16 Oct 2010
TEACHERS DAY
Teacher’s day over here is celebrated in style. The senior students of the last year go to school, for the rest of the students it is a holiday. The teachers are sat in the front row of the assembly and the students make presentations and give awards. A rock band played, some students sang a song to their teacher. Apple awards were given for all sorts of things ranging from the teacher with the cutest ass (both female and male), the most knowledgeable, the kindest, the teacher with the students who had the most red marks (too many of these and the students will repeat the year level) etc. The teachers then choose teams, had a tug of war and rushed to sing Karaoke to the school for points. It was a real laugh and good fun. At the end the teachers were taken out of town to a house where we were served lunch and some dinner. We played on the trampoline, ping pong and danced the night away – It was great!!!!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
11th October 2010
Día de la Raza. (COLUMBUS DAY)
Didn’t do much today, although it is a national holiday. Only seems to be celebrated in style in Santiago by the Mapechu people. Included a few articles for you info here:
Holidays and Observances:
1 Jan New Year's Day
1 Apr Maundy Thursday
2 Apr Good Friday
4 Apr Easter Day
1 May Labor Day / May Day
21 May Navy Day
28 Jun Saint Peter and Saint Paul
16 Jul Our Lady of Mount Carmel
15 Aug Assumption of Mary
18 Sep National holiday
19 Sep Army Day
11 Oct Columbus Day
1 Nov All Saints
8 Dec Feast of the Immaculate Conception
25 Dec Christmas Day
31 Dec New Year's Eve
October 12 (or the nearest Monday to it) is traditionally celebrated throughout the Americas as the day Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. In English speaking countries, the day is celebrated as Columbus Day or Native American Day. In Spanish speaking countries and communities, is is known as Día de la Raza, the Day of the Race.
Día de la Raza is the celebration of the Hispanic heritage of Latin America and brings into it all the ethnic and cultural influences making it distinctive. It is celebrated on October 12 in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela.
A few historical facts behind the holiday:
• Cristóbal Colón, born Cristoforo Colombo, following the newly accepted theory that the world was round and not flat, sailed west from Spain to find a new route to China or the East Indies. He wanted also to prove his calculations of the earth's circumference.
• He was off on his calculations and he didn't find a new spice route. Instead, on October 12, 1492, he and his small fleet of three ships, the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, landed on one of the islands now known as the Bahamas. The exact island is a matter of debate and conjecture, but from there, he went on to Cuba and Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and went back to Spain to recount his adventures.
• With royal approval and funding, he set forth in 1493 with a fleet of 17 ships and retraced his earlier voyage. This time he explored Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands, founded a colony on Hispaniola. He did not find any spices, nor gold in great quantities, but returned again to Spain. He made his third journey to the New World in 1498, where he explored the coast of Venezuela and was awed by the sweet water of the Orinoco where it flowed into the Atlantic.
• For his efforts, Columbus was made admiral and Governor General of the new colonies until he was sent back to Spain in disgrace in 1500. He overcame that humiliation sufficiently to make a fourth and final voyage in 1502, landing in Costa Rica. When he died in 1506, Columbus was dishonored and all but forgotten. Whether he should be celebrated as the man who opened Central and South America to exploration and colonization, or excoriated for the same thing is a continuing debate.
• Christopher Columbus and Columbus Day are reviled in places because he is blamed for bringing the evils of slavery, the encomienda system and the diseases of Europe to Latin America. He was avaricious, cruel and paved the way for the conquista.
Now, 500 plus years later, we recall his deeds and celebrate not Columbus the man, but the actions and influences of all the people who came after him, who melded their European culture with the indigenous cultures and, with difficulty, blood and years of battle, misunderstandings and treachery, have created the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society we now celebrate with the Día de la Raza.
http://gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/southamerica/a/CulDiaRaza.htm
Chile's Mapuche people parade through the streets of Santiago wearing colourful traditional dress on Columbus Day, El Dia de la Raza. The music and dance commemorates Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World on 12 October 1492.
The fiesta was first recognised in Chile in 1923, and is also a celebration of mestije, or the mingling of races, which gave birth to the population of today.
http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=158954
Día de la Raza. (COLUMBUS DAY)
Didn’t do much today, although it is a national holiday. Only seems to be celebrated in style in Santiago by the Mapechu people. Included a few articles for you info here:
Holidays and Observances:
1 Jan New Year's Day
1 Apr Maundy Thursday
2 Apr Good Friday
4 Apr Easter Day
1 May Labor Day / May Day
21 May Navy Day
28 Jun Saint Peter and Saint Paul
16 Jul Our Lady of Mount Carmel
15 Aug Assumption of Mary
18 Sep National holiday
19 Sep Army Day
11 Oct Columbus Day
1 Nov All Saints
8 Dec Feast of the Immaculate Conception
25 Dec Christmas Day
31 Dec New Year's Eve
October 12 (or the nearest Monday to it) is traditionally celebrated throughout the Americas as the day Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. In English speaking countries, the day is celebrated as Columbus Day or Native American Day. In Spanish speaking countries and communities, is is known as Día de la Raza, the Day of the Race.
