It has been a week and a half since I´ve been back in Minnesota and I feel like I never left. Honestly, the whole two months that I was in Chile seem like one of those dreams where you wake up and say...what was that all about? I met some great people, realized a lot about myself and hopefully motived a few students to study...English or whatever, it would be a miracle to have encouraged most of the students I was working with to continue studying anything and not drop out of school. I think just my presence in their classroom showed some of them that it is possible to go places with education.
Here is the part where I summarize everything that I learned while I was in Chile.
At the begining of my trip I wrote that I felt like I was searching for something...what it was I had no idea. Through the struggles and the joys that surpassed me in Chile, I realized that I had been searching for openness, love and acceptance. This fact hit me after spending a few days with a family whom I met (the son is an English teacher at a high school in the area). They were the most united and close family I have ever met. I spent hours in their house just talking about everything and nothing...telling and listening to stories. To Pati, the mother, her family is everything. They do everything together. One day I was thinking about how comfortable I felt with this family when I realized that they are very similar to my family. That is when I realized that everything I had been looking for in Chile, I have in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I have family who accept me and love me, I have friends to whom I can tell everything. Now, I feel like it is my time settle down for a while and share this openness, love, and acceptance with other people who are searching it.
For the first time, I felt completely elated to come home after traveling. My heart was not torn apart and I didn´t feel like I needed to be in any other place besides at home in Minnesota. I ran in the airport from the terminal to baggage to meet my brother.
I´ve been home for a week and half and I´ve fit more in than can be imagined. It is a complete change from my life in Chile where I barely had a social life and rarely did anything fun. I am grateful for my time in Chile and I´m glad that I got to know a little bit of Chile. Someday, (soon after I save up money after I get a job) I would like to return to Chile to get to know the north and the south. I would also like to travel all around South America.
Who knows what life holds for me. I am glad that I made friends in Chile with whom I will always maintain contact. I am satisfied now knowing that everything I want is right here. I appreciate my family and my friends here more than ever before! I´m sure I will get the itch to travel again soon, and hopefully I will be able to teach abroad for a while. However, for now, I am content finishing my degree and finding a job around here...for now ;)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Monday, July 07, 2008
I finally woke up HAPPY!
Today was the first day that I woke up in Chile with a smile on my face. I was excited! Why? Because I have friends!
Quick update...
Thursday class went well at the elementary school. I hung out with Ryan afterward until 10ish and there was no transportation back to my house at that time so I had to stay at Jorge´s house. The next morning I was stuck at the house and was so incredibly bored because it rained all day. I finally made it back to my house and arrived to find a cranky Mirza (that is quite common these days...she is super meloncoly all the time!) I changed and left again for Ryan´s house to hang out. We had made plans with some Chilean teacher friends but we were too lazy to go out so we just watched a movie on her computer. I slept over at Ryans. Saturday was also rainy so we sat around in her cold house drinking warm tea and watching our breath. I went home in the afternoon because that night was the one year death anniversary mass for Mirza´s late husband. She was happy and sad because most of her family was there. We had a nice meal after the mass with champagne and the best tres leches cake I have ever had in my life. Then when everyone left at night, she was crushed. I went out to a pub with Ryan and some friends...I decided that it is not my job to stay in a accompany here. I came to Chile to experience the life, not sit with a lady in her lonely house. I know that sounds kind of cruel but I´m bitter about the situation that I was put in. Again, there was no transportation to return to Mirza´s house so I had to stay at Jorge´s house another night. Sunday morning I was treated like a princess at Jorge´s house. I woke up counting how many days I had left in Chile. When I went down stairs I was suprised that I was not hit by a feeling of lonelyness like most mornings...that morning people were up and moving around. I was served delicious empanadas and fish fried in water with juice. Then I went to my partner teacher, Oriana´s, house for lunch. Her family engulfed me like a daughter and fed me like a princess as well! Then I went to Mirza´s house with Jorge and as we walked in she wined "Jorge, I´m getting sick and I can´t bear living alone anymore!"...she is crying out for help! After having "once" (dinner) with Mirza and Jorge, Jorge took me back to Oriana´s house because we had made plans to go out with her student teacher. We ended up going to a club. Oriana stayed until 10pm and I stayed out with her student teacher and her friends until 2pm. We had a GREAT time! I felt really comfortable with her and like I could be myself. I danced all night with one of her friends, Leonardo. After the club closed we went to the beach to hang out for a while. Then Leonardo took us home. I couldn´t believe that I did that on a Sunday night and this morning I had to wake up at 7am. The funny thing is that I woke up more enthusiastic this morning than any other morning....even with only 4 hours of sleep!
