I seriously can't believe I've been here two weeks, and that my month in Chile is halfway finished already. I'm so busy with the coursework during the week that I really don't have time to go out and do things at night. Hopefully that will change this weekend, and no matter what homework I have, there are things I want to see and do! This weekend I'm hoping to go to La Chascona (one of poet Pablo Neruda's three houses) and el centro (downtown). Hopefully if I'm not too bogged down with homework, I can post a blog on Sunday telling you all about my adventures!!!
I've convinced myself that I will come back to Chile and tour the country for at least a couple weeks at some point. I'm not even going to make it to the Lake District (which runs all the way to Patagonia), see the Atacama Desert, or get to Easter Island!!!!!
Everything is different here. There's more traffic and people, but it's a little ridiculous how impatient the drivers are...although I think Costa Rica still wins out on impatient drivers. At least here, the drivers stop if you're crossing the street. Seriously, the obsession with mayonnaise is a little disgusting too. I think the hardest custom to get used to is wearing shoes ALL the time, even in the house. It's considered rude if you don't. Also, if I could wave a magic wand and change one thing about Chile, it would be their complete lack of caring about the environment. Santiago is so smoggy most days, you can't even see the Andes, and March isn't that bad (apparently winter is the worst and summer is the best). I walked by a house the other day that had a hose spewing with water and I learned very quickly to re-use the plastic bags you get or you'll accumulate them.
20.3.12
Week #1: How I found my passion in Chile
Wow, I can't believe I'm in my second week already! The course is speeding by, as well as my time in Chile. I'm going to try my hardest to see everything, but I already know I need to come back two or three more times to see half the things I wanted to in Chile. A month is definitely not long enough!!!!!
Week #1 has been exciting and exhausting all at the same time. After recovering from the weekend jet lag, I walked into Bridge ready to learn. I actually expected to know a lot of the techniques for teaching EFL (or ESL in the States) but I've learned so much and gotten so much more out of this course than I ever would have anticipated. I've definitely changed some of my perspectives on how hard it is to be a teacher and, more importantly, how much harder it is to be a student learning a foreign language (especially English!!!)
I'm learning so much and this IDELT course has made me realize just how much I love imparting my knowledge on to others. I walk in to Bridge every day excited and challenged. It's not like most university classes at all...I actually want to come to class because I know it's helping me towards a career (more on that coming soon!!) Coming to Chile has made me realize just how much I want to be a teacher.
Week #1 has been exciting and exhausting all at the same time. After recovering from the weekend jet lag, I walked into Bridge ready to learn. I actually expected to know a lot of the techniques for teaching EFL (or ESL in the States) but I've learned so much and gotten so much more out of this course than I ever would have anticipated. I've definitely changed some of my perspectives on how hard it is to be a teacher and, more importantly, how much harder it is to be a student learning a foreign language (especially English!!!)
I'm learning so much and this IDELT course has made me realize just how much I love imparting my knowledge on to others. I walk in to Bridge every day excited and challenged. It's not like most university classes at all...I actually want to come to class because I know it's helping me towards a career (more on that coming soon!!) Coming to Chile has made me realize just how much I want to be a teacher.
13.3.12
Week #1: Santiago, Chile-finally!!!!
Saturday: Let me tell you, the 9 1/2 hour flight to Santiago, Chile was SO worth it! Providencia (the area I'm staying in) is so beautiful! I got to my host family's apartment around noon, jet lagged and tired. My host mom, Verónica, and dad, Patricio, are beyond nice and so willing to talk to me or give me directions every time I ask for a new place to go or good restaurant to eat. I decide to venture out and exchange the remainder of my American money into Chilean pesos. I only had to walk a few blocks to a small shopping mall. For a culture that hardly eats anything (except lunch), I think I see about 5 or 6 McDonalds in 6 blocks. I found the school, which is literally 8-10 minutes away from my family's apartment!!! I also found a Starbucks. :)
This is the street I live on:
Sunday: I decide to walk to a park that Verónica says isn't very far away, and she's right. Within ten minutes of my apartment, I find a cute little park next to a "river" (I'm putting it in quotes because it doesn't resemble a river, and that's saying something since I'm from Arizona, where there's hardly any water). When I think of a river, I think of this:
This is the street I live on:
Sunday: I decide to walk to a park that Verónica says isn't very far away, and she's right. Within ten minutes of my apartment, I find a cute little park next to a "river" (I'm putting it in quotes because it doesn't resemble a river, and that's saying something since I'm from Arizona, where there's hardly any water). When I think of a river, I think of this:
Apparently, this is the Chilean version, called the Río Mapocho:
Yeah...definitely different. There are a lot of differences here. So many, in fact, that that's a whole separate entry, coming soon to a blog near you. :)
Oh, and I found the U.S. Embassy:
I <3 Santiago!!!!!
