The Closing Note

Well, I have to admit I was pretty bad there at the end on keeping everyone updated. Not only did I have tons of trips to keep track of, but without the internet access in school, it became too difficult. Not to mention the fact that for an AFSer, after a few months everything starts feeling pretty routine. I didn't feel like I had a lot more to say!

Anyhow, I want to close with a few notes. One, that I got back safely and am now home, looking for a job (wow, that's hard).
Two, that if you're an AFSer or are interested in becoming one, send me an email! I would love to talk to you and tell you some things you might need to know.
Third, I have some helpful hints to other kids who are leaving the States with AFS. I had a hard time finding a lot of info, so I'll throw some stuff out there.

Family gifts: Baseball team shirts. Buy bigger, rather than smaller. I gave my brother a small, and he had grown a lot since the picture he sent me. Get larges, and they're pyjamas! Candy: Although a lot of American candy is available in other countries, it's expensive. Snickers, M&Ms, Skittles (especially sour!!), Milky Ways, just the typical stuff. Peanut butter and all kinds of recipes for it. A photo album of your family and you that looks nice and your family can show to everyone. A scarf and pretty broach for your mom. Cologne for your dad. Foods like cookies that your family bakes and you can make more of.

How you're going to call: SKYPE!!! You can get a local phone number in practically any part of the world, so you make a local call to Skype... They connect you, at their rate, and you pay online. It's like 2 cents a minute for most of the world.

How to get money: Dunno about other countries, but I think a Visa ATM card should work fine for anywhere. I know that there are ATMs all over the place, even in the smallest cities, in Chile. Have your parents set up a checking account that they can put money (emergencies are something to think about) in online. Count on spending $200 a month. You can be frugal as heck, but you're still going to have to buy things. I regularly bought bus tickets, taxi fares, and school lunch. You may have to pay for your transportation to school and your uniform (a lot, in all!)

Alright, I guess that's about it!
I'm headed to school tomorrow at 10:30, pursuing babysitting jobs, and getting into online classes... Hooray!!
So...
Thanks to everyone who read!
Que esten muy muy bien!
Final goodbye:
Emily
Marie
Brown

Vuuuuelta

It's hard writing after a whole month of absence... I'm not sure where to start!

I'll start at the top. Three and a half weeks ago, my class of thirty kids left on our end-of-third-year school trip. It's called the Gira de Estudia or something like that, and each of the three classes in our third year (Junior year, our school time) gets to chose where they want to go. Poncho's class is going to Brazil soon, and the other two went South. We had the longest (and most expensive) trip of all. We travelled all the way to Puerto Montt and saw the sights there and in between for a week.
I put up all my photos on Facebook... I don't like taking photos, so there aren't a lot. I prefer to see the sights while I'm there instead of waiting to get photos online to get my eye out from behind the digital screen... Anyhow, I'll try to give a play by play account. Let's see if I really have a memory or not.

Lunes/Monday:
Our first day, we got to leave school early, at ten o'clock, to go home and pack our things. We returned at 7 to board the huge bus that was waiting to take us off. We didn't leave until about 8, but all of the parents and boyfriends stood around the whole time waiting for us. I got a seat next to Pippi, toward the front of the bus, but quickly found that the action was in the back, so I didn't sit there until about four in the morning when I decided, to Hell with it, I was going to sleep.

Martes/Tuesday: After a long night of not sleeping in the bus, we arrived early in Puerto Varas. We unloaded into the hotel (where the other 3° was packing up to leave and told us how great it had been) and got into our rooms. Although all of my classmates were in groups of three, I was alone with Pippi because the Miss didn't want her to feel left out. We could see the huge ocean-like lake out the window, and it was really cool to sleep with the sound of waves crashing all night... Not that we slept much. Anyhow, we left later that morning to visit an outdoor Chilean-style mall in nearby Puerto Montt. It was raining, which is typical in the South, but we spent almost two hours looking through the carved toys, knitted clothes, and all kinds of interesting things. We then went to a little restaurant (so little, as a matter of fact, that we couldn't all eat at the same time), where we had our first meal of salmon! Of course, it was served Chilean-style, which means that it came with chopped peeled tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and peeled baked potatoes, with lemon and salt. Not terribly exciting, after eating that for lunch and dinner every day, but still, everyone was excited about the salmon. Afterwards, those of us who had gotten to eat first went out in a little boat rented to tourists. It was falling apart and painted all different colors, and the woman who drove it told us a little about what we were seeing. We saw a sea lion, among other South-y wild creatures... :D We then returned to the hotel for dinner and sleep...

