mountains, books, yarn, friends, pictures, classes, sleep, copper, spanish, argentina

it has been a whirlwind of a month, but i am finally back here, on the 28th of april, to share a little taste of my adventures, or to at least try.

on the 25th of april i reached my three month mark. pretty incredible. its funny how time works...sometimes moving so slowly, sometimes so quickly, and sometimes i feel like my mindset is constantly stuck at the same moment. the other day i wrote "january 22nd" on my paper. am i stuck in january? is this all a dream? i hope not. and so i am here to write it down, forever my proof that i was, in fact, here.

it seems that the trees have begun to drop their leaves here in santiago. its amazing how drastic the season change is here. i went to bed feeling as though we were in the middle of summer and woke up with a cold breeze storming through my window. it was time to go to the yarn store.

yarn in chile is incredibly cheap, so i made it my goal to begin a project. that's not to say that i dont have so many other things i should be doing, but i find knitting to be the perfect activity for the hour or so i spend on public transportation everyday. needless to say, i am starting project number two and have become the envy of many of the girls on the program who didn't have mothers (or grandmothers) quite as cool as mine that taught them how to knit.

since i last chatted with you all, i made a trek across the andes and back. two weeks ago, i decided to go for a little adventure on my own. i emailed my friend soledad in buenos aires, bought a bus ticket, and i was on my way. twenty hours later i pulled into the retiro station in buenos aires, looked out my window, and was greeted with a yelping soledad. we had an amazing visit. our friend adam came down from brazil and we had such a great time exploring the city of buenos aires. i even got to meet soledad's family--her little sisters are so adorable, and her dad and step mom were so sweet to accept me into their home. we had a such a good evening, even though the chicken took two hours on the bbq and eventually was brought into the house to be finished in the oven. kind of funny that little scenarios as simple as that can happen anywhere in the world. it was perfect.

upon my return to santiago i felt a sense of panic as the realities of being a student hit me and i buckled down for a tough few weeks. tests, papers, reading--whoever said school here wasn't difficult was a complete liar! i guess there is a reason why the international students take the classes designed for foreigners instead of being crazy and enrolling in the regular department classes. oh well---i am learning a lot and a little challenge never hurt anybody.

along with school, i have started my routine of going to the village of el monte to volunteer. while i originally sign up to do interviews in the campamentos and help out with health care in the poor parts of town, i am now being placed where my help is more drastically needed--the school. the past two wednesdays, i have taken an hour and a half busride to this little town called chinigue el cristo in order to help teach english at a school for K-8 graders. every time we set foot in the school, we are treated like movie stars. i am working there with two other girls. last wednesday, i received more "besitos" than i can ever count, getting sick of bending down to these tiny children to do the standard chilean "little kiss on the right cheek greeting." it was definitely a workout for my immune system, and for my back.

the first wednesday was simply an introduction to the school. the principle--a middle-aged man--was kind of a downer. he's pretty much a sleaze-ball that was put in charge of a staff of women that are so amazing and dedicated. he sits at a big desk, signs papers, and has his eyes closed to the many problems that face his community. we sat with him for an hour on the first day at his school, only to be asked about what we thought of chilean men and how much english he knew and where he had traveled in the united states. lets just say i was happy to get out of his office and into the classroom. and yet, once in the classroom i was greeted with new issues.

classroom discipline, or rather discipline of children in general, is non-existent in this country. once in the classroom, a classroom of second graders, i was shocked to see the pure chaos. the kids could not, WOULD not, stay in their seats. and the teacher would not tell them to sit down. needless to say, that was one of the first phrases they learned "sientense = sit DOWN." at lunch time, these two boys were fully engaged in a fist fight while the "supervisors" pretended like nothing was happening. i stepped in to break it up--i mean, what was i supposed to do?? aside from those subtle frustrations, my trek out to the campo every wednesday has proven to be a refreshing midweek break to the chaos of city life.

there is something odd in the air these days and it has me holding my purse a little tighter than normal. last week four of the girls in my program had experiences with theft/sexual harassment (aside from the constant piropo). i think we are begining to feel like we truly live in this city and have begun to let down our guard. i am hoping to take their experiences and make sure that they do not become my own. it is nothing serious--no need to get worried--its just that i am finally realizing that crime actually does exist in this city. the many warnings we received upon arrival were more than just casual advice.

this weekend is a nice little breather for me. i am hoping to relax a bit and get myself ready for a busy month of may. tomorrow a few of us are headed to pomaire--a small town that is known for its crafts and traditional chilean food. its only about an hour away from santiago, so it should be a nice way to get out of the smog and perhaps buy some fun hand-crafted goodies.

i miss you all so much and i hope to keep you more updated in the upcoming months. i have been thinking about home a lot lately, realizing just how great i have it made with so many amazing people in my life, and thinking about just how great it will be to get back there and give you all big hugs again. dont get me wrong, i love it here. there is just something about that sense of home that comes with the people you love that can never disappear...even in the presence of a city/country with so much to offer.

chaochao
beth