'English Opens Doors,' part 2

So now that the general job description is out of the way, let me share some observations/other specifics.

- Chilean high school students are not much different than American high school students. There's a huge range of age and maturity levels (both physically and emotionally), they appear to live in their own world, and are generally concerned with the the day-to-day dealings and drama of their friends, peers, and especially the opposite sex.

- Especially in the first 2 weeks, we spent time having the students getting to know me, and to do so the teacher had a sheet with questions in English, such as 'what's your name,' 'where are you from,' 'what do you think of Chile,' 'what kinds of music/sports do you like,' etc. Being that Chile is a very relationship-oriented country and everyone seems to be joined at the hip to their long-term significant other, the top 3 questions I was always asked were:

1) Do you have a boyfriend?

2) Would you like to have a Chilean boyfriend?

3) What do you think of Chilean men?

My answers, respectively, are:

1) No
2) I'm not looking for one, but if I find one ... (insert shoulder shrug here)
3) I think they're nice and very friendly and like to dance, which is a good thing (and unlike their American counterparts).

- The linguist in me is very interested in observing what English sounds are difficult for a Spanish speaker. In general, it's vowels because Spanish only has 5, while in English, even though there's 5 letters, there's 10-15 vowel sounds. As a result, Spanish speakers have a hard time hearing and making the difference in similar vowels. Such as:

"Hungry" vs. "Angry" (complicated by the difference in pronunciation of /h/)

"Like" vs. "Live" (verb)

"Stand" vs "Instead"

The phrase "I'm an engineer"

- I noticed an interesting cultural difference last week as I was reviewing with the class basic conversation structures and they were having trouble with the difference between "Where are you from?" and "Where do you live?" Although the two have different Spanish translations and are easy to explain, I realized that for the students the answer to both questions is the same and probably always will be same - ditto for their friends and family members. Whereas in the US it's common to be from one place and live elsewhere, most Chileans live their whole lives in the same place, especially if that place is Santiago, so it's not difficult to see how two questions, even if their straight semantic meanings are different but usage virtually the same, could cause confusion. Luckily I am there to provide a clear example of the difference between the two.

- Lastly, the following is a list of some words/phrases I have taught the students, often without planning on doing so:

Jump the gun

Pull some strings

You wanna mess with me?/Don't mess with Texas

Feisty

What's up?

Catcalls

Flash drive (here they say 'Pen drive')

Doo-rag

Useful stuff, eh?

'English Opens Doors'

So a few weeks ago I started working with a volunteer program called "English Opens Doors," which is a program run by the Chilean Ministry of Education. It recruits native English speaking students studying abroad and puts them in public high school as assistant English teachers. As I've touched on in earlier posts, the public education system isn't great - the classes have 30+ students, and most of the English teachers are Chileans who have never been to an English speaking country, so while their understanding of grammar is pretty solid, their speech is heavily accented and sometimes difficult for me to understand.

For my work, I go to the school (Colegio San Luis) Tuesday afternoons for "English Club" and Wednesday mornings to be in the classroom. In both contexts, the goal is similar - speak English to and with the students and have them listen and practice speaking back to me. Additionally, for most students this is the first time they've met and had a chance to interact with someone from the US, so it's a cultural exchange too. They ask me all kinds of questions about my experience here, what I think of Chile, my life in the US, various pop culture things, etc. Additionally, I work with 2 different English teachers and answer lots of questions from them about nuances of the English language.

Suffice to say, I really love it. This is something I might want to do with my life after graduation, so I'm glad to find that it's something I enjoy. I'm getting to know the school and the students, and they already talk about how they don't want me to leave. It's tough, because it's kind of overwhelming when the students chatter in incomprehensible Spanish and there's a lot of them, but even after just 3 weeks I feel like I'm starting to make a difference.

Plane tickets purchased

Well, it's official because the plane tickets have been bought. Remember in March when I was planning my other trips? Well, Friday I bought 2 big plane tickets, so it's ON!

June 18 - 22: Buenos Aires, Argentina

July 10 - 17: Lima/Cuzco/Machu Picchu, Perú

Obviously I'm super excited, and any suggestions for either spot are definitely appreciated.

More pictures: Finally!