Miercoles/Wednesday: We all got up monstrously early in the morning - most of the kids got about three hours of sleep, due to the Chilean love for partying all night long. We drove through mountains of mud to a white water tourist attraction, called the Saltos of Petrohue. There was quite a bit of smow-y hail on the ground, and when we arrived we were told that it was closed. Not to be discouraged, everyone piled out and posed for a hundred thousand pictures. Meanwhile, I ran with a few classmates to the end of the road to look at the rapids and take a picture with the entrance sign. It was very very cold! When we got back in the bus, we were told that neither could we go to Chiloé, an island a little bit to the South. To get there, you have to go on a ferry, which was closed due to the weather. Everyone was pouty when we drove back through Puerto Montt in the rain and stayed the rest of the day in the hotel.

I have to admit that at this point I don't remember the next few days in detail. But we ended up going to Chiloe as well as the Salts. We also went to a natural hot spring, and swam in the huge pool heated by the geisers. We spent the whole time well, partying it up in the South of Chi Chi Chi le le le VIVA CHILE!


--

We're almost done with school; we get out this Friday. The seniors left about two weeks ago. There was a huge Acto, which means synchronized dancing, karaoke, and speeches in front of the whole school, and they were all hugging and crying by the end. Now they have the PSU, which is going on as I speak. It's a two-day-long test, with four sections. Students can choose which they want to take... Pedro's not taking Science as he's going to study law. And here, when you say you're going to study something, you don't have the option of changing your mind. Once you enter university, you have to follow your career path unless you want to drop out, take the PSU again, and start over (my cousin is doing this now).
Anyhow, we haven't been doing much in classes... Today I have nothing in the morning except English (HA) and in the afternoon only Math of the regular three. So I have a little more time to eat lunch... And I get to leave early. Se dice FOME: boring!

On MY college front, after writing literally 20 or 30 essays I have finally come to the end. I'm now wrapping it all up, so to say. I've been accepted to UBama and Tulane, possibly among others but it's not too important as I'm fairly sure I want to go to Tulane. Yet another Brown! Not to mention that I'll get a 50% or so scholarship... And I'm applying for the full one. It's exciting!

So... English. Can't speak it. Literally, I sound like a student in my English class. I have to think, and my pronunciation may or may not have changed drastically...

Hmm

Not sure what else to say. I hope to go to the Termas del Flaco, which is a thermal near my house. It's said that the stars there at night are incredible. My sister invited me to go with her and her friends, but I'm kind of trying to think of other ways to go... Haha.
Been thinking about Xmas... It's SO strange that it's in the summertime here...
My parents have to work literally until Christmas in their school...
flksasdfljk

Ahí, no tengo más...

Chao entonces, hasta luego!!!
Emily

From Planets to Orchestras

Yesterday I went to Santiago again. This time, I was accompanying 40 second and fourth graders from my mamá's rural school. We went to the planetarium, where the kids screamed as much as they giggled, then to the zoo, to MIM (a science museum), and finished it all off with some good-ol' McDonald's. We had a great time, I didn't get to go to sleep until 12:30, and over-all yesterday was a success. In school, my classmates have become more accustomed to my blonde hair and green eyes... But kids just don't get tired of playing with hair, asking questions, and wanting to hold your hand. I went with Pippi, and we were the biggest hit all year.
I'm not on for long, only until one-o'clock, so I wanted to touch on a few things I've noticed and forgotten to write.

One, if you have eyes that aren't brown, you SHOW THEM OFF. And the older you get, the more makeup you use, until your face is literally a big green cake of eyeshadow. Also, no one has natural hair. They all dye it lighter, varying from dark brown to blonde, but you can always tell it's fake. Also, just like the Hispanic culture in the USA, no one cares that they don't have the body to wear the clothes they do. I've been more shocked by the... views... than ever in the States. It's funny, in a way, and in a way it's really comfortable. They don't see anything wrong with having a belly; as a matter of fact, every single Chilean has a belly. The kids have bellies, the adults have bellies, and the grandparents are waddling mountains. There are no hugely obese people and definitely no stick-thin ones, only a comfortably squishy medium.

