Issue 2 Short Stories, Long Country

November 2010

About WorldTeach Based at the Center for International Development at, WorldTeach offers the benefits of a well-established volunteer organization, while also providing more comprehensive, personalized support and training as a small NGO. In each of our programs, volunteers are placed in schools and host communities in developing countries that specifically request WorldTeach volunteers and would otherwise be unable to afford or locate qualified teachers. Volunteers receive training, lan-guage preparation, and field support, empowering them to make an impact that will last long after they leave.

¡Saludos a todos! This year, twenty-four new smiling faces landed in Chile and as-sumed the role of the WorldTeach Chile 2010 volunteers. They

have spent their time here inspiring their students, bonding with their host families, and exploring this long, baffling country. In just three more weeks they will have officially survived the plethora of mayon-naise, the unpredictable schedules, and the daily doses of nescafé. It has been my pleasure to work with and be a part of this year´s WorldTeach Chile familia. This trailblazing group has accomplished things no other volunteer has before them: teaching in a new region, the Short Sto-ries, Long Country newsletter, and various video pro-jects. Now, as they prepare to bid Chile farewell, they have

compiled one last ¨Ode to Chile¨ to share with the world. In the following pages you will read how they have

changed Chile, and how Chile has changed them. It has been a rollercoaster of Chilean fun and, with this newsletter, they invite you to join them for the ride. Cheers to you, my dazzling 24, que siempre mantengan a Chile en sus corazones, po! Abracitos. Allyson

“Remember, BE LIQUID!”

~ Allyson

A Message from the FD

Allyson Caudill WorldTeach Chile Field Director

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Table of Contents

Winter in July: Welcome to the Southern Hemisphere 4

What I Didn’t Know Before I Got Here… 6

Chilenismos

Integrating into the Community 7

Fiestas Patrias 2010 9

At Home 11

Remedies for Homesickness

At School 13

Student Quips: Heard in the classroom…

On the Road (and Off): Travel In and Around Chile 16

Chile Bucket List

Pan y Palta: Musings and Recipes on Chilean Cuisine 18

Los 33 20

Then & Now 21

1st Annual SSLC Photo Contest 22

Chau Chile! Reflections… 23

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To all Past, Present, and Prospective Volunteers, Family and Friends, The school year in Chile is winding down and the time has come to reflect on our experiences. Life of a WorldTeach volunteer in Chile is always changing and is never quite the same from one person to the next. Everyone has a dis-tinct experience. However we do all share particular elements of living abroad: getting to know a new place, new people, new life, becoming comfortable, experiencing frustrations and elations, and then preparing to leave. At this point, we have all been fortunate to call Chile our home for at least a little chunk of our life and this means that we‟ve got lots of stories, opinions, anecdotes, thoughts, and pictures to share. Our goal with this newsletter is to create an outlet for everyone to tell their story and for others to get to know Chile a little better, whether or not they‟ve ever been here. We are proud of what we have accomplished and we are ex-cited to share our thoughts and stories. Thank you to those who contributed to this issue. Special thanks to our AWESOME field director, Allyson Caudill. By her doing, the WorldTeach program in Chile has only gotten better. Thanks to all the volunteers and their family and friends for their support. WorldTeach Chile is an amazing program and we are all so happy to count ourselves a part of it. Hasta Luego, The Editors

From the Editors...

Heather Tang Allison Hahn Lauren Phillips

Winter in July

Welcome to the Southern Hemisphere...

At Least It Kept the Wind Out By Chris Doherty In a different culture, the simplest things can become difficult. Take replacing a window. We might think this is straight-forward: the window is broken somehow, therefore it should be fixed. We ask someone to fix it. What happens? My host family's house is fairly old by Chilean standards, where everything gets destroyed by an earthquake sooner or later, and when I moved into my room, the first thing I noticed, after the stunning bay vista, was that the window was warped, leaving 1-inch gaps at all four corners. My host dad Oscar said, "And the window's completely screwed up. We're going to replace it soon." A month passed, and it started to get cool and breezy, and like most people, I have a hard time sleeping with a cold wind on my face. I asked a couple times about replacing the window. "Yep! This weekend." A couple more weeks. "There's a shortage of windows due to earthquake reconstruction." Now, every culture has its map of social lies: things we can or cannot say, things we are expected to be less than honest about. You might say that cultures have different relationships to the truth, what's considered "truthful" and what it means to be honest. This is a big source of cultural conflict. I was mildly shocked one day in class when one of my girls got her friend's attention by shouting "Hey! Ugly!": the student is Asian with braces, very un-Chilean-looking, but attrac-tive by North American standards. But "Ugly" was her nickname, in a neutral way it could never be in the US. Ditto for "Chubby." Another part of the map of social lies is what to tell people when they ask for things. In Chile, people find it difficult to say "No"; in fact, it's pretty hard to get anything as definite as "I don't know when that will happen." In the U.S. we're used to directness around time estimates, so much like hearing "mañana" in Mexico, we may feel as though someone is leading us on in a less-than-honest way. Oscar didn't mean to "lie" in the way we usually think of lying: instead, I think the different Chilean relationship to the truth, along with his feeling responsible for my well-being, prevented him from giving a straightforward answer. I could have gotten angry, but while I wasn't exactly pleased, what would be the point? The family had taken excellent care of me otherwise, and I clearly couldn't figure out how to press the issue in a Chilean way. Allowing myself to get angry would just add fruitless tension to the relationship with my host family, and I would be the unhappy one. Finally, winter came, and I decided that if a window wasn't happening, maybe we could at least cover the window in sheet plastic. A few days after another "Yep, we'll do that this weekend," I asked more insistently if we had any plastic around and I could just do it myself. Oscar chuckled and gave me plastic and nails and said "Good luck." I didn't get around to it, and a couple days later on the weekend I came home to find the glass window gone entirely--not my plan, since the glass has value as insulation--and the window completely covered in sheet plastic, far better than I would have done it. This lasted for a couple months, and my room was actually colder: the window became a radiator that radiated cold. But! No wind! A fine trade-off. Oscar would periodically ask me if I was cold, and I would say, "Yeah, a little cold," while my window stayed plastic. It finally dawned on me that a different (and clearer) answer might produce a different response, so the next time he asked, I said, "Yes. Very cold." That was the magic answer. Within a couple days, I noticed outside that Oscar was actually modifying an existing (or per-haps broken) window frame, and glazing in the panes himself. And then, there it was! My room had an actual glass win-dow! The temperature in my room went up 10 degrees, and I could see out over the bay again. Lessons learned: 1. Don't get angry about cultural differences. 2. Everything is a cultural difference. 3. If you've got a glass window instead of plastic, be grateful.

Jeremy, Bennett, Field Director Allyson, and Corrie get ready with their snowballs at WorldTeach Midservice at Termas de Chillan.

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Carving the Chilean Powder By Brandy Hearn Similar to surfers and climbers, being a skier is more than just the physical act of the sport. You don't just ski, you embody the mentality and lifestyle of the culture. In a nut-shell, for my friends and I, that lifestyle usually consists of an adventurous, athletic, outgoing, and fun personality cou-pled with a great appreciation for the outdoors. This type of person is always open for a new challenge, meeting new people, and is usually, unless a powder day is on the fore-cast, up for a party any day of the week. What I have real-ized while skiing in Chile is that the culture I love so much back home is virtually the same, it's just the scenery that changes. That is what makes being on a mountain so spe-cial. Wherever you are in the world, when you are on that mountain, you can feel completely at home and in your ele-ment. The first time I had this revelation was when I was skiing at Termas de Chillan, a beautiful resort about 6 hours south of Santiago. Termas de Chillan is absolutely stellar. Imagine quaint cab-ins with snow piled as high as one can dream, thermal pools as hot as one would want, and a variety of in and out of bounds slopes separated not by trees, as the mountains are too young, but by rocks and man made lines. The land-scape is absolutely incredible filled with snowy peaks of glory and luscious green forestry down at the base. Some say you can see the ocean but what amazed me more was the snow covered volcano off in the distance and the pano-ramic view of this incredibly beautiful country while racing down what is said to be the longest trail in all of South

America. To say the least, Termas de Chil-lan is a skiiers dream-like paradise. The only draw back? The chairlifts are incredi-bly slow. However, slow chairlifts give way to great conver-sation with people from all over the world and for me, a great way to practice

my Spanish. If you are planning on visiting Chile during the winter months (our summer), I highly recommend checking out not only Termas de Chillan but the many mountains just outside of Santiago. Portillo is said to be the best in the country and is home to the US Ski Team during the Ameri-can summer months. Valle Nevado, El Colorado, and La Parva all share one incredibly windy road making it easy to go from one mountain to the other if you plan on staying for a long time. The beautiful thing about skiing down here is that you can be on the mountain one day and on the beach in 70 degree weather the next. It really is a mind boggling experience. I have truly loved my time skiing down here and hope to return in the future when I have more than two pennies to rub together.

