Surprise!

Got back this morning from an awesome trip down south with the family. We left on the night bus on Thursday evening. Thankfully Pedro and Sammi slept most of the way down - the same can't be said for the rest of us. I think I got about 2 hours sleep! We arrived in the tiny village of Lican Ray at 9am in the pouring rain and were met by some of Emy's cousins. Breakfast at their place while we waited for updates from the rest of the family. You see, it was Emy's grandmother's 80th birthday and the whole family were turning up to celebrate - but she had no idea. So another cousin was luring her out of the house for a couple of days while everyone arrived. When we got the call to say the coast was clear we packed ourselves into cars and drove up to their farm. Sadly, there weren't enough seats so Felipe and I ended up on the back of a truck which was fun but very wet!

Meat for the weekend

Emy putting up balloons

The farm was a wonderful place to visit. Emy's family have owned the hill for many generations now and they have superb views of the lake and volcanoes. Although we only saw some of it because the weather was average most of the weekend! When we arrived Felipe suggested we go and check out how the meat was coming along which I naively agreed to. Coming into a barn and being confronted with a partly butchered cow was a bit of a shock! Thankfully the meat is a strictly boy place and I didn't see it again until it was cooked. On Saturday morning we were busy with balloons and streamers and cooking while the boys were bbqing and doing jobs around the farm. More and more family turned up until there was about 50 people I think. At 1pm we got the call to say Grandma was coming back and we all hid so when she came we all jumped out saying "surprise!" She cried. (in a good way!) And then we ate. I don't think I've eaten quite so much meat in one sitting as I did this weekend. We had meat for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 2 days. Emy is threatening to have only lettuce for the rest of the week!

In the evening they began to dance lots of traditional Chilean dances which was really cool until a slightly drunk uncle decided that the gringa needed to join in rather than just watch. So I was pulled protesting vehemently into a Chilean walz much to the hilarity of everyone else. Fun but I was thankfully rescued by Emy before he could make me dance another one! On Sunday morning the weather had cleared up a lot and so we went for a big walk which was fantastic for me. It was nice to be out in the mountains with fresh air and greenery all around. In the afternoon I caught a bus to Temuco to visit Nia before joining the rest of the family on the bus back to Santiago. Again, not much sleep happened but I was able to sleep once we got home. Overall, a wonderful get away for the weekend and a really awesome celebration to be part of.

Pedro chasing the sheep

Felipe and Pedro out for a walk

From the top of the property

Exploring the river

Concert and Chilean Culture

The stage is set....

Things have mostly been plodding along as normal with the exception of last Thursday and Sunday. On Thursday morning there were several large explosions as we were teaching and by midday we were evacuating the kindergarten. An illegal furniture factory has blown up and they were unsure if the smoke was toxic. So that was pretty exciting and I got a half day! On Sunday Felipe and I went to see Andre Rieu in concert. For me this was incredibly exciting as Nana and I had watched many DVDs of his concerts and it was amazing to finally see him live. There was only minor stress getting to the concert on time and I can only thank the Lord for giving us a park. People were parking on the footpath, in the park, on the roundabout, basically any flat spot near the stadium! Pretty funny but also a little stressful. Police out in force directing traffic but they didn't seem overly concerned with the abnormal parking. We had great seats with a perfect view plus there were big screens so I was completely content. I was even allowed to take pictures! They aren't very good I'm afraid but you can hopefully get some idea. There were about 10,000 people there and I loved every second of it. Fantastic music with plenty of humour and audience participation. Totally hilarious was 15 minutes of "snow" (feathers) being rained down on the very posh people seated in the middle during one walz. Typically Chilean, people were still arriving nearly an hour after the concert started!