Día de la Raza is the celebration of the Hispanic heritage of Latin America and brings into it all the ethnic and cultural influences making it distinctive. It is celebrated on October 12 in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela.
A few historical facts behind the holiday:
• Cristóbal Colón, born Cristoforo Colombo, following the newly accepted theory that the world was round and not flat, sailed west from Spain to find a new route to China or the East Indies. He wanted also to prove his calculations of the earth's circumference.
• He was off on his calculations and he didn't find a new spice route. Instead, on October 12, 1492, he and his small fleet of three ships, the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, landed on one of the islands now known as the Bahamas. The exact island is a matter of debate and conjecture, but from there, he went on to Cuba and Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and went back to Spain to recount his adventures.
• With royal approval and funding, he set forth in 1493 with a fleet of 17 ships and retraced his earlier voyage. This time he explored Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands, founded a colony on Hispaniola. He did not find any spices, nor gold in great quantities, but returned again to Spain. He made his third journey to the New World in 1498, where he explored the coast of Venezuela and was awed by the sweet water of the Orinoco where it flowed into the Atlantic.
• For his efforts, Columbus was made admiral and Governor General of the new colonies until he was sent back to Spain in disgrace in 1500. He overcame that humiliation sufficiently to make a fourth and final voyage in 1502, landing in Costa Rica. When he died in 1506, Columbus was dishonored and all but forgotten. Whether he should be celebrated as the man who opened Central and South America to exploration and colonization, or excoriated for the same thing is a continuing debate.
• Christopher Columbus and Columbus Day are reviled in places because he is blamed for bringing the evils of slavery, the encomienda system and the diseases of Europe to Latin America. He was avaricious, cruel and paved the way for the conquista.
Now, 500 plus years later, we recall his deeds and celebrate not Columbus the man, but the actions and influences of all the people who came after him, who melded their European culture with the indigenous cultures and, with difficulty, blood and years of battle, misunderstandings and treachery, have created the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society we now celebrate with the Día de la Raza.
http://gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/southamerica/a/CulDiaRaza.htm
Chile's Mapuche people parade through the streets of Santiago wearing colourful traditional dress on Columbus Day, El Dia de la Raza. The music and dance commemorates Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World on 12 October 1492.
The fiesta was first recognised in Chile in 1923, and is also a celebration of mestije, or the mingling of races, which gave birth to the population of today.
http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=158954
Friday, October 8, 2010
6 October 2010
One of the flashest restaurants I have ever been to, they even had a Lucama sorbet between the entre and the main dish to change the palate! I would like to know the cost of the meal but Alejandro paid so I am not sure and I don’t know if it is rude to ask the price or not. I know that they were charging on average 10,000 pesos for the wine and 1,800 per raspberry juice. The mains cost anywhere between 9,800 pesos and 15,000 I think….
What an experience!
One of the flashest restaurants I have ever been to, they even had a Lucama sorbet between the entre and the main dish to change the palate! I would like to know the cost of the meal but Alejandro paid so I am not sure and I don’t know if it is rude to ask the price or not. I know that they were charging on average 10,000 pesos for the wine and 1,800 per raspberry juice. The mains cost anywhere between 9,800 pesos and 15,000 I think….
What an experience!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
3rd October 2010
MIL TAMBORES
This is a direct translation of a web page as translated by the web so don’t expect it to be completely correct, however you'll get the general idea:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.terra.cl/entretencion/index.cfm%3Fid_reg%3D1506652%26id_cat%3D1160%26titulo_url%3DCarnaval_%25B4Mil_Tambores%25B4_prendera_Valparaiso_los_primeros_dias_de_octubre&ei=UfqoTJi3FY-osAP16rmdDQ&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBcQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dorigen%2Bof%2Bmil%2Btambores%26hl%3Den%26site%3Dwebhp%26prmd%3Div
CARNIVAL 'MIL DRUM' VALPARAISO turn ON FIRST DAY OF OCTOBER
Ya está listo el programa oficial del carnaval Mil Tambores de Valparaíso. And ready is the official program of carnival drums Valparaiso Mil. El evento se realizará los días 1, 2 y 3 de octubre . The event will be held on days 1, 2 and 3 October. Por lo mismo destaca el lanzamiento de la campaña “Yo vivo Mil Tambores Yo cuido Valparaíso”, campaña que la misma organización del carnaval ha promocionado entre los participantes para evitar las malas prácticas de este tipo de eventos masivos. It also highlights the launch of the "I live a thousand drums I take care of Valparaiso" campaign that it has promoted the carnival organization among participants to avoid bad practices such massive events.
