across the street from us. I didn’t go because I thought I heard someone say that the pizza is really bad cheap pizza. However, when they came back they offered me a slice (and well my roommates are learning that I never say no to food when it’s offered to me), and the pizza was actually sooo good. Again, more bad news for me. Cheap pizza so close!
It ended up being a really fun night! It was so nice to be able to cut loss. I found out two very awesome things while out that night. The first one (which is the best) is that you can get a glass of water at the bars for free! In Argentina it cost $5 just for some tap water. I was so excited! The second thing I found out is that they have Kalua down here, so they can make my favorite drink, a White Russian. So, pretty big news I found out!
Sundays are one of my favorite days of the week. Each Sunday we go to a market place to buy fruits and veggies for the week. After the market we head for the grocery store and get whatever else we need. It’s a nice little Sunday routine we have going. So far I have bought so many different fruits and veggies that I have never bought before, like avocados, corn on the cob, watermelon, and blackberries. My life down here is pretty exciting ha.
My sister dropped a huge bomb of a surprise on me this week too. Her and my brother (along with my sister’s husband and my brother's fiance and my dad) decided that as a gift for me for my birthday they are going to fly Jason down to Chile for me. Honestly the BEST news EVER! I’m so excited! We weren’t going to see each other till the end of July/beginning of August. So this is going to be really great. He arrives March 20th and will be here for a week. I have already started planning stuff for us to do. Best birthday present EVER ☺
I have quickly learned that my Chile experience is going to be very different than my Argentina experience. I work for 6 hours everyday from 10:00 till 4:00 (compared to two hours a day I did in Argentina). That is a long day to be with 16 girls, the majority of them are under ten years old. Once I get home there is so much I want to work on. I want to study Spanish, I need to eat a snack, I want to work out and run, I want to work on my blog (clearly falling behind on that one), I want to chat with my roommates, I need to make and eat dinner, I need to shower, I want to read Harry Potter in Spanish (also really failing on this one), I want to chat with Jason (and other people from home), I want to read my book in English, and then I need to go to sleep. That is sooo much to do after work. Usually after work I eat a snack as soon as I get back, studying a little, go for a run, make dinner, shower, talk to Jason a bit (either via through messages on the computer or skyping), I’m in bed by 10:00 and read my book in English, then fall asleep. I don’t really have a whole lot of time to do touristy things and explore the city like I was able to in BA. BUT I did have a feeling that this is how it would be like before getting to Chile. I knew my time here would be more like I had a full time job and that Spanish would be a big focus of mine (not that is wasn’t in BA). That’s why I chose to do my volunteer work in the order I am doing it. I wanted to get all my traveling out of me while in Argentina, so I could be more focused in Chile. As of now, I am all traveled out and happy to be staying in a place with a routine. Don’t worry though; I’m sure my travel bug will come back soon!
Until Next Time,
Liz
It wasn’t actually a bad first day, more so just overwhelming. It started out with breakfast. We met the strict Tia and the morning shift Tia, who is AWESOME! The morning shift Tia is so nice and very understanding. She told all the girls that they need to speak a little slower for us so we could understand and the main Tia was just like, “No, they need to learn to understand me.” Ha I have never encountered someone who flat out says, “No I will not talk slower for you.” Also, when I don’t understand her, she just kind of stares at me as if I’m the biggest idiot. So that’s pretty fun. That doesn’t bother me, or make me feel dumb, just an interesting interaction.
Then two women came by and we started a garden. After the garden, we had lunch (pasta with a tomato sauce with sliced hot dogs in it). After lunch, I had some one on one time with a girl who was teaching me Spanish. We went through an activity book that goes through the alphabet and each letter’s sound and the different sounds some letter combinations make. Overall, not too bad of a way to spend some of my time. Although, I’m pretty sure she thought I was dumb ha, but hey I’m ok with that.
Some of the younger girls don’t really understand that not everyone speaks Spanish. So they just think you are really struggling with your first language, some of them don’t realize that we actually speak English. The girl asked me what year I was in colegio (primary or secondary schooling) and she was so surprised that I said that I have finished college. Proud moment in my life ☺. While I was doing that, Isabelle was helping some of the girls make earrings.
Next we went outside and played. I got a girl to apologize to another girl (that was HUGE!). We were playing chase and she had accidentally hit another girl while running pass her. The girl who got hit (who is a BIG whiner and complainer) came running up to me telling me what happened. So I called over the other girl and asked her what happened and she said she had accidentally hit her while we were playing. I asked her, even though it was an accident, if she could still say sorry; and she did! That was my small victory for the day. This proud moment was about to be overshadowed.
Right as we were leaving we found some girls trying to pierce another girl’s ear. Her ear was not numbed, the “needle” they were using was not sterile, and she was bleeding everywhere. They would not listen to Isabelle or I and would not stop. We were trying to get them to stop for like 15 minutes and getting nowhere, so we had to go get the main Tia to sort it out. If they were doing something that wasn’t that big of a deal, we probably would have let it slide, but so many things could have gone wrong, plus she was bleeding! Any who, that was the first time the girls had blatantly disregarded what we were telling them to do. I’m sure it is not going to be the last.
After work I was exhausted and hungry, a.k.a. in a terrible mood. I honestly hated the world, in particular Chile, Spanish, and where I work. I got home, ate a snack, took a nap, ate some more after I woke up and felt so much better, and all my negative Nanciness had settled down. Once my food settled, I went for a run and oh man, that was honestly the most therapeutic run I have ever been on! I just took all my frustration, stress, worry, and my feelings of being overwhelmed out on that run and I felt a million times better about everything. I just need to be really patient with myself in terms of Spanish and just remember to breath when times are difficult.