Me and Felipe

The Blue Danube Walz

Which brings me onto the next topic. Dad suggested I write a little bit about Chilean culture/people now that I've been here awhile. Please note that I am probably going to massively stereotype but with only 4 months of observation I guess that's inevitable. Let's start with the things that annoy me first so that I can end positively. Personally, their sense of time is very frustrating. If I say, "meet at 4" I mean at 4. Not 4:30 or 5. It generally means a lot of waiting around and wondering if I understood correctly. Also, the subjunctive tense. This gives people a whole tense to avoid committing to anything. In fact, I suspect many NZers would appreciate a subjunctive. It does mean having to listen very carefully when arranging things. Moving on, many Chileans have no concept of a rubbish bin. I frequently see people simply dropping their lolly wrapper, ice-cream stick, coffee cup etc on the street. Or out a bus window. Being a rubbish collector here is a full-time job.

Things I like about Chilean culture. People are super friendly and open up their lives far more readily than we do. Some people I've met here tell me more about their lives in 10 minutes than people I've known for years at home ever have. I like that they hug each other as part of their greeting. The kissing is ok except that it gives strange men the right to kiss you on the cheek and that's uncomfortable! Chileans have a lot of respect for elderly people and will stand up for them on the bus/train. This also extends to people with disabilities, parents with children or pregnant women. Children are highly valued and are looked after by everyone. Including the guys. It's wonderful to see guys so comfortable and involved with the kids instead of seeing them as some other kind of species. Not that I'm interested in Chilean guys! Can't cook, clean etc. However, they are far more gentlemanly than at home. They open doors, let you on the bus first, serve your food first etc. It's lovely!! Right, I think that will about do for now, I've got to get up for school tomorrow and it's late.

Thieves and Rain

As many of you will know, I had a rather frightening week this past week. On Monday I was waiting at the bus stop in Renca and was quietly warned by a local that I was the target of a group of thieves. He recommended that someone accompany me from now on because it simply wasn't safe for me alone. I thank God that I had a very basic acquaintance with this man beforehand so that he felt that he should warn me. My host family were all for me quitting Renca but I wasn't keen this far into my time here. Thankfully our cook offered to walk me to the bus and wait till I was on-board so this is my new routine. While it is a little frustrating to be reliant on someone else to leave school, it is the only way to guarantee my safety. Needless to say, I was a little shaken up by this experience but am thankful that nothing has actually happened to me!

My parents have just emailed to say they are snowbound and I can proudly announce that we are rainbound here in Santiago! It's been raining all day and I got home to news that schools are shut tomorrow. It rains so little here that the city just isn't able to cope. The streets turn into rivers, house and businesses flood, the buses leak, the bus 'shelters' (roof, no walls) are almost completely ineffective and the number of car accidents has gone through the roof. I stupidly left my raincoat at home so was very glad for my layers of wool getting home. The whole family is now huddled in the living room around our 1 heater trying to stay warm. My electric blanket and bed are calling...

I learnt a Chilean idiom that I thought was so funny it needed to be shared. When two people are flirting they say that "there is the smell of feet in the air"! I have no idea why but perhaps we could introduce it into English? Thoughts?

This was also pretty funny. An escaped pig in the street just down the road from my kindergarten. Pork anyone??

Not much happening

Sunset 

It's been a largely uneventful 2 weeks back at school. It was definitely lovely to be welcomed back with cries of "Tia Anna!!" and then being swamped by kids wanting to hug me! It was very easy to slip back into my normal routine and am feeling a bit like I never had a holiday now... it's a little scary to realise that there is only two months left here. Last Tuesday someone attempted to pick my iPod out of my pocket which was a rather frightening experience. Probably the first time I've felt unsafe out at Renca and served as a reminder that I'm working somewhere dangerous. I think perhaps I had got a little complaisant. But they didn't succeed and I can add it to my list of life experiences.

English lessons continue to go well with origami penguins, whales and fish making an appearance this month. I also demonstrated my lack of drawing skills by attempting to illustrate the story of Jonah and the whale but the kids understood what I was trying to draw! Trying to teach linked handwriting to the 4-year-olds has definitely been one of the more frustrating classes this week. I mean, the lower-case 'e' in link doesn't even look like an 'e' so no wonder the poor kids are confused!

