Christine's 5 month anniversary

This day today, five months ago, I was arriving in Santiago. I knew not a single soul, nor entirely what I was going to be doing, where I would be stationed, who I would be living with, or how this whole experience would turn out, but after 5 months I can honestly say that I have had a wonderful experience in Chile!

Hoy día, hace cinco meses, yo llegaba en Santiago. ¡Supe no una sola alma, ni enteramente lo que iba a estar haciendo, donde sería estacionado, que estaría viviendo con, o cómo esta experiencia entera resultaría, pero después de que 5 meses yo pueda decir honestamente que he tenido una experiencia maravillosa en Chile!

I live with a great family, in a city that is diverse in it's landscape, teaching children of a different background than I, meeting people, and learning about the culture in Chile. I wake up every day thankful for the experience I am having. I have found the people in Chile to be very warm and inviting. I like the affection that is embedded into the culture. I like how lunch is the biggest meal of the day. I like how I can hug and kiss on the cheek my children without fretting that it would be taken out of context, I love the sunset on the ocean, the European Latin clothing trends, how mayonnaise covers everything, how "po" ends every sentence, and I have even come to appreciate and find the beauty in those "catcalls" that I previously wrote about, which I will also add doesn't apply to every single man. I have meet several very nice Chilean men who are quite the contrary of their counterparts.

Vivo con una gran familia, en una ciudad que es diversa, enseñando a niños de un fondo diferente que yo, encontrando a personas, y aprendiendo acerca de la cultura en Chile. Yo me despierto cada día agradecida para la experiencia que tengo. He encontrado a las personas en Chile para ser muy amable y invitar. Me gusta el cariño que es empotrado en la cultura. Me gusta cómo el almuerzo es la comida más grande del día. Me gusta cómo puedo abrazar y besar en la mejilla mis niños sin preocupar que lo sería quitado de contexto, me encanta la puesta del sol en el océano, los estilos de ropa, cómo mayonesa cubre todo, cómo "po" termina cada oración, y yo he venido aún apreciar y encontrar la belleza en esos "silbidos" que escribí anteriormente acerca de, que yo también agregaré no aplica a todos de los hombres. Yo encontré varios hombres chilenos muy agradables que son bastante el contrario de sus contrapartes.

It's hard to imagine 5 months have gone by and three months have yet to remain. I don't have concrete plans for after the program is finished. I know that I will return home for approximately a month and then we'll see where life takes me or where I take my life. But for now, I'm going to enjoy my time here and keep exploring my surroundings. Thank you to all for your support in what I have been doing.

Es difícil imaginar 5 meses han ido por y tres meses tienen mas quedarse. Yo no tengo planes concretos para después de que el programa sea terminado. Sé que regresaré en casa por aproximadamente un mes y entonces nosotros veremos donde vida me toma o donde tomo mi vida. Pero para ahora, disfrutaré de mi tiempo aquí y mantendré explorar mis alrededores. Gracias a todo para su apoyo en lo que he estado haciendo.

Saludos,
Christine

p.s. Did my best to translate to Spanish but I'm still learning!

To a Close

Well I am done...

It is hard to believe that after planning for a few months, then traveling for four months, I am done. And what a trip! Peru was mystical, Costa Rica had the most beautiful and friendly people I will ever meet, and the whole experience taught me so much. Now I know what the United States looks like from other countries' perspectives. Now I can speak Spanish pretty well! Now I have no fear of just jumping on a bus even though I am not 100% sure where it is going to go. Now I have no problem talking to someone I have never met, and in a different language. Now I know that God is present in everything, way more than I ever thought before.

Before I left Costa Rica we had a little birthday perty for my host sister Lisbeth. She was turning 14, and wow was she excited. Only because next year she would be 15, Quincenera! We had Chicharrones de Chancho and salad and fruits. It was delicous. We also played some games and sang Feliz Cumpleanos. It was really a great time. A great way for me to finish up my time in San Juaquin Costa Rica.

Also before I left one of the mechanics in the town, Mario, had just finished putting together his Mack truck after painting it. I actually helped in paint a little bit, the fender that I am standing by. So now I can say I am an international mechanic!

Here is a picture of one of my favorite classes. Noveno, my ninth grade class. They we really smart and had some of the funniest and most respectful kids. Fabian was always talking to me about girls and stuff, and Freser was always talking to me about working on his motorcycle and his Dad's truck. You see, his dad is Mario the one in the picture above.

Well now I am back in the United States listening to my country music and working in my garage. Already I found myself a project to fix up an antique fan. Feels good to be back in a garage. As far as what I have next, I need to find myself a house or an apartment in Broken Arrow so that I can start my job soon. I am still kind of unwinding right now, but pretty soon I will be busy busy working and moving. Lets see whats in store!

DKW

Christine's trip to Baquedaño y Chacabuco

What a fun past few days!

There is a town about 30 minutes away called Baquedaño. It's a one stoplight sort of town that got a lot of attention recently because the last James Bond 007 movie was partly filmed there at an old train station. It's a train station that the normal person would not know about or know where to find it. The sign "museo" is tiny and one has to walk over train tracks, behind buildings, and practically go through a maze to find it, but when you find it it is really neat!

I went with a friend who has a great eye for photography and it was a really neat experience. There are no museum attendants or historical information. It's just an abandoned area with old trains that they call a museum.

Very interesting!