What else? I got a packege yesterday... Poncho came into the kitchen while I was drinking tea with Mamá last night (eleven o'clock?) and told me to close my eyes. He made me wait while he labored over opening the darn thing to get a good look. PAYDAYS!!! I miss Paydays more than you know. I LOVE them. Thank you, Mom!!!

That's another thing - tea. Everyone is always drinking tea! I love it!

Okay, they're shutting of the computers.


CHAO!
Nos vemos!
Emily bemily BOO! Happy Halloween!

Sawadeeka

Sawaddeeka (or sawaddeekrub for men) means hello and goodbye in Thai. Thought you should know.

In light of the facts that a) I forgot some stuff last time, b) a lot has happened today, and c) I have a pile of time on my hands, IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER POST!!

(It's so hard to write in English!)
Today I got up at 7:30. I told Mamá that I didn't feel so hot and was thinking about not going to Santa Cruz as planned. Before deciding not to go, we realized after a moment that I couldn't bow out. I was to accompany the two Thai ladies I had met Thursday and help translate for them - since Erika wouldn't be going this time to help out (I went with Pippi, who doesn't know too much English) I was the only translator. Not to disappoint the Miss Eva, I decided to go despite my misgivings.
I couldn't be gladder I did.
Papá drove me into town at 8:15, where we picked up the Pippi and went to the bus terminal. At 9:00, the Thailandeses arrived as well as the professor who was to accompany us with her boyfriend. Let me take a minute to describe everyone.
Nong - Thai professor of English. Short and rather stout, always smiling, excellent English. She lives in the North East of Thailand.
Lin - The other Thai teacher. Tall for Chilean standards, quieter than Nong, but still friendly and also very good at English. She lives in Bankok and teaches in the National School, which is huge and the royal family attends.
Profe Titiana - Profesora from colegio. Tiny in build, sweet, speaks a tiny bit of English.
Her boyfriend - Uh, her boyfriend. Nice?
Okay. So we set off in the bus, traveled for thirty minutes, made friends with the middle-aged lady sitting next to the Pippi, who gave us her crackers with manjar, and got off the bus in Santa Cruz. There, to my surprise, we were joined by another four Thailandeses. WHAT! I could barely keep up with two! Thank God, we were promptly joined by Carlos, a boy from the local school who spoke excellent English. Together, we conquered!
So, the Thai who were with us. We were joined by two men and a woman; one man had gone to Missouri with AFS, another spoke a little English, the woman spoke a lot, and the last man spoke practically none (and had no teeth). This last one was constantly pulling my sleeve to get my attention and asking me about the most random things in the museum that I totally could not explain. It was pretty funny, but a bit tough. I believe I neglected to say that we all met up at a big private museum. This was owned by the infamous, banned-from-the-USA arms dealer I mentioned in my previous post. It occupied an entire house, and had a huge variety of objects from all over South America and many from other continents as well. There were dinosaurs, Incas, antique cars, an old train, etc etc etc. It took practically all day and even more energy, and the Thai spent the entire time taking about a trillion photos of everything. Whenever we stopped anywhere, they all grouped up and took three or four pictures of the group with each camera (that's like 25 photos...) and generally took FOR EVER. But in the end it was cool. They gave everyone bills from Thailand (I got an extra for Pedro ;D) and other little things they's brought along.
After going through the entire museum (from 10 AM to 4 PM, not counting lunch), we got in a tiny private bus (furgon, again) to go to a huge vineyard. There, the tourguide spoke a hilarious dramatic and terrible form of English, but managed to take the attention away from Carlos and me, so we could finally relax. The vineyard not only had wine to taste, but also an area demonstrating each of the four native Chilean cultures. The Thai all took pictures with the llamas (everyone else stood back cautiously and watched the llamas' mouths, just waiting for them to spit) and tasted the wine (I don't think they drink much... They all looked super awkward. Afterwards the man who spoke a little English went around posing for photos like a crazy guy, saying, "I'm dlunnk I'm dlluunk!!" It was hilarious...).
Anyhow, today went superbien and I had a great time. Mom and Dad, you may be receiving something in the mail soon... Wink.

