Hey I've Survived A Week And A Half!

Hola todos!
Como estas? Como fue tu dia? These are the questions we get asked when we arrive home every day and it's a bit of a challenge to think of a new response for every day with our limited vocab but we're managing. If we talk about how cute los chiquitos are we usually do alright.

This weeks been busy. The weekend was long because we had Monday off as well. We tried to find the park on Saturday and failed, although we did find the bridge that leads across the river. Then in the evening Ruth pointed out that we can see the park from our bedroom window... We found it on Sunday and it's nice and big and has lakes and a fish farm. It also had a llama that became very interested in me after I took it's photo. Maybe it was wondering if I'd gotten his best side.

The park lake

Work on Tuesday was good. I was going over vocab with the kids and surprisingly didn't feel nervous at all. You'd think not being able to understand them would make you feel daunted or something but it actually makes me feel kind of free... I don't have to worry about what they're saying so I can just focus on the work. It's hard to explain.

Amina pointed out to me that everyone, even people we just walk past in the street, stare at my eyes because they are 'celeste'. I'd never noticed before but now I do. It's a bit weird but people stare at us anyway so what's a little more? 

We're also trying to figure out when to give cheek kisses to people. Whenever we or someone else gets home you give them a kiss, and when you walk into the staff room you do. Just whenever you meet someone for the first time in a day. The problem arises when a group of teachers are talking or holed up in a corner - do you barge over and give them a kiss? It's tricky stuff. Today we were talking about it and Amina just turned to me and said with a really straight face "I think we should kiss those Maths teachers tomorrow." Then we both realised how strange that would sound back home and burst out laughing.

A house is not a home... (+stray dog)

School/work on Wednesday was mainly alright. Although I was with one class that was quite... tiring. Most of the kids were fine. A few... One boy was walking around the whole lesson hitting people with a broom. You couldn't tell him to stop because he'd just do it more. And they were dragging each other across the floor, attacking each other, by the end of the lesson two boys had a table over their heads! Crazy. I was very happy to go for a walk during lunch so that I could remember what quiet was like. 

I felt so tired by the end of the day. Finally understand that end-of-work tiredness you always assume people exaggerate. Went home and napped. And we had airboxing that evening. Starting to feel the effects of that too. The instructors girlfriend wasn't there that time so there was more boxing and less dancing.

Then today after work we had the English staff meeting. All the English teachers in Lautaro go to chat and organise things. There's going to be an English week in November and all the kids have to plan an show. We've been told that the volunteers are expected to do something on their own - the more embarrassing the better I think was the message we were sent. We just chatted for a while really. People left when all the tea and biscuits were gone.

I'm quite happy because our Chilean is definitely improving. Had a good conversation this evening with our padres and it just went so well. It's so exciting! Just think how good we'll be after a few months =D

We've also noted the attention we get on the street. 

We have our regulars: 

• friendly petrol station workers
• friendly builders close to home
• creepy builders close to school
• sweet old men on the street
• dogs that enjoy following us around (although I think they do that with anything, even rubbish in the wind)
• and the dog that sits near the bench we have lunch on, waiting for scraps

Then there's the people that have never seen us before and don't really know what to make of us. We went exploring during lunch and ended up trolling through a housing estate and people clearly didn't know why on earth we were there. Also the dogs here have found a new habit of chasing passing cars. This leads to lots of terrifying close encounters that nearly result in dead dogs all round. Stupid dogs.

Not feeling homesick really though it's the little things that will probably set me off. The water going the other way down the drain, all the street dogs, only having powdered milk, tea with cinnamon, the whole lemon they squeeze on top of  salad, the cars being on the wrong side of the road (although that's probably more likely to lead to injury than homesickness) and just loads of stupid little things that I can't even remember. Ahh well it's all part of the experience. 

In general feeling pretty good at the moment. Loving work and the cute little kids. Home life is so comfortable and there's always someone that's happy to see us. Can't complain.

Chao's and kisses all round!

xxx

Oh P.S if you want to read more my partners blog address is: http://drurysinorbit.wordpress.com/
It's shared between her and her sister who's in France at the mo. Just look for Amina's posts.