Dancing with the Stripper By Bennett Pearson Not too long ago, Corrie and I went with my friends, Nicolas and Catalina, up north about seven hours to the renowned Chanos de Llalle National Park. We left about one week after the news of the catastrophic collapse of the San Jose mine, where thirty-three miners were trapped below. We were some three or four hours southwest of them, near Huasco. Suprisingly too, when we arrived at our

campsite, the area didn‟t have the hot slaked breath of a desert, as what you might expect in Arizona or Texas, but it was actually drizzling. Yet, it was still inhabited by its beasts. By beasts, I mean to say, MOS-QUITOS. Sorry, I‟m go-ing to yell for a second:

HOW FEROCIOUS THEY ARE! God, what purpose do they represent? What is their reason for existence?!?!?!?!?!? However, once you move past Huasco, you feel like you‟re on an expedition. All around there is so much open space. Everywhere free of signs, free of fear, free of laws, free of development, nothing but lands that have their million-year-old scent. And how great it is to drive into these small towns, towns of thirty people at these tiny ports! Ports that have two boats anchored offshore, left alone to float carelessly at sea. Beyond this too, lies a wave. In English, depending on who you talk to, it might be called the Stripper. And I‟ll tell you an experience I had with the Stripper: she didn‟t want to dance with me! On my first wave after dropping in, I thought the section in front of me was going to hol-low out into a tube, so I tried to race to the section. But instead of doing this, it fell on me; and as I came up after being pushed down, I didn‟t feel my board attached to my ankle at all, only my leash remained, and as I looked to-wards shore, I saw my board for a split second floating there, still new and bruise-less, until the next wave crashed and pushed it into the rocks, the big black rocks full of barnacles. When I got to my board it had two big punctures, and several dings. So, that was my first dance with the stripper (but not my last!). Anyway, the best

quote of the trip was

from Nicolas him-

self, when I met him

in the lineup that

day: “Welcome to

Chile”.

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I didn‟t realize that Chile has such a diverse landscape.

-Lauren Phillips

Chile is not as conservative as I thought it would be. I have found that society generally accepts the wide variety of relationships that people have, especially the younger generation who are in their 20s and 30s.

-Grace Chen

Their obsession with french fries, hot dogs, and mayo.

-Lauren Lastra

The food is bland, and then they‟ll surprise you with empanadas, wine, asados and penca.

-Allison Hahn

Cueca was the national dance.

-Sharon Welch

Dieciocho is a huge holiday! And when they say they party all night, they‟re not kidding.

-Hannah Fullington

Shoes (or slippers, never socks!) stay on your feet at all times ex-cept for in bed. And even there, taking them off is optional.

-Heather Tang

How fast people talk and how they use “que rico” and “que lindo” to describe basically everything.

-Kristy Hui

Chileans are extremely proud of where they come from. Many of them are aware of Chilean politics and stand firm in their views. They may ask you several questions about your own background such as where your family is from and the population of those places as well as what languages you can speak other than Eng-lish. Be ready to answer!

-Stephanie Blanch

What I Didn’t Know

Before I Got Here…

Chilenismos Because you can never have enough! Chanta la moto -wait/hold on, cut it out Chori (adj) -fun, cool Chupamedia (n) -a suck up Cuatico (adj) -dramatic, overemphasized Donde el diablo perdió el poncho (n) (Where the devil lost his poncho) -middle of nowhere Flaco/a (n) -buddy Guagua (n) -baby Le falta gramos para al kilo (adj) (You lack grams for the kilo) -you‟re slow/stupid Luca (n) -one thousand pesos No comaí delante de los pobres (Don‟t eat next to the poor) -said when there is a little too much PDA Plata (n) -money Pololo/a (n) -boyfriend/girlfriend Rallas la papa (adj) (You grate the potato) -you‟re crazy Súper taldo (adj) -very random Tocar el violín (v) (Play the violin) -third wheel

The Cueca

Former Pinochet Dictatorship detainee and our Civil Rights tour guide, Andres, with his daughter, Paula, talk-ing about the watchtower as a torture chamber at Villa Grimaldi in Santiago.

Gran Bingo By Sharon Welch Last month our school had a fundraiser called “Gran Bingo”. That translates to something like, “Big Bingo”. The money from “Gran Bingo” went to the family of Silvia, a math teacher at our school. Silvia lost her son, Silvio, only 18-years-old, last month. He was walking on a sidewalk with a friend when a car and a truck crashed. Part of one of the vehicles cut off his leg and part of his lower torso. An absolute tragedy! He was in the hospital with a massive infection for about 38 days. The family and doctors did everything they could, and the teachers said prayers for him in the faculty room. It was very touching. The bingo was to raise money to help pay for medical bills. No one here has a lot of money to donate so the teachers had a bingo for about 300 people complete with prizes, music, and Cueca dancers. The culinary students made empanadas and cakes, and students volunteered to set up the tables. All of the teachers contributed prizes and money for the grand prize. Many people showed up, and Silvia‟s family received more money to pay those expensive medical bills. I volunteered to help, and the teachers put me in charge of “guarding” the prizes in the prize room. I think that was probably a good place for me. The older women teachers work together like a “well oiled machine”. They have all worked together for about 25 years. I had planned to stay for a couple of hours, but without realizing it, I stayed for nine. I really got to know each teacher so much better as we worked together. I realized that the independence that I prized so much was really stopping me from getting to know all of the dedicated people who make up the staff at Liceo Limache. That was a lesson that I learned from “Gran Bingo”. It also made me remember that “Tomorrow is promised to no one.” I try to enjoy something about each day that I am in Chile. I am the oldest volunteer in the Ministry group, and I don‟t know if this is the last time that I will be able to volun teer abroad. To experience another culture is a great gift, and I am thankful that I am here.

Gracias Por La Invitación By Jennifer Fernandes In the United States, I‟m always making plans. Plans to take a trip, visit with friends and family, see a movie or try a new restaurant. I wasn‟t sure how my lifestyle would translate in Chile since I would be starting from scratch. I also was un-sure how easy it would be to make meaningful friendships, especially with the language barrier. To my delight, the people I‟ve encountered have been incredibly welcoming and want you to love Chile as much as they do. I‟ve made it a point to make the most of this and accept the random invitations that come my way. The invitations are always last minute from unexpected people and I‟m never quite sure of the details or what exactly I‟m getting into. Here are a few memorable experiences:

Every time I see the history teacher at school, she says, “How are you?” giggles and gives me a hug. One day while waiting at the bus stop, she walked by and invited me to her house the following week. She lived close to the school and it was a lovely evening talking to her family, including her daughter who is a journalist in Valparaiso, eating homemade carrot “Queque” and walking through the impressive gardens at the Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria. Shortly after, she switched schools, yet we still keep in touch.

The Santiago Wanderers, the Valparaiso soccer team, are not on a winning streak. Despite this, fanaticos crowd into the stadium every week with hopes that it‟s the team‟s lucky day. When a family friend extended an invitation to join a group of friends at a match, I couldn‟t refuse. Everyone was showing their team pride in green and white as fans stood, cheered, jumped, climbed fences and chanted the entire time. The police guards menacingly watched the crowds with their shields, as it‟s not uncommon for fans to rush the field. Sadly, it was not a lucky day for the Wan-derers but nonetheless an amazing experience.

One day in class my co-teacher turned to me in a serious tone and said, “I have to ask you a personal question.” Not sure what exactly that meant and slightly nervous, he proceeded to say he talked with his wife and would like to in-vite me to join them during Dieciocho. Touched, I agreed and found myself on the metro to Quilpue on the 18th of September. It was an amazing day filled with cueca, vino, empanada cooking lessons and kite flying. He and his wife invited their English teacher friends, knowing that I would appreciate the chance to speak English with others. The night ended with plans for them to come visit me someday in the US and although this will probably never happen, I felt like I made lifelong friends.

