Culture Shock

Chileans are inefficient. I know that sounds egocentric and like I am not culturally sensitive, but if you ask most Chileans I think they would agree with you. Example: I went to the bank yesterday and it took 1.5 hours to do something I am positive would take 10 minutes in the USA.

Another example, my students were supposed to give a powerpoint presentation this week, so I did not lesson plan, but alas they failed to complete the assignment and I had to come up with lessons on the spot. I'm not sure if I can blame this on the culture or the age, but either way I sound bad, so I guess I have to let it go.

The male teachers at my school have been pretty funny towards me, they love to say the only phrase they know, "You look pretty today Hannah Montana," I never tire of hearing that. They also asked me to prepare something for the Student's Day which is May 11th. The students here are pretty lucky because they get an entire day honoring them, no classes, just games, food, and dancing the electric slide with me. We practiced yesterday and it was hilarious, they were more concerned about their outfits and hats than I was concerned about my dress and hair at prom. Chileans are hilarious.

I am in Santiago now, I took the night bus and arrived safely to the refuge that is Marilyn's house. Have a great weekend (tenga un buen fin de semana)!

Cliff Jumping, Rodeos, and Dancing

Esteemed Readers,
I am sorry to disappoint you all a.k.a my Mom and Kelsey, for being so late on the updates but I have been a busy bee. My friends from Temuco (a town about 2.5 hours away) and we made the most of our time together. We made an "American" dinner for my family, which consisted of tacos, Spanish rice, chocolate chip cookies, and Chilean cookies called cocopillos...I think we are all going through a national identity crisis.
Saturday we had a late start because we all had a little too much fun on Friday night, but my day started beautifully because I got an amazing package from my Mom that included Oprah, stickers, and Montana magazines. Who besides Dr. Phil and all American women knew Oprah could brighten a day so much? After a leisurely start we hiked to a quarry that reminded me of Breaking Away. The hike was gorgeous and the quarry was incredibly beautiful. My wild adventurous side took over and convinced me that I needed to jump off the cliff even though it was only 50-60 degrees outside and even colder in the water. It took my breath away, but made me feel so alive. I guess that is what happens once the air comes back, you remember how important living is. We gathered wood and made ourselves a campfire to keep warm. It was so fun and made even better by the fact that I didn't have to sleep outside because my host sister is so kind and gracious she agreed to pick my friend Kendra and I up so we could sleep warmly in beds. My host family is awesome.
Sunday I went to the local rodeo which is now on the top of my list of most disturbing things I have seen. The idea is to pin the bull in four different places and after watching this I decided that PETA has done good things in the USA. It was incredibly disturbing and sad to see the bulls knocked down to the ground and be trampled by horses. Mom, don't be concerned if you start getting PETA packages in the mail for me, just forward them down here.
Tonight may have been the highlight though because after once my host father turned on some Cuban music and Lorna have me a lesson in Cuban dancing. She may be the undercover Shakira because she can make her hips move in ways I thought only existed in music videos. We had a pretty fun dance party and my body is already sore.
Que te vaya bien (go well).

At Cantera Deuco, little did I know just how foreshadowing this was.

The Quarry, I am not going to tell my Mom what I jumped off of, all she needs to know is that I am alive.

This bridge reminded me of my Grandpa. It was a gift from Pennsylvania and is really beautiful and in the middle of nowhere.

This was before the horrific mistreatment.

Doesn't the crowd just look awesome. I loved them.

The Chilean flag. On the other side of the man is a table with champagne glasses. I was looking for the PBR and Coors, but it was nowhere to be found, no wonder it wasn't as fun as the ones in Montana.

I know you are all dying for photos of me dancing, but I have a new policy which does not include giving out blackmail photos on my blog.

Proposals by sophomores to date: 12

Times I have found myself in the middle of an assembly as a dancer:1
Times I have had absolutely no idea what is going on around me: Countless
Today I had the most elaborate proposal I have had yet, one of my students proposed to me through song. He played his guitar and sang me a song and at the end got down on one knee and tried to give me a ring he had fashioned from a gold candy wrapper. It broke my heart to say no, but alas, I did. I have a lot of the students asking me to have their babies, if they can live with me in the US, if I will marry them, and my personal favorite is if I am already pregnant with their babies.
I started a running club with one of my students, which actually makes it a duet, but that's getting a bit technical. We have been running every day, it's been super fun and I really like her. Also, it makes me feel awesome and young that I can keep up with her because I have been feeling old. The kids here love music, so much so that they constantly play it from their cell phones. It is actually really annoying, saying that makes me feel like I am a 75 year old woman talking about "kids these days" but seriously, Chilean kids these days. Remember though, I can totally keep up with a 15 year old runner.
I hope you are all well. Cheers!

