adios

Chao, Chile. My three months of pan and pisco have come to an end. What better way to roll out of Chile than in style? Or more specifically, in a taxi with a driver practicing driving hands free on the freeway in rush hour (he made it for thirty seconds once, prompting me to attempt to say my final prayers in español) and singing along to Chilean music with passion. Vive Chile!

adios

Chao, Chile. My three months of pan and pisco have come to an end. What better way to roll out of Chile than in style? Or more specifically, in a taxi with a driver practicing driving hands free on the freeway in rush hour (he made it for thirty seconds once, prompting me to attempt to say my final prayers in español) and singing along to Chilean music with passion. Vive Chile!

no hot water, no beds, no materials, no coffee, no problem

Oh, the double entendres of ESL. My dearest campers now know East Coast and West Coast slang and gang signs, how to say “Oh no you DID ENT!” and a number of other token Queen’s English sayings. Yesterday we bused it to Santiago to go to the MNE Museum – a hands on science museum that is the Chilean replica of the Exploratorium, complete with the same exhibits and same explanation cards, albeit in Spanish. Unfortunately, there was no cow’s eye dissection.

Today a news crew from TVN came to camp for a “live, realistic segment” which highlighted the amply equipped camp and docile students by filming the clip in front of the one fire that I spend my entire day tending in usually vain hopes of feeling my toes and telling the students to pretend to talk in English. If you look closely, you can see some Crips signs being thrown up. LINK.

Winter Camp 2010, amenity glitches aside, was quite a success. I got to pretend like I spoke Spanish and marvel that the children actually do speak remarkable English! Back to good ole Ang tonight for my last bit of Chilean time.

jiff versus skippy, LA style

Mantequilla de mani is an elusive “sabor” – one which I happily shared today with my students. Peanut butter is obviously a staple in American life and my bulk purchases were $20 well spent. This week, we are learning all about the US of A, from popular music (Michael Jackson is King), to typical food (entailing my painstakingly produced Powerpoint of the ABCs of American food with precise descriptions of what exactly is in everything), and basic facts (even the little kids can already name the President!).

starstruck

Justin Bieber made an appearance in Lautaro, Araucania, Chile today. Or at least his signature did.

All the Araucania volunteers gathered in Temuco this morning for “a cultural exchange with an integrated Mapuche school”. The students performed a traditional dance for the twenty gringos, and then we ate their food. I brought box brownies made by host mom. After the ceremony and gluttony, the students shyly brought out notebooks and pens. They asked the gringoiest of the gringos to sign. As I was signing, I noticed several “Hannah Montana” and “Justin Bieber” firmas – to be fair, there is a Hannah from Montana, but Parker Villapando is no JB.

just another manic monday

It was a manic Monday today at JEB. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade were left to their own cheering during the partido today. For once, I didn’t have to listen to the whistle thingys blarred both over the TV from South Africa and by the students, but the teachers’ absence also resulted in a massive broken window. Have a nice lunch in an even colder cafeteria!

so you think you can dance?

Yes, if you are a second grade girl, you sure can! Shakira’s got nothing on the chiquitas of JEB. They’ve truly perfected Waka Waka. We’ve spend the week learning about the World Cup in English, from the names of the participating countries, to soccer terms, to the lyrics to the English version of Waka Waka. The kids’ enthusiasm for the Mundial is literally fanatical. The entire country rallies together to support the Red – even CNN revolves around their every action. Go Chile!