Day Two:
This day was a lot better than day one. Everything was calmer, and not overwhelming at all. I read with a few girls and towards the end I played soccer with three other girls. My stats for our two v. two game was two yellow cards, one red card, and 3 goals. Obviously, I was MVP of that game! And, no it does not matter that one girl was ten years old and the other two girls were younger. I just rocked it that day ☺ It was really fun to play with the girls, especially at a sport that I don’t have the much experience with playing. However, none of the girls wanted to be on my team because obviously this gringa Tia couldn’t play, but oh how I proved them wrong. After the game, the older girl wanted to practice shooting with me, and she was so cute about it. Any time she scored on me (which wasn’t actually that much, I’m adding amazing goalie to my resume) she would run around yelling gooooooaaaaaaallllllllllll, while pumping her fists in the air. She got so excited, it was awesome to see that.
Day Three:
We pretty much read all day, and it was awesome. I tried getting the older girls excited about reading (I had brought my book with me and everything), but they didn’t really want to read. BUT I got one girl to read with me. And I figured we would just both read our own books silently, but she thought that that would be lame, so I asked her if she wanted to read out loud to me and she said yes. I was surprised with that because I still don’t like reading out loud today, let alone when I was younger. She read to me for about an hour. It was nice.
Friday we went to a museum with the kids. Car rides are always rough with kids, but just a little bit rougher when there are 10 of them in a car with little AC when it’s hot out. But we made it to the museum. We went with one of the professionals who work at the institution (she is different from the Tias). One of the younger girls (who is 4 years old) was having a mini-fit and the Tia was just yelling at her to get back in line, but then the professional told the Tia to take the other girls, and then she just bent down to be at eye level with the little girl and simply asked what’s wrong. The girl replied that she just wanted to be first in line again and the woman was just like ok then let’s go, and she immediately stopped crying. That was so awesome to see. It just showed that the girls don’t want to be yelled at, and they just want to be understood. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes kids are just throwing a tantrum for the hell of it, but most of the time they just want to be heard.
Friday night all of us (the roommates) were so exhausted from our first week of working so we all stayed in and watched a movie together. It was a good night.
On Saturday my friend Anna, who I met while in Argentina, was in Santiago for two days so we met up in the evening and went to Yogen Fruz. She was only in BA for a month and had been traveling ever since, so we had a lot to catch up on. Once we got to the yogurt place she informed me that she thought she saw one that was a lot closer to my apartment. Not good! I was glad that it was a few metro stops away because then I would only go there to treat myself, but now that I know there is one close to me, I’m in trouble ha.
We came back to my apartment and hung out with the roommates. A little bit later some of the other volunteers came over (Tom, Sophie, and Amy) and we all drank some wine, beer, or gin & cokes for a few hours just chatting and then went out to a club. On our way home, my roommates stopped at this pizza place right across the street from us. I didn’t go because I thought I heard someone say that the pizza is really bad cheap pizza. However, when they came back they offered me a slice (and well my roommates are learning that I never say no to food when it’s offered to me), and the pizza was actually sooo good. Again, more bad news for me. Cheap pizza so close!
It ended up being a really fun night! It was so nice to be able to cut loss. I found out two very awesome things while out that night. The first one (which is the best) is that you can get a glass of water at the bars for free! In Argentina it cost $5 just for some tap water. I was so excited! The second thing I found out is that they have Kalua down here, so they can make my favorite drink, a White Russian. So, pretty big news I found out!
Sundays are one of my favorite days of the week. Each Sunday we go to a market place to buy fruits and veggies for the week. After the market we head for the grocery store and get whatever else we need. It’s a nice little Sunday routine we have going. So far I have bought so many different fruits and veggies that I have never bought before, like avocados, corn on the cob, watermelon, and blackberries. My life down here is pretty exciting ha.
My sister dropped a huge bomb of a surprise on me this week too. Her and my brother (along with my sister’s husband and my brother's fiance and my dad) decided that as a gift for me for my birthday they are going to fly Jason down to Chile for me. Honestly the BEST news EVER! I’m so excited! We weren’t going to see each other till the end of July/beginning of August. So this is going to be really great. He arrives March 20th and will be here for a week. I have already started planning stuff for us to do. Best birthday present EVER ☺
I have quickly learned that my Chile experience is going to be very different than my Argentina experience. I work for 6 hours everyday from 10:00 till 4:00 (compared to two hours a day I did in Argentina). That is a long day to be with 16 girls, the majority of them are under ten years old. Once I get home there is so much I want to work on. I want to study Spanish, I need to eat a snack, I want to work out and run, I want to work on my blog (clearly falling behind on that one), I want to chat with my roommates, I need to make and eat dinner, I need to shower, I want to read Harry Potter in Spanish (also really failing on this one), I want to chat with Jason (and other people from home), I want to read my book in English, and then I need to go to sleep. That is sooo much to do after work. Usually after work I eat a snack as soon as I get back, studying a little, go for a run, make dinner, shower, talk to Jason a bit (either via through messages on the computer or skyping), I’m in bed by 10:00 and read my book in English, then fall asleep. I don’t really have a whole lot of time to do touristy things and explore the city like I was able to in BA. BUT I did have a feeling that this is how it would be like before getting to Chile. I knew my time here would be more like I had a full time job and that Spanish would be a big focus of mine (not that is wasn’t in BA). That’s why I chose to do my volunteer work in the order I am doing it. I wanted to get all my traveling out of me while in Argentina, so I could be more focused in Chile. As of now, I am all traveled out and happy to be staying in a place with a routine. Don’t worry though; I’m sure my travel bug will come back soon!
Until Next Time,
Liz
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