Christines first 3 days in Antofagasta

Hello family and friends. No pictures today but a quick recap of the past few days.

Day 1/Sunday- Arrived to Antofagasta after a 20hr bus ride. I met my family for the first time and I am very pleased. I live with Señora Racquel and Señor Evan and they have 3 children, ranging from 3-15 yrs old. Their home is situation in the southern part of the city about less than a 10 minute walk to the ocean and supermarket. I can vaguely see the ocean from the porch.

Day 1 Meal- Beef, Bread with sides of Avocadoes, Avocado Salad, Lettuce, Cucumber and Avocado salad, and sliced radishes. For dinner, which is a small meal, we had sandwiches. Those consist of cheese, salami, avocado on a hoagie type of bread with sides of olives and leftovers from the lunch. We gathered around the dinner table and watched the futbol (soccer) game of Chile vs Peru. Chile won!

Day 2/Monday- First day of school! There was a school assembly going on in the morning so they decided to present me infront of the entire school at that time. I was given a very warm welcome from the principal and everyone in the audience applauded. Then I spent the next several hours with both of the English teachers that I will be working with. I spent time observing the students and learning my way around the school.

Day 2 Meal- Lunch was a sort of corn and meat pot pie. Dinner was sandwiches (which i am a fan of) much like the night before with the addition of a pickled medley of cauliflower, onions, pickles, and carrots. Desert was a small chocolate pastry.

Day 3/Tuesday- Second day of school and the children and so sweet. I have already received a couple handmade cards and several sweets. What is touching is that these children do not have much to begin with so their gifts, as small as they may be, are big gifts. The school, situation far from where I live is in a very poor area where drugs, alcohol, and prostituton are prevalent. The school environment is much more warm than in America. The teachers hug and kiss each student and I probably get 100 or so kisses each day from children, whether I am just walking down the hall or they are in a class I am observing. There are significant discipline problems becaus of the poor family lives that these children face, so that will be a challenge in my near future.

Well, I need to be going. All the volunteers in my city have a meeting at 7pm.

Ciao,
Christine

More Ancient Incan Ruins and Cuy!

Well ladies and gentlemen, yet again this weekend the group went to a nearby town to visit some ruins. It was fantastic because through the bus ride we took, we got to see some true Peruvian villages. The most amazing thing to see is people in their everyday lives. Not the tourism fasad that sometimes covers everything. We visited a town called Ollantaytombo, Maras, and Chinchero, and saw some ruins nearby. Below are some pictures from the ruins.

The next day Adam and I went to some ruins near a town called Tipon. The ruins were actually the ancient royal gardens for the Incan emperor. It was amazing though because not only was it very very high up in the mountains, there was also an elaborate aquaduct system that was still working.

For lunch though, Adam and I wanted to get a true Peruvian meal called Cuy. Which is actually Oven Roasted Gineau Pig! Sounds really wierd, but it actually tasted somewhat good. Lets just hope my stomach continues to tell me that into tomorrow. You can actually see from the picture, the lady that cooked it using a large clay oven. While we were eating, two Peruvian guys playing guitar and singing set a great atmosphere. Amazing.

Last note: I love cars, and I have seen some neat cars here. What I love the most is that each American car must have quite a story to have made it down here. From South American Voltswagen Beatles to big Oldsmobiles.

Well thats all for now! Until next time!

DKW

Christines shout out to the pet food category

The other night I had the famous "Terremoto" (earthquake in Spanish) drink. It is famous because of the huge scoop of pineapple ice cream floating on the top. It was a beverage that you have to try at least once while in Chile. I was with several new friends from the program and a strange man who wanted in the photo.






And because of my supermarket background, of course I have to include a couple pictures of a pet food store in the Mercado Central and their merchandising strategy.

As you can see, everything is sold in tubs and customers buy products by the kilo. No nutritional education or 8 ft sections dedicated to treats, etc. It was quite something to see!

I leave today for Antofagasta, my final destination.

Ciao.

Christine

Christine- Days 1 and 2 of training

We´ve just finished our second day of training in Santiago and all is going well so far.

Yesterday we started out day with a trip to the Ministry of Education where we spent a couple hours listening to some very nice welcome speeches. The Ingles Abres Puertas program has been made a top priority by Michelle Bachelet, the current President of Chile, so TV media were present which later featured our arrival on the news. We learned about the current school system and how it would affect us.

Later we went back to the hostel for lunch. We had lentil soup, bread (bland with no butter or jam available) and fruit (bananas or apples). After lunch we walked to an Institute which tested our Spanish comprehension. It was the most horrible test I´ve ever taken. Listening portions of the test were incomprehensable because of the extremely fast paced dialogue in addition to the echoing sounds that this very old building caused. I think most everyone walked out feeling two inches tall.

After that we meandered our way to the Instituto de Norteamericano where we spent the rest of the day taking a spanish class. Now, in Spanish classes I´m accustomed to having the teacher talk primarily in English and explain grammar concepts, etc. in English. Not here. EVERYTHING is taught in Spanish. If the class doesn´t understand a question or concept or lesson in Spanish, there is no translating to English so the class understands. This is a new way of teaching I have not been exposed to.

