So, This Happened...

Chile just got a whole lot louder. And more Canadian.

We took about a million photos last night, and this was one of the better ones, believe it or not. Off to see some penguins today!

Things Said to Me at the Nursing Home

These are some of the things the abuelos have said to me this week. (They've said a lot more, but I still struggle to understand a lot of it!) I have kindly decided to translate all phrases into English for you. (You're welcome!)

"Miss, when will I get bread? You have such a pretty face. I like looking at it. And I'm really hungry."

"Why the hell am I sitting here by myself?! Did you forget me?!"

"The pope is cool. He's from Argentina. But he lives in Rome."

"You speak English? My breakfast here!" **

"If you don't want to be elbowed in the face, stop trying to make me eat!"

"Clap your hands, Gringa!"

"Are you studying to be a nun?"

"Does your Spanish dictionary translate into Chilean?"

"Americans are all criminals. Are you American?"

**I did not have to translate this. A very angry abuela yelled it at me this morning.

And now, for a moment of zen. Brought to you by Lisa.

If You Give a Dog a Cookie...

He's going to follow you home.

Chris, do you think Reese would like a playmate?

Mostly Mute Monday

Some pictures for your viewing enjoyment.

(Destruction from the tsunami.)

(Mine, too!)

Weekend Plans

Well, originally I had hoped to go on a tour this weekend, but it's not easy to do when there's nobody else going. (The tour company books trips with 2 or more people and there wasn't any interest - except from me - to go on certain tours this weekend.) so, instead, I will be spending my weekend at the beach! Yes, that's right. The beach is close enough to my house that I can walk there. Very exciting!

It's hard for me to believe that it's already the weekend again. My days are so busy that they fly by. It's a good kind of busy, though. A "typical" day (I use quotes because there really isn't any such thing as typical here) looks like this:

8:00 - breakfast

8:25-9:10 - travel to the nursing home

9:10-10:00 - breakfast for the seniors

10:00-10:20 - breakfast for the staff (I usually spend this time visiting with the seniors)

10:20-12:00 - help in the bathroom (blowdrying hair, cleaning faces and ears, helping those with low vision get into and out of the bathroom stalls)

12:00-12:30 - bring all seniors to the dining room

12:30-1:40 - lunch for the seniors

1:40-2:00 - lunch for the staff

2:15-3:00 - walk home

3:00-5:00 - free time (I usually go somewhere in town)

5:00-6:30 - Spanish lessons

6:30-6:50 - break (and dinner)

6:50-8:00 - Spanish lessons

By 8:00, I'm usually exhausted, and I'm asleep by 9:30 or 10:00. (Such a party animal, I know!)

Here are some pictures of the beach. (I was there on Tuesday evening, but only for a little bit, because it was freezing.)

The last picture shows some of the damage done by the recent earthquake and tsunami. Even though they build everything here with earthquakes in mind, stuff happens.

 

First Couple of Days

I have to say, despite it being difficult to get here, Chile has really impressed me so far. (Well, at least the parts of it that I've seen.) Here are some of the highlights:

My host mom is kind, makes amazing food, and understands my limited Spanish. (She doesn't speak English, but she understands a lot of it.) She is also understanding when I make mistakes. Like yesterday, when I thought she said she was going to meet me after work at the nursing home, but she actually said her home, which resulted in my being very late, because I waited around, not wanting to miss her.

The other coordinator, who is my Spanish teacher, does speak English, so she is able to translate when I don't understand. She is also hilarious, and cracks me up every day.

The Spanish here is very different from other countries. Everyone speaks really quickly and some letters fet dropped off the end of words. I thought my Spanish was ok(ish) before coming here, but I only understand maybe one in five words in every sentence. (So I try to listen for the important words.)

I started working at the nursing home on Monday. Everyone there is fantastic. The staff are very patient with me, and the abuelos seem to understand my Spanglish. (Or maybe they're humouring me, which I don't mind at all!)

I get to do things like serving breakfast and lunch, help with washing hands and faces, blowdrying and styling hair, washroom support, and more. Yesterday I got to go to the market to buy food with one of the nuns from the nursing home, and a local volunteer. That was fun. I didn't have as much trouble understanding Sister Margarita, and I told her that. Turns out she's from Mexico, so she doesn't speak the same way as people here.

Yesterday I got a tour of the area with my host mom and Spanish teacher. I took quite a few pictures, but am having trouble downloading them. I'll see if I can post a couple below.

Those are taken at three different churches.

We also went to the beach. There was a lot of damage done by the earthquake and tsunami a few weeks ago.

Speaking of earthquakes, there were two yesterday. One in the middle of the night and one in the morning. They were not big, but my bed was shaking, which woke me up!

Going to walk to and from the nursing home today. Should be good exercise for me!

The Challenges of Chile

Actually, the title of this post should be "The Challenges of Getting to Chile," but it didn't have the same ring to it.

