A Very Chilean Christmas

A fountain/ Nativity in the middle of the main square in San Felipe

Isidora, the world's cutest 8-year-old, and I hanging out in the main plaza in San Felipe

Coni (15) and I after enjoying a delicious ice cream

If you are looking at this picture and haven't read this entry yet, read on!

Los Marchants and I, minus Eduardo and Isi

Los Marchants and I, minus Felipe and Isi

I have to admit that ever since I found out I would be going to Chile, I felt a little anxious about the prospect of celebrating Christmas away from my family and friends. The weeks leading up to Christmas definitely felt a little strange. “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” just doesn’t have the same significance when you are sweating your butt off in a light sun dress, nor does “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” Though Chile has inherited some of the commercialism that surrounds Christmas in the States, Christmas is not nearly as overdone here as it is back home.

Growing up in the O’Leary house, the day in which we stored away all of our normal house decorations and lugged the boxes upon boxes upon boxes of Christmas decorations from the attic to decorate our house for Christmas was always one of my favorite family bonding events. When my host mom here told me we would be decorating our Christmas tree, I imagined something warm and fuzzy—Christmas music playing, everyone helping, a picture perfect tree. What really ended up happening is that the 7^th grader, 5^th grader, and 4 year old were put in charge of decorating the Christmas tree, while my host parents were nowhere to be found and I tried to help as they completely butchered putting lights on the tree. During the month of December, I went to two separate Blockbusters in search of Home Alone and Elf in hopes that I could share these little cultural gems with my host siblings, only to find out that the only Christmas movie South America seems to offer is Jingle All the Way. Really? Who remembers Jingle All the Way? (For those of you who don’t remember this movie, good for you. In case you want to remember, this is the one where Arnold Schwarzenegger saves the day as a live super hero in a Christmas parade.) Anyway, so passed my month of December, a very un-Christmas feeling leading up to Christmas.

Finally, on December 23^rd, I started to feel the spirit a bit. Garrett’s parents have been in Chile visiting him and so they treated us all to pizza at the ChACE apartment. After eating dinner and hanging around for a bit, Garrett unveiled the mystery Christmas movies he had been talking up, and much to my delight, we got to watch Home Alone! Nothing says Christmas better than McCauley Caulkin fighting off Joe Pesci and trapping the “wet bandits” once and for all.

After a wonderful night of fellowship and great fun with the people I love down here, I left Friday morning (Christmas Eve) for San Felipe with my host cousins. My host family left on December 23^rd to spend Christmas with their relatives in Spain, and so I was passed off to the host cousins, who live next door to us. I had been around the host cousins plenty of times to feel comfortable with them, but had never done anything solo with them. To my delight, they proved to be amazing company for Christmas. We arrived in San Felipe in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, and commenced doing absolutely nothing. Absolutely nothing meant talking a walk to the delicious ice cream stand in this pueblito, enjoying a rico ice cream cone, sitting around in the main plaza, and taking a nap. I know I have talked about San Felipe before, but to paint a more clear picture, it is a small town that has one central square which includes all of the main important buildings, the Church, etc. Everyone in the town knows everyone and when you are there, you feel as if you have been transported back in time.

That night, we put on our fancy clothes and headed to 9 PM Christmas Eve mass. Upon entering the Church, I immediately felt the sense of peace that only Christmas Eve mass can bring. Though I was half way around the world, worshiping in a small town, the only gringa within miles, hearing many Christmas songs for the first time in a different language, with a family that is not my own, there was something in my emotions that felt completely familiar and comfortable and that reminded me of all of the Christmases I have celebrated at home in Garden City in St. Joseph’s Church. I guess that is part of the miracle of Christmas. The mass itself was beautiful. The songs were the same, just in Spanish, and there was a beautiful manger flanking the altar. At the end of the mass, the entire congregation processed out into the main square, which was illuminated with scintillating Christmas lights, while the priest laid the baby Jesus in a manger complete with live animals.

After mass, we went home and ate our Christmas dinner. I had a good laugh thinking about how at 11 PM we were just STARTING our Christmas dinner and knowing that my family usually wraps up the festivities at around 11. After a delicious meal, we began opening presents. It was great to see how much simpler gift giving is here. Everyone received about 2 or 3 gifts, no more, which seems so much more in line with what Christmas is all about. I was really touched when the host cousins, with whom I did not live with all of this time, gave me a gift. It was really just so thoughtful and such a display of Chilean generosity. After our gift exchange, we retired to bed at about 2 or 3 AM.

The next morning, we were woken up by Isidora, the world’s most adorable 8-year-old host cousin. Isidora had went to bed right after dinner on Christmas Eve in hopes that Viejito Pascuero (Santa Claus) would come to the house once she was asleep. As a result, she had not partaken in the gift giving. We watched her open her gifts from Viejito Pascuero with delight, and then ate a Christmas-morning breakfast. Because it was just the host cousins (Marchant is their last name), host grandmother, and me celebrating Christmas together, we passed the day pretty tranquilly. I definitely took at least 2 naps, as did everyone else, and we definitely didn’t eat lunch until about 4 PM.

Around 9 PM, I returned back to the house from a run and found out that the host grandmother, and host cousins Felipe and Eduardo, were getting ready to go to the casino. So, around midnight the 4 of us headed out to the casino. Not what I would call a typical Christmas activity, but hey, when you’re in Chile, you don’t turn down invitations to do anything. About 4 hours later at 4 AM, Felipe, Eduardo, and I were dragging host grandmother, who had won a RIDICULOUS amount of money and apparently never looses, out of the casino. Lo and behold I found myself snacking at 4:30 AM and going to bed at 5 AM. Definitely one of my most interesting Christmas nights!