Now I can't remember what else I wanted to talk about...
Haha.

Well, anyhow, right now I'm in the Abuelita's house chilling with my prima Kony and the family. I've been enjoying spending the night here on weekends, as it's much more in-town than my house and makes for easy access to things worth doing on weekends.

I'm going to get a viola! Believe I mentioned this before.

Carlitos drives me nuts. That would be the little boy who can't remember the names of his vowels yet and is six years old... Have I told this story? I don't remember. We were all sitting at Onces drinking tea and Carlitos was whining his little head off because he couldn't do his homework alone. So his mom sat down to help him.
“¿Con cuál letra termina ‘vaso?’” (what's the last letter of "vaso?"
“¿La ‘e?’”
“Vasooo.”
“¡¿La ‘i?’!”
“¡Vasooooo!”
“¡¿La ‘u?!’ ¡¡¡No séééé!!!” (I don't knowwwwww!!!)
This tickled me pink, to use an expression I don't use. It was even better because in Spanish, not only do the vowels have only one sound, but that sound is their name as well. So when Tía Tína said vaso (with an "o" like "go," Carlitos was being really stupid to not realize that it was an "o.")

Nong had some questions for an English teacher here, and their conversation (which I had to translate, as the English teacher did not know English) was interesting. Nong, as an English teacher in Thailand, works 14 hours a week and makes about 1600 US dollars a month. An English teacher in a public school here, on the other hand, works upwards of 30 hours a week and makes about 800 US dollars a month. Pffffeeeewwwwey!
Of course, this changes as you transition to teachers who have gone to college for English, or work in private schools, or live in bigger cities.

I have asthma here! I am dying!

I just read a bunch from two other AFS blogs (definitely check out http://clairegoestodeutschland.blogspot.com/) and I have two things to quote from another Chile AFSer. One, that everyone drives fast and stops; there is no such thing as slowing down. This is so true! SO true!
Also, that classes don't start and end at the bell. Far from it. They start (depending on how strict the teacher is and exactly how unpunctual he is) whenever one feels like going to class (which might be on time and might be five minutes after the profe arrives - about ten minutes late in all). They end when the teacher leaves. This means that in the case of my math class (I have never met a lazier professor... He's young and fairly grumpy.) class is about twenty minutes of the possible 45. And we don't ever do anything. There's really no such thing as homework here, although the Chileans will insist that there is... All of our grades come from tests. I like Chile! Hahaha.

I just finished all of my books. War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, Doctor Zhivago, and The Brothers Karamazov. My conclusion after so much Russian? I hate Dostoevsky! I hate his with such passion that I sat down last night and wrote a thousand word essay about how sucky his writing is. I don't deny he's a brilliant philosopher. I don't deny that his books are... Interesting. But I don't understand why he chose to express his ideas in such a torturous way! He really should have written soap operas instead - with his dramatics, he's well up to the task. I mean, really -- who but Dostoevsky thinks it's smart to write ten pages of hysterical, stereotypical, and wildly over-exaggerated characters followed by another twenty of philosophical ramblings? May I ask, WHAT?! Blasjsadhsldgh sorry.

I'm getting my second carnet soon! That's my ID card. The second photo is so much better... It almost makes me a little bit happy I lost the first one. No, not really.
I also have my "new" phone -- that translates to: I have Pedro's old phone with my memory chip in it to give it my phone number. It's super ghetto. But the games are better than my old ones ;D

Everyone loves Obama here, although whenever they say so they always hitch something onto the end of the sentence to the equivalent of "even though he's black" and I'm like wuuuuuttt he just won the Nobel Prize dudes
Speaking of which BARACK OBAMA WON THE NOBEL PRIZE!!!!!

I can't count anymore the number of times I've gotten compliments on my lack of gringo-accent-ness... It makes me a happy camper...

Kony is sleeping on my shoulder... her head is warm

The Abuelita is getting an in-house pedicure... And now Carlitos is getting an in-house haircut...