A weekend to remember...

Happy late birthday to my older brother Caleb, geesh, you are getting old.
And in even more exciting news, welcome to the world Nora Lou Sather! I can't wait to meet that little girl. Not to brag, but I have the two most adorable nieces ever.
This past weekend I went to Osorno with my host family and met Jorge's entire family. They are also very kind, although, I think they were scared to talk to me because few of them did. His mother is just about the cutest thing in the world, she reminds me of Tweety Bird's mother. She is absolutely adorable.
We got there late Friday night and I took a tour of a school there and then had once with Jorge's sisters and brothers. There was a lot of chatting, most of which I didn't understand so I just sat with a smile on my face and laughed when everyone else laughed.
Saturday we took the most beautiful drive through the country to a beach town where we watched the sunset. It was the most picturesque drive I have ever been on and also one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. It was really cold, but we had the good fortune of finding a sweet little restaurant and enjoying it all by the warmth of the fire. As I was sitting there watching the sunset I thought, "this is almost like being in Oregon" until I saw a drift of pigs frollicking on the beach. I love when the world reminds me that this is definitely not the United States.
I also started driving this week, which either makes me really brave or really stupid, I guess only time will tell.

The gorgeous sunset.

Part of La Familia Flores

.

Chileans are just as self obsessed as me!

The students have gotten progressively more comfortable with me, which is excellent in some ways and terrible in others. I love being proposed to and hearing them speak English, but pretty bad when they ask me to dirty dance with them in the middle of the auditorium or try to kiss me in front of the principal. I'm not entirely sure what happened today, but there was some sort of welcome to high school party for the freshmen that involved a deejay, a dance floor, spaghetti, chocolate milk, and me being asked to dance by forty 15 year olds. I didn't want to be rude, so I said yes. They tried to dance reggaetone with me which is really dirty and not at all appropriate for this blog or my life, so I taught them swing dancing. It was pretty hilarious. I thought the party was a welcomed distraction in their life until I was told by the other teachers that the students broke a window and were escaping, their words, not mine. It was like a stampede of 1500 high school students, it was like the scene in The Lion King where Mufasa is killed, but a little less dramatic.
Things I have learned:
Chileans teens love reggaeton (a popular form of music, the love child between rap, hip hop, and romance).
They also love to have their photo taken, but love even more to look at their photos.
Candy is an incredibly effective incentive.
Things I wish I had known:
Teaching is hard.
I would turn into the teacher that threatened the principal.
I would be the teacher that actually sent students to the principal.

This class is hilarious, all of the boys have asked me out and I have received three marriage proposals, good thing I'm not Mary Kay Letourneau.

My students in my makeshift classroom (the library/computer lab/English center)

"You can't take anything but your naked body to heaven, so you might as well eat well."

That is a direct quote from my principal. We went to a farewell dinner for a few of the retired teachers and I had the pleasure of sitting next to him the whole night and we had some pretty hilarious interactions. He made my day by telling me that he fully supports what I am doing and if I have any more problems with people yelling at me to send them to him. He also sang some songs to me, man, Chileans are awesome. He also told me he wants to be like Germany and Japan, I think I should be nervous, but instead I am going to roll with it.
Because my immune system does not know what to do with this country, I was unable to go hiking. This was to my benefit because my family threw an impromptu barbecue that turned out to be incredibly tasty. It also gave me time to explore Angol a little more and explore my paparazzi voyeur side. Jorge took great pride in his ability to barbecue and he taught me how to make a fire, like a real Chilean.

They felt bad about me being sick and missing out on the hike, so they took me by car to where we would have been hiking. It was incredible, it is a huge rock where you can see the sea and the Andes. It is beautiful, but the best part were the trees. They are like something straight out of Dr. Seuss's world. They are called Araucania trees and they are exclusively Chilean. This area of Chile is called Araucania and is really quite similar to western Montana, which means it is awesome. I am starting to understand them more and more and am able to make jokes that they laugh at, I still am unsure if I am actually being funny or they are being nice, but at least I feel funny.

We were in the middle of the clouds.

I loved these cows.

That's right, Jorge, delicious meat!

Pumas, Mythical Creatures, and Construction Workers, Oh My!