Overall I really had a wonderful weekend and was just amazed by the ability of this family to open up their home to me and to invite me to be a part of such an important and intimate family holiday. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was skyping with my own family. We talked at least three times over the course of Christmas Eve and Christmas day and it was so fun to see them all together. Being so far away from my own family on Christmas just helped me appreciate all the more how beautiful families are and how wonderful traditions can be. I can assure you that next Christmas I will be chowing down on the O’Leary filet mignons and creamed spinach and belting out “O Holy Night,” in Saint Josephs Church. That being said, the opportunity to celebrate Christmas in another part of the world is something I will never forget.

This is a picture of my host family and I at a "despedida," or farewell that St. George's hosted for us and our host families. It was a beautiful little cocktail hour, or "once." We started with a prayer service in the chapel, and then enjoyed some refreshments. We all went around and talked about what the experience meant to us. Yes, I had to stand up and talk in Spanish in front of like 30 people! Eek! The cutest part was when my host brother Alejandro (who is 4), said, "I want to pray for Klatin (yes, this is how he says my name), that she is well." This picture gives you a good picture of the natural beauty that surrounds St. George's campus.

Lo Pasamos Super Bien!

This picture has nothing to do with anything I wrote about, but I thought it was a nice shot of the family. This is a typical Sunday, having a nice lunch in the backyard and not doing much of anything.

“Lo pasamos super bien” means roughly, “we had a great time,” which is a perfect way to describe mostly everything here in Chile. There are definitely days here where I miss America and realize how far away Iam from everyone I care about,but most of the time, these Chilean people are becoming more and more “cariños” to me, or “dear to my heart.” I find that the pace here and the general way in which people are immediately caring and open with each other has really helped me to slow down and value more and more both the relationshipsI am making here and the relationships I have with all of you who might be reading back home. Though I have never been one to sit back and let lifepass me by, here I am really “aprovechando” or “enjoying and making the most of” the people around me and the things I am doing in a way that I haven’t before. Maybe it’s something in the water, or maybe in the Pisco Sours, but Chile and the Chilean people really have a way of making you slow down, look around,and count your blessings. A bit more on this . . .

ChACE Retreat and Thanksgiving

ChACErs on Thanksgiving with Fr. Scully and Juan Esteban Montes, founder of ACE/ ChACE and Notre Dame ChACE liason in Chile, respectively. We are in the backyard area of the rectory. I get to see those mountains every day at work.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I celebrated my very first Thanksgiving away from my family. Because Thanksgiving is not a holiday here, I worked a normal day from 8-4 without anyone having an idea it was such an important holiday. Then, after school, the Holy Cross priests that run St. George invited us to a beautiful mass in the chapel righton campus. It was the first mass I had been to in English in about four months and it sure was strange to hear everything in English. It was also quite a blessing to be able to pray so authentically on a day where it is so important to me to thank God.

After mass, we walked over to the rectory where the priests live and enjoyed a wonderful dinner with our rag-tag group of priests, nuns, and gringo volunteers. Though the food was not quite St. James mashed potatoes, Aunt Barbara’s famous stuffing, and Jan’s zucchini bread, enjoying Pisco Sours and some home-made apple pie while wearing a sun dress, sitting outside, and looking at the Chilean mountains was not a bad second. Despite my anxiousness about feeling super homesick on this day, I actually experienced a great sense of peace and a strong awareness of how truly blessed I am. I realized particularly that day how absolutely wonderful my ChACE cohort is and how our community is really life-giving. The experience we are sharing is so unique and the times like Thanksgiving where we realize how far away we are from the familiar really make our closeness and the fun we havetogether so evident. That day, I also thought about how lucky I am to be here in Chile, experiencing a completely different culture and expanding my mind to a world that is so much bigger than the one that I knew. Finally, that day I thought about my own family and how despite what an awesome time I am having here, no one can truly replace Jan, Jim, Lauren, and Charlie.

That night, when I got home, I skyped with my family and had the great luck of talking to every single person present at the O’Leary-Rava Thanksgiving while my mom followed the computer around the room as it was passed from person to person. After that, I ran upstairs with my lap top, and virtually introduced my host family to my real family. It was such a surreal moment and was so special to me that my real family could finally meet and see my host family, who has been such an integral part of my life here over the past two months or so. Only recently, my host mom told me that my real family seemed “super gringo” when she met them on Thanksgiving, which gave me a good laugh.

The day after Thanksgiving, our ChACE cohort, the cohort that will be leaving soon, Fr. Scully (who came in all the way from Notre Dame), Juan EstebanMontes (who is in charge of all of ND’s initiatives here in Chile), and Ignacio (a long time friend of Fr. Scully’s) headed to the beach town of Zapallar. We stayed in the houses of Ignacio’s family and another family of whom Fr. Scully is a great friend. I will let the pictures do the place justice. It was incredible! We feasted, enjoyed some beautiful masses and walks on the beach, had some great conversation, and generally just enjoyed some fellowship. As I said, “lo pasamos super bien.”

Our ChACE group on the rocks overlooking the beach. Que linda!