I made Pavlova for Mother's Day

The weather has changed rather abruptly and my sandals have been put away and my puffer jacket taken out. Generally in the mornings now it's about 5 or 6 degrees although yesterday was a grand 1 degree. However it can still get up to 20 during the day so layers of clothing is the way to go. The kindergarten has no heating nor do many houses so it feels a little like being in a student flat again. At school we stay in our woolies until at least midday when the sun finally has an impact. I hate to think how it is going to be next month as we really hit winter! I suspect I will be excessively fond of my new alpaca jersey...

A while ago I was asked for some not so nice photos so I surreptitiously took some in Renca the other day. I took them on my iPod so the quality isn't great but I hope they give you some idea of what the suburb is like.

Opposite the kindergarten

Apartments (their equivalent of state housing)

Stray dog (alive!)

Rubbish dumped on the side of the road

And this is the scrum I fight every morning to get on the train! Mind you this was relatively quiet day...

Argentina!

I think I'd better start with some important news. I'm going to Germany! I received the email on Thursday letting me know that I've won the scholarship so I will be heading over there in September for 9 months. While it is super exciting it's also a little daunting to know that I'm facing another extended period of time away from home. But, I'm sure it's all part of God's plan for me and that it will be a whole new learning experience too.

This past week marked half-way and therefore time to renew my visa. This meant I got to have holidays in Argentina! Whoop whoop! I left for the south of Chile last Wednesday and survived the 9 hours in the bus to Temuco. The lovely Nia and her family were kind enough to let me stay with them and it was great to be looked after for the week. On Friday morning Nia and I took the bus through the mountains to Argentina and the beautiful little town of San Martin de los Andes. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great and we didn't see much on the way over. Still, seeing these jagged mountain peaks appearing through the mist was pretty dramatic. I was surprised at how much like NZ the landscape looked but it made me feel very at home.

I must say I was very glad I had Nia with me because the Argentinian accents were very tricky for me to understand. We stayed at a wonderful hostel where the breakfast was yummy, the beds were comfy, it was warm and the manager very friendly and helpful. On Friday night we headed into the town to have a look around and find some food and found ourselves caught in a thunder storm - without raincoats. Needless to say we looked like drowned rats by the time we got back to the hostel! Thankfully the weather had cleared up a little by Saturday morning and we hired bicycles from the hostel and went down to the lake. Beautiful views and good exercise although my knee complained a bit. We had arranged to go horse-riding in the afternoon and had instructions on how to get there on the bikes. An hour later we finally arrived at this cluster of houses out in the wop-wops only to find they weren't ready for us and we had to wait an hour. We didn't mind too much and wandered down to a pretty stream and enjoyed the autumn colours.

Horse-riding was amazing. The sun came out and we meandered our way up into the hills. My horse Guapo (means handsome) was very content to just plod along but God forbid that another horse get in front of him! We had some interesting little bursts of speed whenever Nia's horse decided that Guapo was too slow and attempted to overtake. We ended up at the top of a hill where we had an incredible view of the mountains and I was super happy. Very refreshing for the soul after three months in dirty Santiago! Arriving back after 2 hours on horseback and facing the ride back into town on the bikes was not so great and we ended up walking - too sore!
On Sunday we bought chocolate which is what the town is famous for and wandered along the lake (in the sunshine this time). Thankfully there was a lot more to see on the bus back including volcanoes! All in all it was a fantastic trip and I'm all ready to face the next three months.

The lake at San Martin on Saturday

Looking up the lake

Waiting to go horse-riding

Nia biking (well, having a rest actually!)

The view from the top of the hill

Dulce de leche cake (it's kind of like caramel condensed milk)

At the lake Sunday morning - sunshine!

