Ciao Chile!

Well it´s 6am in the morning here and what better time to post our send off. With our newfound freedom we bussed it down south to the Chilean Lake District. Turns out it´s incredibly similar to our good old northern Lakes, but with a few volcanoes peppered here and there, and on a grander scale. Consequently, we were welcomed by a LOT of rain and felt like little ducks to water.

Turns out that in this part of Chile (unlike the north where the kids are excused from school with light drizzle in case they catch a cold!) people toddle on as usual. We however mostly shirked away from our British responsibilities and instead hauled up the week in the most fancy ´hostel´ I have ever seen.

Between rainclouds, we did get a few gems of sunshine and ventured out for a calm lakeside reflection, a bottom burning 68km bike ride, a walk down volcano lava channels, a monkey puzzle snow trail, and a well earned bathe in the hot springs. The German influence here is huge; the attitude (let´s get on with it then!), wooden chalets and yummy jams and cakes.

And so it´s fetching that our time in Chile and our blog ends with woolly hats and scarves...A truly beautiful country that will be tough to beat in the diversity, beauty and kindness of it´s people. But the sun is calling us and we can´t resist any longer...off to Brazil to find a beach. If you´re interested in where we we are, you can follow our trail here http://www.travellerspoint.com/member_map.cfm#/tripid/484567


See you back in the UK in September! Ciao ciao x

September 11th. A date to remember...

We are on the road again after a long emotional goodbye with our families and friends in Ovalle. Over the past 5 months, we have experienced incredible kindness from all of the Chilenos we have met. "Somos de Piel" they say (literally, we are of skin), and certainly Chile is a nation united in its warmth and love for all.

But it has not always been this way. Today, we took a trip to the newly opened Museum of Human Rights in Santiago. Initially planning a brief stop in, we stayed for hours. I wanted to share some of our experience, given that it is largely unspoken about in Chilean Society today, and though our parent's generation may know well the recent history of Chile, our generation were not yet born or just children when it happened.

It begins with an issue that is still very apparent in Chilean society today - the inequality of wealth. In 1970, socialist Salvador Allende was elected to power by a small margin. He began to slowly redistribute income, but it wasn't fast enough for some, and strikes and uprisings made the country very unstable.

Opposition to Allende's Government eventually assumed control of the police and military, and famously took power on September 11th 1973 in a bid to regain order. They bombed the Government headquarters in Santiago with Allende standing proud inside, and his supporters powerless to help. Before shooting himself dead, he gave an incredibly calm and inspired final speech which I urge all to read here. http://www.marxists.org/archive/allende/1973/september/11.htm

What took place next makes for difficult reading. The new Junta Government with General Pinochet at its helm maintained their power with fear and force. Thousands of people who supported or sympathised with Allende were tortured, executed, exiled or simply disappeared. TV and media was controlled, curfews inflicted and the streets patrolled by heavy military presence. The country was divided. Although we will never know the true figures, over half the population of Chile allegedly supported Pinochet, and so it was that he remained in power for 16 long years.

In 1989, the "seeds planted in the good consience of the Chilean people" that Allende alluded to in his final speech began to flower, and the people shouted a resounding NO to the dictatorship. Following years of protests in the 80's and re-organisation of the opposition, a vote was held which put an end to the Pinochet regime. Since this, Chile has re-united, and although far from perfect, it has grown in strength as a nation.

To this day, families of those who went missing during the dictatorship have still not received answers, and Pinochet was never held to account for the crimes against human rights committed under his regime....Maggie Thatcher even let him hang out in London for a while to escape the backlash.

I have tried to write this history with an unbiased view. During our time in Ovalle we have met many different people, from Pinochet supporters to those detained by his regime, rich and poor, young and old. And many not so bothered about voting I should add.
All were "de piel" and united in hoping for a peaceful future for Chile. And yes, we should all look firmly forward. But I am also pleased and relieved to see that Chile is no longer forgetting its past and instead beginning to show the respect and remembrance that each of those who suffered deserve.

