Latest happenings and pictures!

Life is finally settling down into some form of routine and it's hard to believe I've been here nearly a month. Language school has been really good and my teacher last week finally managed to explain the differences between the imperfect and indefinite past tenses in a way that makes sense! Also nice to know that Chileans simplify things by only using one of the 4 past tenses for everything. Perhaps a little confusing meaning-wise but easy to communicate! My Spanish is definitely improving although I really need to get stuck into some solid vocab learning...I also cooked for the family this week which went really well. Spaghetti Bolognese was a novelty and the Chileans don't really use a lot of herbs when cooking either and they loved it. Not typical NZ food but then I struggled to think of anything "typically" Kiwi except lamb and pavlova. Ideas??? 

Today (Sunday) me and Emy, the two boys and Emy's mother Yaya (not her real name but it's what everyone calls her) walked up Cerro San Cristóbal. It's the big hill in the middle of Santiago and has a statue of the virgin Mary at the top. Obviously at 2-year-old speed we didn't make it all the way but it was a very fascinating place anyway. I didn't like the dust and the heat - I felt very dirty afterwards! It reminded me a bit of Mt Victoria in Wellington except on a bigger scale. There's a zoo and a cable-car and a swimming pool and picnic areas and lots of pretty gardens. Best of all, stunning views of the city in all directions. A little crazy to think that there are more people here than our entire country.

I've been taking pictures of things requested in the last blog so please enjoy!

My room

Horse rides with Pedro (his new favourite game, good thing the knee is holding up!)

Music time with David (one of Filipe's friends)

West Santiago

North Santiago

Santiago East (the big building is the largest in Latin America)

My street (Cuadro Verde)

My compound (many people live in these little side streets that have a locking gate. Everyone also has a locked gate with a high fence and spikes into their property. Many house also have grates over their ground floor windows. Guess the crime rate everyone...)

My house (the orange one)

We have the front half and Filipe's parents live in the back half

Language school

Language school

Not a whole lot to report but I thought this could be a blog of photos. Started at language school and Monday and discovered that I had done my entry test far too well. They placed me at Intermediate level which is technically where my Spanish should be at and first day of class was a real brain strain. And the plan for the week included teaching me new subjunctive tenses. So I decided that the subjunctive wasn't all that important to my communication and requested a move down a level. The rest of the week has been much better. I'm finding it really good to be revising the stuff I'm confused about and feel that it's improving my speaking skills. There are six of us in my class with a German, two Brazilians, a Canadian and a Frenchman. There is a crazy number of Germans at the school and also in Chile in general. This might be the place for me; apparently there is a huge demand for German teachers! (Sorry Mum and Dad).

The cool thing about the school is that they offer a range of free cultural activities every week too. I'm trying to decide if my knee is up to learning the national dance - the cueca... On Wednesday we visited a craft market called Pueblito Los Dominicos. Very touristy but cool to look. Lots of alpaca jerseys, wood carving and lapis lazuli jewelry. A kind man also let us try some Chilean traditional instruments and I had great fun with the flutes and recorders. Nearly fainted trying to get a sound out of their version of the recorder! The workshop was also amazing to look around too, this man is really good at what he does. Plus I love looking at all the unfinished guitars and things and the smell of shaved wood is lovely...

Jersey made from alpaca wool

The charango- a bit like a mandolin. This one cost 150,000 pesos so about $370

The Andes from my window

I visited the church in this area too which was a lovely place to go into. Partly due to the much cooler temperature inside! It was a little strange being in somewhere so familiar but yet so strange because they had a big statue of the Virgin Mary right up the front of the church and then Jesus on the cross. Also places to pray to saints as well. It seems like a different religion really.

Does anyone have any questions or things they want me to take pictures of? I will do my best to comply!

My Host Family (Sammi wasn't keen to have his picture taken)

Road Trip and Conference

I've had a pretty interesting week. I went down south to Temuco with the SIM Director to a conference for Chileans who want to do mission in another country. The trip took about 8 hours of solid driving but it was good to see some of the countryside. It's amazing how much it looks like NZ! I could have been travelling through Central Otago with vineyards, orchards and the occasional pine plantation. It was nice to feel like I was home. Only difference, they drive on the other side and speak Spanish! However, my poor brain got very confused because I was having to switch between Spanish and German. The director is German and had a friend visiting who speaks no Spanish. I discovered I couldn't speak either language but that improved over the week.

