Flag Day!

Wow! I know I just posted yesterday, but I just came home from the Flag Day celebration in the city square. Every year, one of the schools is in charge of it, and this year it was my school! So basically, I just stood there taking pictures with my mouth wide open the whole time. It was great, and I'd love to share some pictures with you!

This is the students of Gabriela Mistral lining up to walk to the parade!

These are the 3rd Grade girls who were chosen to carry the flag. The one on the left is the one that read the poem later.

A better view of all of the students. This is about half of the school actually, because most kids have already left for "La Tirana"

These are their complete uniforms. Typically students will only wear the sweatpants, but on formal days they must wear this. I'd say kids wear this outfit once a week just normally anyway. Not the gloves though. Love the gloves.

Some of the 8th Grade girls that were flag bearers. I shared with them my flag bearing days...

These are 5th and 6th Grade girls that danced the Cueca. That is the most famous dance in Chile. They are my students!

These are 4th Grade girls that danced another dance...I don't know what it was called.

These girls danced a dance that is very traditional in the south. They are in 2nd and 3rd Grade, so I don't actually have them in class, but they always come visit my classroom during the breaks and give me candy or bread. :)

The whole group of 4th Graders that danced the dance with no name.

The two flag-bearers of Gabriela Minstral. The taller one is in 7th Grade, and the shorter is in 8th and very good at sports.

This is the choir, and they come from all ages from 5th-8th. They are all my students.

Haha. These are two of my 8th Graders. The one on the left is Nico, but I don't know the other one's name...Nico is very nice. :) They were begging for me to take a picture of them.

These boys are in 6th Grade. I've actually only had their class once, because we NEVER have class on Fridays. Today is a perfect example...

Haha. These are bossy 7th Graders. I love them. The one in the middle is the Queen of the Class. I'm still not exactly sure what that means, but I will find out in August. These girls are very funny.

4th Grade boys. They were so excited for pictures!

I think these kids are in 2nd Grade, but I'm not sure because I don't teach that young. They are candy deliverers as well. As well as super cute.

7th and 8th Grade boys sitting on the bench before the celebration started.

Then all of the upper-classmen realized that I was taking pictures, so they ran over to get in on it. It caused quite the scene. Oops.

More of the riot in action. Haha. They are funny kids.

The choir getting set-up for their performance.

The flag bearers from all of the other schools in town. Gabriela Mistral students were the stars of the show though.

When the celebration started, this is what it looked like.

Then they unveiled the flag of flowers. Very fancy.


Now for my very professional footage taken by my camera on video mode...

This first video is a girl from 3rd Grade. This poem is about 6 minutes long, but I just gave you the first few minutes. She is amazing, and I have seen her perform this 3 times this week. It was amazing to see how the whole community was so proud of her.



This next clip is the first dance. Some lady walked in front of me, so it is broken up into two sections, but it's cute none the less. These kids are in 4th Grade. They are the youngest ones I teach.





This dance is a traditional one from the South. The little beanies and turtlenecks that the boys are wearing are even traditional garb, except one of the boys is earing a "Colo-Colo" beanie, and that's just a favorite futbol team around these parts...These kids are in 2nd and 3rd Grade, so I don't teach them, but I have gotten to know a lot of them at recess and such.



This is the last dance, and the most popular in Chile. It is called the Cueca, and supposedly I am going to learn it. The girls dancing it are from 5th and 6th Grades. Their dresses were made by some of the parents, and obviously represent the Chilean flag (because it's Flag Day and all).


This is the Choir singing the song of the flag. Only part of it, of course.



This is the actual parade. The first snapshot is the flag-bearers of Gabriela Mistral, but my camera was running low on battery, so I didn't get all of the other schools. The second snapshot is all of the students from my schools and a lot of the teachers. They were all so nervous!

I hope that you have enjoyed this entry. This is just a short view into Chilean culture. The whole town came out to watch this, and I was excited to be a part of it. Happy Flag Day! I'm off to Peru!

Hay Pan

I am currently sitting in my room right now waiting for fresh bread from the bakery next door. There is a line out the door, but I know that the bread maker will save some fresh slices specially just for me. :) That is what I have learned since being here alone. Both of my host parents have gone out of town, and I am leaving this Saturday for my trek up to Macchu Pichu (yay!). My host mom is in Spain for a science conference of some sort, and my host dad has made his way up to "La Tirana" which is a large celebration up in Arica (the most Northern city in Chile). We will be hitting that for a day or so on our journey to Peru.

It has been a good week. Since Claudia has been gone, I have been working with another English teacher. Her name is Angelica and she just finished school about a year ago. She doesn't have a teaching job yet, so she just works as a sub when all of the other English teachers in Tocopilla go on vacation or something. She is great, and we have had a really good time working with the kids. Since the semester ends this week, there is really no point starting new topics with the kids right before their 2 week vacation. So we have gotten the chance to play games with the kids in English and I personally have gotten to know them a lot better.