On the track around the lake

On the road home again

Volcano Lanin (border between Argentina and Chile)

Photo thesis

I haven't got a huge amount to report but I did have a camera at school on Wednesday and thought you would all enjoy more photos. And we all know a photo says a thousand words right?? And how much is a video worth...? So technically you're all about to get a thesis....

School routine has been broken up a bit because we've had representatives from supporting companies coming and visiting us. This Wednesday we are putting on a big breakfast for these people and also as a memorial for our cook who died from cancer last week. Fran Dawson, your chocolate brownie will be making an appearance! Tuesday will be baking day for me as I help prepare for this event. English went super duper well last Tuesday and I loved being up in front of the kids. It makes a nice change from being their behaviour dictator. On Thursday I got to hang out with Carolina (the girl who has been in NZ) and really enjoyed this time with her. Finally felt like I have a friend! On Saturday I got very excited because a parcel arrived from home and as I was running out to get it, I smacked my little toe into the door frame. So yes, I ended up back on the couch, unable to walk, with ice. Not really sure what's up with it now - it's still sore to walk on - but even if it's broken there's not much anyone can do about it!

Play time!

Helping Anais with the monkey bars

That's about it for now so enjoy the photo thesis! The video will hopefully give you some idea of the chaos and noise that occurs during any lesson really!

PE class

Samira and Sofia enjoying having their picture taken

Balloons were the reward after class. This is Matias, one of my favourite kids!

Ester and Esteban 

This is the older kids starting their lesson

Easter and English

Over the Easter weekend I went away with the youth from church on an Easter retreat. Please note that "youth" here means everyone between the ages of about 13 and 30. I thought it was pretty cool for the teenagers to be getting that really close relationship with lots of older people. And the older people get to spend more time acting like teenagers! We didn't go far, just out to one of the southern suburbs and stayed at a church camp. In some ways the camp was like one I'd go to at home and in some ways it was very different. I couldn't help but be very aware of the relaxed time attitude. They'd tell us to be somewhere at a certain time but you could be sure that nothing was really going to happen for at least half an hour to an hour after that time! It did mean that we were still going at 1am most nights and as most of you will know, I'm not great at the time of the night. But we played silly games and I got to meet lots of new people and I'm finally starting to feel like I might be fitting in. I met one girl who has just come back from a year in NZ so it was nice to have someone who is as excited about my country as I am. I'm hopefully hanging out with her on Saturday. Friends is one of the things I've been really missing and thanks for everyone's prayers about this. I think I might finally be making some! Sorry but I forgot my camera so no photos from camp except this one. The theme for camp was love and there was a photo competition to see who could take the most creative picture depicting love. And this one won, pretty cool huh?

School is well and truly settling down into a routine and I'm no longer completely lost as to what is happening during the day. I've had a couple of frustrating moments with the bus when they refuse to stop for me but I'm not sure what I can do about that! Only happens about once a week. Part of my work at school now includes cleaning the dining room after breakfast and lunch which is my quiet times of the day. I quite enjoy my time sweeping the floor, although I'm not sure my back agrees! Usually in the morning we do some sort of reading/language type thing and the kids draw something in response to the lesson. After they've finished I write up the headings for the next day so that the teachers don't have to do it at night. During play time I get an upper body workout helping kids on the monkey bars and just general playing around. They loved to be picked up and swung around or helped to climb a post or helped down the pole. But I definitely am getting some arm muscles!

On Tuesday I taught my first set of English classes. A bit nerve-wracking but I think it went okay. Perhaps a little too much vocab all at once for the 4 year olds and the activity I had for the 5 and 6 year olds was also tricky for them. But I live and learn and have just finished planning for next week. This month the focus is on learning the different parts of the body so I can see the "head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes" song making an appearance. Finally took some pictures for you at school so I hope you all enjoy them.

Please keep all your lovely emails and comments coming. I really appreciate hearing from people at home and it's great to keep tabs on what all you fantastic people are doing too!

PE in the courtyard (learning the difference between tall and short)

Classroom for the 4 year olds

Tia (means aunty) Abigail at storytime