Camp Koyamentu

The camp reminded me a lot of Tirohanga out on the Taieri, perhaps a little more upmarket but same kind of feel. They had seminars running all day and so I just went along to them until my brain got tired and then went and helped in the kitchen. The couple who run the camp are originally from the United States so I could have a break and speak some English. Man, I sliced so many beans over the week! They bought 20kg that all had to be sliced length-ways. A bit different from how we would normally eat them but hey, if that's how they like them I won't complain.

Villarica Volcano from the village Villarica

On Wednesday I went sightseeing with Thilo (the visiting German) and his daughter Jasmin. The plan was to go and visit one of the nearby volcanoes but we got to the village of Pucón and the car broke down. Something happened to the clutch and the car refused to change gears. So we had to push it into a carpark and then Jasmin and I had to stretch our Spanish to try and get it fixed. It's a little difficult explaining to a mechanic what's wrong when you don't know the works for "clutch" "drive" "broken" or "gears". We ended up doing a lot of acting! So that took most of the day to get fixed but it was a beautiful little town with stunning views so I didn't mind too much.

Villarica from Pucón

I met a lovely girl at the conference who is going to the Philippines later in the year. I went back to her house in Temuco for Friday night and Saturday to avoid the boring last meetings which was super! I've been impressed at how welcoming these Christians were and how willingly they were to take time to talk to me and open their homes to me. I'm hoping to be able to get back to Nia and spend some more time down there with her. Didn't get home last night until midnight so was pretty tired and discovered there was no water. Santiago had it's water supply contaminated by slips in the mountains from heavy rain. But it's all fixed this morning and back to being boiling hot outside!

I start at language school tomorrow so I'll let you know how that all goes...

Different, Disgusting, Dangerous

So my head continues to be stuffed full of Spanish and people continue to stare at me. However, I managed to catch the train into town and the bus back again by myself which was super scary but satisfying as well. Thanks for all the lovely helpful and encouraging emails and posts, I'm loving it!

Different: I read that on first meeting someone new, Chilean men will shake hands with a woman and a woman will hug you. This was wrong. Everybody gives you a one-armed hug and bumps cheeks with you while kissing past you. I'm mostly used to this now! Also different, hardly anyone say "please". If they want to be polite then you use the conditional ie "would you", could you" but never add please on the end. It's a little disconcerting having a two year old order you around! I always want to say, 'and what's the magic word?' but I don't think they'd get that at all. New word: "cachai" means "do you understand" and is specific to Chile. They also kind of use it like "right". We would say, " so I walked down the street right, and there was this guy who stared at me the whole way". They use "cachai" in these circumstances as well. (sorry for the language lesson!)

Disgusting: Probably most disgusting thing so far is their toilet system. Apparently the pipes are really thin so all toilet paper and "ladies rubbish" goes in a little bin beside the toilet. VERY unpleasant. I was also made to try "mate". It's a kind of tea which is drunk out of a communal pot through a communal straw (but the straw is metal). It's a very social drink and tastes awful. Sorry to any Chileans or Argentinians reading this but it is truly disgusting.

Dangerous: Well apart from being white my only real danger is the Chilean Recluse Spider. Now, I knew about this before I came but have discovered that it is a real threat not just a perceived one. They are the most venomous of the recluse spiders and their bites are generally not noticed until about 7 hours after being bitten. By which time you could be dead. They are particularly dangerous for kids but can cause severe scars etc in adults and occasionally, death. Therefore, I go through a petrifying ritual every night where I check my bed for this spider and before I put clothes on. Every week you spray into corners and closets etc where it might be hiding as well. So, now I have an actual reason to fear spiders!


On a lighter note here are some pictures!

This is Plaza de Armes one of the centres of town. The building in the background is the oldest Catholic church in the city

This is pastel de choclo which has nothing to do with chocolate! It's kind of like shepherds pie but with mashed corn on top and this one had a mixture of beef and chicken inside. It was okay, I couldn't eat all of it!! Way too much.