Adventures in San Felipe

Host Grandma, blowing out the candles of one of the THREE cakes we ate that day

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned much about my host grandmother yet, but she is definitely a lady worth mentioning. Though in her late seventies, maybe even early eighties (my host mom told me how old she is once and I remember being shocked at how old she is based on how great she looks), she still works full time running her own school. Her husband passed away about two years ago and my host mom told me, “If she stopped working, she would die.” Without her husband, her work is what keeps her going. Her energy is ridiculous, as is her ability to wear heels that are way cuter than any shoes I own. Recently, she won an award for her contributions to her town, San Felipe, through all of her dedication to her school. I went to the awards ceremony with my host Dad and host brother. Upon arriving at her house, which is about an hour outside of Santiago in the country, she immediately looked at my shoes (which I happened to think looked quite nice), and said, “Oh, you’re wearing those, this is a formal ceremony!” Of course, I immediately felt awful, but with these large feet, there’s little chance of ANYone having shoes they can lend me. Then, she said, “Oh you North Americans, you are always so informal,” and I just let it go. What else is a girl to do? After the awards ceremony, my host dad and brother left to go back to Santiago, and I stayed with grandma, enjoying a ridiculous lunch of many courses.

A few weekends later, the entire family spent the weekend at h

ost grandma’s house to celebrate her birthday. I went with the host fam (this time in fancier shoes) expecting an intimate family gathering, only to find out that every year, host grandma throws herself a giant birthday bash. This particular party was at the beautiful house of family friends (whom I had already met), complete with

tents brought in just for the day and a fully catered, delicious lunch of about 50 people. Lunch in Chile on the weekends is code for “we are going to eat all day.” This feast literally started at about one and ended at nine. The next day, I woke up early and went for a good long run around the host grandmother’s town, setting the record for being the first blonde gringa to ever run in the pueblito of San Felipe. Afterwards, we went to mass and then visited the cemetery where my host grandmother’s husband is buried. It was a beautiful moment

for me because I felt like it was such an intimate family event and yet the family didn’t think twice about having me be a part of it. On our walk out of the cemetery, host grandma put her arm around me and we talked about how she must really miss him and how she prays for him and asks God that her husband watch over her every day. Again, just another really cool moment of feeling so welcomed.

A photo of me with the host family at Grandma's cumpleaños. Don't I just fit right in?

Ladies Night

My host family does not eat typical Chilean food. My host dad is from Spain and none of the kids like Chilean food, so we mainly eat a mix of Spanish food and generic foods like pasta, hamburgers, etc. A couple of weeks ago, my host mom went out to dinner with one of her friends to the Marriott hotel and discovered that every Thursday night, the Marriott puts on a buffet (Mom, Dad, Lauren, and Charlie, read BOOOFEEET) of traditional Chilean food. She marked her calendar and told me we need to go, because I can’t leave the house without knowing what Chilean food is. She asked me to invite a friend so I told Aislinn to tag along. We arrived at the Marriot only to find out that there are no longer traditional buffets happening and the particular place where we were going to dine was closed for a private party. This resulted in my host mom taking us to the grill at the Marriot, which was significantly more pricey than what we had planned toeat. She then encouraged Aislinn and I to order from the ridiculously expensive, four-course, set-price menu. We both felt super awkward about it because of how expensive it was, but decided to go for it. It was an UNBELIEVABLE meal. Every course came with wine, the food was super-rico, and we had some great conversation about Chile, ourselves, our families, and other fun girl talk. The night was yet another reminder that the generosity of the people here is truly astounding.

Coming Up

I have much to look forward to in these coming weeks. On January 3^rd, I leave for a 10- day mission trip to Osorno, Chile, where I will be accompanying high school students as they live, work, and pray with some traditional Mapuche people. From there, I’ll embark on 6 weeks of traveling throughout all of the South of Chile all the way to Patagonia, and to Bariloche, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Iguazu Falls, and Rio de Janeiro. Midway through my travels, my friend Maureen from high school is meeting me in Santiago and accompanying me to Buenos Aires. I am super pumped to “conocer” so many new places and to see Maureen and show her a bit of my world down here.

Just Another Day, Living my Life in Chile . . .

El Colegio

St. George is so big that one can work there and still not know exactly what is going on. For example, just yesterday, I had to let my kids out of class early for an inter-sixth grade competition that I had no idea was going on, despite the fact that I teach only 6^th grade. The thing that I am coming to love about the immensity of the school is that there is ALWAYS something going on. Here are a few recent highlights:

1. Celebration of the Canonization of Saint Andre Besset: When I was at Notre Dame and this man was up for canonization, the congregation loved to talk about it continually. The same goes for the congregation here in Chile. Saint Andres, the first Holy Cross religious to be canonized, was canonized on October 17, and accordingly, there was lots going on to celebrate. I attended a gorgeous mass in the main basilica downtown with my host parents. I felt as if I had been transported to the basilica at Notre Dame. The only real difference was that the mass was in Spanish and we were of course in Chile. It was a cool feeling to feel tied to the Holy Cross community—which has been instrumental in my life for the past 6 years both at Notre Dame and in ACE—when I am so far away. That week we had our first school wide mass. The student body is so big that the only place where everyone can be accommodated is on the infield of the track. It was also a beautiful mass. The kids at the school are given so much responsibility and independence here and they played big roles in all parts of the mass. Speaking of mass, one thing all of South America still doesn’t seem to have down is any sense of order while receiving communion. Both here and in Ecuador, when it is time to receive communion, everyone just runs up there in a haphazard first-come-first-serves sort of way. It is very entertaining to watch.

2. Parade of Kids: I got to witness one of my first Georgian traditions recently, as it was the last day of school for the 12^th graders. The seniors make a valiant exit from the school by going to the pre-kindergarten, choosing their very own pre-kindergartner, and parading around the school with said pre-kindergartner. Some of the little ones are up on the 12^th graders’ shoulders having a grand old time, waving, and smiling. Others seem absolutely terrified. Some of the 12^th graders were even crying because they were so sad to leave St. George’s. The whole school stops class and all of the rest of the students line the halls to cheer. It was pretty cool to see.