So what now then? Well, the upcoming elections will see Michelle Bachelat (the daughter of a loyal socialist who died at the hands of Pinochet's regime) and Evelyn Matthei (the daughter of the leader of the Military school where Bachelat was tortured to death) battle it out for President. You can read about it here if you're interested. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/27/5601436/women-with-bitter-past-run-for.html

Uh oh, I hear you think. History repeating itself? Well, only time will tell I suppose....

Toodle Pip!

The end of term has finally arrived. Whilst the kids ran screaming for joy at the prospect of 2 weeks winter vacation, we were left to reflect in our empty classrooms and hope that the kids find a use for our crazy ramblings. Although we have been stripped of our prestige Profe titles, Jonny's head grew even larger when his students marched him out a Chilean flag signed by all, and literally crowned him the King of Santa Maria.

I was privy to a touching farewell ceremony at Tamelcura where my host brother raised the Chilean flag to the rest of the kids proudly singing with hand on heart to the national anthem. A couple of my student performed an impressive Cueca dance, my teachers and students gave a final farewell speech, and I think a tiny tear may have formed in my eye. There was an audible chuckle when I announced that I actually do speak Spanish, followed by an "oh crap" as they remembered all the naughty words spoken in my presence.

As a thank you, the Ministry of Education treated us to a steak (imagine my joy!) and gave us a personalised T-shirt and water bottle because in their words "you extranjeros are very active." I love it, but there is something slightly odd about showing off your students on your chest whilst grinding to Zumba. I've had a great experience teaching here in Chile, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that kids are a tough crowd. They aren't the type to give any audible praise...you are lucky to get full concentration for 45 minutes, but they express their gratitude in different ways and it's the smallest of things that let you know you're making a difference.

Under the Bridge

I have decided that the blog seems to be lacking on an important part of our life here in Chile...our host families. For the last four months, we have felt very pivileged to be welcomed into our new homes with open arms, and over time have come to feel a part of our families. I would be lying if I said it has been a breeze...we have regressed back to teenage years, being sent off to school with our packed lunch, our parents needing to know where we are at all times, dodging off to our rooms when our sibling´s getting a bollocking, and hiding our alcohol stash in the wardrobe. But, for all this it has been worth it to have such a fantastic experience of real life in Chile.







Our families here are very different, mine being a busy and fairly unstructured bunch, and Jonny´s keeping an impeccably clean and ordered household. However, the one thing they both have in common is that you are certainly never short of a meal. On weekends, the feeding seems to up a few notches, and despite Jonny´s abuelita claiming he´s "put 5kg on his round fat face", this weekend was no different. We have come on tough times in my family over the past few weeks with the sudden passing away of our "tata" (Dad/Grandad), and so we all made a family trip to the cementary on Saturday to give flowers and wish him well. This was quite a moving experience, and a reminder to all of us there to our lives with vivacity.


So with this in mind, and needing a bit of fresh positive air we headed for the countryside, off the road, under the bridge, round the trees and into a secret and tranquil little wood, known only to my family. Here we whiled away the afternoon BBQing meat (and veggieburgers) on the asado, playing uno, kicking around the football, making churrascas, snoozing in the sun and chuckling over mate. The Chileno´s value family above all else and this afternoon we felt very lucky to have been part of it.

 

Mountainous Monte Patria

Our time here in Ovalle is nearing a close, and although we have been pretty thrifty here, I prefer now to blindfold myself before logging on to my online banking. In anticipation of more frivolous times to come, we have taken to buying £2 bottles of wine and refusing to travel anywhere more than a £1.50 bus journey away. And so it was that we ended up spending this Saturday in Monte Patria, a local mountain town near the Cordillera.