Esta es la undécima versión del carnaval ciudadano Mil Tambores, y se observan bastantes cambios en su parrilla programática 2010. This is the eleventh version of the carnival city Thousand Drums, and observed many changes in its program grid 2010. Todo parte en el cerro, el pasacalle inicial será por la Av. Alemania partiendo en la Plazuela San Luis (Cerro Alegre) y finalizando en el Auditorium Osmán Pérez Freire (Cerro Florida). Every part on the hill, the parade will start on Av Germany starting in the Plaza San Luis (Cerro Alegre) and ending at the Auditorium Osman Perez Freire (Cerro Florida). La tradicional actividad de los cuerpos pintados será realizada bajo la modalidad de concurso, así como también se premiará la mejor fotografía carnavalera, la mejor comparsa y la mejor alegoría. The traditional activity of painted bodies will be made in the form of competition, and also the best picture award carnival, the best carnival and the best allegory.
Jóvenes de todo Chile se reunirán en el velódromo de Playa Ancha lugar destinada a la acreditación de las delegaciones a partir del jueves 30 de septiembre. Youth from all over Chile will meet at the velodrome Playa Ancha place intended for the accreditation of delegations from Thursday 30 September. Un centenar agrupaciones carnavaleras ya están preparando su visita a Valparaíso de Arica a Puerto Montt incluso de Argentina han confirmado su asistencia al carnaval, cabe destacar la gestión propia de estos grupos, cientos de jóvenes, quienes han estado organizando diversas actividades para garantizar su participación en este importante evento nacional. One hundred Carnaval groups are already preparing a visit to Valparaiso Arica to Puerto Montt even Argentina have confirmed their attendance at the carnival include the actual management of these groups, hundreds of young people who have been organizing various activities to ensure their participation in this important national event.
A nivel internacional, Mil Tambores ha logrado posicionar a Valparaíso como una “ciudad de carnaval” dentro del circuito Iberoamericano de carnavales potenciando, de paso, la industria turística en la región. Internationally, Thousand Drums Valparaiso has positioned as a "city carnival" in the Latin American carnival circuit promoting, by the way, the tourism industry in the region. Prueba de ello es que la actividad inaugural del carnaval es la exposición fotográfica de Kiki Hernández “Tipos de Cuidao” que retrata las vestimentas y personajes del famoso carnaval de Cádiz, España esta actividad es auspiciada por el municipio de dicha ciudad. Proof of this is that the inaugural event of the carnival is a photographic exhibition by Kiki Hernandez "Types of Cuidao" which portrays the costumes and characters from the famous carnival of Cadiz, Spain this activity is sponsored by the municipality of that city. La exposición estará abierta desde el día 30 de septiembre en los pasillos del Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes y luego participar de una gira por la región en el Marco del Forum de las Culturas. The exhibition will run from September 30 in the corridors of the National Council for Culture and the Arts and then participate in a tour of the region in the framework of the Forum of Cultures.
Diálogos Ciudadanos Citizen Dialogues
En este carnaval existe una fuerte preocupación por abordar temáticas medioambientales por ser una instancia masiva donde la ciudadanía se encuentra en el espacio público, para ellos se han organizado 5 mesas de diálogos ciudadanos para incentivar la reflexión en los cerros del puerto, todo ello bajo el motivo de la defensa de los derechos de la Madre Tierra. In this carnival there is a strong concern to address environmental issues because it is a massive instance where citizenship is in the public space, for they have organized 5 tables citizen dialogues to encourage reflection on the port hills, all under the reason for the rights of Mother Earth.
En lo concreto existen 5 mesas que abordarán temáticas como: los conflictos medioambientales en chile, el derecho al agua, las resoluciones de la cumbre medioambiental de Cochabamba, uso de Energías Renovable, entre otros temas. In particular there are 5 tables on several subjects such as environmental conflicts in Chile, water rights, the resolutions of the environmental summit in Cochabamba, use of renewable energy, among other topics. Dentro de los invitados confirmados están los representantes diplomáticos de Bolivia, Ecuador y Venezuela, representantes de la cámara de diputados, organizaciones sociales, comunidades en conflictos y expertos en la materia. Among the confirmed guests are diplomatic representatives of Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela, representatives of the Chamber of Deputies, social organizations, communities and conflict experts.
Mil Tambores vuelve a los cerros, a su lugar de origen. Thousand Drums back into the hills, to their place of origin. El carnaval tomará a Valparaíso por la cintura para seguir recuperando espacios públicos para el arte y promoviendo una cultura de paz, justicia y dignidad para los pueblos. The carnival will take on Valparaiso at the waist to continue recovering public spaces for art and promoting a culture of peace, justice and dignity for the people.
Más información, en el Facebook "Mil Tambores". More information on Facebook "Thousand Drums".