3. Teaching: I think I am beginning to understand how these Georgian kids work. They LOVE competition. Though they are not motivated to behave in class, they are motivated to get good grades. I’ve been embracing this competitive, performance-driven attitude and am starting to get some good results. For example, right now all of my classes are having a competition. Every day all of the kids in one class bring all of their supplies to class, that class gets an “X” mark. At the end of the year, whichever class has the most “X” marks will win a class party. Teaching strategies like this are foreign to these kids, and they love it. Practically every kid who walks in the door shoves his/her books in my face and says, “Look Miss, I have everything.” This may seem like nothing to you all, but something like this would NEVER have succeeded in my past teaching endeavors.

A Pre-Kindergartner (with an eye-patch!) in the Senior Parade

Life with the Host Fam

I am growing to love my host family. It’s taken time to feel more comfortable/ close with them, but it’s finally starting to happen. Now that I know them all a little better, I’m going to offer a short recap of my relationship with each of them/ their personalities.

Mariano, my host dad: Mariano is generally a pretty quiet guy. He works super hard every day and usually gets home around 8 PM pretty exhausted (understandably). He is hilarious with his girls because he bothers them to no end, in much of the same way that I can remember my dad doing when I was between the ages of 11 and 17. For example, my host sister Vivi loves the Disney Channel radio station and it is incessantly on in the car. He always tries to belt out the songs and Vivi immediately starts screaming “PAPAAAAAA” at him until he stops, chuckling to himself. Mariano is also an amazing chef. He can make some really legit Spanish food, though rarely uses his skills because most of the food is usually cooked for us. He knows very little English, but loves to say what he does know to me in English and then immediately start chuckling. I am frequently greeted with a “Hello, how are you? Hahahahahaha.”

Mariano with Elisa and her friends at her 17th Birthday Celebration

Viviana, my host mom: Viviana has an endless energy that never ceases to amaze me. She is a big, important doctor and works super long hours. When she gets home, she’s buzzing around the house doing all of her motherly duties. She is always zapping from one place to another, and some of the most frequent words I hear her say are “Go, go, go,” “Estoy saliendo….,” and “Apurate.” All of which really mean “hurry up, we need to get on to our next activity here!” Despite her busy-ness, she’s super sweet. She’ll be spending three months in London starting in January where she’ll be doing a sort of “internship” at another hospital. As a result, one of our most frequent bonding activities includes me helping her write e-mails in English, which I actually really enjoy doing. Her English is pretty impressive and she can remember words after hearing them once. Jealous!

Elisa, my 17-year-old host sister: I’ve probably gotten closest to Elisa of all of the kids, which makes sense because she is the closest in age to me. Elisa’s life reminds me of the things I did not like about high school—never sleeping, always studying, and not being able to drive. She works really hard in school, practices her synchronized swimming all of the time, but also has a really great time. She’s super social and our house seems to be the house where all of her friends gather. This has resulted in several awkward encounters in which I try to socialize with them because she always tells me to come hang out with them, but then realize that I am about 8 years older than these kids and also work at the school where they teach. Being in high school in Chile seems to be pretty sweet because you can basically do anything you want. For example, Elisa had a party at our house for Halloween. Her friends didn’t start showing up until around 11 and the party didn’t end until around 3: 30 AM. Elisa and I have several activities that we frequently do together. One of my personal favorites is watching her Gossip Girl DVDs which have Spanish subtitles. She also loves to facebook stalk with me.

Elisa on her birthday

Mariano, my 13-year-old host brother: Mariano is the hidden gem of the family. Elisa and Vivi are usually pretty frantic and screaming at their parents, and Mariano is always pretty calm. He usually does what he’s supposed to do without complaining, and he’s awesome with his little brother Alejandro. He reminds me a lot of my brother Charlie in that he has a high tolerance for crazy sisters. Though Mariano is 13, he’s very playful like a kid and often can be found running around the house with his little brother Alejandro. One of the most endearing things about him is that sometimes he gives me a little kiss on the cheek in the morning when we part ways and go to our separate classrooms. Right now, the school is preparing the kids for the English department’s spelling bee. Mariano really wanted to be the 7^th grade’s representative, but he did not advance to the finals. He was really bummed about it, so I suggested we have an in- house spelling bee with me as the hostess. He loved the idea, which I thought was just adorable, and has been asking me about the words several times this week. This Sunday, we will be having our own little spelling bee among him, Elisa, Vivi, and my host mom.

Mariano and I at an asado

Viviana, my 11-year-old host sister: Viviana is in fifth grade, but is very much a little girl. She still refuses to eat her food and my host parents basically have to force it down her throat. She can never remember any of the books she is supposed to bring to school, and I always see her running around the colegio with her little group of compañeras. Our main bond is when I think of random tricks to show her. I can make this weird noise by cupping my hands over my mouth. I showed it to Vivi and she was fascinated, trying to imitate it all day. She also loves to show me card tricks. Unfortunately, this is about the extent of our relationship right now, so if any of you all have any tricks a 5^th grade, Chilean girl would like, send them my way.