Then we headed to Chacabuco, located about 1-1.5 hours away from Antofagasta. It's an old abandoned mining town in the middle of nowhere. It had an old hospital, maternity ward, theater, playgrounds/park, housing for the mining families and housing for everyone else that worked in the "city". In the 70s when Pinochet took over he sent approximately 1800 people that were against his overtake (which included many political figures) to this place to be held as prisoners.

There was hardly anyone at this historical site so we had the place to ourselves.

Above and below are just a few of the streets.

Inside one of the abandoned homes.

Above is inside the theater. We thought we were sneaking into the theater but the maintenance attendant came in with two French tourists and ended up showing us an interesting museum on the third floor and then took us up to the rooftop to have a beautiful view of the city.

This picture of a "General Electric Company" machine is a good representation of one reason why I am in Chile. Our world is an international business playground.

We found the public restrooms. Haha.

I love well kept secrets and this place was one. I saw a sign that i really liked on the premise. It said something like, "Este lugar no tiene cosas, tiene vivencias," meaning this place doesn't have things, it has personal experiences.

Chao,

Christine

Christine_A few things to post about

It's a beautiful day in Antofagasta and I just came in from playing with Hercules. He is getting so big! His paws are gigantic. We've moved him to the front patio instead of the back so he has more room. It's always a challenge in the morning though. He gets very excited whenever anyone comes out so he tinkles as he tries to jump on you. Then he steps in his tinkle and tries to jump on you some more. I finally got a technique but it still proves a challenge each time.

Yesterday at school I saw something that made me kind of sad. There was a little girl in the 8th grade class. She is sweet and always does her work. She doesn't disrupt or give anyone any trouble. I don't know what her home situation is but it's evident she doesn't have much. When she came to class it was evident she hadn't taken a shower in several days or even a week. Her hair was dirty, matted, and greasy. The girls around her were pinching their noses and spraying perfume all around the room. The girl that sat infront of this young lady was pretending to put perfume on herself but really spraying it on the other girl. I felt so bad. I remember what it was like to be made fun of when I was that age but at least I was clean, with nice clothes, and a full tummy.

Then for the class activity, I was teaching rooms of the house, eg.....living room, dining room, kitchen, etc. After we went over vocabulary they had an assignment to draw their house and label each room. She didn't do the assignment, which is unlike her. Makes me sad to imagine the possibilities.

On a happier note, there is a young boy in one of my fifth grade classes that is a sweet heart. He always tells me how pretty my eyes are, always wants to talk, and whenever he sees me he comes over to say hi. His mother is my age so she was probably 17 when she had him. He asked me the other day if my house in the US was the size of the school. Haha, sometimes the impressions children (or adults) get about the US from watching movies and TV is hilarious (and sometimes a little scary). This little boy gifted me his little blue stuffed dog. We named it Nicholas after him. I didn't want to except it at first but when I said, "Oh, no thank you, you keep it," he gave me the saddest face and insisted that I keep it to have something special to remember Chile by.

IS THAT NOT SWEET! How can someone say "no" to that? I took a picture and just had to post.

Until next time,

Christine

Christine's POV on Chilean Men

I thought I would write about something that has been on my mind lately: Chilean MEN.
They don't seize to amaze me. In the US, I would say the common form of obvious flattery or catcalling for a complete stranger is the famous "whistle," which isn't extremely common.
I hadn't any idea that there were so many other forms of "catcalling" that men actually DID. I thought I would list out all the forms of catcalling I have observed here (and I'm sure I'm leaving out a couple), and I'll start with the conservative ones:

• Whistling
• Car/truck/semi honking
• Staring
• Staring and then walking behind the woman to stare some more
• Slowly driving by
• Slowly driving by and then circling around
• Words like "Linda, Hermosa, Ay Mamita, tu me matas"
• Kissing noises
• Hissing
• Clapping
• Singing to you as you walk by
• Combinations of the above

And I can't express how BLATANT all these catcalls are. They will physically stop, watch a woman walk by, and then watch her walk away. And you're sure to hear a clap, mamita, or some type of noise behind you. And then hissing! What is that! I'm not a snake.

If you're not extremely offended by this outward blatant expression of flattery (which sometimes does cross the line of being vulgar) then this can be a very complimentative environment. You don't have to be tall or short, rich or poor, beautiful or ugly. The only requirement is that you be a woman and you'll be bombarded with attention, both good and bad.

CW

Christine's Second Asado

Well this weekend my host mother celebrated her birthday. I was her "ayudante" (helper) and happy to be. From what I have observed in my home here, birthdays are celebrated with a breakfast in bed, one present from the family, and a nice dinner. So, my older host sister made pancake crepes with caramel for breakfast and they were yummy. Then in the afternoon we prepared for the asado that she was throwing that night. I was the table setter and here's a picture of our formal dining room when everything was on the table.

We had beef and chicken for the entree. Then sides of scalloped potatoes and lots of salads. I took some pictures of a couple of the salads.

This one is made with a coleslaw lettuce, avocado, lemon juice, and pecans. Love it!

The next one is another one of my favorites. It's made with apples, celery, and cream.

Then, while we were waiting for the guests to arrive, my little sister and I had fun with my camera!

This was our funny face pose.....

This was our sad face pose....

Okay, we took a normal pose too...... :)

Then the guests arrived! After eating way to much, they presented the birthday cake! Those are my host parents infront of the cake.

Well, the party started at 8pm and ended at 3am. What a longgggg night, but a good time was had by all!

Until next time,
CW