7.3.12
48 hours
48 hours from now I'll be on a plane to L.A., then Dallas, then Santiago, Chile. It's going to be a long day, but I know it will be so worth it when I get there. The more I read/hear about it, the more I love the country, and I haven't even been there yet.
I'm mostly excited, but a little nervous too. This is the first trip I've taken where I literally won't have anyone I know traveling with me or know anyone when I get there. I'm nervous to meet my host family, and nervous about the course, but I'm excited to experience all of these things too.
I really hope I have enough time to blog every day. I feel so connected to everyone when I blog, it's like writing emails, except to everyone. I'll even try to share a couple pictures on here if I can!
My next entry will be from Chile! Puedo escribir pronto! (I'll write soon!) :)
I'm mostly excited, but a little nervous too. This is the first trip I've taken where I literally won't have anyone I know traveling with me or know anyone when I get there. I'm nervous to meet my host family, and nervous about the course, but I'm excited to experience all of these things too.
I really hope I have enough time to blog every day. I feel so connected to everyone when I blog, it's like writing emails, except to everyone. I'll even try to share a couple pictures on here if I can!
My next entry will be from Chile! Puedo escribir pronto! (I'll write soon!) :)
22.2.12
Chilean phrases/slang
Some of these are awesome! They're taken from the book Gringo's Culture Guide to Chile.
- ¡Adónde la viste!
- Literally: Where'd you see that?
- Implied meaning: No way!, yeah right! (No te creo)
- Al tiro
- Literally: Upon throwing
- Implied meaning: Immediately (ahora mismo)
- Amermelada
- Literally: marmalade
- Implied meaning: a stupid person (una persona tonta)
- ¡Bakan!
- Implied Meaning: Ultra cool (muy bueno)
- ¡Buena onda!
- Literally: Good wave!
- Implied meaning: Cool, great (un buen tipo de persona)
- (no) cacha ni uno
- Literally: He doesn't catch a single thing
- Implied meaning: He doesn't understand a thing (no entender nada)
- ¿cachai?
- Literally: catch?
- Implied Meaning: Do you understand? (¿comprendes?)
- capo
- Implied meaning: good at something, smart, cool (un buen tipo de persona)
- cara de palo
- Literally: stick face
- Implied meaning: boldly, frankly (ser franco)
- ¡Chao pescado!
- Literally: bye fish
- Implied meaning: See you later, alligator (Hasta luego)
- chueco
- Literally: crooked
- Implied meaning: a person who doesn't follow the rules, liar (uno que no sigue reglas, mentiroso)
- cuestión
- Literally: question, matter
- Implied meaning: thing, matter (cosa)
- dejar la escoba
- Literally: To leave the broom.
- Implied meaning: to cause a mess or disaster (causar un disastre, dejar todo desorganizado)
- echate al pollo
- Liteally: throw it to the chicken
- Implied meaning: get out of here!
- encachado
- Implied meaning: good looking, cool (ser bonito(a))
- ¡(no) estoy ni ahí!
- Literally: I'm not even there.