Derechos Reservados Terra Networks Chile SA Copyright Terra Networks Chile SA
Start of the parade
Dancers
Drummers and unicyclists
MIL TAMBORES
This is a direct translation of a web page as translated by the web so don’t expect it to be completely correct, however you'll get the general idea:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.terra.cl/entretencion/index.cfm%3Fid_reg%3D1506652%26id_cat%3D1160%26titulo_url%3DCarnaval_%25B4Mil_Tambores%25B4_prendera_Valparaiso_los_primeros_dias_de_octubre&ei=UfqoTJi3FY-osAP16rmdDQ&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBcQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dorigen%2Bof%2Bmil%2Btambores%26hl%3Den%26site%3Dwebhp%26prmd%3Div
CARNIVAL 'MIL DRUM' VALPARAISO turn ON FIRST DAY OF OCTOBER
Ya está listo el programa oficial del carnaval Mil Tambores de Valparaíso. And ready is the official program of carnival drums Valparaiso Mil. El evento se realizará los días 1, 2 y 3 de octubre . The event will be held on days 1, 2 and 3 October. Por lo mismo destaca el lanzamiento de la campaña “Yo vivo Mil Tambores Yo cuido Valparaíso”, campaña que la misma organización del carnaval ha promocionado entre los participantes para evitar las malas prácticas de este tipo de eventos masivos. It also highlights the launch of the "I live a thousand drums I take care of Valparaiso" campaign that it has promoted the carnival organization among participants to avoid bad practices such massive events.
Esta es la undécima versión del carnaval ciudadano Mil Tambores, y se observan bastantes cambios en su parrilla programática 2010. This is the eleventh version of the carnival city Thousand Drums, and observed many changes in its program grid 2010. Todo parte en el cerro, el pasacalle inicial será por la Av. Alemania partiendo en la Plazuela San Luis (Cerro Alegre) y finalizando en el Auditorium Osmán Pérez Freire (Cerro Florida). Every part on the hill, the parade will start on Av Germany starting in the Plaza San Luis (Cerro Alegre) and ending at the Auditorium Osman Perez Freire (Cerro Florida). La tradicional actividad de los cuerpos pintados será realizada bajo la modalidad de concurso, así como también se premiará la mejor fotografía carnavalera, la mejor comparsa y la mejor alegoría. The traditional activity of painted bodies will be made in the form of competition, and also the best picture award carnival, the best carnival and the best allegory.
Jóvenes de todo Chile se reunirán en el velódromo de Playa Ancha lugar destinada a la acreditación de las delegaciones a partir del jueves 30 de septiembre. Youth from all over Chile will meet at the velodrome Playa Ancha place intended for the accreditation of delegations from Thursday 30 September. Un centenar agrupaciones carnavaleras ya están preparando su visita a Valparaíso de Arica a Puerto Montt incluso de Argentina han confirmado su asistencia al carnaval, cabe destacar la gestión propia de estos grupos, cientos de jóvenes, quienes han estado organizando diversas actividades para garantizar su participación en este importante evento nacional. One hundred Carnaval groups are already preparing a visit to Valparaiso Arica to Puerto Montt even Argentina have confirmed their attendance at the carnival include the actual management of these groups, hundreds of young people who have been organizing various activities to ensure their participation in this important national event.
A nivel internacional, Mil Tambores ha logrado posicionar a Valparaíso como una “ciudad de carnaval” dentro del circuito Iberoamericano de carnavales potenciando, de paso, la industria turística en la región. Internationally, Thousand Drums Valparaiso has positioned as a "city carnival" in the Latin American carnival circuit promoting, by the way, the tourism industry in the region. Prueba de ello es que la actividad inaugural del carnaval es la exposición fotográfica de Kiki Hernández “Tipos de Cuidao” que retrata las vestimentas y personajes del famoso carnaval de Cádiz, España esta actividad es auspiciada por el municipio de dicha ciudad. Proof of this is that the inaugural event of the carnival is a photographic exhibition by Kiki Hernandez "Types of Cuidao" which portrays the costumes and characters from the famous carnival of Cadiz, Spain this activity is sponsored by the municipality of that city. La exposición estará abierta desde el día 30 de septiembre en los pasillos del Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes y luego participar de una gira por la región en el Marco del Forum de las Culturas. The exhibition will run from September 30 in the corridors of the National Council for Culture and the Arts and then participate in a tour of the region in the framework of the Forum of Cultures.
Diálogos Ciudadanos Citizen Dialogues
En este carnaval existe una fuerte preocupación por abordar temáticas medioambientales por ser una instancia masiva donde la ciudadanía se encuentra en el espacio público, para ellos se han organizado 5 mesas de diálogos ciudadanos para incentivar la reflexión en los cerros del puerto, todo ello bajo el motivo de la defensa de los derechos de la Madre Tierra. In this carnival there is a strong concern to address environmental issues because it is a massive instance where citizenship is in the public space, for they have organized 5 tables citizen dialogues to encourage reflection on the port hills, all under the reason for the rights of Mother Earth.