Viviana dressed up for a Halloween party with my host mom, also Viviana

Alejandro, my 4-year-old host brother: Alejandro is adorable. He has big brown eyes and a cute little nose. He runs around the house wreaking havoc. One minute he is laughing, the next minute he is screaming, and the next minute he is crying. I guess that makes him like any other four year old. His favorite pastimes include hiding in the kitchen cabinets among the pots and pans, playing video games, watching movies, and running around with his brother Mariano. Sometimes he likes me, and sometimes he doesn’t. He told the whole family I was dumb one time, which was pretty entertaining. Usually, I’m his last resort for someone to hang out with. If no one is around, he will open the door to my room and say in the cutest of voices, “¿Quiere hacer algo con migo?” which means, “Do you want to do something with me?” Our best accomplishment was probably when we made spiderman out of play-dough together.

Alejandro in his spider-man costume for Halloween

When I’m Not with the Host Family . . .

Though I try to spend a good deal of time with the host fam, I’ve also been quite busy having a social life of my own.

ChACE Halloween Party: It’s a tradition in ChACE that because we are gringos, we host a big Halloween party to show the Chileans how it’s done. Every year, the ChACErs dress up as some sort of theme and do not reveal their costumes until the night of the party. This year, because there are 12 of us here right now, we dressed up as the 12 months of the year. Keep in mind that the seasons are opposite here, so if you dress up as American July you might as well be dressing up as Chilean January. We had a nice little mix of Chilean and American months.

January—Me—New Year’s, with a great deal of help from my host family, who scrounged around the house for costumes.

February—Garrett—Cupid costume, hand-made by his ridiculously nice host mom

March—Heather—March madness, the Chileans were confused

April—Johnnie—April showers, she came dressed in a rain jacket and toting an umbrella

May—Aislinn—May flowers, an adorable little daisy costume that her host family just happened to have lying around

June—Phil—he was North American summer and South American winter with an equator belt separating the hemispheres

July—Greg—Uncle Sam, he actually found an Uncle Sam costume to rent here in Chile, ridiculously awesome

August—Megan—a thief who stole the Mona Lisa because there really isn’t anything else that happened in August in two countries

September—Francisco—Chilean independence day celebration, including some traditional gear

October—Anne—a witch, what a classic Halloween costume!

November—Eamon—Dia de los Muertos, an important celebration here

December—Laura—a Christmas tree, hand-decorated by Aislinn

Going out in Chile in General: Going out in Chile is ridiculously fun! I love the fact that this is a country where people actually know how to dance and where there is actually some legitimate music at times. I’m trying to learn how to salsa dance. Usually failing, but the nice part is that it’s always the guy’s fault, so you can be a horrible salsa dancer and get away with it. The Chileans start their nights ridiculously late! A typical night here ends around 5 AM, if not later. While this was an adjustment at first, I’m adjusting and embracing it. Everyone is lazy on Sundays here, so a late night out on Saturday doesn’t really matter too much. Every good Chilean celebration also usually begins with an asado, or barbeque. So far I’ve been to several. The eating usually doesn’t commence until at least 9, which means you’re not going out until at least 1. It’s a perfect combination: delicious food, and then dancing and good music.

Los Mineros

It was pretty awesome to actually be here in Chile for the rescue of the mineros. I got to watch the news live in Chile and hear the Chilean perspective on everything. The country was swelling with pride about the event, miner costumes were super popular for Halloween, and I even had a student who brought a rock from an actual mine to class because his father is a politician who was there for the rescue. Not much else to say about it, but definitely worth commenting on!

Aislinn, Laura, Heather, and I at a great dance club with live music

The 12 months of the year at the ChACE Halloween Party

Living the Good Life in Chile

I’ve been in Santiago for just over three weeks now but it feels much longer and shorter at the same time, if that makes any sense. So much has happened in such little time! I’ll try to break some of it down for you all:

My host mom, host sister, and I in front of the Pacific!

Some of our group with my host dad's amazing paella

¡La Playa!

St. George’s organizes families into small groups to encourage fellowship. They even provide booklets with activities and family discussion questions. It’s really an awesome way to minister to both parents and students. This past weekend, my host family and two other families from the school, decided to take a trip to the beach to engage in one such fellowship activity.

We left on Saturday afternoon and arrived in under two hours. The Pacific is gorgeous! Huge boulders of rocks line the coast and the smell of salt water is pungent and refreshing. I felt like I was at the beach and in the country at the same time, because the area outlying the coast offered vistas of plush, rolling green hills and beautiful natural flowers. When my family and I arrived, we checked into their beach bungalow and headed to the condominium of one of the other families. After enjoying an “once” there, the three families and I celebrated mass together and then headed back to the apartment for a delicious Italian feast. In true Chilean style, we probably at dinner at around 10 PM, and enjoyed some wine and pisco sours along the way. The next morning, Victor, my rugby compañero who also happened to be on this trip, and I set out for a run, with some of the others accompanying us on bike. Victor kicked my ass and reminded me that I need to get in shape! We ran for an hour and a half up some crazy hills and along the coast. Even though I was dying at times, the entire run was gorgeous and I couldn’t stop thinking about how lucky I was to be running along the coast of Chile with the wind of the Pacific at my back.

After earning our lunches, we feasted. Chileans LOVE barbecues. Every Sunday since I’ve been here, I’ve been lucky enough to have an asado with my host family. The barbeques always start out with “choripans” which are kind of like brats or sausage sandwiches, but more delicious. Even though you’re basically full after eating a choripan, you’re expected to feast on more meat and then eat dessert. When you’re done, you really don’t want to eat for the rest of the day, but it’s a fantastic feeling. Since my host dad is from Spain, we had a nice mix of Chilean and Spanish culture with his AMAZING, home-made paella that beat anything I ate while actually in the country of Spain. Life is good.