Chilean kids love "Heads up 7up" and "Telephone." They really want to learn about American culture, so I get to talk about home a lot. They love Disney Channel (High School Musical, Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers), but unfortunately I don't know anything about that. I am quickly learning. Chilean kids don't know very many English words. However, they use the ones they do know in excess. I have been told how beautiful I am more times here than I could have dreamed of in my entire lifetime. 7th grade boys really like that one.

I have gotten to know the actual city of Tocopilla a lot better. I will often just walk around to see the sights. My friend Melissa and I were walking last Sunday and found this neat little swap meet type thing. Then we found my host dad that was working it, and it was a very random experience. Apparently it happens about twice a month. Who knew? I am learning who hangs out where, and which dogs frequent which corners. (I must tell you later about "sweater-dog." It's our new photo journal. I'll tell you about him when I actually have photos)

On the weekends we typically go to the Disco on Friday nights. That is the night when more young people are there (even one of my 7th graders last weekend, hmmm...) Usually, we try to find ourselves an asado to go to before, and go to the disco after. That is basically what my 4th of July was, and it was great. My host dad threw an asado at the house where he made pebre (it's GREAT salsa), chorripan (my FAVORITE), and of course carne. I was too full by the time the carne came out, and actually already gone for the disco seeing as it was about 2am. Ya, the nights start LATE. I thought they started late when I lived in Spain, but here, if you go somewhere before midnight it will be a ghost town. People don't really start showing up places until about 1am or later. I guess this makes sense since the young people really don't do anything during the day when they are not at school, but at the same time, they are just sitting at home waiting to go out for all those hours before. It really baffles me.

We've had 2 earthquakes in the past 2 days. I didn't feel the first one, but it was pretty big in Peru (in the exact city where I am traveling to next week, oops). The second one I was at school for. My entire desk started shaking and we evacuated the school. This is the first time that I have been actually scared by the thought of an earthquake. People are rumoring that these little ones might lead to a big one, but I'm just living optimistically. Eeek.

So anyway, life hasn't been anything really out of the ordinary. I finally got my Chilean ID card, so I'm legit now. We had a birthday party for the gym teacher the other night which included more food then I could really stomach. I want a pet dog, but I settle for the cats that play on my balcony every night. I'm getting hooked to Chilean Novelas, they are terrible. I found the chip section (still without tortilla chips) and where to find water in the grocery store. This is good. People are telling me that I speak better Spanish, which means I can communicate with my landlord to ask him for hot water (phew). I'm really enjoying my life here, and am eager to meet up with volunteers from all over the country this next week for a Peruvian adventure.

Now for some pictures...
Some real Chilean Chili's! These went in our pebre on the 4th. It was very yummy.

This is Che Cho, my host dad (although we have agreed to call each other host friends) cooking the chorripan (!!!) and pan. YUM!

These are three of us volunteers (Jackie in purple and la nina rubia Melissa) with my host mom, Claudia (the one with the glasses) at the pizzeria that my landlord owns as well.

Melissa and I with the boys. These are the people we used to hang out with before the strike ended and they went back to school in Antofagasta. But it is okay because we can stay at their houses in Anto and they come home very often as well. Very nice guys. One of them taught himself English by playing Playstation. He is actually pretty good!

This is who we hung out with on the 4th! Melissa and I at the disco with Che cho (who's real name is Sergio I have learned) and his friends.

These are some new friends that we made last weekend. Rodrigo (the guy in the black shirt with Melissa) is a teacher at Melissa's school and one of our favorite Chileans, and he introduced us to some of his old friends. They were fantastic, and they don't speak any English, so I am forced to get buy with my espanol. jaja (that is haha in Spanish)

The video: This is my 8th grade class doing the electric slide. I taught it to them today because they wanted to learn a "traditional" American dance. They are really nervous about being on camera, but most of them picked it up. They are good kids.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the post for today! Life in Chile is great, and I am looking forward to going to Peru. Now, I must enjoy my once with the freshest bread ever that I just got. Yay!

Chao! (how Chileans say Ciao)

And I Finally Have a Life.

Well, sorry folks that I have been gone for so long. I know that you are probably shamelessly checking my blog every single day to catch a glimpse of my life down South, but alas, I have actually been busy! This past week, I kind of got my routine going for my life here in Chile, and I love it.

I teach here five days a week ranging from 8am-5:30pm. If I don't go in at 8am, I go in at 11, which is nice because then I get to sleep in and get some work done in the morning at the house by myself. Of course, I have a 2 hour lunch break every single day, as does the rest of Chile, and on some days mine are longer. I am teaching 4th-8th grades. There are two sections of every class and I see each once a week for about an hour. The 7th and 8th graders I see for three hours (but we split each class in half, so I see them for about an hour and a half). My English co-teacher was just made "boss" teacher (homeroom teacher) of one of the 8th grade classes, so I get to spend extra time with them. They want to throw me an asado this weekend for 4th of July.

