First Half of Orientation

Buenos Tardes!!!

I just hit the mid-point for orientation. We have learned more about the culture, we are learning teaching methods, taking Spanish classes, learning about multiple intelligences and how to teach to all of them, learning about tenses and grammar and how to teach them, etc.... Does anyone really want to hear about the orientation in any greater detail?

The rest of the stuff....

We had a scavenger hunt as a morning activity last week which was cool, except my "hunt" was to an area that I have already explored. Other volunteers went to cool spots, so I will certainly follow their paths. I saw the Parque O'Higgins which is Santiago's Central Park. Very pretty, had the paddle boats too. Even have a little rinky dink amusement park called "Fantasilandia". I'm not really into them, but the name is so funny, it might be worth it just to go.

The weather here is hot, sunny, and just gorgeous. Last Saturday afternoon I walked around a bit and then came back to the hostel to lay out. We have a nice roof so a bunch of us just hung out there for the rest of the afternoon.

Two of the volunteers in the group had birthdays last weekend, so we all went out to celebrate. We started at a nicer bar called Catedral (pictured to the right) and had bottles of wine and pisco sours. A bunch of us then went out to a discoteque in Vitacura (a barrio of Santiago) and drank and danced until about 4 am. Needless to say, Sunday was rather uneventful. (Note.... comunas are the equivalent of suburbs and barrios are the equivalent of neighborhoods in the city).

This past week, we did some lesson planning training and then we had the opportunity to go to the Instituto Chileno Norteamericano to teach 1/2 of an english class in pairs. Sean, one of the other WorldTeach volunteers, and I taught a beginner class. We did some cool activities. Some were effective, some were not, but all good experiences! It was great to get some class time mid-orientation and we really liked the students for the two days we worked with them. It gave us a sense for how long an activity we plan actually takes in real time with non-english speakers. And we were able to get our first time teaching nerves out of our systems in a controlled environment before we went up in front of our own classes. All in all, it was great.

I'm just getting over a cold, so no crazy stories for last night... but no worries! I'm sure I'll have one by tomorrow morning!

Chao!

Lauren

I'm in Chile!!!

Hello everyone and welcome to the blog! So sorry for writing my first post so late, I've been really busy and when I'm not busy, I'm exhausted and not funny enough to write a blog.

So let's start from the beginning....

I met my fellow volunteers on Wednesday evening in Miami. We had a pre-departure meeting, hung out a bit, did some silly ice-breakers and went to sleep early.

Our journey started at 4:45 am on Thursday as we headed to the airport. For the next 24 hours we got to know each other through three flights, 2 layovers, and a few drinks. All of the people seems really great. There are 20 volunteers, about 6 from California and the rest are scattered. The age range is 20-28 and I'm the only New Yorker!

Our arrival in Chile....

We got to Santiago at 2:30 am on Friday and got through customs very quickly but in typical Chilano fashion, the transportation was a little delayed. We got to the hostel and in our rooms by 5 am!

The weekend...

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we had informal orientation sessions in the hostel. We were getting to know each other, learning about the Chilano customs and the culture. Basic information like the Chilano version of 911... that kind of stuff.

Little tidbits about Chile...

One of the most fascinating things I heard on our journey was the rumor that the mullet was in full effect in Chile. I thought that with the outlaw of the mullet in the 80s in the states that countries to follow the trend would have been over it by the 90s. I was wrong. Mullets are plentiful here and as we explored the city over the weekend we saw them everywhere on people of all ages. Even people in advertisements have mullets! Please, do not worry, I will not come back with one. I am just shocked that an entire society thinks it's fashionable. Ok.... I think that we have covered mullets and I hope never to discuss it this much again.

They love mayonnaise! They put globs of it on everything! I think it's more like a 5th food group for them. Sadly for me, I think mayo is repulsive and want to vomit just talking about it. Walking around with friends who want to try the street meat can be painful for me. But, I'm trying to control myself. Another little fact about mayo: if you do not want it, you say "sin mayo" with a soft "a". If you pronounce with a hard "a" you are literally saying, "without I pee". Good thing to remember if you come here, but don't worry, I'll remind you.

Wines!

We tried several on our first night and found one that was a bit more expensive (it was $5 instead of $4) and it was incredible. Terrapura... "pure earth" it's a cab. if you can find it, try it. It's my first of what I hope will be many recommendations.

What I've seen so far.

We are staying in a hostel in the central part of the city which is a great location. We are near the capital (la moneda), la plaza de armas, some cool markets, and el Museo all of which I went to see this past weekend (except for el museo which is free on Sundays so I'm going this weekend). I walked over to the Cerro (hill) Santa Lucia. This is where Santiago was established. It has some amazing views of the Andes and you can see the whole city from there (picture with Cara and James).

I've also been to the Cerro San Cristobal which is where there is a giant statue of the virgin Mary and has even better views of the Andes (picture up top). I walked around Providencia which is a beautiful neighborhood within Santiago and took a ride on the metro and buses.

So far this week....

We have now officially started orientation. We went to el universidad where we have our orientation for the next 4 weeks. This happens to be the location where I will be working from so that works out great for me! Today, we watched a film called "Machuca" which is a really incredible film about Chile in '73 prior to the coup and then spoke withe the Harvard University Director of Latin American Studies who further explained the last 30 years of history.

That's it for now.... hope everyone is well.

Chao!

Lauren

P.S. Leb - Thanks for the blog title.