I continue to say yes to invitations even when I‟m feeling tired or lazy. Although it‟s easy to dismiss random things to do that come my way, this is a once in a lifetime chance to experience the unexpected in Chile.

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Chilean Birthday Parties: Who Needs Sleep Anyway? By Bennett Pearson A few days ago I attended a birthday party of Maria Teresa, a girl celebrating her 19th birthday. All of her closest family, from grandmothers and grandfathers to neighbors to friends from as far north as Copiapo, to teachers, local dogs and myself were present for her turning of age. Although I try to be as punctual as possible in almost all cases, that day I arrived slightly late, just by 20-30 minutes. Yet, I won't forget my arrival. How surprising it was to have arrived at a scene with so many people already squeezed into each other like the posts of a fence, completely belligerent with laughter, hysterical over jokes coming from all sides of one large table! I think of it now and I'm still not sure if I've ever heard such cackling before, or rather, the laugh of her mother. It was one of those contagious laughs. It was just so incredibly distinct, as if their laughter was the sound of a hundred guns, and hers, a single cannon. So, this mother was to my right, exploding. To my left sat another Señora, and the first thing she asked me is if I wanted to be her husband. I tried to decline, but really what it amounted to was two affectionate photos with her hands resting on my shoulders; and the whole time she kept telling me something about the "gallinas" (roosters) and that I had to meet them, but exactly why, who knows. Meanwhile, all around it sounds like this: "¡Echame una chiste!" "¡Echame una chiste!"(Tell me a joke!) My last memory of the party was this one man named Patricio. However, like many Chileans, he had a nickname. So, on that day we called him "Pato Luca". Yes, if there was any sense of propriety that still remained, however dwindling, well with this man, it finally reached its end. After my quick tour of the residence, we finally sat ourselves down completely without any notion of when we would leave (which you must keep in mind when you come to a Chilean birthday party) and people began to arrange themselves into a circle, bringing out their shot glasses and bottles of whisky or so. How to explain what happened next? Well, the more I think of trying to explain all this, the more I think of how much better it would be for me to simply keep it as short as possible, since I still keep seeing only the obscene, and the overly-obscene. Nevertheless, I had the great pleasure of sitting next to Señor Pato, and he really helped me when I didn't understand his jokes. There is so much slang that one has never heard before, that when you first hear it, it races right past you. In memory, I can recall all kinds of talk of enchapelotas, petizos, tenkas, piluchos, and much more. Perhaps you too have never heard these words before? But, like I said, there was talk of such things. However with me, since I did not under-stand, there was this breakdown, this slow, in-depth analysis, a piece by piece description using hand and face gestures to explain such words. "De Nuevo, de nuevo", he kept saying. In short, I left home with multiple, bawdy descriptions of someone robbed and left naked (pilucho), and another splendid image of a man who, unfortunately, cannot be aroused (tenka). In any case, fellow volunteers, if you haven't gone to a Chilean birthday party yet, I encourage you to! You must go! Ex-

pect long hours of laughter, a feast of food, wine and an even bigger attendance of people, and those who seem to keep

entering and keep adding seats to the conversation! Indeed, they‟re full of people who enjoy your company, who will

laugh with you, and who will continue to make you laugh until all the viands and drinks are gone!

Birthday party after-party: Bennett’s uncles pop balloons by sandwiching them between themselves and a very lucky volunteer.

Un Alfajor, Por Favor By Lauren Phillips Actually, make that five: three for onces with my host family, one to stuff in my mouth right now before I can even pay for it, and one for the walk home. For those who have yet to see the light, alfajores are a sort of Latin American “moon pie”. Generally manjar (Chilean

dulce de leche or caramel) between two cookies and sometimes coated in chocolate or pow-dered sugar. The worst thing that could happen to my waste-line was the discovery of this bakery that only sells sugar coated in chocolate with a dusting of sugar to top it off. It‟s conveniently located in the town closest to mine. After the first time I tried the pasteles and had my first alfajorgasm (it‟s alfajorgasmic! Ok, no more), I decided to make it a rule that if I‟m going to consume alfajores or any sweets from this pasteleria, I have to walk there. Which is not such a harsh punishment, it‟s a 30 minute one-way walk along the beautiful Chilean coast- I‟m not going to complain. And yes, of course the owner knows my name. We‟ve

chatted it up a number of times, he‟s very friendly- would-

n‟t you be if you make savory sweets all day? He makes everything on his own in the

kitchen attached to the bakery. And I‟ve tried it all, the three varieties of alfajores, the

sweet bread, the meringue-topped cookie filled with honey and manjar, and they‟re all

delicious. So, if you‟re ever in the area, I‟d be happy to accompany you to the pastelería in

Zapallar. And then we can go for a much needed run.

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El Dieciocho de Septiembre

The 18th of September

Running on the Fuel of Empanadas By Heather Tang There aren‟t too many holidays in the US that take an entire month to celebrate. Perhaps, if you included the holiday shopping frenzy that is December, but that‟s about as close as we get. Let me introduce you to Dieciocho de Septiembre, or September 18th, the Independence Day of Chile. When I heard about this holiday back in the early months after our arrival, I equated it to something like our July 4th--big barbecues, spending time with family and friends, fireworks, and drinking--just for a weekend‟s worth. No. I noticed it would be much more than just a weekend celebration starting on September 1st. Every classroom at my school was suddenly adorned with blue, red, and white streamers, flags, and kites. Over the course of the first two weeks of the month, the students practiced the Cueca (Chile‟s national dance) in Phys Ed, painted countless pictures of the na-tional flag and flower (the lovely Copihue), and rehearsed for the big acto, or assembly, to be presented the day before the holiday weekend, while the school served countless empanadas. Every home in the country raised the flag in its yard, and I heard that in the city of Coquimbo, people were actually fined for not having one out front. And since this year marked Chile‟s bicentennial anniversary of independence from Spain, it just made everything that much bigger. I had to make plans for the actual weekend of the 18th somewhat in advance since any kind of bus ticket would be sold out in the days leading up should I decide to travel somewhere. I was torn between staying the entire 4-day weekend with my family in Quilpué for our big asado or going up to Coquimbo to meet up with northern volunteer friends where the annual mega-fair La Pampilla was taking place. Then I realized the only and most fulfilling answer was to go for both. My whirlwind weekend began on Thursday, September 16th. After I attended my school‟s acto in the afternoon, and also my host siblings‟ school performance in the evening, then a concert in town for Sol y Lluvia, a Chilean folk band, until 3am, I woke up early on Friday to catch my five-hour bus ride to Coquimbo/La Serena, which I had snagged the last seat for. And once there, I was reunited with nine other friends. The ensuing 48 hours would include a moonlight powwow on the beach next to La Serena‟s famous faro, or lighthouse, singing Beatles songs on the micros (city buses), consuming large amounts of asado meat, and dancing the Cueca on re-peat. The highlight of the trip was meandering the football field-size labyrinth of tents and crowds at La Pampilla where we saw a random slew of stuff for sale from knives for $2 to army-style vests to kids bicyles, just escaped a scuffle involv-ing some drunken Chileans and a slingshot, drank Chicha, a traditional drink of fermented fruit, and riding the carnival thrill ride, Kamakazi, three times. On Sunday, I caught my bus back to Quilpué at 6AM after finishing the night off with dancing at a beachside club, arriv-ing home just in time to celebrate with my family and friends with more great food, drinks, dance, and games at our asado the rest of the day. Needless to say, I made the most of the holiday, only sleeping about 17 hours out of 96, but it was certainly worth every empanada.

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Independence Day on Steroids By Katie Eldridge I‟m from Virginia where we celebrate the 4th of July right. You‟ve got Dad on the grill cooking up the hot dogs and ham-burgers - Who wants cheese? - Mom cooling the jello, and lil Bro playing with fire, I mean, sparklers. Take that, multiply by 10, spread it out over five days and you've got yourself the Chilean celebration. Dieciocho fell on a Saturday this year, but my fun started Thursday with my students giving speeches as Bernardo O'Higgins, lip-synching to Chilean classics, and dancing the cueca in flowery red and blue dresses. Friday, my host family drove me to their friend‟s house to enjoy some chorripan (sausage in a roll) and jote (red wine mixed with Coke). Chorripan is delectable, jote not so much. I danced the cueca with a bunch of goofy men who kept making doble sentido jokes, and I found out my Chilean crush has a girlfriend. ¡Qué fome! Saturday, the family drove to the grandparents‟ house for an asado of grilled chicken and pork, potato salad, and a com-petitive game of ocho loco, or Crazy 8‟s. Sunday, we met the cousins in the campo, where I soundly won at musical chairs and lost at tug-of-war. I enjoyed some tea and sopaipillas with some Chileans discussing their beliefs about the US, in-cluding that they‟d love to visit even though the Illuminati run the country. (Apparently they run every country, accord-ing to one of the guys.) After dancing to Américo for hours, we went home to sleep a bit before Monday morning‟s air and boat show on the Valparaíso beaches. Watching the Chilean navy sail by with some Argentinean, American, Canadian, and British allies was a sweet ending to a food-filled, Cueca-dancing, Chilean jamboree. ¡Viva Chile!

