The first day of the next eight months

I've successfully arrived in Antofagasta. I have so much to say about everything that I feel like I need an epic post to do so. So all I will say for the moment is that my situation here is good and even better than expected. I've met my host family and like them and have met some students and think I might be able to survive them

PS -- http://picasaweb.google.com/paulspicturesfromabroad/SantiagoEndofWeekOne#

On the Road from Santiago

At the moment me and six other volunteers are headed to Antofagasta on a semi cama (which means the seats recline 45 degrees) bus from Santiago. (I'm going to post this as soon as find wi-fi access.) I'm currently watching a skit comedy show in which a mime is pretending to put up a barrier along a trail only to actually be leaving a line of string that people run into. We left Santiago at 4:30 in the Saturday afternoon and are not expected to arrive until around 10:30 the next day (note: arrival was at noon). So far the ride has been fine and the seats have been comfortable. From what I cold see of the landscape it looked a similar to some part of California with dry grassy hills. However now it is dark and the bus attendant has closed all of the curtains so I can't see anything. (Note: In the morning I woke up and everything was desert with no life anywhere).

I've found out that I'm going to be teaching High School in Antofagasta. I'm not actually sure how to modify my expectations. On one hand I'll probably able to have my coherent conversations with my students which I'll probably find more interesting. On the other hand discipline might be more of a problem. Now that I've finished my orientation, the plan is that the next week I'll be observing my partner teacher handle 40+ students. And then in two weeks I'll be having half of the class to myself in my own classroom.

Since I last posted I have managed to see more of Santiago (and take more photos). On Tuesday night, it was one of the volunteers birthday so we celebrated that first at the hostel where I learned a new game called 21 (not blackjack) and then at an American bar where we sang Karaoke (they had a limited selection but it had (barely) enough songs to last the rest of the night. On Thursday, instead of having orientation for the entire day we went on a “cultural excursion.” On this excursion, we went to this fort Santa Lucia that overlooked the city and then to a market where we stopped and got some delicious ice cream. Unfortunately, the view from the fort was not as impressive as it could have been because of the smog. Apparently, on the few days that the smog isn't blanketing the city the view is quite impressive with the snow capped mountains near the city dominating the viewscape. However, with the smog you couldn't even see the mountains except and a slightly darker shade of gray. On Friday, there was a asado (or BBQ) at the hostel we were staying at where we all received a certificate that said basically we went through orientation. The asado was a fun affair with dancing late into the evening / early morning. Especially fun was watching some of the staff who had been training us for the past week let loose.

I also found out that “English Opens Doors” the program that I am in made the evening news in Santiago on four different news stations. On Friday, we were shown the news clips which included some footage of us from a welcoming ceremony at the UN building in Santiago. There were even a couple of moments that I was on the camera. (I was lucky that the camera caught me not yawing but rather with my hand on my chin looking intently at the proceedings.) We were told that they were going to try to make these recordings available to us.

Santiago was good but I'm definitely ready to start seeing what I've gotten myself into/ unpack my stuff. Orientation was full of useful information but somewhat monotonous. One thing about Santiago that I forgot to mention about was the stray dogs that are everywhere. They for the most part don't bother people and are not dangerous. I found their presence somewhat charming except for when I stepped into dogshit. Also everywhere, in Santiago was graffiti along building walls. I tried taking a couple of pictures of some of it.  

Santiago - quick posts

I'm slightly embarrassed to say that despite being in Santiago for several days I really haven't seen much off the city. When I arrived I was fairly tired and since then I've had orientation which lasts for most of the day. So I've spent most of my time so far in the enclave of the hostel fairly separated from the Chilean world. I think the hostel is relatively nice with great murals on its walls and edible food in its kitchen but other more traveled program participants say that this hostel pales in comparison to other hostels. I very glad that when I flew here I decided to take my laptop in my carry-on, because one person in the program packed there laptop in there suitcase and then had it disappear during their flight. My first observations of Santiago is that it seems like a fairly nice ordinary city that wouldn't be too out of place in the United States except that everyone speaks Spanish. There is not the overwhelming sense of people everywhere that I felt in India and there seems less poverty then in the parts of Mexico I saw. It has also been a lot greener then the parts of Mexico I saw, but that maybe because what I saw of Mexico was located in a desert. 

Here are some pictures of Santiago I took: http://picasaweb.google.com/paulspicturesfromabroad/Chileweekone#

Some quick observations about Chile

They have great fruit juice 

They have horrible coffee. Throughout our day we have coffee breaks and the only thing they can give us is instant

Some of the guide books warned of the smog but that hasn't been that bad with mostly clear skies. However, today I had a slight cough and sinus pressure which Imight be able to blame on the Chilean air.