En lo concreto existen 5 mesas que abordarán temáticas como: los conflictos medioambientales en chile, el derecho al agua, las resoluciones de la cumbre medioambiental de Cochabamba, uso de Energías Renovable, entre otros temas. In particular there are 5 tables on several subjects such as environmental conflicts in Chile, water rights, the resolutions of the environmental summit in Cochabamba, use of renewable energy, among other topics. Dentro de los invitados confirmados están los representantes diplomáticos de Bolivia, Ecuador y Venezuela, representantes de la cámara de diputados, organizaciones sociales, comunidades en conflictos y expertos en la materia. Among the confirmed guests are diplomatic representatives of Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela, representatives of the Chamber of Deputies, social organizations, communities and conflict experts.
Mil Tambores vuelve a los cerros, a su lugar de origen. Thousand Drums back into the hills, to their place of origin. El carnaval tomará a Valparaíso por la cintura para seguir recuperando espacios públicos para el arte y promoviendo una cultura de paz, justicia y dignidad para los pueblos. The carnival will take on Valparaiso at the waist to continue recovering public spaces for art and promoting a culture of peace, justice and dignity for the people.
Más información, en el Facebook "Mil Tambores". More information on Facebook "Thousand Drums".
Derechos Reservados Terra Networks Chile SA Copyright Terra Networks Chile SA
Start of the parade
Dancers
Drummers and unicyclists
Saturday, October 2, 2010
1st October 2010
CLOTHING / FASHION / SHOPPING
It is my host brother’s birthday on Monday so I went to the mall after classes. It is really huge! It starts on one side of the street and has a walkway that goes across to the other mall on the other side. Well I went a bit snap happy and took photos of clothes, fashion accessories and other shopping items. I tried to get photos with prices as much as I could – some are good others not. If you want to know the price of items in NZD then divide the price in pesos by 350 e.g. 10000 Pesos / 350 = $35NZD. The photo ‘Punto Urbano’ which shows a lot of coloured squares and prices is the cost of a haircut. I am not brave enough to get a hair cut in Chile – so my hair is getting longer, however it is only 3 months worth. I tried to get both men and women’s clothing, so you’ll see kids wear and night wear too. Over here they have a Zara shop especially for women and a separate especially for men. The attendant at the Zara mens store would not allow me to take photos of the models in the window. I’m told shoes over here a cheap but haven’t needed to buy any yet. I love the way they display jeans in the shop. Inside the store they sometimes have one pant leg hanging down and the other bunched up on one side – I’m sorry but I couldn’t get a photo of this either.
LANGUAGE ‘GIFT CARD’
I bought a ‘gift card’ for my host brother as I don’t know what kind of music he likes only that he likes music. This was real difficult because the previous day I had been chatting to Ana and she didn’t know what a voucher was. So I went into the music store armed with my dictionary and explained to the attendant that I wanted a voucher to buy music or a CD or DVD etc. He said ‘huh’ so I explained that I pay him money and get a piece of paper that I give to my host brother…. The attendant looked at me and said ‘Oh you mean a ‘gift card’’ It is so frustrating when you expect a word to be in Spanish and they use the English language to describe it! I got to say though that at least I can explain myself now – it may not be accurate but people generally get the idea.
30th September 2010
CAREER DAY
The last year of High School had a university careers day today. I really enjoyed it. Once we were out of the classroom the students would only speak Spanish to me which was really great for me but a little embarrassing because they now know what my true level is… but I have to practice sometime. The career day was held in the old passenger boat terminal so you will see the photos I took around the outside show sea lions, boats etc. The sea lions were really impressive because they had to jump so high up to get on the platform and they were such big creatures. I was surprised that they were there because I thought that it would be too hot for them. People keep telling me that the water is ice cold so they must be right. Inside the passenger boat terminal they had lots of displays of universities in Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. One of the universities was for PE and medicine etc – they had the skeletons outside their display. Others varied and were universities for hospitality - they had made cakes. One university was for airplane pilots / aviation in general.
27th September 2010
CINEMA
Went to the Cinema on Sunday night, purely because I wanted to know what it was like. There were films mostly in English with subtitles. I watched the movie ‘Son como niños’ with Adam Sandler and Penelope Cruz. It was a real good laugh. The first lot of photos I took were out of focus so I have mixed my photos with the other cinema in the mall.