Monte Patria is most famous for its resident flock of noisy parrots, Given that we came for the tranquility, we decided to head as far away from them as possible. I´m not sure maps of this place exist, and certainly the regular Chilean doesn´t hike further than the local bakery so we were left to hatch out our route (Jonny choosing the highest hill he could see), and after watching some of the local football (the spectators avidly spectating us!), we set off into the unknown.

Leaving civilisation far behind, we picked our way through private Government land towards our chosen summit. Lucky for us, our only contact was with a group of wild horses and a crazy abuelita who was eager to let us know how loco we were in our efforts. She waved us off with a knowing look...."I´ll see you later on your way home" she told us confidently. And indeed she did, when we passed again an hour later, a failed summit under our belt and big sweaty circles under our arms. However, all was not in vain because before admitting defeat, we got a glimpse of some incredible views which I´m positive very few people (besides old abuelita) have seen. Finally arriving back in Monte Patria after our 5 hour jaunt, we rewarded ourselves with a huge completo and a good old chinwag with a 90 year old potty potter from Uruguay and his 9 month old neighbour.

A little bit of south in the north

Just as you can find Harvey Nichols wine bar in Leeds, you are also able to find a taster of the south of Chile up here in the fourth Region as we discovered this weekend. Not quite as posh or pricey as HN (no champagne in sight, £3.50 entrance), we visited Parque Fray Jorge, a UNESCO world heritage sight and national park by the sea. It´s famous for its impressive array of green plants from the south which flourish here in the north due to the strangely humid micro-climate that exists between the hills and the sea.

After giving the car a good battering down a bumpy dirt road and hiking the final 5km to the top, we were greeted by an enchanted misty green forest. Being unable to see past our fingers, we felt our way past many an odd plant, and began to wonder if we were on another planet. Reaching the lookout spot, we popped out our sarnies, and I had a very familiar feeling of trogging around on one of those unlucky days in the lakes. Jonny was in his element (being from the Sheffield moors) and took himself off for some lonesome pondering, whilst we followed the trail into the deep dark woods.

You may look at these photos and wonder why on earth we bothered (believe me, i did stop to think), but after spending the last 4 months in drought striken landscape it was a breath of misty fresh air for us. I´ve never been that enamoured by plants (just another green thing right?) but I spent a good 5 minutes oggling that funny spikey thing. Oh, and I should mention that the day was just a little bit extra special for the (gushy) fact that Jonny and I have been spending these crazy weekends together for two years now....how time flies!

A Tale of Two Debates

Over the past month or so, we have kissed goodbye to our lazy afternoons off choosing instead to work with some of our finest students to compete in the National English Debate (and by national, remember that Chile is 6,500km long, so we´re probably going to win the lottery before we get anywhere near this trophy!). This years (not so hot) topic - "Rap music is a bad influence on young people".

With Jonny and my schools both competing, there have been many devil eye stares, cagey conversations about the merits of rap, and empty threats of sabotage. So we were both fairly relieved when the time came, and we finally got to see our students fight it out for us over a podeum, a microphone and 3 judges.

And so it was that we heard the topic of rap debated 4 times (3 too many) and an abundance of facts pulled from the most dubious of places....we heard that "actually nobody listens to rap anyway, so we should debate about regatton", that "my hump my hump my hump" will encourage you to go out and have unprotected sex, and that "girls who watch rap videos are 2.5 times more likely to hit a teacher". Given that I have not yet been hit, I´m hoping that this still means my risk is zero!

I would like to finish there, but I should probably inform you all that Jonny managed to school his kids to WIN the competition! (ahem, well done) and so will go on to the next regional round where he can look forward to arguing that "grades encourage students to learn". My school went out in style - a good old fight with the (unfair) judges, and a well earned pat on the back for being superstars in everyone elses eyes!

Sleeping with Saturn

Last week, we were treated to a surprise visit from Ministry of Education to check we weren't teaching the kids bad words and the like. Both of us were incredibly lucky in having a class of angels during the visit and were duly awarded "Excellent". Bravo! And what better way to celebrate than a weekend away into the hills.