Let's go back to Saturday evening. Everything was on track. I was at the airport in plenty of time, no problems with my bags, no major lineups, and boarding was a piece of cake.

Welł, except that I was travelling with the Quebec Synchro team (according to their jackets), which seemed to consist of at least thirty screaming teenagers and one coach. Although I was hoping not to be sitting in their section, I ended up smack dab in the middle of them. (The girl beside me kept leaning over me to talk to the person on the other side of the aisle.) 

Oh well, I thought. I can just watch movies and tune out the noise. No problem. So I got out my headphones and went to plug them in. Only they wouldn't plug in. There was a problem with the jack. I admit, this made me panic a bit, but then I figured I'd be proactive and flag down a flight attendant and ask to change seats. What I didn't realize was that the flight attendants were i tentionally avoiding the section of the plane filled with screaming girls.

So I pushed the call button. Still, no one seemed to be coming. Finally, one showed up, but instead of saying anything to me, he just turned off the call button light, assuming, I suppose, that it had been pushed accidentally by one of the rowdy teens. So I made clear that I had pushed it on purpose and showed him the problem. He said there was nothing they could do, and no, I couldn't switch seats because they were completely filled. He did suggest that I switch seats with one of my friends. I told him I was alone, and that it would have been a lot to ask someone to switch with me and go with no entertainment for ten-and-a-half hours.

To his credit, he did look apologetic, but then he said, "I wish I'd known this earlier so I could have done something about it." Unfortunately, in my stressed out state, I took this to mean that he wished I had told him earlier. So I got kind of mad and asked him when exactly I could have told him earlier, seeing as I'd just realized the problem. He clarified, and said that the last flight crew should have said something. Then he walked away.

Luckily, I still had my mp3 player, so I started listening to music. Then I realized that I could still watch movies, they just wouldn't have sound. So I did. Inidentally, "Paul Blart, Mall Cop 2" goes well with Serena Ryder's "Together We are One" in the background. 

The flight itself was fine. The meals were good (yes, I like airplane food) and I managed to sleep. I woke up whenever there was turbulence, but amazingly was able to fall right back to sleep. (At one point I was awakened when the girl beside me rolled onto me and continued sleeping with her head on my shoulder and her arm across me. Awkward.)

How much do you want to bet that the next flight crew was not informed about the headphones problem in seat 50F?

Santiago airport was nice, relatively easy to navigate (although no one speaks English), and before long, I was sitting at my gate, waiting for my plane to be called. Or at least, I thought it was my gate. What I didn't realize was that there was an announcement about a gate change, but I missed it because it was in Spanish. Also, a guy had actually come and scanned my ticket, so I assumed I was in the right place. Sadly, once I realized there was a problem, I had missed my connecting flight.

Fortunately, I was able to fly standby on the next flight to La Serena (leaving three hours later), and able to let my host family know about the later flight. (Thank you Starbucks wifi!)

Aside from the hassles to get here, Chile seems lovely. My host mom (Vilma) is very nice, and the other coordinator, Tania, speaks English, which is a big help.

My room is small, but comfortable.

Oh, and flushing toilet paper here is a big no-no, so I have to remember that.

It's a bit chilly here in Chile, and also rainy. I'm hopeful that it will warm up (and dry up) soon! 

Today is my first day at placement! I'll let you know how it goes!

To Pack or Not to Pack?

Ugh. Packing is one of the worst parts of any trip for me. I end up second guessing myself and repacking at least three times. On one hand, I don't want to overpack. I did that when I went to Costa Rica a few years ago and ended up only needing half the things in my luggage. On the other hand, I don't want to underpack and end up needing things I don't have. (Although I can always buy things there, I suppose.) It's just nice to know you have everything you need before you get there.

Right now, I think I have the essentials, plus a few extra "luxury" items. I'll try not to worry about it anymore.

The flight however, is a different story. I am going to worry about flying, and that's just the way it is! 

Getting Ready

Am I ever going to feel like I have everything I need before I leave? I'm so worried about forgetting something, but at the same time, trying not to pack too much. Ugh. I guess once I'm at the airport, anything that I haven't packed, I either don't really need, or can get while I'm there. 

The weather here is amazing. Thank goodness for these extra two weeks.

Two Weeks!

Ok, so technically I leave in two weeks and two days, but still...

The nerves have set in, but they're mixed with excitement. I have no idea what to expect in Chile, but I have been assured by several people that I will enjoy myself immensely. Let's hope that's true!

I have to admit, I'm happy to be here (in Canada) for the fall colours. My original departure date meant I would be leaving this weekend, which just feels too soon. I mean, we've only had a couple of days of fall weather!

(Sadly, this is not my photo. I got it from here: http://www.ferguseloracoupons.com/discount/2009/09/northern-reflections-canada-online-discount-coupon-code-save-10/ so full credit goes to Northern Reflections, but here's hoping I'm able to take a couple of pictures like this before I leave!)