SALSA
I have been to four Salsa lessons now. I haven’t been for a few days though because my foot was sore from all the walking I did on the tour around Valparaiso. The style of teaching over here reminds me of the film Karate kid. I take lessons in Salsa Cubano and it is for two hours and we learn two movements per class. The theory I think is behind this is the teacher wants us to be able to ‘feel’ the music, let it come naturally rather than counting the music either in our heads or out loud. I have to say that most people over here seem to be able to really dance so this method of teaching is working well. It was really frustrating at first though because when I attend Salsa lessons in Whangarei we learn lots of moves in one lesson and all styles of the dance. Over here you have separate classes for different dances from other regions e.g. classes for Salsa Cubano, Salsa Los Angeles, Merengue, Bachacha etc. In NZ we class these as ‘Salsa’ an all encompassing umbrella of the dance form. I thought I had written about this previously but can’t find it so will rewrite. It took me awhile to get to Salsa classes. The reason for this is that the first day I went I had the day and the time wrong, the second time I went the teacher was sick. The third time I went I actually got it right so I was stoked The other thing that I find hard is the sense of time here. It is not unusual for the teacher to be late 10 – 30 minutes for the lesson. The teacher has been sick and went into hospital on Thursday so not sure when classes will be resuming.
CLOTHING / FASHION / SHOPPING
It is my host brother’s birthday on Monday so I went to the mall after classes. It is really huge! It starts on one side of the street and has a walkway that goes across to the other mall on the other side. Well I went a bit snap happy and took photos of clothes, fashion accessories and other shopping items. I tried to get photos with prices as much as I could – some are good others not. If you want to know the price of items in NZD then divide the price in pesos by 350 e.g. 10000 Pesos / 350 = $35NZD. The photo ‘Punto Urbano’ which shows a lot of coloured squares and prices is the cost of a haircut. I am not brave enough to get a hair cut in Chile – so my hair is getting longer, however it is only 3 months worth. I tried to get both men and women’s clothing, so you’ll see kids wear and night wear too. Over here they have a Zara shop especially for women and a separate especially for men. The attendant at the Zara mens store would not allow me to take photos of the models in the window. I’m told shoes over here a cheap but haven’t needed to buy any yet. I love the way they display jeans in the shop. Inside the store they sometimes have one pant leg hanging down and the other bunched up on one side – I’m sorry but I couldn’t get a photo of this either.
LANGUAGE ‘GIFT CARD’
I bought a ‘gift card’ for my host brother as I don’t know what kind of music he likes only that he likes music. This was real difficult because the previous day I had been chatting to Ana and she didn’t know what a voucher was. So I went into the music store armed with my dictionary and explained to the attendant that I wanted a voucher to buy music or a CD or DVD etc. He said ‘huh’ so I explained that I pay him money and get a piece of paper that I give to my host brother…. The attendant looked at me and said ‘Oh you mean a ‘gift card’’ It is so frustrating when you expect a word to be in Spanish and they use the English language to describe it! I got to say though that at least I can explain myself now – it may not be accurate but people generally get the idea.
30th September 2010
CAREER DAY
The last year of High School had a university careers day today. I really enjoyed it. Once we were out of the classroom the students would only speak Spanish to me which was really great for me but a little embarrassing because they now know what my true level is… but I have to practice sometime. The career day was held in the old passenger boat terminal so you will see the photos I took around the outside show sea lions, boats etc. The sea lions were really impressive because they had to jump so high up to get on the platform and they were such big creatures. I was surprised that they were there because I thought that it would be too hot for them. People keep telling me that the water is ice cold so they must be right. Inside the passenger boat terminal they had lots of displays of universities in Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. One of the universities was for PE and medicine etc – they had the skeletons outside their display. Others varied and were universities for hospitality - they had made cakes. One university was for airplane pilots / aviation in general.
27th September 2010
CINEMA
Went to the Cinema on Sunday night, purely because I wanted to know what it was like. There were films mostly in English with subtitles. I watched the movie ‘Son como niños’ with Adam Sandler and Penelope Cruz. It was a real good laugh. The first lot of photos I took were out of focus so I have mixed my photos with the other cinema in the mall.
SALSA
I have been to four Salsa lessons now. I haven’t been for a few days though because my foot was sore from all the walking I did on the tour around Valparaiso. The style of teaching over here reminds me of the film Karate kid. I take lessons in Salsa Cubano and it is for two hours and we learn two movements per class. The theory I think is behind this is the teacher wants us to be able to ‘feel’ the music, let it come naturally rather than counting the music either in our heads or out loud. I have to say that most people over here seem to be able to really dance so this method of teaching is working well. It was really frustrating at first though because when I attend Salsa lessons in Whangarei we learn lots of moves in one lesson and all styles of the dance. Over here you have separate classes for different dances from other regions e.g. classes for Salsa Cubano, Salsa Los Angeles, Merengue, Bachacha etc. In NZ we class these as ‘Salsa’ an all encompassing umbrella of the dance form. I thought I had written about this previously but can’t find it so will rewrite. It took me awhile to get to Salsa classes. The reason for this is that the first day I went I had the day and the time wrong, the second time I went the teacher was sick. The third time I went I actually got it right so I was stoked The other thing that I find hard is the sense of time here. It is not unusual for the teacher to be late 10 – 30 minutes for the lesson. The teacher has been sick and went into hospital on Thursday so not sure when classes will be resuming.