Today was much of the same, learning rules, teaching methods, and having spanish class. That is it for now. Stay tuned.



Pictured above is just walking through the streets with a couple friends.

Incan Ruins

Well this past weekend a group of us volunteers played a soccer game on Saturday, then on Sunday went for a little trip to visit some nearby Incan ruins. It was amazing! We visited five different ruins including Sacsaywaman which I had already been to. Just visiting these ruins though shows you how extensive the Incan empire was and how difficult it had to be to build some of the things they built.



Our trip began with taking a bus to the town of Pisac which is known for their markets on Sunday. They were selling all types of stuff from cloths, to fruits, to rice, to artisan things. I bought some Peruvian made musical instruments and hopefully after a few weeks I will be able to play a song.

After taking a taxi to the top of a nearby mountain to Pisac, we hiked down to the Incan ruins and had some amazing views. We then continued and saw about three different ruins on our way back to Pisac. It rained on our way back down, but we got back to the market in Pisac and had some market cooked lunch. Which was pretty much a lady under a little tent serving lunch. The entire lunch cost 3.00 soles, which is equivalent to a dollar...wow! Beats the dollar menu at McDonalds.

We then took a bus back to the next ruin, and then hiked the rest of the way back to Cusco, visiting about four ruins on the way. Pretty neat! We ended our trip in the Sacsaywaman ruins, took a break and then returned to the Hostal.

Now it is Monday and I am sore and tired, but had a great weekend!

DKW

Christine in Santiago, Chile

It´s 3:40pm and I´m sitting at a computer at my hostel relaxing after a busy day. I arrived at the hostel around 6am after running into an issue with my transportation reservation. But fortunately I met two others from my program who were in the same boat so we stuck together.

I "slept" a couple hours before meeting my two new acquaintances downstairs for our first day of exploring. We walked to Plaza de Armas, Museo de Bellas Artes, Catedral de Santiago, and theSanta Lucia Park. There are stray dogs everywhere and for the people that I know who like to rescue dogs, this place is screaming for people like that. I read in a book that the parks are hot places for couples to go and today proved it. Since many singles live with their parents until they marry, they don´t have private places to go to be together.......so, they go to the park and tourists like us ignore anything we see. We climbed up the Santa Lucia park which held a beautiful view of the city from the very top. It was breathtaking and we took a momentico to enjoy.

For lunch I had a Carne and Avocado sandwich on wheat bread. Yummy! I´ve taken a couple pictures but will need to post later. Right now I´ve got to get back up to my room. Hope all is well and thanks for reading!

Cusco, Peru WOW

Well I made it to Cusco! I am now in a colonial style city with small winding cobblestone streets, stuco buildings, and Incan stonework everywhere.

A typical street in Cusco

I have been here a week now and am just starting to realize that I am actually here, living. I live in a Hostal with a small courtyard in the middle, just a ten minute walk takes you to the Plaza de Armas, and the San Pedro Market. Another ten minute walk and you can be another 1000ft up on a mountain overlooking the city. It is absolutely amazing. It is a totally different world from the United States though. Like I said, there are no highways, there are no Walmarts, rarely even a gas station. The people are very nice though and hard working. You see poverty everywhere you go, whether you are in the good side of town or bad. It really makes me realize that I was lucky to be born in a country that has real oppurtunities. Here you can be walking down the street and children as young as four will come up to you trying to sell gum or lolipops.

The Hostal where I live

This is a wonderful place and the people are truly amazing. The school I am working with is amazing because it attempts to immerse the children in an atmosphere of order and respect. Which could be totally different from what the children experience outside of the school. The other volunteers are great. I have been hanging out with a British guy, and German girl, a couple from Spain, and some others. We all havce a different history and different motives for volunteering, but we get along great and have fun. I usually get up in the morning, have some cereal, check emails, go to the market for a snack, go to a langauge lesson, work at the project for a while, then get some dinner and lay in the hammock for a while! And sometimes I will even go to McDonalds for a Double Cheeseburger and fries!

Sacsaywaman Ruins

Last weekend I went to a place called Sacsaywaman which is an ancient Incan Ruin. It was amazing. As an engineer I realize the magnitude of some of the stones and the difficulty the Incans must have had moving them. But nevertheless these stones were perfectly cut and fit together perfectly also. Check out the Pictures.

Well that is all for today!

Donny Walsh

Don is off!

Donny left today for Peru! He's flying to Houston, then Lima where he'll have a 5 hour layover. He'll board a plane for Cusco at 5am. He had one large bag and a backpack all set with everything he thinks he'll need for the next two months.

As for me, I'm getting my things in order for my trip to Chile. I leave on March 20th for Santiago, Chile. I'll be there for one week before being bused up North to Antofagasta. The not-for-profit organization that I am involved in is AIDE Abroad. The program is "Teach Chile". I will be living with a host family and teaching English as a secondary language at a local school. More info to come.......

Christine