In the afternoons I have different things that I do. Because I am American, my school figured that I play sports (haha). When one of the teachers left, they sort of unofficially appointed me the assistant volleyball coach. We practice twice a week officially, but I have found that they actually play every day. This has been a great way for me to get to know the students since I see them so little in the classroom, and they love learning phrases like "Go Team." Some of these kids are freaking amazing at volleyball. Seriously, there is a 12 year old girl that jump serves. Although I don't know how much help I am actually being while I'm at practice, but I love getting to play with them, and I can't wait until the season starts in July. One of the other volunteers comes and practices with us, so my students are super excited that they get another gringa at their school. Everyday they ask me if I'm coming to volleyball, but to tell you the truth, I'm not sure who is more excited for me to go, me or them.

I have really found that the children here are very loving. They are so eager to find out about my culture, and in turn, have taught me a lot about the Chilean culture, and of course, some Spanish. I am learning about the different styles in Chile and even catching on to a lot of their slang, poh! I receive gifts every day in class whether it be a piece of candy or a bracelet. I really have no choice on whether I want to take it or not, because they give it to me no matter what.

A short story:
My favorite gift has been from a girl in one of the 7th grade classes. I have that class on Thursdays before and after lunch, so a lot of the kids go home and eat during that time (and so do I). Before lunch she was asking me about food in the states and if I miss it and such. I really didn't think anything of it at the time, but when we got back from lunch, she told me that she had a gift for me. After the earthquake a lot of families were given emergency supplies because a lot of people didn't really have anything at all. I think her family got this after the earthquake, but she wanted to give me some. It was emergency self-heating Chicken Noodle Soup. She told me to eat it if I miss home, and that she has more if I want some. I seriously didn't know what to say when she gave it to me, and it will probably be coming home with me (unless I get desperate for food). The kids here are just that great.

Well, after the volleyball and English club (we meet on Mondays) I go to the gym every night. Now if you know me at all, you know that I have never gone to the gym in my life, but I have found that it is quite fun here in Tocopilla. This is not like a gym with machines and things. It is a step class run by this woman in an empty room at her church. About 30 women go every night, and it is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I have honestly never sweat so much in my life. We step for about an hour non-stop, and then she kills us with stretching and ab work. I may not lose any weight while I'm here (because I eat about a cup of oil every day), but I'm sure gonna be in shape.

This past weekend, I went down to Antofagasta with the two other volunteers that I hang out with a lot and our friend Rodrigo, he is a Teacher at Melissa's (one of the other volunteers from NY...might as well get to know them because I'm going to talk a lot about them) school. Jackie's (the other volunteer from Tempe, AZ) host brother and sister live down in Antofagasta because they go to the University there. We met them when their school was on strike for an entire month, so we got the chance to become friends. We stayed the weekend at Marco and Pamela's house, and explored the big city. We met up with some of the volunteers that work down there, and it was nice to be taken back to the family we made in Santiago during training.

Being in the big city was nice because they have commercial things that simply don't exist in Tocopilla. For example, McDonalds. It has never tasted so good in my life. Nothing like a burger when the hot dogs here are served with tomatoes, mayonnaise, avocado and more. There is a movie theatre there (which we didn't actually go to) and even a mall. Some of the volunteers there live up to an hour outside the main city, and transportation there is more expensive and pretty hard to figure out. The entire time we were there, my friends and I who are working in Tocopilla were so thankful for our placements. For me, I would never be able to adapt into the Chilean culture when nobody recognizes me on the city streets and invites me to their house for tea. The size of my city has proven to be perfect, and knowing that I can get to a bigger place in just 2 and a half hours is just perfect for me.

So now I am here in a new week. I start teaching on my own tomorrow, and this week and next will pretty much be flying solo. My co-teacher has gotten the chance to go to Spain through some sort of ministry of science, and is leaving this Thursday and will be gone until I leave for Peru. They are bringing in a substitute teacher for her, but I will have all the kids while I am in class. I am excited, because they all are quite eager to have me on my own, and I am excited as well to really get them to interact with me in the classroom. They want to learn some sort of "American dance" (? I don't know...) this week in celebration of the 4th of July, so we have agreed upon the Electric Slide. Can't freaking wait.

I may have landed upon a new extra-curricular activity as well. Today while at the office of the International Police (I have to go there to register as a person living in the city), my friend Melissa and I were approached about teaching English to some of the officers. It would be pretty sweet. We would work with them probably once or twice a week for a few hours over at Melissa's school, and they want to pay us! I figure we'd probably get some good asados out of it too (and I LOVE asados), and hang out with these hilarious police officers. They said they were going to call me this week to set it up, so I'm looking forward to it.