Monday, September 27, 2010
26th September 2010
I haven’t written in my blog for awhile because I had a real nasty worm eating files in my computer. I had to have it taken to a shop, backup files made, computer reformatted and then my files reinstated. Bit of a mess and expensive but it needed to be done which it has now. Thank god for Diego and Alejandro because I couldn’t do this by myself.
24th September 2010
LETTERS / PEN PALS
I gave the letters of our NZ students to a class at San Ignacio. It is a catholic school but the students experience more of 'life' than some of ours would. They are outgoing and in the third year of high school (2nd Media A).They are 15 - 16 years old. They are happy to write to us in English and for us to reply in Spanish. I have a photo of the class which I will post later as I don't know all their names yet.
I regularly attend this class and the students are quite good. They have been studying English for 10 years of schooling but there are still some errors in what they have written as I asked the teacher not to correct their English so students could see their true level. There were more students in this class than ours so some of our students may have more than one letter each. Some students may not have a name that they have replied to, but would like a pen friend. I also asked the students to add email addresses and some have also added face book contacts if they are interested.
The topics they wrote about were similar to what we had. I asked them to ask questions of our students - What did they want to know about NZ and also any festivals that we have just had here in Chile i.e. the Bicentennial celebrations. I have posted the letters today 24 Sep 2010. It should take 10 days to arrive to NZ but other mail of mine has taken over a month to arrive here in Chile.
The letters my year 9 Spanish class wrote are having replies written this week coming. So they will be on their way soon.
23rd September 2010
PRIMARY SCHOOL
A lot of High Schools over here have primary schools attached to them or just down the road. This is fantastic for foreign students or teachers like me. The schools have now arranged for me to join junior Spanish classes at the Primary schools. I am attending classes with Segundo basic. The students are 7 or 8 years old. When I sit on the chair and they stand next to me I am still taller than them. They are really cute and interested in me. I had a look at their text books and their level of Spanish is higher than mine. They use a lot of verb conjugations that I recognize but am unable to make myself accurately without help or grammar books. They are also a lot more reliant on vocabulary that I don’t yet know. However in saying this they have 6 or 7 years of Spanish more than I do. I was really interested in the classroom signs so have included some shots for you.
22nd September 2010
WALK AROUND VALPARAISO
Went for a walk around Valparaiso today for about four hours. I thought that I would follow the tourist trail and search for the Ascensors – most were closed. I started at the Ex- Intendencia (Blue building) and found my way to Ascensor ‘3’ It was short but had very steep steps going up the side of it. On most of the platforms was a concrete bench seat for people to use. I then tried to walk to Ascenor ‘4’ but it was closed so I walked back down the hill. On my way I took photos of the café I saw as well as some of the street art. I then turned up the wrong side street but found a really old broken down house that I took a photo of. So I turned around and at the base of the hill was a cultural museum. Because it was the weekend of the bicentennial they had a display of kites that people had made. I think the one with the dog and the people summed up Valparaiso very well. I had to walk past the court to access the side street back up the hill again as I couldn’t find the beginning of Ascenor ‘5’ so I walked up the stairs. One of the side streets had a Museum ‘Lord Cochrane’ that I couldn’t resist visiting. It had some really cool photographs of Valparaiso and a viewing platform. I could see down into one of the main the town squares and across to the Palacio Baburiza (green building). I continued my walk up the hill and discovered Ascensor ‘5’ at the summit, how ironic lol. There was a pink house near Palacio Baburiza that was being repaired so I took photos of this and then made my way to Casa Crucero (White). I walked back down the hill and found Reloj Turin which is a big clock tower but again couldn’t locate Ascensor ‘6’. I had very sore calf muscles for about 4 days afterward all this walking. So much so that I haven’t attended Salsa classes since the weekend
20th September 2010
LANGUAGE
Has my pronunciation improved?
No. Your pronunciation is pretty good with a few small errors.
How well can you understand what I say?
Good enough. Generally we understand what you say but there are still times when we don’t
Is my use of the language idiomatic? (use of formulaic expressions) etc
Starting to make my own sentences. Need to learn set phrases to build a base of your language
Do you have any other comments about my use of Spanish?
Your level is about a 3 or 4 year olds. Talk more – formulate questions. Read more newspapers front pages – make summaries of them. Watch movies TV in general.
