Oyaswii en Pucón

Apparently my name is Oyaswii, at least according to the homemade card I received at the surprise party my sixth grade class threw for my birthday. The card reads (notice how one Spanish word refused to be translated):

Happy Birthday to miss a good time oyaswii received many gifts, kisses, hugs, and a lot of affection. We all hope you pass the world and know that we esforsamos much to let them, but the intent counts. We hope you liked this letter finds. Thanks for reading.

WHAT?! I love it.

Alfajores with manjar (very similar to dulce de leche).
Yogurt kuchen made by host sister.

For my actual birthday a few days before, my friends came over to my house for once (light meal, or dinner). The raspberry and mosqueta marmalades not only were homemade, but also were made with fruits from the family's land. Talk about eating locally. One of my friends was obsessed with the raspberry one, so my host father offered him a huge jar. So sweet! I was sung "Happy Birthday" in three languages: Spanish and English obviously, and German. Am I living in Germany?! Nope, but there is a lot of German influence in southern Chile, which I will write about another time. After once, the American crew went out to continue the celebration at a bar and a discoteca. Of course the night wasn't complete without hitting up the completos spot (remember that hotdog with 4 spoons of mayo) at around 4 am.

Couldn't predict Sr. Puelche. He's sneaky like that. 

After a week of celebrating and stuffing myself with more pastries than I've ever eaten in a year in the U.S., my friends and I headed to Pucón to ski—on an active volcano! But after renting our ski equipments for the next morning, we found out that Argentina was not planning to let us slide down volcán Villarrica. Puelche, the wind that blows westward into Chile, was making its way to Pucón so the ski resort would most likely be closed for the weekend. We had to be told that the wind was coming from Argentina because Chile and Argentina are rivals and like to blame each other for unavoidable natural disasters and phenomena. When a volcano erupted in Chile in 2011 and the ashes flew in the direction of Argentina, guess what happened. The Argentines blamed Chile, as if the Chileans were hovering over the volcano in a helicopter and fanning the ashes east. Oh, neighborly love.

One of the mountains in Huerquehue National Park.

Thanks to Señor Puelche, the ski resort was indeed closed the next day. We therefore decided to go on a a 15+ kilometer (10 mile) hike. Most of us were still in bed when we found out we had 10 minutes to get ready and catch the bus. I didn´t have a backpack, hadn´t brought pants suitable for hiking, and didn´t pack adequate food. With my jeggings, a purse, and a mandarin, off I went with my friends to Huerquehue National Park in Villarrica. Huerquehue was covered with bamboo trees, but I did not spot even one panda bear! However, we hiked on plenty of snow and saw a few pristine frozen lakes. Winter Wonderland. In August. After the 7-hour excursion in the woods, we relaxed in hot springs by a river that night for a couple of hours. The drive to and back from the hot springs was one of my favorite moments that weekend. Nothing extraordinary happened, but I really appreciated being in a van full of fun people with the stars glistening above us as we drove along a dark road listening to Bob Marley.

Salto El Claro.

The next day, we went on another hike, this time to Salto El Claro. Describing the waterfall wouldn't do it justice; you have to feel its power and take in its beauty yourself. My breath was literally taken away at the base of the waterfall because of the wind created by the water rushing down 300 feet. I felt like I was no longer in Chile but in a rainforest in Costa Rica or Brazil. I had no idea Chile even had this kind of environment, although I should not have been surprised. Because the country is a long stretch of land from the south of Peru to Antarctica, its topography is incredibly diverse. It has the driest desert in the world in the north, Mediterranean-like climate in the central area, plenty of rain and verdancy in the northern parts of the south, and penguins and whatever else your mind conjures up when you think "Patagonia" or "Antarctica" in the south.

I was scared to touch the cow on the hike to Salto El Claro
but I succumbed to peer pressure.

Moments like the one at the base of Salto El Claro are what remind me that I'm living, not just vacationing for a few weeks, in Chile. I get to work with kids, learn Spanish by being immersed in the culture, and travel across this amazing country. When my friends ask me about my plans after Chile, I can't answer because I haven't and don't want to think much about my life beyond January just yet. It's not about pushing away reality, but soaking in the present and this time in South America.

I have a Samsung, too!
Just not Galaxy S III.