Lana de Llama

Sunday

Well I'm here!! I've been here for about a week now. In Chile anyway. The flight was looooong and boring. Planes are noisy! And it was so warm that when we got outside the airport in Santiago we were glad that it was cold so that we could cool down. We met our country rep Claire and took some taxis to a youth hostel. It was a bit strange driving down the road with the Andies right in front of us.
The first thing we found out about Chile is that there are stray dogs (callejeros) EVERYWHERE! It's hard not to feel bad for them when it's raining and cold but they're used to it. And everyone is used to them. They don't even look at them and the dogs don't really go near people.
Anyway, when we got to the hostel the volunteers that are living in Santiago were picked up by their host families the rest of us went to Andrew's house (the deputy rep). Unfortunately our taxi driver didn't know where he was going and neither did we. Four of us ended up being dropped off in the middle of the street with no idea what to do next. Eventually we asked a lady if we could borrow her phone. It turned out that she could speak really good English and she invited us into her house. We used her phone and eventually got in touch with Claire who sounded quite worried. Anyway, we made it to Andrews eventually and had a really nice lunch.

Monday

On Monday there were 6 of us left and we spent the day in Santiago before taking our night buses to our projects. We took the tube to Santa Lucia and climbed up a big hill/castle and ended up with a great view of the Andies over Santiago.

the Andies over Santiago

It was really hot as well which was unexpected. We went down to an indoor market and all bought alpaca or llama gloves, socks, jumpers or hats. They're really cheap as well. And warm. And we experienced our first tongue twister in trying to pronounce lana de llama (llama wool). We had a really nice day prowling Santiago. The graffiti there is much more like art than back home. 

Tuesday

Getting the bus on Monday night was a bit of a stress because the taxi driver was late. We had to run into the bus terminal and try not to panic to find our bus. We arrived in Lautaro at 6 in the morning after a very nice journey. The seats were very comfortable and the conductor put pillows behind our heads and blankets on our laps. Amina nearly died from comfort. 

Lautaro is cold! We had to put on all the jumpers we could find while we were waiting to be picked up by Margot. She took us to her restaurant to have breakfast then she took us to our new family. Ruth, our new mum, is very nice. Even though me and Amina don't speak great Spanish we manage to have conversations. Our house is very warm because of the fire that is on all day. You have to remember to keep all the doors open so that heat gets into all the rooms, except the bathroom. If that door is left open the whole house freezes. Here comes the flaw in the otherwise perfect relationship between me and Amina, she always forgets to close that door! 

We slept for most of the afternoon and tried to learn some Spanish when we were up. Ruth cooks us very big meals. Almuersa is lunch and is the biggest meal of the day. Although don't come here expecting a small dinner, or once, because it is pretty big too. I put all my pictures on my wall and this is the one that makes me laugh the most:

... love you mum :D

Wednesday

We prepare our own breakfast in the morning which is basically bread. You have bread with everything here. I've probably eaten more bread in 5 days that I usually do in a month. You have it with manja which is kind of like caramel. It's very sweet and very nice. 

Margot took us to the municipalidad on Wednesday and introduced us to the staff in the education department. The sport teacher said she would teach us cueca, the traditional dance of Chile. Then she took us to school number 6 in Lautaro. There are a lot of schools. School 6 is 12 blocks up from our house but it's down the same avenue so it's not very difficult to get to. She introduced us to the teachers and one of the classes. The kids are all so cute and friendly. 

I like that during the day you can hear people chopping their firewood and dogs barking. Lautaro smells like wood smoke, no matter where you go. Our beds have literally about 5 layers so they are very warm. I never want to get out in the morning, although actually that's not true because I'm always so excited!

Thursday

Thursday was our first full day of school. Granted we did volunteer to work but isn't that what we're here for? We were with Ingrid the English teacher all day. Our first class was with some kids that were 8 years old. They asked us lots of questions in English and had a lot of fun trying to say our names. Then we helped them learn how to say 'I like...' It was fun.