Maureen pieces together a kite.

Ryan gets down on his knees as the “prince,” and the “princess,” thanks him

for saving her.

Kristy gets some help with hers.

Katie’s host parents tear up the dance floor. A Dieciocho Education

By Grace Chen Every year, my Chilean family, hosts a huge party at their house for 2 consecutive days during the Fiesta Patrias. This year, four WorldTeach volunteers and another volunteer through the Ministry of Education became cousins in a matter of weeks as we all got placed with various members of a huge extended family. Therefore, there were 5 new additions to the annual party resulting in 55 people on Friday on mi mamás side of the family and 45 people on Saturday on mi ca-chito’s (papá’s) side of the family. We had tons of fun playing games similar to those in the United States such as egg toss, potato sack racing and steal the bacon. However, we also learned how to play a few new games such as a heart-stopping race incorporating Rock, Paper, Scissors (called ca-chi-pún in Chile) which I definitely want to teach and play with other WorldTeach volunteers and friends. We also formed a fortress around a princess by linking our arms together and using our bodies to block the prince from saving the princess. The best thing about our games was that the grand-parents, parents, and children all participated. Later, we binged on the candy that we received after we played the games, everyone swapping candies with each other. My favorite was the sour Frugelé! We ate a great deal of empanadas, chorizo, anticuchos (skewers of meat and onions) and danced until 4am. I practiced my Cueca dancing skills out on our patio and learned a Rapa Nui dance which appeared ris·qué. I was the first one out when we had to dance around a circle of plastic soda bottles as I accidentally kicked one down when the circle got progressively smaller and smaller. I could not believe how much fun it would be to watch the 50-60 year-old women in the family play musical chairs. They were the ultimate cheaters as they tried to move the chairs farther away from each other and pushed each other off. I definitely learned a good deal about how to party from them!

Grace, her host family, and WorldTeach cousins.

Socks By Ryan Mosser Disclaimer: This situation was entirely preventable through communication or proactive behavior, and we even directly discussed host family situations in WorldTeach orientation. However, I am what I would call laid back (some might use other words), and was attempting frugality after losing my debit card (entirely my fault). My host family is incredibly nice. Like many others, they opened their house to me on short notice, and have done any-thing and everything to make me feel at home. Their first words to me were, “Small house, big hearts,” and both of these things are true. My room, in particular, has a bed lofted to the ceiling, the family‟s internet connection and desk under the bed, a clothing rack, a small bedside table, a dirty laundry hamper, and my 7 year-old host brother‟s bike. My minis-cule freshman-year dorm room was perfect training. The bike eventually left, exponentially increasing my floor space, and I developed a method for ascending my ladder-less bed: Right foot on the ground, left foot onto the bedside table, pivot while lifting the blinds to put the right foot on the windowsill, then a small leap to the bed and a head tuck to avoid the ceiling light fixture (which has never had a light bulb, see disclaimer). My system has been modified slightly now that I may or may not have caused part of the bedside table to become structurally unstable after a late night, but it still works great. Anyways, one day I realized I had two clean pairs of socks left, both wool, out of about twenty that I brought. Now, I actu-ally enjoy doing laundry and washing dishes, but my family is typically Chilean in many ways. For example, my host mom once caught me washing the dishes and said, “Men don‟t wash dishes.” Argument over. Based on the gendered allo-cation of household duties, it was clear that men don‟t do laundry, either. I consider myself quite the liberated feminist, but it seemed best not to challenge the woman that also feeds me. So, I wore the wool socks. After two days, I looked for less-dirty socks in the hamper but there were none to be found. Not to worry, I had foot spray! A heavy dousing, and day three passed. And day four. And day five through eleven. I am never alone in the house, and it seemed uncouth to rummage through the laundry area (clearly her space). I couldn‟t think of a way to ask for my socks in Spanish without seemingly complaining or otherwise being offensive. In any event she was very busy with various celebrations, birthdays, etc. At about day nine, one pair became literally unwearable. Massive amounts of spray and powder went into the other pair, as the weather got warmer and warmer. Finally, after well over a week of nursing these two pairs of socks, things calmed down at the house and my host mom asked me if I needed any laundry. I told her I was running low on socks. Turns out there were clean socks the whole time, but she didn‟t give them to me because she didn‟t have time to sort them. Apparently men don‟t sort laundry either, though we compromised on this in the ensuing conversation.

Torpeza By Katie Eldridge Well, I started everything off right. Broke two glasses at orientation. Never gonna do that again, quite, Don‟t want to ruin my reputation. Problem is I‟m half-blind at night. No contacts, can‟t see my reflection. I reached for my glasses, end fight! Liquid soap didn‟t try a deflection. Shards of ceramic refracting light. I paused, “Did mi familia hear it?”– I went to my room, started to write An apology letter, I‟ll buy a new one. Practicing Spanish, good thing, right? The first step of a ridiculous omen. I‟d better make this very polite, They‟ll read this, then I‟m done! I wrote the note, clear and forthright, And fell asleep at half-past one. They read my note and to my delight, Found no reason (yet) to bludgeon. And even better – well, not quite – My host mamá broke the new one.

At Home

PAGE 11 S S L C

S S L C PAGE 12

“Peanut Butter and nutella.”

- Lauren Phillips and Grace Chen

“I like to remind myself how badass it

is that I live in Chile.”

-Lauren Phillips

“Reading the onion and my political podcasts.”

-Stephen Hildebrand

“Go get a drink at the Starbucks in Viña

del Mar. Although you might not be a fan

of Starbucks back in the States, it’s really

comforting here. Trust me.”

-Kristy Hui

“Talking to family and friends on Skype.”

-Allison Hahn, Grace Chen, and pretty

much everyone in the program

“Brings lots of photos and notes from

home and put them up on your wall.” -Kristy Hui

Remedies

for

Homesickness

“Listen to music in your room, write in your journal, find a

view that you love and just write and/or simply reflect.”

-Stephanie Blanch

“Doritos and Mango Pisco.” -Sharon Welch

“Watching “King Kong” and not watching the part

where he falls off the Empire State Building .” -Sharon Welch

“Getting out of the house and doing

anything with a group of people.”

-Hannah Fullington

“Facebook and my

iPod playlist.”

-Lauren Lastra

“Watch a favorite movie or catch

up with TV shows on TVDuck.”

-Heather Tang

Private Property: Do Enter By Lauren Phillips I‟ve made a recent and welcome discovery in Chile: you can trespass!!! This revelation has been useful in and around my Chilean hometown. The coast of the fifth region looks like the central coast of California, with beautiful beaches and green hills that slope down to the water. These green hills are fenced off with a variety of materials: wood, barbed wire, scrap metal. But fear not! There are always holes to climb through, and climb through you may! It‟s completely acceptable to walk through the fields of other people‟s property so long as you don‟t trash the place or start a campfire. There are various trails that are utilized by walkers and mountain bikers. For me, it has been such a wonderful opportunity to get “outside” without having to take the bus to the nearest park (aka hours away). I can literally walk out my front door, cross the street, pop through the fence, and start walking up a hill. Do that in the U.S. and you‟re probably going to get shot. But the Chileans are more laid back when it comes to this, and if you want to walk through their field with the grazing cows and donkeys, go right ahead. Within an hour of walking out my front door, I can be on top of a hill with a view of the

beach towns and ocean and feel miles away. These walks up into the hills have been some of my favorite experiences in

Chile and I am so thankful that trespassing isn‟t always a crime!

“Home cookin.”

