Week 5: Feeling at Home

30 Sec. Update: First week of classes went smoothly. I met 150+ students over the course of three days and I'm struggling to remember names. All of the students seemed excited to be in my class and by the end of the 45 min. period I had all of them introducing themselves in English. Friday was the wedding which literally lasted all night. The ceremony started at 8 PM and we danced the night away until 6 AM. I woke up at 3 PM Saturday afternoon. The rest of the weekend was spent recovering from the wedding. On Sunday I went for a nice hike to a suspended bridge outside of Los Alamos. My one month anniversary was Saturday and I looked at the calendar to realize that there are only 100 more days in Chile. I'm already wishing that I had more time here.


Only in the “Skinny One” (Bring Your Own TP): After being in Chile for a couple of days I quickly realized that I shouldn't go anywhere without a roll of toilet paper and some hand sanitizer. Even the staff bathroom at my school lacks both of these necessities. I have never gotten an explanation on why this is so. Is it the cost? Does the TP just run out? Are Chileans just afraid to use toilet paper that is not their own? Or do Chileans just not use toilet paper? [cringe] Whatever the reason, after a few uncomfortable trips to the bathroom I never leave the house without a roll.


Actually using the toilet paper adds an additional challenge because the plumbing in Chile is not strong enough flush down the TP. For this reason, all of the bathrooms in Chile have a small trash can next to the the toilet to dispose of the used toilet paper. It has taken a while to get used to this. My trips to the bathroom are often filled with cursing after I realize that I once again forgot to dispose of the TP in the trash can. After this happens, I'm always afraid that the toilet will clog and my host-family will grumble “Where's the plunger? The gringo did it again!”

Every time I go to the bathroom now, I go through the mental checklist: Did I bring the TP? Check! Did I bring the hand sanitizer? Check! Did I remember to put the toilet paper in the trash? Fuck! I'm sure that I will suffer from reverse culture shock once again back to the US and my mom will be confused why there is always dirty TP in the trash can.


My Four Months of Fame: After 2 weeks in Los Alamos, I have begun to sympathize with Britney Spears. Just in case it hasn't reached the United States, I have achieved celebrity status here in Chile. I walk through hallways of my school to the screams of high school girls, I have given out my autograph on several occasions, and some of my students even shout “I love you” as I pass in the halls. I frequently get asked if I know Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers, or Madonna. It has quickly become clear to me that the main reason why my students are interested in English is pop culture. I'm sure that once they realize that I don't actually know any movie stars and that in the US I'm only a mild-mannered college student my celebritydom will end. But for now, my self-esteem has never been higher.

Classes week one went really well. My program director called the first weeks of teaching in Chile “the honeymoon period.” The students were excited to be in classes with the gringo and for a change of pace from their regular classes. The purpose of my time here is to work on their verbal fluency and expose them to a native speaker. With that mission in mind, I have been given a lot of flexibility with how I teach my classes. I try to organize them around a question that would come up in conversation such as, “how many siblings do you have?” or “where are you from?” with interactive games and improv always being a key component.


English Only: My classes are taught entirely in English which adds lots of extra challenges. I have to be very deliberate in how I deliver the instruction by using lots of repetition, cognates (words that sound similar in both Spanish and English), and acting out everything I say. This methodology is the same idea that underlies studying abroad and full immersion language programs. It is frustrating at times for both me and the students but I think in the long-run it will maximize their exposure to native English and (hopefully) their retention. Or at least that is the theory; I'll write back with how much I agree with this theory in 4 months.

“Weddings in Chile go until 6 AM:” A wedding in Chile is a whole-weekend affair. Friday was the wedding, Saturday was spent cleaning and recovering, and Sunday was the leftovers. I was told by a few Chileans beforehand that wedding in Chile go until 6 AM, but I didn't truly believe it until this weekend. The ceremony started at 8 PM, dinner was served at midnight, the cake came around 3 AM, and the dancing stopped at 6 AM. The day after I slept until 3 PM.

The Ceremony: The whole event from start to finish was beautiful and memorable in its own special Chilean way. The ceremony was held at a Pentecostal church which ensured a fiery sermon at the beginning of the ceremony full of “hallelujah's” and “praise the Lord's” (or at least that's what I think they were saying in Spanish). After that, the ceremony was pretty similar to a wedding ceremony in the US: exchanging the vows, the reading of the marriage certificate, and the sharing the wedding rings. At the end of the ceremony, the newly wedded went on a vuelta (a mini-trip) in their decorated car throughout the town. Everyone else rushed to the location of the reception (a local high school cafeteria) to wait for the newly wedded to arrive and perform the waltz.


It was a low-budge wedding in every sense. The reception was held in the high school cafeteria, my host brother was the DJ, my host mother baked the wedding cake, the decorations were homemade, the silverware was mismatched, and the plates were chipped. But anything it lacked in a material sense was made up for by the outpouring of love that was apparent in everyone and everything in that room.

The rest of the night passed quickly. The music was a mix of Salsa, Cumbia, and Reggaton. All the dancing was done in lines with the men on one side and the women on the other. I'm sure that I represented my country poorly on the dance floor but at least the wedding guests got some good laughs. The dancing was only interrupted by the retrieving of the garder, throwing of the bouquet, and the cutting of the wedding cake. It was an unlikely marriage. High school sweethearts who had a child when they were only fifteen-years-old. Five years had passed since their son was born. To have reached this point took the support of a lot of people and it was surely something to celebrate.


Wrap-up: These first two weeks in Los Alamos have been full of reminders of the cycles of life. I attended a wedding, I held a newly born baby, and I carried a casket containing a one hundred and six-year-old woman. Alongside all of these milestones of life, I have begun to establish a rhythm here in Chile as daily routines become a little less overwhelming. I am amazed at how quickly I was integrated into the lives of my host-family and the daily on-goings in Chile. The comfort that I feel with my new family, my new school, and my new home is a testament to the abundant warmth and familiarity of this community. I'm am hopeful for whatever the next one hundred days may bring.