Today I taught at the elementary school with Oriana for half a day. Then we went to Concepcion to do some errands. On the way there, somehow, I lost my wallet. I had it out to buy coffee at the gas station and I remember putting it in my lap after ward. The next time I went to get it out of my purse it wasn´t there. I dont know what is wrong with me! I need to organize myself...and maybe get more sleep :) I´ll be home in a week. I hope everything is going well with you. See you soon! Peace.
Quick update...
Thursday class went well at the elementary school. I hung out with Ryan afterward until 10ish and there was no transportation back to my house at that time so I had to stay at Jorge´s house. The next morning I was stuck at the house and was so incredibly bored because it rained all day. I finally made it back to my house and arrived to find a cranky Mirza (that is quite common these days...she is super meloncoly all the time!) I changed and left again for Ryan´s house to hang out. We had made plans with some Chilean teacher friends but we were too lazy to go out so we just watched a movie on her computer. I slept over at Ryans. Saturday was also rainy so we sat around in her cold house drinking warm tea and watching our breath. I went home in the afternoon because that night was the one year death anniversary mass for Mirza´s late husband. She was happy and sad because most of her family was there. We had a nice meal after the mass with champagne and the best tres leches cake I have ever had in my life. Then when everyone left at night, she was crushed. I went out to a pub with Ryan and some friends...I decided that it is not my job to stay in a accompany here. I came to Chile to experience the life, not sit with a lady in her lonely house. I know that sounds kind of cruel but I´m bitter about the situation that I was put in. Again, there was no transportation to return to Mirza´s house so I had to stay at Jorge´s house another night. Sunday morning I was treated like a princess at Jorge´s house. I woke up counting how many days I had left in Chile. When I went down stairs I was suprised that I was not hit by a feeling of lonelyness like most mornings...that morning people were up and moving around. I was served delicious empanadas and fish fried in water with juice. Then I went to my partner teacher, Oriana´s, house for lunch. Her family engulfed me like a daughter and fed me like a princess as well! Then I went to Mirza´s house with Jorge and as we walked in she wined "Jorge, I´m getting sick and I can´t bear living alone anymore!"...she is crying out for help! After having "once" (dinner) with Mirza and Jorge, Jorge took me back to Oriana´s house because we had made plans to go out with her student teacher. We ended up going to a club. Oriana stayed until 10pm and I stayed out with her student teacher and her friends until 2pm. We had a GREAT time! I felt really comfortable with her and like I could be myself. I danced all night with one of her friends, Leonardo. After the club closed we went to the beach to hang out for a while. Then Leonardo took us home. I couldn´t believe that I did that on a Sunday night and this morning I had to wake up at 7am. The funny thing is that I woke up more enthusiastic this morning than any other morning....even with only 4 hours of sleep!
Today I taught at the elementary school with Oriana for half a day. Then we went to Concepcion to do some errands. On the way there, somehow, I lost my wallet. I had it out to buy coffee at the gas station and I remember putting it in my lap after ward. The next time I went to get it out of my purse it wasn´t there. I dont know what is wrong with me! I need to organize myself...and maybe get more sleep :) I´ll be home in a week. I hope everything is going well with you. See you soon! Peace.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
A gross yet somewhat funny reality
I wasn´t planning on writing a blog today...just another normal day at the high school. However, I had to tell you about just one thing.
I´ve been frequenting the bathroom a lot today. I woke up fine so I went to school. Lets not talk about how I drove my adoptive Dad´s car from my house to his house in the most dense fog I´ve ever seen in my life. That may have been the biggest lesson on knowing my limits I´ve ever learned in my life...much sobering comes from having the shit scared out of you because you can´t see a single thing around you. Anyway, once at school my stomach decided to explode on me once again but because of the anti-diarreah medicine I took, I am not able to give my stomach what it wants. For that reason I have been spending a lot of time running from class to the bathroom and back again.
Here comes the best (some may say the worst) part...inbetween my sprints to the bathroom, my partner teacher mentioned that one of the faculty members has been having "troubles" and that the toilets may be "contaminated." That wouldn´t be a huge problem except for that the school does not provide toilet paper in the bathrooms and I only brought a limited amount of kleenex to school today. Ugh! Therefore, I may be returning home with some unwelcome visitors. Lets hope not! That is my reality and that is also why I am sooooo excited to return to teach in the states!!!
Tonight, if my stomach can bare it, we are having a despedida (good bye party) for my favorite English teacher here. Her last day is tommorow because she is going on maternity leave (sad story-her husband is a Jamaican living in the states and he can´t get a visa to come to Chile for the birth of his child.) Tomorrow I will be working at the elementary school...yeah! Good news...15 days until I return home! See you all very soon!
I´ve been frequenting the bathroom a lot today. I woke up fine so I went to school. Lets not talk about how I drove my adoptive Dad´s car from my house to his house in the most dense fog I´ve ever seen in my life. That may have been the biggest lesson on knowing my limits I´ve ever learned in my life...much sobering comes from having the shit scared out of you because you can´t see a single thing around you. Anyway, once at school my stomach decided to explode on me once again but because of the anti-diarreah medicine I took, I am not able to give my stomach what it wants. For that reason I have been spending a lot of time running from class to the bathroom and back again.