-Heather Tang

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My Students are Angels By Allison Hahn On the rare occasion that my class is not canceled (everything is a valid excuse to miss class) and my classes are not driv-ing me absolutely crazy, they are making me crack up. For all of those that know me, there are two reason why this is bad news: I have an incredibly loud and contagious laugh for which I imagine my students make fun of me, AND I be-come unnaturally tomato red when I‟m embarrassed (which is often and easy to do) and, as you can also imagine, my students love to embarrass me. There are entirely too many to recount, but let me share some of my favorite memories with y‟all:

1. Today we were playing some sort of game in which one person in the entire class wins! Yay, congratulations Nicholas! Nicolas is totally awesome, tranquilo, participates in my class, and he likes English. I didn‟t have a premio (prize) for him but promising something the following week did not satisfy the class: the entire class broke out in a chant of „BESO! BESO! BESO!‟ Unsure of what to do, I just stood there and turned red and attempted to hush them unsuccessfully.

2. One day I was teaching sports: „What is your favorite sport?‟ and „My favorite sport is (fill in your favorite sport here).‟ I was busy randomly asking my students their favorite sports and helping them through the pronunciation when one of my alumnos (of course) says behind me „My favorite sport is sexo.‟ Sometimes all you have to do is add the O on to the end of English to form Spanish!

3. I was teaching vegetables. As I am a native English speaker, I often do not consider that some words in Eng-lish sound like words in Spanish (mish! Que raro!). So I was pleasantly surprised to find that potatoes sounds similar to potitos: little butts. Do you like potitos Jonathan? Yes I like potitos!

4. It‟s a very rare thing in the Chilean public school system that the students are required to think for them-selves (ie. forming English sentences on their own). So I experimented; I challenged them. We played Hangman. I chose the word and after they figured out the word they could get extra points by using it in a sentence. So just to throw them off a little, I used MY name. No one could figure out how to use it. But Francisco was thinking really, really, really hard and I was interested in seeing what he could figure out. Right as I was about to move on, he excitedly tells me to wait and then slowly, questioning himself the entire way, says „Allison…. is…. beautiful???‟ Of course the class freaked out and so did I.

5. Sometimes my students like to show me their artistic skills, which I discovered when I was teaching parts of the body. I was doing the „ticket to leave‟ (my students answer a question in order to leave my classroom) when I noticed that Samuel and Daniel were lingering outside. Surprised they wouldn‟t leave, I just went back into my classroom to prepare the next class when I observed the largest penis ever added to my draw-ing of the body. I freaked out and they exploded in a fit of laughter as they watched my reaction through the window from outside of my classroom.

Unfortunately these acts of immaturity are the moments that most interrupt my class but I also the moments that make me laugh the most. I guess growing up with a younger brother really prepared me for these! P.S. Anecdotes numbers 1, 4 and 5 are from the same curso, second medio B (sophomores), and both 2 and 3 from fourth medio (seniors). Thank you for the good times.

At School

Meet My Cast of Characters By Katie Eldridge My students generally love me when it‟s not test day, stop talking only to breathe and eat, and offer me chocolate-covered sweets with manjar. That being said, I have some odd apples (I‟m weird too, and so I claim full rights to hypocrisy). Here are my students, introduced by our real conversations: Student A: Dead Bird Girl When I asked, “Do you have any pets?” I expected that I might have to deal with a girl crying over her departed dog (check) or with animal names I couldn‟t translate (check). I did not expect the dead bird. Student B: “Do you have any pets?” Student A: “Yes. I have a bird. Dead four years.” Me: “Wait, what?” Student A: “I have a bird. It died four years ago.” Me: “Say that in Spanish.” Student A: “Tengo pájaro que murió hace cuatro años. Está en una jaula.” Me: “It‟s in a cage?” Student A: “Yes, in a cage. Am I right?” Me: “Yeah, your English is correct.” Student C: Cellmate I teach at a Catholic subvencionado school, and after I answered the taboo question, “Miss, how do you say ateo in Eng-lish?” one student thought that I‟d translate anything. (Ateo means atheist, by the way.) Student C: “Miss, how do you say, „Quiero matar al presidente?‟” Me: “You don‟t.” Student C: “Por qué?” Me: “Because I don‟t want to go to jail. Carcel.” Student C: “We can go to jail together!” Me: “Oh great!” Student C: “It‟ll be fun!” Student D and E: Stalkers Granted, they only did this once. I‟m used to 5˚ básico stalkers that swarm me during breaks. These girls, however, were older and stalking me after school. Me: “Why are you following me?” Student D: “Something in Spanish. We‟re not.” Me: “Liar!” Student E: “Because we want to know where you live.” Me: “Great.” (At my house) Student D: “Tiene Wii?” Me: “Nope.” Student D: “Por qué? Why?” Me: “Because I‟m poor, I don‟t have any money. I‟m a teacher.” Student D: “Something in Spanish” Student E: “We‟ll come back when you buy a Wii.” Me: “How am I going to buy a Wii?” Student D: “Sell papers.” (points to my notebook) Me: “No. Do it for me.” Student D: “No, soy floja.” Student E: “Yes, she‟s lazy.” I could tell you about the student that drew a picture of me as a Japanese anime character. I could tell you about the stu-dent that claimed that her eyelash curler was a potato peeler. I could tell you about the student that wants to be “the first nun on the moon with a Grammy and a vampire husband.” I could tell you, but I‟ve already hit my word limit.

S S L C PAGE 14

Stephanie, Katie and her host sister

S S L C

The Ultimate Pep Rally By Jennifer Fernandes It was a typical Thursday, where I taught my second medios, a rowdy but good-natured group of boys. Later in the after-noon, I was prepped to teach my English Taller (or workshop) for three hours – my favorite part of my teaching week. Sitting in the teacher‟s lunchroom with my tea and orange, I was informed that there was a special acto or assembly in the afternoon so my Taller would be cut short. Like most schools, actos are usually a surprise but this was my first one. It was explained to me that this was a pep rally of sorts. Of course I was immediately excited reminiscing of my high school days of obstacle courses, cheering competitions between the different grades and maybe some sort of dance rou-tine. I teach at a technical school that prepares students for jobs related to construction, refrigeration, electrical wiring and more. This should have been my first clue that this wouldn‟t be a typical “pep rally.” As my Taller anxiously counted down the time for the rally, I tried to find out more information. I was told it was only for seniors and everyone else watched. It was time and the students ran out of the classes to quickly get a good spot to watch the action. The activity took place on the center court, which also serves as a stage, soccer field and basketball court. The students hung off of balconies and lined the outskirts of the court. As the three teams of two seniors walked out in their work uniform, similar to a me-chanic suit, the crowds went wild. And now it was time. There were four stations on the court with each technical director standing close watch. A bell rang and the seniors darted to the first station with protective goggles in tow, where they had to saw through a metal pipe. The teams were neck and neck but the soldering station (yes, I had to check the spelling on that one) held some of the teams back. Next was the typical hammer and nail challenge, which was pretty easy for all of the teams and lastly was some sort of plumbing challenge that I still can‟t figure out what exactly they had to do. It was a close race but the triumphant team ran through the finish line and the crowd once again went wild. Friends of the winning team rushed to congratulate them, as the other teams walked out disappointed. I was amazed and slightly confused the entire time. As they walked past me beaming with pride, I made sure to give them a quick thumbs up. And that was my first Chilean Pep Rally at a technical school.

A Morning at School By Maureen O‟Leary

Arrive at school greeted by El Luis at the door Late students outside must wait for the next bell a little bit more Walking to the class I hear lots of short English phrases directed my way By students with grins on their faces, proud of what they know how to say Arrive in the English lab, start to set up for the day‟s adventures ahead Lots of minds will be arriving, ready to be fed The agenda is written and the English music is playing The kids file in singing and swaying “Good Morning!” “what song is this?” “How was your night?” Fist pumps, besos and hugs to your left and right Get started with Days of the Week” followed by “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes” Enthusiastic youth sitting in two long rows Such a bright and happy energy the students bring with them to class Of course not without some reggaeton from their phones and teenage sass Lessons are learned and new vocab is repeated Those tough English sounds such as “th” are defeated! The bell rings and all line up for their ticket out the door They‟ve done great today and will return tomorrow for more!

Student Quips Heard in the classroom...

" I want to spend time with women pretty"

“See ya? Miss, do you mean silla?”

(while pointing at the chairs in class) “Miss Lauren’s class is awesome! “

“On Friday I ate everything.”

“ Well... I need your help. Stay. Come on, lets go.”

“Mrs. Sharon, do I get

a smelly sticker?”

“Miss Heather! Miss Heather !

What’s your name???”

