Last week I wrapped up three weeks of winter vacation and came back to Castro for my second semester of work. Winter break was awesome: I fled the cold, rainy south for the warm, sunny north, I got to play the role of "camp counselor" once again, and I spent 10 days with my mom.
For my first week in Santiago I worked with about 30 other EOD program volunteers at an English Winter Camp for the Ministry of Education. Almost all volunteers were from the US and Canada, along with a few Chilean college students studying to be English teachers, including the two girls who ran our camp (the camp monitors). We worked Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm with about 220 high school students, whose English ranged from essentially non-existent to amazing. The camp was hosted at a local university (one of the few that haven't shut down due to student protests) and everyday we played various games inside the classrooms and out in the courtyard. The theme of the camp was "Say NO to Bullying," which was rather redundant because students using their vacation time to practice English aren't usually the anti-intellectual bullies in the first place. But, whatever. It was a good time.
All week the kids created skits, posters, songs, and group chants. At the end of the week we had a massive talent show. Living with my host family -- where every child, uncle, and grandmother can paint, sing, play instruments, and knit entire wardrobes -- and working with students in Castro and Santiago has essentially proven to me that, without a doubt, Chilenos are absurdly talented. The skits these kids put on with one day of planning, if that, were just awesome; they danced, acted, dressed up in ridiculous costumes, etc. So we as counselors had to work hard to top all that. The male counselors dressed up in black tights/t-shirts and performed as back-up dancers for one of our camp monitors, who played the role of Ms. Beyonce Knowles singing "Single Ladies." Then the female counselors came out in hoodies and sagging jeans and danced to Soulja Boy. The whole thing ended with the entire camp moshing out to the very hardcore song of "Soul Sister" by Train. Overall, a drastic change from my summers at PNA in Yorkville, but equally fun. I was just happy to have the opportunity to do the whole camp thing again during my first summer away from PNA in 11 years.
Check out my camp pictures here.
After camp ended I had about 5 free days before my mom flew in from Chicago, so I traveled down south to Valdivia with my friend Derek from Toronto. Valdivia is about 11 hours by bus from Santiago, so at that point I wasn't too far from my home in Castro. The city is a small, beautiful town with a huge German immigrant population. It hosts an annual Oktoberfest, they have several popular German pubs/diners, and the well-known Kunstmann brewery is there, too. Though Kunstmann was just founded about 20 years ago, it's probably the beer they make in Chile due to its German influence. The brewery was super touristy and pricey, but still a fun experience. Derek and I split a 3 liter "tower" of the golden Bock variety of Kunstmann. Again, touristy and expensive (about 8 or 9 bucks for 1.5 liters per person) but having the tall tower with a tap to pour your beer from was fun. Additionally, being down south for 3 days confirmed that avoiding the cold and rainy south during July was a good idea. Also, we got to see sea lions (lobos de mar, which translates to wolves of the sea) up close and personal at the fish market down at the port. They just hung around all afternoon eating fish heads and guts that were thrown into the river.
Check the album out here.
When my mom flew in we bused 6 hours north from Santiago to a small city on the Pacific coast called La Serena. My host mom's sister, Carmen, has a place up there for tourists. She bought two train carts from a railroad company back in the day and has converted them into small guest houses. The train cart comes equipped with a small kitchen, full bathroom, "master" bedroom, a smaller room with a bunk bed, and even a TV. Carmen and her boyfriend Gustavo, who is German-Chilean and related to the Kunstmanns, were super nice to us, and after several days of being in Chile, the 3 semesters of Spanish my mom took years ago started to come back to her. Late nights in Carmen's house, after several bottles of wine, we would have drawn out conversations on tuition costs, quality of life in the US vs Chile, etc. in three or four languages, though mostly we stuck to Spanglish. My mom also got to meet my host mom at the 5 year-old host sister when they were all in Santiago. Overall, she has peace of mind about my being here and traveling after the program. She worries less, and I hear less about her worrying. Win-win.
Check out the pics here.
That's all for now. I'm hoping to write a bit more about the school protests next post.
-Paul
English camp album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.979617761044.2448854.5321418&l=448c3807b4&type=1
Valdivia album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.979655116184.2448861.5321418&l=36f772e342&type=1
Mom's visit album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.980083218264.2449007.5321418&l=2637c2c813&type=1