First Day

So later turned into much later! Basically crashed yesterday evening so a full download is now necessary. The flight over was pretty straight-forward really. Had to stand in a line in Auckland for over an hour just to get my tickets. Wee bit of a panic when they raised questions about my departure date. My visa is only for three months so I will have to pop in and out again to renew it but the flight people wanted me to have a ticket out then and there. However, they decided to be nice and let me through anyway. Thanks heaps to Nigel (SIM director NZ) who stuck around to make sure I made it onto the plane all right!Struggled to sleep on the plane, just WAY too uncomfortable. I was also panicking because there was some Spanish being spoken around me that I had no idea what was being said. I was sure they must be the Chileans and I was going to be completely lost but it turned out to be Portuguese. No worries, different language so totally okay that I couldn't understand!

My host family are lovely and incredibly gracious and helpful with my language. The two adults are Filipe and Emy with their two boys Sammi and Pedro. Pedro hasn't managed "Anna" and seems stuck with "Nana" so I guess that will do! I slept for close on 14 hours and even managed to sleep through the constant barking of dogs and sunlight streaming through my curtains. The language is going okay, I'm making myself understood although much hand-waving and the occasional (or not so occasional) English word. People in shops however are so far impossible to understand!

This a drink/snack you can buy real cheap from street vendors. I think it is called mata and it is apricot nectar with an apricot and the grain at the bottom. The grain is kind of like barley I think. It tastes great, although a little sweet!

My guide and crash-course to Santiago was Fiona who is from Tasmania so today was explained to me in English - so that I knew exactly what was happening. She walked me to the train station and we bought a train and bus card then we caught the train into the centre of town; took about half an hour. We then followed my route to language school and got me enrolled there starting in two weeks. The rest of the day we walked around the centre of town and bought some stuff I needed and had lunch at a cafe so I knew how to order etc. Quite tiring and very overwhelming, plus quite intimidating. I stand out like a fish out of water. It wasn't so bad in the centre but in the suburbs and the public transport, people just stare at me. It's very disconcerting and frightening as it makes me a prime target for theft. Only the rich are white here and even they aren't as white as me! Perhaps a fake tan is in order...

Safe Arrival

Just a quick one to let everyone know I've arrived safely. My computer is yelling at me about battery and my adapter plug is way in my bag! Later this evening there will be more...

Countdown!

Hello Everyone!

So, it is less than 2 weeks before my big adventure begins. I thought a good way to start this post would be to explain exactly what's going on for anyone who isn't totally sure.

About the middle of 2012 I started thinking about what I was going to do once I'd finished my degree. I want to eventually end up teaching languages and felt that my Spanish was nowhere near good enough. So I started exploring options for spending an extended time in a Spanish-speaking country. I rapidly decided that going as a tourist wasn't great so decided to look for a mission. Some people at my home church are involved with SIM (Serving In Mission) and they found the perfect place for me.

I am going to Santiago, Chile, a city with over 5 million people. This freaks me out quite a bit but hopefully I'll get used to it! Initially I will be at language school for about month until my Chilean Spanish is deemed adequate enough to take me out into the real world. SIM works alongside a school called Un Rincón de Alegría meaning A Corner of Joy. This school was set up in 2001 by a group of Christian women to provide a place of education, love, good food and hope for impoverished kids. They work with kids up to 15 years old to help them break the poverty cycle. In 2009 they increased the number of children from 45 to 60 with most kids being primary age. They are currently hoping to acquire land that will allow them to build a school for older kids. I will be teacher-aiding in this school for about 5 months. At the moment I'm not entirely sure what that will involve but I'm sure I will find out soon enough!

So far I have fund-raised over half the amount needed to go and will fund the rest of the trip myself. Thanks to everyone who bought recipe books, came to the concert and donated money. The generosity of people has been truly amazing. I can see how much God provides for me and I know that He will continue to look after me throughout the next six months.

It's going to be a big adventure, but I'm not expecting it to be easy. Chilean culture is quite different to ours and I have never really be exposed to extreme poverty before. I hope it will be a time of challenges overcome, relationships developed and rewarding time with kids in God's kingdom. I hope you all come along for the ride and enjoying supporting me over the next wee while!