Well, that's my life in a nutshell pretty much. I will try to post pictures of my friends and host family this week. I am not really taking very many pictures myself, but instead stealing them from other people, so I have to wait for them to post them. You may even get a video of the karaoke experience I had in Antofagasta. So far, we have sang "Hotel California" and "New York, New York" at karaoke bars. These seem to be the only songs they have in English, but luckily they have landed upon a Californian and a New Yorker. Aren't they lucky.

I know this was kind of a random post, but I hope you enjoyed it, and I want you all to know that I am thoroughly enjoying my experience here. In Tocopilla, the colectivo drivers (kind of like taxis) know me at "Katti," my other friend as "Yaki" (that's Jackie), and Melissa is "la nina rubio" (the only blonde in Tocopilla). I am becoming a part of this community and finding fun new things every day. I miss you all, and hope you are enjoying your warm weather. I am in Winter...but it's not that cold.

Some Pictures and Other News

Santiago, Chile (to view the pictures larger, just click on them)
You can see the Andes over the skyline in the city. It didn't rain that day, but it sure looked like it would. This is the coldest place I've been in the country. It was in the 40s, and I could NOT handle it.

My friends and I really want to ride llamas, so we take pictures of them whenever possible. So far, I've only had one opportunity.

These are other volunteers. We had a chance to go out on the town in Chile and it was a lot of fun. I made friends with these two women who were lawyers, but they never facebooked me like they said they would. Dang. We had a lot of fun getting to know each other for the first week, and were sad to say goodbye on the last day to a few. There are now 17 of us in the Antofagasta region, and only 4 in Tocopilla.

Antofagasta, Chile
We spent one day in Antofagasta which is the larger city about 3 hours south of here. It is a pretty beach town and has a McDonalds if I ever get desperate...

Tocopilla, Chile
These wooden houses are the disaster relief houses that the government has given to families who were effected badly by the earthquake. These are whole communities with no running water and minimal electricity. In some cases, there are multiple families living in just one of these houses.

The beach in Tocopilla is very pretty. The whole city is on the coast so you can basically see it wherever you go. However, the further south you go, the prettier it gets. This is southern, obviously. There is even a man-made beach and a sort of community ocean pool that gets very crowded during the summer time. The boy is my friend Nick. During the strikes, the people from Antofagasta came up north to see us here in Tocopilla. It was great to see some familiar faces and get the chance to show them around our city.

There are murals all over Tocopilla. This is one of my favorites, Andre 3000, and of course, I had to do the "Hey Ya" dance in front of it...

This is a very famous rock in Tocopilla. It is supposed to be a camel, although my friends and I think it looks more like a Turtle. What do you think???

My favorite foods of Chile...of course, Ceviche!! Let me tell you, this put Gabbi's Ceviche to shame. And if you know me and Gabbi's ceviche, you know how good this was. I hope to be eating this A LOT. CHORRIPAN. This is a favorite at Asados, and I am in love with it. I eat Chorripan every weekend it seems, and I would be okay with that trend sticking. The last sundae looking thing is when I thought I ordered two scoops of coffee ice cream. I guess not...

This is the main street of Tocopilla, 21 de Mayo. Basically everything to do in the city has to do with this road. My host dad owns a shop there too, so I will spend some of my weekends there selling stuff throughout my time here.

My home... This is the bakery that we share our building with. Our door is the one on the left sort of in the back. The landlord also live in the back, but the balcony is actually ours.

This is our living room. We eat all of our meals on that table. It is nice.

This is my room. :) There is another mattress under my bed for friends if they want to stay over. My host parents are so nice!

This is our kitchen where I am becoming a culinary genius (HA!) I have learned how to light both the oven and stove without burning off my eyebrows....

And finally, my classroom! It doesn't have decorations yet, but it will!

Lastly, are these two pictures of the city. I am kind of confused as to how to organize pictures on here, so bear with me. This electricity plant gives power to all of the Antofagasta region. It is South of my house. The picture next to it is the black sand beach. I haven't actually been there yet, but it's supposed to be pretty nice. I am interested to see how the sand feels. It kind of looks like coal to me...

And in other news:

We had our first tremor the other night. I guess it was at 5am, but I did not feel it. There is a big alarm that goes off daily on the main road. It seriously bursts my eardrums a little bit every time I hear it. Word on the street (I mean the streets of Tocopilla) is that if there is another huge earthquake, there will probably be a tsunami. This is something I hear about on a daily basis from my students, and I am told to just run up the hill. So, if you hear about an earthquake in Northern Chile, look for me on the hill.

I miss you all, and thanks for checking in!