They peel tomatoes here and never ever eat the skin...

Upon trying Ramen, Kony stated how spicy it was (Ramen?!! Since when?? Olvidale...)

I'm confused by le, lo, la, and se, and I need Pedro to explain it to me because I have asked pretty much everyone else...

Our school is founded by a Freemason and is uncommon in its unreligiousness...

I know a kid who's going to be a Freemason (I think... It's kind of secret and I can't ever be sure what he's talking about)

I know another kid who MADE PEANUT BUTTER. YES MADE PEANUT BUTTER. YES I SAID THAT. He tried a PB&J I brought to school, went home, researched, threw some peanuts, salt, and butter in the blender, and I never got to try it...

Blah blah bsdalfihsgt



Alkjsdflkj what else??
I don't know!


Chao chao, no tengo mas que decir, disculpame
Love, as always,
Emily

Postulación

I don't have the energy to form a cohesive post, so bear with me this time.

I have to start off by saying that the greatest part of my time recently has been dedicated to applying to college. That's called postulación in Spanish, and I am constantly explaining why I need the computer for another five hours --- "tengo que postular a universidades." I then have to explain why I have to do so much for what (for Chileans) is an incredibly easy task. Number one, here they don't apply to twelve colleges. Number two, they don't write 750 word essays for sholarships. And number three, they don't have to fill out incredibly long questionnaires with short essays. In Chile, students are classified based on family income. The poorest go to college for free, thanks to the government. The next levels get help, and once you get to my family (middle class, American standards), there's no help at all. Pedro goes free, mis hermanos don't.

In Etica (ethics) class yesterday we had a discussion about homosexuality. I was completely unique in my views. That is, homosexuality is a trait from birth, it doesn't ruin a child to have homosexual parents, it's existed since the beginning of time but only recently are we allowed to show it, etc.

Today I went at 8:30 to a public school nearby. I was accompanying two Thai professors as a translator. How, you may ask, did I happen to learn Thai? Well...
They're English teachers. I didn't learn Thai, although now I wish I could. They are here with AFS, as they're volunteers in Thailand. They, in a group of six, are visiting various cities in Chile in order to broaden their cultural views... Their English is excellent. At five thirty I've been invited to Onces with them and several other teachers.
In Thailand, things are... different. The school uniform consists of a well-below-the-knee skirt. Skirts like ours (not to mention shorts or even, God forbid, tank tops) are worn only by prostitutes. I might mention that they are both very nicely dressed, obviously conservatively, but fashionably so. Picture Ni if you know who that is. As for bathing suits... Long shorts, long sleeves, etc. (If only they could watch a couple of TV programs here. They might pass out.) They take off their shoes in homes as well as in school, where classes consist of up to 60 students and are taught with a microphone (how they control the students? Respect!)
Their trip to Chile was the first time they had ever kissed the cheek of a man who wasn't their husband. They were very funny, going around kissing all the little kids and giggling. When they greet new people, leave a room, or accept something (a pencil, a gift, anything handed to them), they make a small bow (just the head) with their hands together as if in prayer. Apparently, boyfriends do this too with girlfriends. Hand holding, kissing, and anything in between are strictly forbidden.
The Thai language consists not only of different sounds, but a different pronunciation. It's hard to explain, but some words end as though they are asked as questions and some words end ...down. I can't explain it too well, but it adds up to the language sounding like a song. Which reminds me. Bankok is the capital, but that's only the name given to it by foreigners. In Thai, it's the longest word in the world. Literally. It's so long that they've had to make it into a song to teach it to the kids. Look it up on YouTube... It's a beautiful really-long-word.
Anyhow, I spent all day translating for students and teachers alike. I'm exhausted. What I've learned: I can't speak in English. I don't understand why I'm able to write fluently, because when I speak it is literally like listening to a Chilean but with a really good accent. I get my grammer mixed up, can't stop saying Spanish words, and have to think think think before I can say anything. It's painful...

I'm going to have a Halloween party. With peanut butter brownies, chocolate chip cookies (if I can get chocolate chips...), and candy candy candy. I'm excited. I can't say excited with a straight face... here it means something else. Hahaha.