(Grins proudly)

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Peruvian Bathroom Break By Allison Hahn Upon arrival to Peru, we discovered that there is a very popular festi-val a bit outside of Cusco for the exact dates we were going to be there. And as I was dying to see „off the beaten path Peru‟ we quickly built the festival into the plan. The bus ride was an surprisingly long, 4 hour trip, the road all the while clinging to cliff sides.. A little over halfway through the trip, right as Lauren (Phillips) was about to pee her pants, we took a bathroom break. As you can imagine, there were no actual facilities, which doesn‟t actually bother me. Sure I‟ll use that tree over there. Wait…no trees either. Ok that bush… I sup-pose… will suffice. Never have I experienced taking a nature bath-room break with about 25 other people, 3 gringas and the rest mostly Peruvian men. Well, all right, there‟s a first time for everything. Well into my pee, I discovered that the road curves around the hill so that it actually continues level with where we were peeing on the other side of the ridge and that there were 5 local Peruvian BOYS watching all the GRINGAS pee! We were "behind‟ the bushes which meant that from their vantage point, we were all actually pee-ing in front of the bushes. As I finished one of those never ending pees (you know what I mean) I discovered my friend taking pictures of me. . They were coming at me from all sides! By the way, the picture‟s a classic.

Top 10 Things I’ve Learned About Travel In Chile By Traveling in Chile By Leighann Loesch 10) When no colectivo presents itself, the back of a stranger’s truck will do.

9) When asking for directions from Chileans, be sure to ask at least 3 people so you can

compare the 3 different answers and try the best option.

8) It is possible to visit the desert and falling snow in one winter break.

7) The only thing that happens on time in Chile is the long-distance bus schedule.

6) Using the restroom in a moving bus on a the highway is difficult but not as difficult as. . .

5) Using the restroom in a moving bus in the city. The superman squat does not go well with

sudden stops and right angle turns.

4) A clear day in the desert can turn into a dust storm in seconds.

3) Always check the time printed on your bus ticket or you may end up with 6 hours to kill in Calama.

2) Traveling in a bus for 24 hours can actually be comfortable.

1) If you are willing to wait for colectivos or micros, sometimes for hours, you can get anywhere in this

country on public transportation.

On the Road (and Off)

Travel In and Around Chile

PAGE 16

Chile Bucket List Take onces

Drink copious amounts of pisco and vino tinto

Eat an empanada de camaron y queso en Horcón

Visit Pomaire, a cool little town about an hour out-side of Santiago that specializes in ceramics and ½ kilo empanadas

Visit Maintencillo, Cachagua, Zapallar, cool little beach towns that are beautiful and can be enjoyed by anyone all year round. Also, there’s an island reserve of Humboldt penguins in Cachagua!

Kick back in Valle de Elqui, a really tranquil area located about an hour east from La Serena. The valley is known for its pisco and unparalleled star-gazing. There have also been a number of UFO sightings!

Take the metro from Estación Limache to Estac-tión Puerto (one end to another) for the awesome views.

Sandboard at the sand dunes in ConCón and up in San Pedro de Atacama. Wahooo!

Order a Marisco Chupe

Visit Pablo Neruda’s homes

Have a picnic and watch the sunset at Reñaca beach

Go to an asado with your Chilean friends and/or family and eat choripan!

Take random adventures in the mi-cro…see where the day takes you!

Explore the cerros in Valparaiso, espe-cially Alegre, Concepción and Bellav-ista, and bring your camera!

But cuidate!

Exploring the Chilean Spring By Carol Eckman Going along my merry way in Quilpue, one can't help noticing that it's Spring. And since it is Chile, distinct and all as it is, dear reader, I can't help thinking of it as "vegetation on steroids." Huge for-mations of ivy with so many leaves that it's practically bursting. What imitates the demure jade plant is huge-- four feet high with a trunk that could support a small tree. Trees so covered with leaves that you can't see the branches. Japanese maples in red and green. A flowering tree with purple blossoms--"What kind of tree is that?" "Ciruela." “And what kind of fruit does it bear?” "Ciruela."A tree with fern-like leaves, others cut and pruned to create giant sized bonsais. Behind my house stands a luxuriant willow tree with a Beatle haircut. Vines with clusters of lilac flowers a foot or more in length! Walking downtown, I pass a house where a vine is about to completely en-

gulf a palm tree 30 feet high. And more, more vigorous vine-y thing with small white flowers that smell like lilies, or dark purple flowers covering a tree. I can't resist putting my nose in for a good sniff. And today, I saw a weird kind of thistle---with blossoms. No, I can't describe it-- too strange. You'll just have to explore for yourself. And have you ever eaten fruit and vegetables this fresh? There's a big feria in Belloto on Saturdays.

Amazing! Since I don't live with a host family, it's possible to do more than admire the bounty--I

buy. They have everything--goat cheese, dried beans, clothes, pots and pans, fish and shellfish. No

meat, which seems like a good idea. Potatoes, cilantro, parsley, Limache tomatoes,watercress, swiss

chard, spinach, strawberries, lemons, lettuce, beets, carrots, all the varieties of palta (there are four or five) and those

divine clementinas, tiny little oranges so full of juice that they're crunchy.

Eat a sopapilla with ahí and mustard

Buy a really expensive Carmenere (for much less than in the states)

Visit the southern island of Chiloe and the Lake Region, the “real” Chile so to speak

Trek the majestic Torres de Paine in Patagonia

Take in the ocean and architecture in La Serena

See a Chilean rodeo

Play baseball in the campo with Chileans, because Chileans don’t play baseball

Eat a chorillana and feel the aftermath for days

Live the Santiago night life

Experience Dieciocho de Septiembre

Sing along to Américo songs when you hear them playing even though you might sound like a fool because you don’t know all the words.

Eat pancakes with manjar.

Enjoy the palta especially on bread!

Keep practicing your Spanish as you immerse yourself in the culture

Do some kite watching and try to fly one!

Enjoy sunrise and sunset

Try fried and baked empanadas!

Enjoy freshly squeezed fruit juice!

Cook something for your family

Pay attention to how your family cooks so you can learn a recipe!

Learn about Chile’s rich history through its beautiful folk music

Learn to dance the Cueca

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I like coffee, No, I love coffee. When I was little, I asked

my dad for coffee--he gave me milk with a little coffee.

Gradually, I increased the coffee in the coffee to milk ratio.

Today, I love everything about coffee: the aroma that

wakes you up on its own and the warmth of a steaming cup

on cold morning. I was rather disappointed when I discov-

ered that cafe in Chile is of the instant variety. During my

first several days in Chile, this was my only disappoint-

ment. Then my fellow volunteer, Corrie, offered me some

wise words: "Nescafe is not coffee." Liberated by this in-

formation, I was able to move instant coffee into a differ-

ent category in my mind. I have taken to my morning

instant cup. That being said about a month ago I broke

down and bought some real ground coffee and a

cheese cloth strainer to make the occasional cup of a stronger brew. It's not the same as drip brewed or pressed coffee, but it is an enjoyable substitute.

Properly Caffeinated By Stephen Hildebrand

The Completo, in my mind, is without a doubt the most

widely consumed food in all of Chile. The fact that this

monstrosity has it's own Wikipedia page is a testament to

its greatness. It should really be on thisiswhyyoure-

fat.com. Many ingredients go in to creating this uber junky

work of art and it would not be complete without all that is

required, hence the name Completo. In order to success-

fully consume one of these giant dogs you must first make

sure you have it all in order. F

irst, toast your gigantic bun

and smear it with ketchup, mustard, relish, and green

chilis. Second, take your perfectly cooked hotdog and

stick it in between those buns. Third, apply a heart attack

amount of tomatoes, avocado, and you guessed it, mayo,

in, around, and on top of your dog. Stand back, admire,

and stuff your face.

P.S. It t

astes way better at 5AM at

Sibaritico's in Viña del Mar.

The Infamous Completo

By Brandy Hearn

Reason One: Margaritas

Right across the street from my school is the San Francisco Bakery. It is a great bakery. The

bakery ladies have an apricot margarita set aside for me everyday. It counts as one cookie, but it

is really a cookie with apricot jam on it and another cookie shaped like a flower on top. Then, it

is covered with powered sugar. I get a margarita every day after school. I can’t wait to eat it, so

I walk home with powdered sugar flying in all directions. The three times that I met the direc-

tor of my school on the street, my face was covered with powered sugar.