After lunch, we all just sat around hanging out, and I enjoyed a nice little siesta. It was such a fantastic time. It seems like here, Sundays are still Sundays. There are no soccer games, no work to be done, no meetings. Everyone really does simply enjoy time with his/her family. It seems like this true day of rest can really be lacking for us in the States, and I am trying to savor it here.

Teaching

After spending one week at St. George’s, I was “thrown to the wolves” and began teaching. Sixth graders really can feel like wolves at times. Overall, it’s going very well and it feels great to be back in the classroom. My teaching situation here is very different from the past in the sense that I teach the same lesson five times a day, whereas in the past, I always had a LOT more to plan. This is nice, in the sense that it’s less work, but does not allow me to be as creative as I would like. Additionally, I am working with a partner teacher. We are supposed to teach the same material each day, give the same assessments, and generally work completely together. Thankfully, my partner teacher has been awesome and really helpful so far. Since I am acting as a long term sub right now and jumping in at the end of the school year, it is hard to really take ownership or call the shots, but I have been doing my best to infuse my own teaching personality into what I am doing when possible. So, the long and short of it is, it’s going well and I am quickly loving these kids!

Rugby

I now play touch rugby! Yes, that is correct. I have no idea what I’m doing and the entire strategy of the game is counterintuitive to any sport I have played in the past, but I’ve been having fun. Marriane, a teacher at St. George, whom I met over the summer at Notre Dame in my ENL classes, has a husband named Victor. Marriane and Victor hosted a ChACEr in their home roughly five years ago and when they did, Victor became involved in this touch ruby league. As a result, he invites the ChACErs to play every year. Aislinn, Garrett, and I have decided to join Victor’s team, “Taz” and go to the games every Wednesday night. The league is co-ed and has a large variety of ages. The park where we play offers a spectacular view of Santiago. The game itself is alright, but the main event is the “third half” in which we have a beer. This was my main motivation to join. Every Wednesday, I am guaranteed at least an hour of solid Spanish practice and given a chance to meet some Chileans and Gringos my age, as there is a good mix in the league. Victor, like EVERY Chilean I have met so far, is extremely welcoming and hospitable towards us. He picks us all up before the game and drops us all off. I am truly learning a new level of hospitality from the people here.

Trekking

Last weekend, a group of us went to Parque Andino Juncal, which is close to the border with Argentino. Ignacio, an alum of St. George’s, was our extremely hospitable Chilean guide. Ignacio’s family lived in the States for one year and he spent a semester at Notre Dame, where he got to know Garrett. As such, when we arrived here, Garrett and Ignacio met up and Ignacio invited us on this camping trip. The trip was incredible! Our group, which had about ten people, was the only group of people in the park! We hiked through gorgeous mountains, scaled through snow to reach a cave of rock, passed along rivers, and trekked through rocks and mud. It was some of the more difficult trekking I’ve done. We even swam in an ice-cold river. At night, we made some delicious food around the fire and camped out underneath an amazing tapestry of stars. It’s funny how in the Southern Hemisphere, you get to look at a whole different sky, something I hadn’t really thought about before. The park was one of the most peaceful, beautiful places I’ve ever been to, and I have just arrived in Chile! I can’t imagine that there are more beautiful places here, but apparently there are!

Our group of trekkers at the beginning of our journey and later on, relaxing by the river

Those are the major updates for now. More to come soon! Hope all are well! Much love.

Bienvenidos a Santiago

Wine Tasting. Garrett is incapable of acting normal in pictures.

I work here

I live here

Today marks one week in Santiago and I feel as if so much has happened in one short week. My one- week assessment is that the city is absolutely beautiful and the people are some of the most friendly and warm I have ever met. Here goes it:

The Host Family

After arriving on Sunday and receiving a warm welcome from the current ChACErs, we spent Monday running errands such as getting metro cards and temporary resident IDs. That night, the ChACErs hosted an “Once” (Chilean cocktails/appetizers) for all of us and our host families came to meet us and take us to our new homes. My host mom and brother were the first to arrive, which meant I got to be the first one to jump into the laborious task of trying to speak Chilean. I say speak Chilean because Chilean Spanish is a breed of its own. “S” no longer exists in the Spanish alphabet and there are several new phrases that are thrown into sentences frequently, such as “wea,” “oye,” and others. I’d been warned several times about the Chilean accent, and honestly it is not nearly as bad as I expected. My oral comprehension is still pretty high, so I am relieved.

My host mom and brother took me back to my new casa, which is beautiful. My host mom, Vivi, is Chilean (obviously) and a neurologist. She met my host dad, Mariano, when they were in Medical School here. Mariano is from Spain but has lived here ever since they met. This means that not only are they both brains, but I have the good fortune of eating both Chilean and Spanish food! My host siblings are: Elisa (16), Mariano Junior (12), Vivana Junior (10), and Alejandro (4). They all seem pretty great. Alejandro was afraid of me and always hid when he saw me for the first few days, but I am currently writing this with him snuggled right next to me playing a video game on the couch, so we are buddies now! The girls do synchronized swimming and compete internationally, which I think is pretty sweet. The family is clearly doing very well for themselves, because they have two maids—one who lives here Monday through Friday, and the other who only comes on the weekends. It feels a little uncomfortable to have this live-in-help that does everything, including things such as putting sugar in my coffee, that I am perfectly capable of doing, but this is part of the culture here. It will take some getting used to for sure!