After a curvy bus ride, we arrived (a little queezy) at our retreat...an isolated hacienda in Rio Hurtado. Our camping spot was hidden away down by the river, and with only us, the fire and the stars, we pitched up for the night, red wine in hand and a smile on our smug little chops. It wasn't until about 3 hours later that we realised we were not the hardened campers we thought, and after squabbling over blankets and sleeping bags, the freezing high altitude temperatures got the better of us.

Despite the sleepy start to the morning, we set off confidently on a hike to the local village for supplies. Although not 100% sure of the route, we picked our way through stunning pastures, woodland, vineyards and mountains. We'd heard stories of condors, mountain foxes and even the Chilean Lynx, but the only wild guy we ran into was this little sausage....

The weekend was topped with a trip to the private observatory. Lucky enough to arrive at new moon, we were treated to a spectacular view of some of the clearest skies in the world and shown the tricks of the trade by the Hacienda's astro pro. "Everyone has a sweet side" he told us as we learned to focus our eyes on the many wonders of the Milky Way. And sure enough, the sweetest star of the sky was not a star at all, but seeing Saturn for the first time....yes it really does exist, yes it does look like they told you in science class, and if you want to see why we were so flippin amazed, imagine seeing this with your very own eyes.... http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saturn,_through_82%22_telescope,reprocessed.jpg

The Silence of the Goats

May Day bank holiday celebrations in Chile are no different to many other countries - all the shops close, no-one really does any work, friends and family get together to eat and drink more than they should. This year, our head teacher invited us to a party for her uncle's 50th birthday on his goat farm to the north of our little town.

Arriving late into the evening, Thea stepped out of the car just in time to observe the remains of two freshly slaughtered goats swinging from the rafters of a small hut, whilst the the blood collected into buckets dotted around the party venue, for the patrolling rottweilers to lap up. Yummy. Welcome to May Day bank holiday in the goat slaughterhouse! Straight from carcas to the coals, this was one fresh BBQ. Goat steak is actually pretty tasty, but we both steered clear of the pungent goats cheese which was made the next morning, courtesy of the 200 goats who were standing just yards away watching their compadres being roasted. It goes without saying that everyone we spoke to was one of the kindest and friendliest souls you could imagine. From the newly borns to the much older abuelitas, this was Chilean hospitality at its best.

Feliz Cumpleaños 182!

This week we have been celebrating the random 182nd year anniversary of our town with the lively Ovallinos living here. I thought something was up when my classes were cancelled to make way for 1.5 hours of marching practice....the kids are now able to put one foot in front of the other in time to music, but asking "how old are you?" still remains an issue.

The celebrations began with a regional Cueca dancing competition in the foreground of a live Chileno band. This is the national dance of Chile, and unlike Morris Dancing, it is very popular with people up and down the country, with every region having its own style and children taking it up from schoolage. It begins with a bit of flirting, the man showing off his new hat and spurs, the lady acting all coy, and finishes up with a lot of hanky waving, prancing about, and downing wine from horns. Needless to say (in the words of Jonny´s kids) "I bloody loved it"! If you´d like to get a glimpse of the winning couple, you can take a look here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p_wIWKGkko

The week was rounded off by parades, a circus in the Plaza, and of course, the staple of every Chilean home, an Asado (BBQ) with enough meat to feed a large army of rancheros. An exciting week for Ovalle....it has a lot to live up to from here on out!

Going native...

This month it dawned upon me that it had been over ten years since I last rode a water slide.

Unacceptable, and a trip to the local pool was scheduled with my family. Upon arrival, surrounded by colourful green gardens, we both thought we had finally found a little piece of paradise in our back end town. The coming months would be full of weekends and afternoons spent sunbathing and relaxing by the pool and picnicing amongst the avocado trees. Sadly, the next day the pool closed for the entire winter and we were left crying over our rapidly ripening avocados. Not before numerous runs on the slides, friction burn wedgies and high speed adrenaline with my new hermanos.