Reason Two: Lemon Pies

They sell lemon pies everywhere. I don’t think that it is the national dessert, but it could

be. They are delicious. Who knew that lemons would be big in Chile? Pilar’s (my host mother)

lemon pie has very thick meringue on top. She bakes two pies at a time so that everyone gets

enough. There are only four of us in the house, but we are all sugar addicts.

Reason Three: Portion Control

Pilar took me to the central market in Valparaiso for seafood last weekend. I had conger eel (a

Chilean favorite) with a sauce full of garlic and shellfish. There were species of shellfish in that

sauce that scientists have not discovered yet, and enough conger eel for a family of four.

On the way out, Pilar decided that I should have my photo taken with the chef. I tried to sneak

away, but she pushed me into the kitchen. I don’t know what she said to the chef, but he put a

hat on me, handed me a dish of pork, and the waitress snapped my photo. The piece of pork

was big enough to hold a Chilean flag, and there were potatoes on the side. (I think that Weight

Watchers says that a portion of meat should be the size of a deck of cards.) I don’t think that

Chileans have ever heard of Weight Watchers.

Three Reasons You Cannot Lose Weight In Chile

By Sharon Welch

Pan y Palta Musings and Recipes on Chilean Cuisine

S S L C PAGE 19

Chicken Cazuela (Serves 4)

By Grace Chen

1. Saute the following on low-medium heat in a pot: -Carrots (zanahoria)- 1/2 sliced, 1/2 shredded -Oregano -Celery (apio)- chopped in large pieces -1 clove of garlic (ajo)- shredded -onion (cebolla)- 1/2 shredded, 1/2 of an onion -oil (aceite)- 2 tablespoons -cilantro- 1/5 cup chopped -1 sliced green, red, or yellow bell pepper (pimenton) 2. Mix in chopped chicken with some skin 3. Add water for soup and 2 Tbsp. salt and cover and simmer on low heat for about 10-15 minutes 4. Then turn up heat. After soup boils, mix in the following: -2 Chopped corns (choclo) -Green beans (poroto verde) -4 medium potatoes (papas) peeled and cut in half -Medium sized pieces of pumpkin with or without skin Note: In Chile, they use comote which is a type of pumpkin (zapallo) 5. Add 2 small handfuls of rice (1/4 cup) After water boils again, lower heat Should be ready after 5-10 mins Serve hot

Wine Whipped

Meringue Cream w/Fruit

By Grace Chen

1/3 cup red wine

granulated sugar

3 egg whites

chopped fruit (fresh or canned/drained)

1. In a measuring cup, pour in 1/3 cup red wine.

Then pour in white sugar until the mixture reaches 1

cup.

2. Heat mixture on stove with medium heat until it

is syrup texture. You can check this by dipping a

spoon in and taking it out to see if the mixture

slowly drips down the spoon like a thin maple

syrup.

3. Beat egg whites with a mixer. Add in wine and

sugar mixture.

It will turn into a lavender color.

4. Pour in chopped fruit. My mama poured in a

32 oz. can of cocktail fruit.

Serve chilled

Sopaipillas w/ Pebre By Heather Tang

(There are no exact measurements. All of this was done by eye-balling.) Sopaipillas Pumpkin, chopped into large chunks Shortening Flour (no-rise) Salt 1. Boil pumpkin chunks in just enough water to cover them 2. When pumpkin is soft enough to stick a fork through, remove

from the water. Set water aside (don’t throw away!) 3. Remove peel from pumpkin and mash together 4. A little at a time, add flour, pumpkin mash, hot pumpkin wa-

ter, a few scoops of shortening (with a Tbsp), and about 3 Tsp of salt into a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.

5. Keep adding a little bit of flour, pumpkin, and pumpkin water and mixing until it is a doughy texture and can be kneaded

6. Cover countertop with a film of flour. Move dough directly onto counter and keep kneading and adding flour until it is no longer sticky

7. Roll into a ball and let sit under a towel for about 10 minutes 8. Roll dough out flat to about 1/4 inch thick and cut out circles

about 3 inches in diameter with a cookie cutter 9. Poke holes into circles a few times with a fork 10. Deep fry until golden and let sit on a paper towel Serve immediately or later with pebre, mustard, or syrup Pebre Chop up 1 tomato, 2 large yellow chili peppers, half of a white onion, and a large bunch of cilantro into fine pieces and mix in one bowl. Add olive oil until ingredients are soaked and mix to-gether.

We learned these recipes from our host

families but check out more Chilean

recipes at :

http://cocinatipicachilena.blogspot.com

It’s in Spanish but try it out!

Mayonnaise By Grace Chen Mix 2 eggs with half cup oil then add salt, pepper,

lemon juice to your liking. I know some other

mayo recipes also add mustard and garlic.

S S L C PAGE 20

On August 5, 2010, the San José copper and gold mine near the city of Copiapó in the Atacama Desert collapsed, trap-ping 33 miners 2,300 ft underground. Seventeen days later, a note made it to the surface via probing drill indicating that all 33 were alive and well in the refuge. As workers, family members, and volunteers worked to free them over the next two months with the help of foreign aid, Chile showed its fierce nationalism and strength as it has so often until each and every miner was brought to the back to the surface on October 13, 2010. The world watched the entire ordeal, witness of Chile‟s efficiency, progress, resilience, and unity.

“When Chile unites in the face of adversity, it can achieve great things.” -President Sebastian Piñera

S S L C PAGE 21

Then and Now Then and Now

Then: I thought learning Spanish was going to be difficult and take a lot of hard work and practice. Now: this still holds true, however in the beginning, I never thought much about en-joying the experience of learning Spanish. Now learning Spanish is exciting for me; it‟s fun to hear and use new words, and seeing improvement is extremely rewarding. -Lauren Phillips

Then: Plate always Now: I now don't put a plate under my bread. -Stephen Hildebrand

Then: Scream PARE as my bus stop passes by. Now: Anticipate my stop and calmly walk up to the conductor and tell him to stop. -Allison Hahn

Then: Avoid picking up the house phone like the plague. Now: Pick it up, ask what the caller wants, and either pass the phone along or try to take a message. -Heather Tang

Then: I thought eating healthy would be difficult. Now: I can buy various familiar foods in the suburbs and cities that help me maintain a diet of fruit, vegetables, fiber, and whole grains. -Grace Chen

Then: I thought the micro was too confusing to take. Now: I love the micro. It‟s fast, easy, and always an adventure! -Lauren Lastra

Then: Making tea, I scooped sugar before wetting the spoon Now: Screw it, and the table cloth, not a plate, is meant to catch crumbs -Ryan Mosser

Then: Thought that I would use course books that I brought with me Now: I use my imagination and games-making abilities more than any book. -Sharon Welch

Then: Wondered how I would survive on instant coffee Now: Drink about three cups a day and rather enjoy it -Hannah Fullington

Then: Thought it was awkward to beso people on the cheek when saying hi or goodbye Now: It‟s almost second nature to me; when I get back to the States people are going to think I‟m weird when I try to beso them. -Kristy Hui

Then: I never knew that many things would pop up during school hours. Now: When teaching, patience and flexi-bility are extremely important! Take a breath and go with it! -Stephanie Blanch

S S L C PAGE 22

1st Place “Spring and Smile”

Heather Tang 2nd Place

“Viña Sunset” Kristy Hui

3rd Place “Huasito”

Ryan Mosser

We all voted for our favorite photos and after a very close race, here are the winners!

Honorable Mention...