Caleb, to whet your appetite.

The Colo colo is a mythical Mapuche (the Native people in this region) creature that is a mix between a rat, rooster, and a serpent and sucks the saliva from people whilst they are sleeping. My fear of rats is no longer so ridiculous is it? They are a dangerous species and have the ability to procreate with other species. I feel a James Cameron hit coming.



This handsome creature is the Trauco, he lives in the forest and carries a small hatchet with him . He uses this hatchet to strike down trees and declare his sexual potency. He is irresistible to young and middle aged women, whoever the Trauco chooses will come to him and fall down at his feet. In Chile, if a girl "falls" pregnant and no one steps up as the father it is assumed that the Trauco is the father, the girl is blameless because no one can resist his charms. I keep expecting to see millions of little dwarf like children, but haven't yet. Darn.
What I fear most in this country is the Construction workers, they just drive their trucks wherever they want, knock down buildings, and whistle at me all within a two minute span. I guess I would rather deal with this than with an irresistible troll/gnome man and those darn rats.

Stray dogs are everywhere!

Every time I go for a run here it begins with one, then another, and soon enough I am running with the dogs, literally. I feel like the Cesar Millan of Chile. I let them know that I am boss through eye contact and establishing that I am the leader. It also makes me feel a little safer while running through fields of horse manure.
Last night my host family hosted all of the volunteers in the area for movie night. It was quite the event, we watched 2012 while they brought bowl after bowl of french fries, caramel corn, peanuts, and mayonnaise. It was so sweet and it was great to watch a movie in English even if it is about the world ending through earthquakes and tsunamis.
Speaking of earthquakes we are still experiencing quite a few aftershocks and had two big ones in the middle of class on Monday which caused quite a panic in the children. It was chaotic and resulted in an evacuation "practice" which really means the administration panicked and we were evacuated. It was pretty ridiculously unorganized and we surely would have all died had it been an emergency, but alas, it was not and I am safe.
Classes are going really well. I love my students. I have received a few love notes from them and my shyest student brought me a chocolate Easter egg and very timidly gave it to me after class. He made my day. He also asked if Zach was big, I told him, "He is HUGE like Arnold."
I am headed to the National Park that is nearby tomorrow. It is closed to the public because a few of the mountain lions escaped from their habitats during the earthquake and they are nervous about having too many people in it, but the director agreed to let four of the other volunteers and I go to the park. Basically, we are either really lucky or really stupid. I will let you know on Saturday.

I live with this cute little thing. Isn't she a precious bug.

He got an A.

Today it took all my self control not to purchase a purple velour sweatsuit. I think I want to fit in too much.

I have an address and a phone number!

For all of you who have been dying to send me fan mail, stalk me by phone, etc...
Hannah Webster
Alborada 162
Villa Puertas del Sol
Angol, Chile

My number is a bit more complicated
0981517429

My phone doesn't ring, so it makes it a bit more difficult, but if I know you are going to call I will wait all day and night by it.

I love mail...hint hint hint.
I am off to dance to Shakira, Beyonce, and Miley Cyrus with my host sister. We love girl's night.

Chinese food in Chile

After my extremely long mass I opted to skip out on any further religious festivities, I know one could argue that I would learn so much, that the meaning shines through the language barriers, but to them I would say, you try sitting through it for 2.5 hours WITHOUT a bathroom, that's what I thought.
Saturday I went to Los Angeles with my host sister and had fashion 101 through the eyes of a Chilean teenager. I have never seen so many bright colors, I was too young to remember much of the 80's, but it looks like I will get a second chance. Have I mentioned that the Chileans absolutely love mullets? They do, sometimes walking around is like being in a bad Kanye West video. I was tempted by the glamour and the glitz of the clothing, but opted for something far more tasteful, a zebra print shirt/dress. I like to keep things African chic.
After the shopping extravaganza we drove to my Chilean grandparent's house. The drive was absolutely gorgeous, rolling hills, fields of green, it was picturesque to be sure. The chaos at their house was absolutely hilarious, there were children galore, babies everywhere, pregnant ladies, adults chatting, and Spanish so fast my head was spinning. I think that no matter where you are in the world, grandparents houses are full of joy.
Jorge, Lorna, and I make quite a philosophy team, there is a lot of explaining minor and major concepts to me through extremely easy language, but it is really good. I think the Saturday night tradition is brandy and philosophy, I love it.