The second class were 14 years old. One boy wanted to date Amina. There was a group of girls who REALLY LOVE ONE DIRECTION. They told us that about 10 times. Amina joked that we knew them and one girl nearly fainted. Seriously they'll be asking if we know the queen next! We ended up just chatting to them for the whole lesson but they were so eager it wasn't hard. At breaks if we walked through the corridors we would get swamped by kids. The little ones run up to you and give you hugs and shout 'Hola Tia!' Everywhere you go is 'Tia! Tia! Tia!' They're so cute though. Our 3rd class was 6 year olds and we had to test them on buildings in English. Most were really good.

After lunch we helped test three children in Grade 6, who were going to be in a spelling bee on Friday. They had to learn 300 words! My accent threw off Hernan a bit but we worked it out. 

I love walking through Lautaro was seeing everything. You get a few beeps and whistles but it's not really that bad. Half the time I'm not even paying attention. Today was also the first day we saw blue sky and it didn't rain horribly! :)

Friday

Today was the spelling bee competition in Temuco. Me and Amina were picked up by the school bus and driven in. It was nice to see outside of Lautaro. The counrtyside is really pretty and it was so clear that we could see the volcanoes for the first time. They're alright. Just look like big hills really.

There were a lot of schools competing in the competition. Each student had to say 5 words each. Our 3 kids did alright. One of them did really well and got all 5 correct. It was so exciting. I was really hoping they'd do well. See teaching is exciting! Our school even made it through to the second round of the competition in September!

After the competition everyone walked to a hotel in Temuco for lunch. Danielle and Hernan (two of the kids) kept pointing to things and telling us what they were in Spanish. You have to be careful though because there are a lot of spanish words that aren't used in Chile. Ended up getting on really well with the children. They're so friendly. Everyone is. Whenever you meet someone or say goodbye you have to kiss them on the cheek. Because I'm so tall I have to bend right over to reach some people. And the kids and the teachers are really close they hugs them and everything. Not very English.... It's nice though. It just feels very warm. 

This evening me and Amina went to an airboxing session with Lili (Ruth's daughter). It's good fun and only 500 pesos so we'll probably keep going. Good to do some exercise and work off some of the bread. Although I swear the portion sizes are growing. I think Ruth's being sneaky and is working them up to be the size of an ox or something. 

It's independence day in Chile in September and we get a week off school. Flags are going up and apparently this is the time to experience Chilean culture :) We're learning more and more Spanish/Chileanismos everyday and just slowly settling into a routine. Me and Amina find the news quite amusing because they dramatise it so much with music and reconstructions. 

I have also discovered the reason as to why I am so tall. (and it's not because I sleep in a grow bag). Hipo is hiccup. And Ruth says that every time you hiccup you grow. Seeing as I hiccup all the time I am very tall. It's quite simple really. 

Well I seem to have managed to stay up past 10. It took a while for us to stay up past 8 because we've just been so tired.

Day off tomorrow so we're going to walk around Lautaro and draw a map, while also trying to find somewhere to buy a phone...

Chao xxx

The Day Before

Well this is it. The day before I go away. We're driving down to my grandparents today, and then travelling on to Heathrow tomorrow where I'll be meeting up with some of the other people that are going to Chile. I think we've decided to be safe and arrive about 4 hours before our flight. But then this is one flight we don't want to miss!
So I'm just sitting here having one last cuddle with the cat (and having him drool on me) going over everything to make sure I haven't forgotten to pack something. I have my pesos and, yes mum, I have my passport.
I'd like to wish everyone a great year to come, especially my friends who are all starting uni! You'll have a great time! You can email me whenever and I'll reply as often as I get the chance.
Well I'm off to get ready.
I'll talk again when I'm in CHILE!!!