- Implied meaning: I don't care! (no le importa a uno)
- fome
- Implied meaning: dumb, boring, refers to something that you don't like (tonto, aburrido, algo que no te gusta)
- gamba
- Literally: a shrimp
- Implied meaning: refers to the foot, or a 100 peso coin (el pie, o una moneda de 100 pesos)
- guagua
- Literally: baby, infant
- Implied meaning: a baby (un bebé)
- harto
- enough
- Implied meaning: many, a lot (mucho)
- lolo(a)
- Implied meaning: teenager, young person (un joven)
- luca
- Implied meaning: 1000 peso bill (un billete de mil pesos)
- malulo(a)
- Literally: 'mal' in Spanish means bad
- Implied meaning: mischievious (malicioso)
- medio(a)
- Literally: middle, medium
- Implied meaning: very big (bien grande)
- monitos
- Literally: little monkeys
- Implied meaning: cartoons (dibujos animados)
- pata de vaca (said "pate vaca")
- Literally: foot of a cow
- Implied meaning: to act badly or to have bad intentions
- pato malo
- Literally: bad duck
- Implied meaning: bad boy, hoodlum (chico malo)
- pega
- Literally: hit
- Implied meaning: work, job
- pegar en la pera
- Literally: hit the chin
- Implied meaning: to mooch, to eat and socialize (conseguir comida gratis)
- pesado(a)
- Literally: heavy
- Implied meaning: mean, rude, bothersome (rudo, molestoso)
- pescar + "algo"
- Literally: to fish + something
- Implied meaning: to pay attention to, to notice (darse cuenta de algo, fijarse)
- pintar el mono
- Literally: paint monkey
- Implied meaning: to goof off (dejar las responsibilidades y jugar todo el tiempo)
- pololear
- Implied meaning: to be dating, have a boyfriend or girlfriend (tener novio, pero no significa que se van a casar)
- pucha
- Implied meaning: disappointment when something didn't go your way
- pulento
- Implied meaning: cool, as in a person (ser un buen chico)
- ¡Que choro!
- Implied meaning: entertaining, worthy of attention
- sacar la mugre
- Literally: To take off, or out, the filth
- Implied meaning: to beat up (pelear y ganar)
- (no) salvar a nadie
- Literally: To not save anyone.
- Implied meaning: to be worthless, useless (ser de ningún valor)
- sapear
- Literally: 'sapo' is spanish for toad
- Implied meaning: to be nosy, eavesdrop (escuchar secretamente a otros)
- se cree la muerte
- Literally: you think you're death
- Implied meaning: you think you are better than everyone else (se cree mejor que todos)
- tener el diente largo
- Literally: To have a long tooth
- Implied meaning: To be very hungry, so hungry I could eat a horse... (tener mucho hambre)
- tirar un chancho
- Literally: to throw a pig
- Implied meaning: to belch, to burp (eructar)
- (hacer) tuto
- Literally: to make 'tuto'
- Implied meaning: to sleep, take a nap (tomar una siesta o dormir)
- weón
- Implied meaning #1: To be an idiot
- Example: ¡Oye que eres weón!
- Implied meaning #2: Something you'd call a friend
15.2.12
update.
So again, here I am with this blog. It's been a long time, longer than I've anticipated.
Now that I'm a college graduate, I find myself with possibly less free time than I had when I was in school, but it's spent doing things I enjoy, for the most part.
I'm headed to Chile next month...I'm beyond excited about it, I can't wait to see another culture completely different from my own and meet some incredible people. I've heard nothing but good things about the people, the scenery, the food, and the capital city, Santiago, is surrounded by the Andes mountains and pristine beaches.
I'll definitely be updating through this blog while I'm there. I find it easier to blog when I'm away from my regular life and in a new place...partially because I don't have a very exciting life in general, and when I do, it's usually not anything even worth posting. Taking a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course might be the most challenging thing I've had to do yet, since the course is 140 hours in a month! I'm ready for the challenge!!!
Now that I'm a college graduate, I find myself with possibly less free time than I had when I was in school, but it's spent doing things I enjoy, for the most part.
I'm headed to Chile next month...I'm beyond excited about it, I can't wait to see another culture completely different from my own and meet some incredible people. I've heard nothing but good things about the people, the scenery, the food, and the capital city, Santiago, is surrounded by the Andes mountains and pristine beaches.
I'll definitely be updating through this blog while I'm there. I find it easier to blog when I'm away from my regular life and in a new place...partially because I don't have a very exciting life in general, and when I do, it's usually not anything even worth posting. Taking a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course might be the most challenging thing I've had to do yet, since the course is 140 hours in a month! I'm ready for the challenge!!!
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