Easter day I found myself on my way to Concepcion, the epicenter of the Earthquake. The road was a bit treacherous and didn't exactly inspire confidence in me. We encountered broken bridges, collapsed roads, and many many detours, but we got there. I was expecting complete chaos and destruction, but what I encountered was no different than Angol, although a lot less friendly. There were buildings destroyed, there was a lot of damage, but nothing like what I was expecting, my family agreed. There were still people sleeping on the streets so I think that most of the damage was inside the buildings. The thing I couldn't quite capture was the way the streets were destroyed, it would be a rollerblader's nightmare.

The Lider that was in all the photos being robbed. It is still completely chaotic, but I think that is just the Chilean grocery store way. We waited in line for 40 minutes.

Destroyed building, you can't tell, but there was a huge fire that destroyed this building. It was 1/2 block.

The Plaza de Armas (central square) the middle part was thrown from the statue.

Another view. This has been here since 1898, a gift from the Spanish.

A destroyed building.

Happy late Easter! And a very happy birthday to my grandpa, my world is a better place because of him. Also, a sad goodbye to my aunt Paulette who passed away this morning. I love you Mom.

Am I living a dream?

Last night I went to church with my host family to celebrate Good Thursday. The earthquake destroyed the church, so the service was being held in a school gymnasium and it lacked a serious commodity, a bathroom. I ended up going with the mayor's wife to the beauty parlor across the street and asking if I could use their bathroom, they happily obliged and soon enough I was in Chilean Beauty Heaven, the fumes were insane and I have never seen so much extension action in my life. I understood very little of what they said but I think I have an appointment next week, Jessica Simpson and Ken Paves ain't got nothin' on this.We returned to mass where the priest washed twelve men's feet, symbolic of the twelve disciples and that, my friends, was all I understood throughout the 2.5 hour service. The microphone went in and out and the priest spoke so incredibly fast and without emotion that I understood almost nothing. After about 2 hours I was fairly certain we were ending mass because the priest and the altar boys left in a procession along with the musicians and a megaphone. We all followed in procession and I was getting ready to go the car when we all started marching and singing through the town square in a processional to the fallen altar to the Virgin at the church and the mass continued by megaphone for another 30 minutes. I felt like I was My Big Fat Greek Wedding and I was trying to impress my in-laws.

The Altar to Mary that we marched in a processional to.

We returned home and Jorge (my host father) and I talked religion for a few hours. We discussed the Protestant/Catholic split, the theology of Saint Thomas of Aquinas and my personal favorite part was our Conspiracy Theory discussion. Apparently, the earthquakes of Chile and Haiti were caused by a satellite, Elvis is alive, the pope was murdered, etc. He doesn't actually believe these things but he presented it so convincingly I was getting nervous, he eventually laughed and let me know he was only kidding. Christian, their oldest son arrived around midnight so we stayed up chatting for a few more hours with him. He is just as nice as the rest of the family and adored by all and incredibly patient about explaining things to me.
I sometimes like to start thinking I am pretty fancy for understanding Spanish, but life likes to remind me to take a bite of humble pie, i.e. I do not know Spanish. Apparently, I agreed to go to a teacher's house for Once and to watch movies, I don't remember this, I thought we were talking about her children, but I am glad I did. I was taking a nap when they arrived to pick me up and was quite confused when three people I had never seen before were at the door asking if I was ready to leave. I put my best smile forward and decided to go for it and soon enough I was in their home watching Up in the Air in Spanish and drinking Fanta (the preferred drink of almost everyone here as far as I can tell). Before the movie finished, Sophia (a 19 year old who is studying to be a detective and has won various competitions for her impeccable shooting skills) and Nikolas ( a 17 year old who looks like he is 34) decided we should go roller blading instead of finishing the movie. We put some sweet blades on and went for it. Angol is no San Francisco, it certainly was not designed with rollerbladers in mind and the roads are very uneven and only semi-paved, the earthquake hasn't helped it any. It felt like an obstacle course, which added to the sense of adventure, but had me thinking how I was ever going to explain my broken wrists to a doctor. Then we watched Mamma Mia in Spanish and all sang along. It was impossible not to have a great time. I think the musical mood must be catching because when I got home Jorge and Christian were watching music videos and gave me Chilean Music 101 with some Radiohead and Genesis thrown in. It has been hilarious living here. I wish I could fully convey how awesome these people are and how much I love living here. I can't wait to tell you what Easter is like.
P.S. I never did finish Up in the Air, I really liked it and intend to watch it in its entirety so please don't spoil it.