Lauren Phillips

Allison Hahn

Sharon Welch

Maureen O’Leary Grace Chen

Bennett Pearson

S S L C

Cariño is a term that encompasses feelings of love, endearment, and care. Many aspects of volunteering for WorldTeach Chile brewed much anticipation as my departure date of March 16, 2010 approached--teaching English to hundreds of kids in a public school, being in a new country, and continent for that matter, learning a new lan-guage and culture, and of course, living in the home of complete strangers for a significant amount of time. I wasn‟t expecting to have these strangers become the most wonderful and essential part of my time in Chile. And so I was greeted by my host parents, Norman and Charo, the first day I arrived in Chile‟s fifth region of Valparaiso, and their instant warmth and welcoming hugs comforted any jumpy nerves, as did pulling up to the adorable bright green home with the col-orful yard of flowers and fruit trees in Quilpué, obviously influ-enced by the eclectic taste of Pablo Neruda and color of nearby Valparaiso city. Though they did not speak English, and I, at the time, not a lick of Spanish, there was no lack of communication. The first couple of months were for adjustment and feeling out habits, boundaries, idiosyncrasies, and things that might snag communal harmony between the familia chilena and the gringa. There weren‟t many, if any at all. This family immediately made me feel like I had been living in their home for years and as time passed, the dynamics evolved into as if I had always been a part of their family. My Spanish skills, although seriously lacking at the beginning, developed over time to the point where I can now con-verse with them relatively easily, though we didn‟t need words to establish that I eat everything, and a lot of it. I have a younger sister and brother in my actual family back home and so it was not difficult to assume the role of older sister for my host siblings, 17-year old Amaury and 12-year old Ayun. Amaury actually speaks English at a remarkably advanced level that he claims he learned just from school, movies, and video games and Ayun is not far behind. I‟m sure this had a hand in our abilities to connect with each other. Despite having a number of volunteers

in close vicinity, I have spent the ma-jority of my time hanging out and jok-ing around with my host siblings and their very entertaining friends. All of them are incredibly talented in the arts, and I have made it a responsibil-ity of mine to attend their perform-ances and school events as I have

done with my own siblings. Whether it be sitting around our little kitchen table together each night eating bread for onces, seeing a concert of Chilean folk mu-sic with my brother and friends, consuming enormous amounts of barbecued meat with the big extended family who lives just down the road, or just hanging out and laughing together until our stomachs hurt, I can safely say that by coming to Chile, I have gained another family, one with enough cariño to stay with me even after I leave this home away from home.

“Stick in there….never stop doing what you love.” This was a note stuck in my hallway bulletin board earlier this year when I was teaching Kindergarten/1st grade in Los Angeles. I gather it was a random act of kindness from an older student, but the note really stuck with me and I feel like it pertains to my experience in Chile. Be-ing in Chile has taught me many life lessons that I did not expect to learn. I could list them off, but that would just be a jumble of thoughts. So in a few words I have learned to “be liquid” as I quickly found out that timeli-ness is not a priority here, to appreciate the little things in life, and the importance of great friends. I am firm believer that everything that comes along in my life, there is something positive that comes out of it. That being said, the positives of being in Chile have far out-weighed the frustrations as times, and I have grown to love the country. Learning to “be liquid”

means being flexible at all

times. It‟s ok to have a 30

minute conversation with an

old man you meet crossing

the road (true story) who

happens to also be an Eng-

lish teacher. Chilean people are so nice, and I have bene-

fited from their generosity many times. I have also

learned to be alright with students being asked to prac-

tice a dance for the “acto” during class time. Hey, it‟s

Chile, just “be liquid!” I remember the first time my host

family drove with me to “Jumbo” supermarket and we

sang and danced to “Américo” songs the whole car ride,

a sweet bonding moment. Memories like this and those

simple things in life make living here so great. I am so

grateful for my friends and family back home for lending

a listening ear when I need it, and I am equally thankful

for the people that I have met here. I know that World-

Teach(ers) are here for the right reasons and I am in-

spired daily by all of them. To my WorldTeach Chile

Semester 2010 familia, you guys have definitely become

family and I can‟t thank you enough for just being the

awesome people that you are. I will miss my host family

dearly who may just be the sweetest people ever, and my

students who yell “Miss Kristy! Peace out!” to me as I‟m

walking out of school. I have grown a lot from this ex-

perience in ways that are hard to put in words. Chile has

taught me patience, love, friendship, resilience, appre-

ciation, and much more. Viva Chile!! And as my stu-

dents say, “Peace out!”

Instantly Adopted By Heather Tang

Peace Out! By Kristy Hui

Chau Chile! Reflections...

PAGE 23

S S L C PAGE 24

Gaining Confidence in Chile

By Brandy Hearn Goals for Chile: Learn Spanish, budget, travel as much as I can, be the best teacher I can be, learn to cook Chilean food, make life-long friends, learn to let go, and learn to make my own decisions. I wrote that list of goals the week I arrived in Santiago and looking back on the past seven months I am amazed by how much I have personally accomplished. I can safely say that as of now, I am at an Intermediate level of Span-ish. I still have money in the bank. I have trekked to Ma-chu Picchu and skied some of the best mountains in the world. My students can hold a basic conversation in Eng-lish and will never forget how to sing, "Head, shoulders, knees and toes." I can make a mean empanada as well as other Chilean foods. I have made some incredible, life long friends, including my co-teachers. I know how to let go of the things that I cannot control and make my own deci-sions without having to consult my family and friends be-fore moving forward. To say the least, I have grown into a better and more confident individual just by living and working in this incredibly dynamic culture. This experience has taught me how to treat every day as it is your last and to appreciate the life you were given. Fam-ily and friends are above all the most important aspect to a Chilean's life and their history and culture comes at a close second. To be that happy and satisfied while struggling to make ends meet makes me realize what is really important in life. It is not about how much money you have in the bank, although money does make things easier, but about the quality of your friendships and the closeness of your family. My friend Jeremy once said that if you asked a Chilean for a piece of gum or a beer and it was their last, they would still give it to you. That is just who they are. They love food, dance and music and are up for a good time any day of the week. At the same time, I have learned that if things don't work out the way I expect them to, well, es lo que hay - it is what it is. One has to learn to "be liq-uid" and to take things as they come. You have to live one day at a time, be patient, and when things get tough, don't freak out because there is a yin and a yang to everything and maybe a good will come out of a bad. It is the Chilean way of life that when things get tough, just smile. To learn more about yourself and grow as an individual is just as important as the actual teaching aspect of this job. I came here knowing I would change and if I didn't then I would be seriously wasting my time. It's important for me to still be "Brandy" but just a better version of myself. I am ready to get back to my roots but am not sure if I am ready to leave Chile for good as I feel like I have planted some roots here as well. No matter where I go, I feel like I can literally handle anything after teaching as a volunteer in Quilpue. I have been having the time of my life and now know what I want, what I don't want, and what kind of person I want to be. I understand more about the world than I did before I came to Chile and I have this experience to thank for that. "The core of man's spirit comes from new experiences." - Into the Wild

Success! By Allison Hahn I often question my ability to teach English, or maybe it‟s the ability to transfer any English language skills to my students in the Chilean school system, or maybe it‟s just Colegio General Velasquez. Whatever the case is, I often find it is really difficult if not impossible to see if anything is REALLY sinking it. It is the times that my students sur-prise me with the English that I taught in minor parts of the class that I have most appreciated. The first time that this happened was rather recently with one of my more „fleite‟ students, Alvaro, who I just adore. He‟s one of those bright kids who are just too cool for school. But he applies himself in my class! Well he missed my class one week and when I asked him the following week why he hadn‟t come, I discovered it was because he was suspended. We were both visibly disappointed that he missed my class, when he said „It sucks Miss.‟ I was so elated that he perfectly used a minor phrase I taught out-side of class that I nearly yelped! Same class, different student: Joaquin, another one of my favorites (are we not supposed to have favorites?). I can just see that Joaquin is not challenged enough in school and I feel for him! He absorbs everything I teach so quickly and since my class moves so slowly, I see the bore-dom in his face (a little too often). One day I taught „All right‟ as my slang of the day and had them use it as the response to „How are you?‟ (a very New Orleanian cultural tid bit). Outside of class, I always ask my students how they are. So imagine my reaction when Joaquin responds with „All right‟ like a true New Orleanian!

Painting the Town Tie-Dye By Corrie Littlepage After getting stood up 2 or 3 weeks in a row, English club finally happened and it was a success! Or as my students would say "awesome!" and maybe even "legit". I have tie-dyed shirts with high school students in the past and it has always been a big hit. Honestly, I love tie-dying and get-ting to share something I enjoy and a little more outside the box is what English Club is all about, and of course doing it in English makes it even more fun. As of today we have had four English clubs, tie-dye, baking oat-meal chocolate chip cookies, learning the Cupid Shuffle, and an outing for icecream. English club is one of the times I look forward to most during the week.

S S L C PAGE 25

Short Stories, Long Country

WorldTeach Chile

chilesslc@gmail.com

Next Issue: July 2011

www.worldteach.org Chile Ministry Year Chile Semester

Photos Contributed By: Lauren Phillips Leigh Ann Loesch Kristy Hui Heather Tang Sharon Welch Katie Eldridge Allison Hahn Jennifer Fernandes Carol Eckman Bennett Pearson Maureen O’Leary Stephen Hildebrand Corrie Littlepage Stephanie Blanch Grace Chen Ryan Mosser