Luckily the next weekend we were taken to my family’s beach house on the coast for another sunny weekend, arriving just in time to see the fishermen bringing in their catch and throwing the scraps to two enormous seals playing in the bay. We bought enough seafood to feed a small army and spent the next 2 days holed up in the beach house, feasting on our haul and being taught dominos over numerous Chilean cervezas. Perfect relaxation after the first few weeks of teaching the increasingly boisterous Chilean 'Joven' and giving our voices a much needed rest!

Eh, Profe...

Well, the teaching has well and truly begun and we have been given free reign with our own classroom, 20 impatient muchachos, and left to our own devises to teach them whatever we deem appropriate. We are speaking so slowly and loudly that we often forget to switch off, and find ourselves chatting to each other over a beer in kiddy chat.





The kids are pretty excited to have us around, as there are literally no other foreigners in Ovalle. Our job here is to get them speaking, so we are coming up with plenty of creative ways to encourage them, and also to teach them interesting things about England and our culture. Even the smallest things are new to them...the material of the houses, the lush greenery, the huge mixture of people and culture, and the history.

We are quickly finding that there is no escape from the cries of "eh Profe" or "Tiiiiiiiaaaa" (they call their teachers "Aunty and Uncle" here!), and we are often spotted around town with our (Pololo/a - Girlfriend/Boyfriend) much to their amusement...We were even recognised at the beach last weekend (An hour´s drive from Ovalle!).

Queso de Cabra

We are in the goats cheese capital of the world. Bleeeeugh! We managed to hold our gag reflexes today just long enough to snap this photo in the local market...

However, we are also (despite the lack of rain for 5 years!) in one of the most fertile valleys in Chile so plenty of fresh fruit and veg to be scoffed if you can catch it before it´s exported... strawberries to Germany, grapes to the USA, and Avocado all over the world. Not to mention the giant broccoli´s. Getting hold of the fresh shiz in the local eating joints however remains somewhat of an issue, so next time you´re in a supermarket and see the Chile sticker on your fruit and veg, think of us (and post it back!)

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Observations of Chile

Top 5 Great things about Chile so far.

1. The buses are taxis. Much more speedy and less chance of sitting next to a stinky.

2. Chilean people drink as much tea as the English.

3. Grapes and avocados grow in your back garden.

4. The maximum time to go without a BBQ is 15 days. It takes around 2 weeks for them to finish all the meat they BBQ'd last time.

5. Old school video games are still going strong in this town.

Top 5 odd things about Chile

1. People here drink entire cups of tea with teaspoons, sip by painfully slow sip.

2. Chickens and rabbits live together in harmony, as do parrots and tortoises.

3. Dead animals stay put. This weekend we saw a dead seal, donkey, dog, goat and bird. Anything still living will be humped by a stray dog sooner or later.

4. Nobody goes to bed until at least 1am. Partly because an after dinner lie down is considered a must.

5. Collectable keyrings are still cool in Chile.

Goodbye Santiago, Hello Ovalle!

Toward the end of an intense week of training, it was time to explore Santiago's wild side. This coincided with one of the city's frequent student riots. So amid the tear gas and riot police, we headed up to the best vantage point to catch a glimpse of the unrest at a safe distance whilst enjoying the superbueno sunset...we can protest later.

Slowly, the volunteers trickled out of the hostel to their regions, and we nervously boarded the bus to Ovalle, where we've been placed along with 2 other US volunteers. Met from the bus by our teachers and families and a very angry perro, we were whisked away to our new homes. It's strange living with host families...a bit like French exchange all over again!

Both families are very friendly but don't speak ANY English. We are quickly mastering our acting and spanglish skills, and learning lots about the culture. With our rusty Spanish, we've not yet learned how to deal with the daily earthquake tremmors, the 1am bedtime routine, or the 4 large meals a day. Wide camera lenses may be required for any photos from here on....