I have had lentils for the last two days and they were decent. 

I've also been told that the school I'll be teaching in won the English Debates last year in Chile. As part of my time at my school, I am expected to help out with this year's debate team. I'm excited to brush off some of my debate skills that I put away after college.

Adios Muchachos

Arrival

So I have successfully made it to my hostel in Santiago. The flight was good with no problems or delays.



Many people have asked me why I have chosen to go to Chile to teach. Part of me feels like I should have a simple answer to this question but I really don´t. A large part of it is that I have been interested in really exploring and experiencing a foreign country for a while and now is the right time in my life to do so. At this moment I don´t have any obligations -- no debts, no kids, tying me down to one place. I realize that if I wait until later to travel abroad that later may never come. One reason I´m choosing to teach abroad now instead of going to graduate school is that right now I am debt free while if I waited until after graduate school to travel abroad I´d have the burden of school debts.

Additionally, I was starting to feel a little restless in Washington DC. My job was starting to lose its freshness and I was starting to feel like I was doing the same old thing every weekend. One thing I thought was missing from my life in DC was excitement and I wasn´t sure how to create it. In college, life was fairly exciting because I was trying¬experiencing something new every week. In the adult world where most jobs involve doing related tasks everyday how does one create that excitement?

Part of me is also looking forward to the challenge of it. I, at the moment, feel like I haven´t challenged/pushed myself enough the last couple of years. I fully expect this trip to be very difficult but I am also looking forward to that difficulty.


I suppose before begin a trip or journey, one should first define what they goals or expectations of the trip are. So far my goals are fairly simple ... learn more spanish, enjoy another country taking in all the sights and experiences that I can, to be a good teacher and to also conduct important research such as --


´¨smoothcall: there is none. you just writhe in pain and try to find the least uncomfortable position
hope the clunky arm rests and seat belts dont jut into your body
theres one thing youll have to tell me as soon as you go to the bathroom
do toilets really flush in the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere?
i forget if its supposed to be clock or anticlock¨¨

Krista's Coffee Cafe

Here's a shout out to Krista's Coffee Cafe which has loyally provided me with coffee for the last year and a half. Not only does the cafe provide a delicious selection of coffees and teas for only a dollar, it also has a location that can not be beat. Many times the only way I had time to grab a coffee before a meeting was due to the superb location of Krista's Coffee Cafe. Finally, the barista that is located there, is an excellent banterer, will always inquire about your day, and will provide a unique perspective on any work challenges you may be facing. Truly Krista's Coffee Cafe is the place to be.

Where I'll be for the next eight monts

For the next eight months I will be teaching English in Chile. I will be teaching at a middle school in Antofagasta Chile. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antofagasta) My last day at work is March 17 and I leave for Chile on March 20. While there I will be staying with a host family and taking Spanish classes to improve my Spanish. Unfortunately, I do get to find out who my host family is until I am in Chile. The position comes with a stipend which should cover most of my expenses. I am very excited about this opportunity but I am definitely going to miss everyone here in the US.

and now we have picture

and I've created a photo website (http://picasaweb.google.com/paulspicturesfromabroad) to accompany this blog.

Right now the only thing posted there is some pictures of my trip to NY that I took in February with Erin and Jesus. I believe there are also some skiing photos mixed in. Probably the most interesting photos in the album are the ones at the end of the Durian fruit. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian) The smell was not AS horrible as wikipedia would suggest. However, that said, when we tried to bring some back from NY, its stench started to become overpowering and we had to toss it out in NJ even though we had kept it in the trunk of the car. The texture was custardy and the taste was sort of bland though it had a tangy, oniony aftertaste.

Set Up

Hi,

I've decided to create this blog in order to keep in touch with everybody when I go to Chile. I know from past experiences that I am both fairly bad at staying in touch with people who don't live in my geographic area and fairly bad at remembering and relating the stories that happen to me. I hope that this blog will help with both. I will be able to write down my stories here, allowing me to remember them and also telling my friends and family about what I am experiencing. 

When I am abroad, I am sure I am going to miss everyone here in the States horribly so I highly encourage you to post comments here or to email me at welcher.paul@gmail.com. Because of the wide range of audiences that could be viewing this blog, I do ask that you keep any comments relatively pc ... (hence why the email is also provided ;P). Finally, this whole blog operates under the assumption that I will have access to internet in Chile. While, I believe this to be the case please be patient while I get myself set-up over there.