St. George’s

St. George’s has lived up to the hype. It is unlike any school I have ever been in. For one, it has TONS of land. For those of you from Long Island, Chaminade’s Jericho Turnpike buy-out seems like nothing compared to St. George’s. In addition, you can see beautiful snow-capped mountains to the East, and the green coastal mountains to the West from the school. The place pulsates with a unique energy and feels almost like a mini college campus. The students at St. George’s have a unique energy, which I am sure will prove to be a challenge in the classroom, but which I am choosing to embrace right now. “Georgians,” as they call themselves, are known for their open-mindedness. The kids are said to often have more control than the teachers and administrators, and everything at the school is apparently very student-directed. Every single teacher and faculty member I have met so far has been more than nice. I have lost count of how many times I heard, “Cualquiera cosa necesitas, digame,” which means, “Whatever you need, tell me.” Additionally, two different teachers from the school have already given me rides home and I have already found a running partner in one of the other teachers. I absolutely love the Chilean hospitality. As a side note, everyone kisses everyone on the cheek here to say hello and I really feels that it instantly makes you feel more comfortable and at ease. A great custom!

Traditionally, the ChACErs spend these last two months of the school year trailing other teachers, observing, and helping out in any capacity needed. I, however, have the “good fortune” of starting teaching tomorrow! One of the sixth grade English teachers is on maternity leave, which means I am being thrown into the bulls tomorrow. Though it would be nice to not have as many responsibilities, I think my assignment is a blessing. I really miss being in the classroom and I am excited to have the opportunity to gain more experience before the start of the next school year. In case you’re confused, the school year will end the first week in December, which is Chilean summertime, and the new school year will commence in March.

My First Weekend Festivities

To start getting to know Chliean night life, we went to a wine tasting on Friday night, which was fantastic. All of the wines were delicious, as were the abundant appetizers and desserts. I could really get used to the fact that wine tasting are frequent occurrences here in Santiago.

Let’s just say that the next morning, I woke up and realized perhaps I had had one too many tastes of wine. My host fam was going to the “estadio” where my host sisters practice synchronized swimming and asked me if I wanted to go. Even though I wasn’t feeling too hot, I of course said yes. I thought that “estadio” meant gym, or something like that, so I threw on a T-shirt and shorts to maybe run and brought my bathing suit with me in case I wanted to do laps. When I arrived, I quickly realized that estadio actually means country club and that I looked like an absolute scrub. The place is gorgeous, complete with an indoor and outdoor pool, tennis courts, soccer fields, golf area, gardens, and a restaurant. My host sisters walked me to the locker room and then I asked them what time I should meet them. They said 1:30, which was in THREE HOURS. Realizing that I would not swim for three hours, I decided to lie on a bench and soak up the sun for the first hour and a half. I then enjoyed a great swim, rid the wine from my body, and had an awesome lunch with my host family. My host family is in the process of getting me a temporary membership there, and I’m excited to start spending some Saturdays at this beautiful place. I feel extremely blessed.

Last night, I met up with the other ChACErs at California Cantina, the only bar in Santiago that broadcasts college football games. It’s crazy how you meet ND fans everywhere! When I walked into the bar, I saw a girl who had lived in my dorm at ND and recently moved to Santiago. In addition, there is another Holy Cross service program here so we hung out with some other gringo volunteers. Don’t worry, there were also some gringo-loving Chileans who are friends with the older group of ChACErs, so I took full advantage of the opportunity to get to know them and practice my Spanish. After the ND game was over, we went to another bar. I was pretty wiped out, and decided to go home. Sebastian, another teacher at St. George’s, dropped Aislinn, Phil, and I off at our respective host casas. I went into my room, put on my pajamas, and was getting ready for bed when my 16- year old host sister, who had friends over, came into my room and asked if I wanted to go out dancing. This was at about 2:30 in the morning, by the way. The eager look on her face was my sign that this was an invitation I should not decline. So I got dressed again, only this time with her advice. She told me I needed to find something more “sexy” (yes, this is a 16-year old telling me what to wear), helped me pick out an outfit, and lent me her leather jacket. At this moment, I wasn’t quite sure if I was making one of my better life decisions, but figured I should just go for it. If I want to really acculturate myself here, I have to grasp on to opportunities like this one. So I held my breath and got into the car of one of her friends, who thankfully is at least 20, so I didn’t feel like a total freak going out with STUDENTS who attend the school where I now teach (something I would NEVER in my LIFE do in the United States).

It wasn’t until we arrived at the string of bars that I realized that there actually is a drinking age in Chile and my host sister and her friend are still underage. So after reliving my last year of high school and first few years of college by watching these kids try to get into bars with fake IDs and get rejected, we ended up at a bar that did not ID. Lo and behold, who happened to be in there but all of the ChACErs/friends of ChACE who I had left earlier that night, including Sebastian, who had driven me home about an hour before. You can imagine that they were a little confused when I showed up in a new outfit with a bunch of people who were at least 4 years younger than me. After explaining, I ended up really enjoying myself and enjoying some real bonding with my host sister. I had to abandon any ideas I have about what is appropriate for high school students and just watch as my host sister smoked cigarettes like a natural.

When it was FINALLY time to leave, at 5 in the morning, I was exhausted. My host sister was ignoring calls from our host parents, despite my advice that she pick up the phone. I was reminded of a time in high school when I had accidentally left my phone on silent and missed about 10 calls from my parents, only to come home and nearly be assassinated, because they thought I was dead on the side of a road. I was a little nervous that our return was going to be SUPER awkward and I was going to get off to a really bad start as a HORRIBLE role model. However, when we arrived home, the host parents were not downstairs freaking out as I’m sure Jan and Jimbo would have been. No choice words were exchanged, and this morning I was chuckling about the whole thing with my host parents, who seemed to really have no problem with the whole situation. I guess I can get used to this Chilean attitude!