Here comes the best (some may say the worst) part...inbetween my sprints to the bathroom, my partner teacher mentioned that one of the faculty members has been having "troubles" and that the toilets may be "contaminated." That wouldn´t be a huge problem except for that the school does not provide toilet paper in the bathrooms and I only brought a limited amount of kleenex to school today. Ugh! Therefore, I may be returning home with some unwelcome visitors. Lets hope not! That is my reality and that is also why I am sooooo excited to return to teach in the states!!!
Tonight, if my stomach can bare it, we are having a despedida (good bye party) for my favorite English teacher here. Her last day is tommorow because she is going on maternity leave (sad story-her husband is a Jamaican living in the states and he can´t get a visa to come to Chile for the birth of his child.) Tomorrow I will be working at the elementary school...yeah! Good news...15 days until I return home! See you all very soon!
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Inlfuenza and fog
Holy cow!
First of all the good news, I have friends here! I met a young English teacher and he, his sister, and their friends brought us out dancing last friday night. We returned home at 5am to a tired and grumpy Mirza :(
Saturday I slept all day because I felt icky...a good thing to do to pass the time. I thought I was just tired but I had really bad stomach cramps...
The next morning I woke up fine, went to church with Mirza and we had a barbaque for Jorge´s birthday. Then the stomach cramps started getting worse.
(This part gets a bit disgusting...I apologize for being explicit!)
Monday morning I woke up in a fog. I had a temp of 101.7 and my head and muscles hurt if I moved the slightest bit. I was shooting out diarreah every 30 minutes, especially if I tried to eat something. All I could do was sleep...so I did. Everyone told me it was something I ate but my friend Ryan had the same symptoms as I did yet we didn´t eat anything the same. Monday night around 9:30 my "host dad" came to my house with some remedies and told me to drink lots of water.
After spending the day couped up in the house with Mirza, I am ready to get OUT! She cries over her recently diseased (sp?) husband, talks about how much her heart hurts (she thinks she is going to have a heart attack) and how she doesn´t want to be in this world anymore. They she goes on to tell me that she doesn´t know what she would do without her little "gringita" (me). AHHH!
Today I woke up better for the most part. Clear head and no aches...but I still had diarreah :( I went into school because the teachers were having a late Fathers Day celebration and I didn´t want to miss it. I brough Jorge cake and a card because it is his birthday today. He loved it. After the party he told me to take his car....so I did! He was going to celebrate his birthday with friends. I drove through the foggy rodes of Coronel and arrived safely at the Internet cafe. Now I am going to take it to Mirza´s house. Mom, I know you would kill me if you were here but I had to do it (the adventurous side of me took over.) I´m being super careful and I´m getting way better at driving stick! Woohoo!
First of all the good news, I have friends here! I met a young English teacher and he, his sister, and their friends brought us out dancing last friday night. We returned home at 5am to a tired and grumpy Mirza :(
Saturday I slept all day because I felt icky...a good thing to do to pass the time. I thought I was just tired but I had really bad stomach cramps...
The next morning I woke up fine, went to church with Mirza and we had a barbaque for Jorge´s birthday. Then the stomach cramps started getting worse.
(This part gets a bit disgusting...I apologize for being explicit!)
Monday morning I woke up in a fog. I had a temp of 101.7 and my head and muscles hurt if I moved the slightest bit. I was shooting out diarreah every 30 minutes, especially if I tried to eat something. All I could do was sleep...so I did. Everyone told me it was something I ate but my friend Ryan had the same symptoms as I did yet we didn´t eat anything the same. Monday night around 9:30 my "host dad" came to my house with some remedies and told me to drink lots of water.
After spending the day couped up in the house with Mirza, I am ready to get OUT! She cries over her recently diseased (sp?) husband, talks about how much her heart hurts (she thinks she is going to have a heart attack) and how she doesn´t want to be in this world anymore. They she goes on to tell me that she doesn´t know what she would do without her little "gringita" (me). AHHH!
Today I woke up better for the most part. Clear head and no aches...but I still had diarreah :( I went into school because the teachers were having a late Fathers Day celebration and I didn´t want to miss it. I brough Jorge cake and a card because it is his birthday today. He loved it. After the party he told me to take his car....so I did! He was going to celebrate his birthday with friends. I drove through the foggy rodes of Coronel and arrived safely at the Internet cafe. Now I am going to take it to Mirza´s house. Mom, I know you would kill me if you were here but I had to do it (the adventurous side of me took over.) I´m being super careful and I´m getting way better at driving stick! Woohoo!
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