I've gone for the past two Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7 to a government funded house which hosts free activities like yoga, painting, orchestra, etc. I've been going with a schoolmate to the orchestra rehearsals... It's a unique experience. If people here have a skill, they've pretty much figured it out themselves. Lessons are just too expensive. There are, in the "orchestra," about fifteen people from 12 to 25 and who play everything from violin to flute. The boy who's been taking me plays the viola, and has won numerous national competitions and quite a piece of money in the process. He's going to give me his old viola to practice... I'm scared.

If you go on Google Earth, you can see my school fairly easily. If you search San Fernando Chile, it's very close to the name on the map. The name is over the Plaza, and we're a block away from there.

I'm going on my feildtrip to the South in two weeks! And Saturday I'm going to a famous wine orchard, run by an infamous, filthy rich, and banned-from-the-USA arms dealer. I go for free since I'm with AFS. I get to go because I'm going to help out the Thai teachers...

I am dying of the athsmatic cough given so generously to me by the Primavera (Springtime).

This morning I was waiting for my brother and sister to get into the furgon with me (bus to school). Mamá asked me why I was waiting, and I told her I was delaying since the furgon has to be the least comfortable place in the world to sit. The seats are child sized and my back literally weeps for an hour in the morning and an hour at night. She suggested that I go to school by micro (big bus). I've been thinking about it all day. One one hand, she pays for the furgon and I don't want to seem ungrateful. On the other hand, I REALLY want to ride in the micro. Hrmm.

I took out my cartilage earring, Daddy. It was for an x-ray of my back (when I learned that I'm dying of scoliosis!!) and I forgot to put it back in and now the hole is closed. Smile!

I'm writing an English textbook. I do not understand for the life of me what the writers of Chilean English textbooks have in place of brains. The textbooks are not organized in a way that will ever get anyone anywhere.
I have learned Spanish by having on hand a list of conjugated verbs with their explanations and a dictionary. I don't understand why these kids are learning to put sentences in passive form when they don't even understand how verbs are conjugated.

I went to a movie theatre last weekend in Rancagua. That's about 45 minutes away in train (we went by train, came back by bus). We left in the morning, spent about five hours doing very little (street fair, mall, fast food, arcade, supermarket, card games). We saw Final Destination IV and it sucked.... What a dumb movie. But it was entertaining in that sometimes English jokes (it had Spanish subs) don't translate at all. So I understood all of the stupid things and was pretty much alone when I laughed at a reference to MILFs. It was gorey, action-ey, and horribly acted. But hey, I enjoyed getting out.

I am going to Onces now...
Much love to all
Take care,
Emily

San Fernando: A Blog Post for English Electivo

San Fernando is a city located in the VI region of Chile. It has, in addition to its colorful urban center, a calm skirt of outlying countryside. The climate is moderate, perfect for cultivating grapes to create the area's famous wine. San Fernando is situated in the heart of Chile's wine region.

San Fernando has two notable plazas, as well as several historic churches and a great deal of related history. San Fernando is notable for the extraordinary views of the Andes from all areas as well as the lovely adjoining rivers.


San Fernando es una ciudad situado en el IV región de Chile. Tiene, además de su animado centro urbano, una frontera calma del campo de la periferia. La clima es moderada, y perfecta por el cultivo de la uva para crear el famoso vino del región.

San Fernando tiene dos plazas notables, además de varios iglesias historicas y mucha historia relaciónada. San Fernando es distinguido por las vistas extraordinarias de los Andes de todos lugares además de los preciosos ríos colindantes.



This is a photo of the historic city plaza. (Una foto de la plaza historica de la ciudad)

To form this blog, I followed the proceeding steps.
1. I turned on the computer.
2. I opened my web browser, Internet Explorer.
3. I directed the browser to the address www.blogspot.com
4. I clicked "Sign In" on the top right, where I entered my username and password.
5. I clicked "Publish New Post" and wrote my post.
6. I clicked "Publish Post"
Done!

Today in Viña

I was asked to sing some American songs and...

I can't remember the words to:

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

The Pledge of Allegiance

The Star Spangled Banner

(Songs which I KNOW I know)

I can remember the words to:

I Know How Ugly I Are (a song in which grammar and the English language are thrown out the window)

There's some irony here...