Part 1: Weekend in Pucon (10 hours south of Santiago): full of rain, full of fun

Rafting! (I'm the back row on the right)

Man overboard! That's my hand trying to grab her foot

But we prevailed, victorious in the end!

Ziplining through the forest (or Canopy, as they call it here)

About to explore the caves of Volcan Villarrica

Underground and inside said caves

Part II: Back in Santiago: Visit to Viña (Vineyard) Concha y Toro

Learning to appreciate and pull out the flavors of a 2005  Amelia Chardonnay

A small sampling of the full storehouse

Part III: More around Santiago:

More sweet street art from barrio (neighborhood) Yungay (pronounced yoon-GUY)

Delicious meal at Mercado Central: grilled sea bass and Chilean-style ensalada (salad) - tomato and avocado

More coming ... eventually!

Lo siento!

Yo sé que ha sido hace mucho, mucho tiempo que escribí una entrada nueva, pero estaba muy ocupada estas últimas semanas. Mi clase de dibujo me dio mucha tarea, y también empecí un trabajo voluntario donde ayudo a enseñar ingles en un colegio acá en Santiago.

Pues, hoy y manaña voy a escribir unas entradas nuevas, como:

- Fotos, especialmente de mi viaje a Pucón

- Mi experiencia enseñando inglés

- Mis adventuras en la micro (el bus)

Que estén emocionados!

What do Jesus Christ Superstar and Othello have in common?

I've seen them both in Spanish!

What, did you think that just because I'm speaking a different language I'd go 5 months without seeing some theater?

I celebrated Easter Sunday by going to see Jesu Christo Superstar with some friends and had a blast. I absolutely love that musical and its soundtrack, so I was pumped to see it in Spanish. Apparently it's kind of a tradition here to put on around Easter, and you could tell because the crowd was really into it. Personally, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, singing along (under my breath ... mostly) to all the songs in English. The lyrics were translated pretty literally, so there were often times I could sing all or part of a line in Spanish. Now I want the soundtrack in Spanish too.

The show was pretty similar to both the movie and live version I've seen in English, although there were elements distinct to Chile. For example, before the song 'Simon Zealotes,' there was a short scene of Jesus' followers taunting a guard and driving him off stage, which I've never seen before; I think it represents well the attitude that marginalized Chileans hold towards authority figures and especially embodiments of the government.

Then last Thursday I went to Othello with my host mom, host sister, and a family friend of theirs. I was nervous, because Shakespeare in English is quite the undertaking, and I've never seen or even read this work of his. However the show was really good - both in terms of technical elements and acting, and I understood nearly everything (much more than I thought I would). It definitely proved the point that acting is more than saying the lines, and that expression, posture, body language, etc. really go a long way in creating a character and relaying situations.

I don't have anything specific on the horizon right now in terms of seeing more theatre, but it will definitely happen - after all, I'm not even half way done with the semester!

Public Transport ...

Gotta love it!

But in all seriousness, yes, I do. In a city as big as Santiago, you can't get around without it. But there's a difference between knowing the one bus stop and Metro route that gets you home, and knowing various routes that will get you out and back no matter where in the city you are. I'm the latter.

Mostly it boils down to the fact that I really do enjoy riding on public transportation. Why? I'm not sure. I do like the camaraderie of it all. I like that you never quite know what could happen. It's better for the environment. Plus, it's both cleaner and cheaper than anywhere I've been in the US, so all in all, what's not to like?

Then there's the control freak in me that can't stand not knowing where I am or where I'm going. With the Metro, it's easy. But that closes at 11 pm - not useful for a night out. So before we go out somewhere new, I always check on the bus map and write down notes if need be. And obviously it's also a matter of personal safety, and like anything it gets easier with practice.

Do my friends make fun of me when I announce that we need to walk 2 blocks west to catch the 505? Yep. Do they raise an eyebrow when I talk about distance in terms of the 4900 to 3500 block? Always. But who do they ask when they don't know how to get themselves home? Who do they call when they don't know how to get to the bar in the first place? And who do they thank when we don't have to pay for a cab? Yours truly. Obvi.

Truly knowing a city implies lots of things, and knowing how to orient and direct yourself is definitely one of them. And if absolutely nothing else, it makes me feel like a real Santiaguina!