Finally, today I went to mass with my host fam in the morning and then they had their cousins over for a barbeque. Sunday barbeques are pretty traditional here and I don’t think I have ever eaten so much meat in my life. It was all DELICIOUS and I’m pretty excited about the fact that I’ll get to do this almost every Sunday. That’s about all for now, everyone, but I hope to write soon!

Also, for those of you who are interested, here is the St. George’s website: http://www.saintgeorge.cl/

My address here is:

1056 Camino Otoñal

Las Condes

Santiago, Chile

(I enjoy receiving mail, wink, wink!)

¡Hasta Luego, Quito!

Not the best picture, but the only one I have with my Vida Verde certificate

Eamon makes the first move

Cisco quickly counters

The view from the top of the basilica

I’m writing from the Lima airport, with one hour left until my flight to Santiago! I am so excited. I feel like the anticipation of this moment has been going on for months. I have to admit, though, that it was un poco triste to leave Quito this morning. I had a wonderful last week in Quito. Some highlights include scaling the stairs of the main basilica in the town to get some sweet views, going out to a nice dinner at a restaurant that also offered some beautiful views, and giving a ten minute long presentation in Spanish on the economic and political situation of Chile! That presentation was considered my “capstone” at Vida Verde, and I have to admit, was quite nerve-wracking! Don’t you worry though, 2 years of ACE taught me a great trick—have prizes and candy. At the end of my presentation, I asked the questions and gave those who answered correctly candy in order to avoid having THEM ask me questions.

Probably the best part of our last week in Quito was the farewell fiesta that the language school, Vida Verde, had for us. After our last class on Friday, the beers came out, some DELICIOUS traditional Ecuadorian food rolled in, and the fun started. Most of our teachers stuck around for the party, which was really nice of them, and we played some Ecuadorian quarenta and none other than musical chairs (only to salsa music)! To finish off the celebration, the school engaged us in a “competencia.” We divided into two teams, which were mixed with teachers and students. After coming up with a team name and cheer, the “Estrellas” (Stars) matched off against the “Duros del Destino” or (“Tough guys of Destiny”). This competition required us to do several things, including finding black and brown shoes, writing down 10 irregular Spanish verbs, and writing a Spanish poem, among others. However, the most exciting requirement of the game was to put make up on one of our male team members. Eamon and Cisco were gentlemanly enough to rise to the occasion. When our judges declared that they couldn’t decide who won and that Eamon and Cisco would have to settle the competition, they both brought some serious heat. Eamon ended up with his shirt off, Backer style, and Cisco quickly followed. It was a completely random and hilarious way to end our time at Vida Verde. Before we left the school, we were each awarded a certificate stating the level of Spanish we had reached. I felt pretty proud of my “C1” level, considering I started at level A1, and could only have advanced one level more. I feel extremely grateful for the time I had at Vida Verde. Learning languages has always been something I really enjoy, and I do not know if I will ever have an opportunity like this again.

Saying bye to my host family was also difficult. They told me such nice things as, “You have a family here in Ecuador now,” and “Please come back and visit.” My host mom woke up at 5 A.M. this morning to make me a fresh fruit juice and fruit salad before I took off and sent me with a package of her homemade granola, which is my favorite. I thought both of those things were really sweet. I grew pretty attached to my host family; they were so sweet and made me feel so at home here in Quito. To remember my time in Quito, here is a list of random Quiteña things:

1. Parque Carolina—A very popular park not too far from my house where I ran on occasion. It offered some beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and there were always Ecuadorians just hanging out and enjoying themselves. On occasion, we also dabbled in some pick-up basketball there.

2. Gigantes—We were all giants in Ecuador. The average height there must be significantly shorter than in the US. Greg was haply nicknamed El Monton.

3. Coconutsicles—Not sure if they’re really called this, but these coconut flavored ice cream pops with real coconut shavings were incredible.

4. Sushi—Considering Quito is in South America, it’s interesting that I ate more sushi in my two months there than ever before in my life. This is because my host sister, Sofi, is a chef and hand made sushi. No big deal.

5. Buses—Riding buses in Ecuador was always an experience. They were ridiculously cheap, ridiculously overcrowded, and usually at least one vendor would hop on the bus to try to sell something during the course of a ride. One time, a man came on with a boom box and started rapping.

6. My Ecuadorian Gym—Yes, I did have a short membership in an Ecuadorian gym, where the incline on all of the treadmills didn’t work and sometimes the speed of the treadmill would never work past a certain pace.

7. Finn McCools—The local gringo bar where we enjoyed such novelties as trivia night (second place, thank you very much), a pirate party to celebrate Cisco’s birthday, and ND game watches.

8. I’m sure there are a ton of random memories I am missing. I realize this list is completely random. I’ll be honest, it’s more for me to remember these things than for you to get any entertainment reading about them.

Now about going to Chile. HOW FREAKING EXCITING! I will finally get to figure out what my life is going to be like for the next year and a half. When we get into Santiago today, we will be picked up by two current ChACErs and Esteban, who is a long-time friend of ChACE and Father Scully. We’ll spend the night in a hotel tonight, eat dinner at the ChACE apartment with the current ChACErs, and hopefully get acquainted with some Chilean wine. Tomorrow, we’ll get to see our schools, meet our host family, and so the good life begins. For now, I miss all of you and am excited to update you soon!

Ais and I on the plane from Lima to Chile. YAYY!