The Road To Chile

The Beginning

Well it's been a long time coming but I'm finally starting to feel prepared for my gap year. It all began in June 2011 when we were given a talk at my school by a returned volunteer who told us about Project Trust. They are an organisation that send 17-19 year old abroad for a year to Asia, Africa or the Americas. They hope that by staying in the country for a year the volunteers will become true members of the community, knowing the language, culture and traditions of the country.
I had never been one who wanted to go on a gap year, I always thought it would be too expensive and that it would be best just to go straight to uni. But after 5 minutes I was hooked. The idea of travelling and getting to know a country so well really appealed to me. I had never been abroad before (this was before my family holiday to Spain in 2012) and I suddenly wanted to see more of the world. As Project Trust volunteers fund their year by fundraising this takes away most of the overall cost; the year was seeming a lot more obtainable now. Hearing that volunteers always travelled in pairs sealed the deal for me, as I had been a bit nervous about travelling alone. I went home and immediately signed up for a selection course so that my journey could begin.

sunrise on the Isle of Coll

Selection

Selection courses are held on the Isle of Coll where Project Trust's headquarters are. My course was during September. The weather was so bad on the first day that the ferry to Coll was cancelled, so we had to spend the day in Oban with some PT staff. We did lessons and wrote essays and talked about the different gap years available. On the second day we made it to Coll. Over the week we learned about fundraising, problem solving, the projects and countries and had to do a presentation. I had a great time. 

When it came to deciding our countries I wanted to go somewhere that spoke Spanish, seeing as I had taken it at Higher. I was considering going to Honduras seeing as my father was born there, but when I heard about the projects in Chile, they just sounded right for me. The volunteers start as teachers assistants teaching English and take small groups for closer work. They also get to live with host families which I think is a great way of learning the language and customs. I picked Chile as my country of choice and went home hoping that I would be selected.

A week later I received my letter, I was in.

Fundraising

I had to raise £5,100 to cover the year away. I started by searching for charitable trusts that give grants to volunteers. I wrote around 100 letters and sent them out hopefully. Sadly I only had one positive response and I would like to thank the Anson Charitable Trust for their donation. 

At our Christmas family party we held a homebaking auction and raised £410 while having a great time. I held a few events at school such as bake sales and a Guess The Birthday of The Bear competition to raise money. The main event, though, had to be the sponsored walk of Hadrian's Wall. My parents, brother, aunt, grandpa and myself walked about 103 miles overall in April. The walk started in Newcastle and ended 5 days later in Bowness-On-Solway. It was exhausting but the scenery was amazing and we felt such a sense of achievement on completing the walk. Through generous donations we raised overall around £1,700.

The thing I have realised through fundraising is just how generous people are for a good cause and I would like to thank everyone again who has donated to my year away.

Training

I have recently returned from my training course, again on the Isle of Coll. It was an intense week of getting to know the staff, learning more about teaching, learning about our projects, meeting our partners and country groups and more practical things like insurance, travel and how to deal with culture shock and homesickness.

Our training group

There was a ceilidh on the last night which was great fun, and I've really gotten to know my partner, Amina, over this week as well. The week was great and I came away feeling very prepared for my year away and really excited about getting stuck in in my new community.

My Project

I have realised that I haven't mentioned my project yet which seems silly seeing as that's the best part! I will be living in Lautaro which is in Chile's Region IX. Lautaro is a large town which is situated in some of Chile's only remaining Mapuche territory. As many indigenous groups in the Americas, the Mapuches feel marginalised by the state, and are aware that their traditions are being eroded. I will become fully aware of Mapuche customs and beliefs as the Mapuche are extremely proud people; they were the only indigenous people's to repel the attempted Incan conquest of their country.

I shall be working in a school in the town and a couple of days a week I shall go out to a rural Mapuche school and teach the children there. I'm really excited about this! I'll be able to experience city and rural life. The nearest city to Lautaro is Temuco where I shall be able to visit on my free days as well. I'll have plenty of time to set up extra-curricular activities as well as my teaching work. 

I will be living with a host family that are really friendly and I can't wait to start learning the language and culture, even if it will be a bit overwhelming to start with.

I'm hoping that's clued you in a bit more about my year. I'll be leaving from Heathrow on the 18th August which is not long now! I'm really busy getting things prepared but at least I have my visa - I visited the embassy on Monday to get it. I'm so excited! Feel free to ask me questions and send me emails. I'll try and respond as quickly as possible, but something tells me I'm going to have a really busy year! Hasta luego!