Not having a smartphone has helped to do just that. While I may not be as well informed of what's going on and am not as reachable as before, my brain isn't constantly bombarded with information, half of which is probably not necessary or important in the least bit. My mind feels more free, as if it can actually absorb what I am exposed to, like the Spanish I am relearning. I don't check my phone for hours on end because I've stopped fiending for it. I physically feel more free, as if I suddenly gained more hours in the day and more freedom to do what I truly want to do. Sometimes, I even wish I didn't have internet at home. Imagine only being able to check your e-mail or go on Facebook once a day, if that, and only for a few minutes when you do. How about after a day of work, depending only on people's company, books, or reviewing the language you're learning for entertainment? Restrictive—or liberating?

DO IT

Starting off by saying if you are thinking about moving to another country, DO IT. Move to one that doesn't have all of the facilities you are used to, like central heating, washer-dryer, or even running water. At the very least, travel to other countries to eat at tiny, questionable restaurants; stay at hostels where the hot water comes and goes; and let the locals and fellow travelers teach you things you won't find online. 

Enough with the preaching. About my life teaching English in Chile to 5th-12th graders: 

Moo. My friends at the campo.

1. I'm currently living in southern Chile, in northern Patagonia. I live in el campo (aka the country) right outside the little city of Osorno. Today, for my birthday, we're going to a discoteca to dance the night, as well as the dawn, away. People in Chile do not hit the clubs until 1 am and stay out until 6 in the morning. Not sure how much of this aspect of the Chilean culture I can embrace since homegirl here is used to going to bed by 11 pm because...

2. Teaching kids is EXHAUSTING. Oh ma lawd. I'm ready to sleep at 8 pm. I don't know if it's trying to teach English to kids who don't even know what "why?" or "repeat" is or trying to teach kids who think it's okay to act like the classroom is their house and their friends are over for a little get together. The students listen to music (with their headphones so it's polite I guess), randomly change seats, laugh when the inspector (the disciplinarian of the school) attempts to discipline them, and talk back to the teacher. They don't take notes, even when they're told to. They're not disrespectful kids, they just didn't grow up with the same or similar level of discipline as I've seen in the U.S. and Nepal. I teach at a small semi-private school, so I can't even imagine what the teachers in larger or socially vulnerable schools deal with.

3. Chilean food staple: mayo, pastry, bread. And

A pot of cream of chard soup for me.

probably in that order. If you care an ounce about your health, you'd be in shock for a while. One of the fave foods among Chileans? Hot dog with 4 spoons of mayo called completos. Because the food isn't heavy on seasoning, it is a bit bland (where ma garlic at?!). I haven't tasted the meat, so I can't tell you how that is. My host mom is incredibly sweet about me not eating meat, figured out I eat healthy food and don't eat too much pastry (which is incredibly far from the truth in Chile since my first and last bites the other day were of some delightful chocolate pastry. I also had a 6-layer cake and apple pie for my third lunch.). She therefore has been making me awesome vegetarian food. I've been enjoying a lot of cream of chard soup. Sounds (and looks) kind of gross, right? But it tastes like saag paneer—minus the spice. And yesterday I used the thick soup as the sauce for my pasta with parmesan cheese—tasted kind of like pesto sauce. Clearly I am not at all vegan here.

4. Spanish.Wow, I had forgotten most of what I knew. I have no idea what my co-teachers are saying most of the time since they speak really quickly and spit out so many Chilenismos (Chilean slangs that everyone uses). For example, novio is NOT boy friend. Living with a host family has helped me the most in improving my Spanish because I actually have the time to be like, " Wait, what? What is that?" and have things explained to me. Being able to google words at home while talking with the family is also very helpful. And my host sister teaches me Spanish words and tests me like while I do the same with her for English words. Yay language exchange!

El campo.

5. Life is so different from the one I had in NYC and I love Chile for that. I'm freezing most days since there is no central heating. I've had to wear socks (sometimes two on each foot) to sleep every night, and I am so sick and tired of wearing a down jacket in August! My standard of cleanliness has substantially decreased because it's way too cold to take showers often even if I am blessed with hot water. There are many things I can talk about that are inconvenient, making it sound like I am complaining, but I so am grateful to be able to experience all of these challenges. There's something to be said about leaving your comfort zone and seeing the world beyond where you live and what you know. I'm always awed by how people think, act, and function so differently. It's not just a different point of view on a controversial topic, but random little things like the fact that door knobs turn a different direction here. You'd think that humans around the world may innately have all come to the same conclusion about the direction that the door knob should turn, but nope, there are countless nuances in how we think. Love it.

Lesson planning (showing clips from the movie Twister for a lesson on tornadoes to my 6th graders since they're awesome) is in order. Ciao.