TOILET PAPER
It was late in the evening and I needed toilet paper. I didn’t know how to say toilet paper in Spanish so I said to Alejandro ‘baño papel’ Both him and Ana were amazed that I could communicate my needs very clearly in just two words. They constantly say to me that English is a very concise language where the way words are put together gives an instant image or idea of what we mean or our intentions are. They say that in Spanish you are unable to get these ‘crisp’ meanings and that you need a lot of vocabulary to explain concepts. Alejandro and Diego went to a conference in New York called ‘Design Thinking’. This means a ‘structure of thinking, or concepts’. You cannot translate this directly into Spanish - ‘thinking about design’ as it does not have the same impact as the English version. What I should have said to Alejandro was ‘Necesito papel hygenico por favor’
DON”T LIKE - DON’T EAT!
For various reasons now I have made two meals that have been inedible for my host family. Ana sat at the table and tried to be polite and eat it because I had made her and Francesca dinner. In the end I turned to Ana and said Don’t like - Don’t eat ‘No te gusta, no comer’ Now in English this is rude to say this to someone in this way and I felt pretty bad saying it but my level of Spanish is not good enough to be polite yet. What I wanted to say was ‘if you don’t like it you don’t have to eat it’ I should have said ‘No te gusta, no lo come’
PEUMO CONTRYSIDE
I took these photos on the trip back from Peumo to Santiago. I love the way the sky looked that day. One of my favourite photos is the white flowers of the orchard in the foreground and the white snow of the mountains in the background. On the highways you are allowed to go 120kmph.
19th September 2010
MY BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS
I had the privilege of going to Daniela’s Aunts Farm to celebrate the Bicentennial. On the way there we saw many wooden waterwheels and I was fascinated by the way they worked. It is one of the few times that I have had my photo taken in Chile. I also took a photo of Daniela’s parents next to them as well. As you entered the farm you crossed over an irrigation system by bridge and alongside this were beautiful cacti and the remains of an old wooden umbrella. They have orchards of lemons and oranges and grow crops as well. However what kind of crops they grew is unknown. We went to the outhouses on the farm. Inside the floor was inlaid with rounds of trees of differing sizes. We made and baked empañadas. I of course made some vegetarian ones and put a ‘v’ on the outside. ‘V’ for vedura (vegetables) or vegeteriana which ever way you want to look at it. The family drank Pisco (a type of rum) and danced Cueca.
17th September 2010
FONDA
A Fonda is usually an enclosed area or inside a building where you dance Cueca.
A Ramada is usually an outside area were you dance Cueca. Later when I was talking to one of the teachers at school she said that a lot of people don’t know the difference between a Ramada and a Fonda and often the two ideas get mixed up.
Daniela and Diego and I went to a Fonda which was outside and was like a gala or fete day. They had lots of little enclosed areas where BBQ’s were being cooked. Usually they sold meat of some kind, empañadas or other kinds of traditional foods and drinks. One drink that I wanted to try was called the teremoto (earthquake) but they weren’t selling it in this area so I missed out on that. The following night we did have an earthquake in Peumo but it was only small and I didn’t feel it.
In one area they had a band playing and I took a photo of the people in the kitchen dancing away to the music. Around the sides were lots of stalls selling products such as sunglasses, jewellery, sweets and ponchos for dancing Cueca. They even had a tent setup for fuzeball. Some of the other games were to throw darts to pop balloons and earn a prize, fish for a prize within a time limit using the rods given, throw rings over pegs to earn prizes and spin a wheel to earn a prize.
9th September
SAN DOMINIC BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS
I seem to have the dates all wrong for this. The week before the bicentennial holiday (18th September) the school had their own anniversary celebrations. Then, last week San Dominic were on holiday as part of the national holiday plus one week. Not all schools have the same holidays at the same time it depends on the school, so I still attended San Ignacio.
On the Thursday before the school closed they had a ‘movie night’ I thought this would be showing movies in Spanish, so I was really surprised when I turned up to learn that the students had chosen a movie and made a short musical clip about it. Once all the houses had presented the students then moved onto the next theme of the night – this was music videos. The students had practiced the dance moves of a music video and were miming the words. Both the primary school and the secondary school were involved in this so it was really interesting. Sorry but I have to bring these clips back to show you as I can’t you tube them all.
I haven’t written in my blog for awhile because I had a real nasty worm eating files in my computer. I had to have it taken to a shop, backup files made, computer reformatted and then my files reinstated. Bit of a mess and expensive but it needed to be done which it has now. Thank god for Diego and Alejandro because I couldn’t do this by myself.
24th September 2010
LETTERS / PEN PALS
I gave the letters of our NZ students to a class at San Ignacio. It is a catholic school but the students experience more of 'life' than some of ours would. They are outgoing and in the third year of high school (2nd Media A).They are 15 - 16 years old. They are happy to write to us in English and for us to reply in Spanish. I have a photo of the class which I will post later as I don't know all their names yet.
I regularly attend this class and the students are quite good. They have been studying English for 10 years of schooling but there are still some errors in what they have written as I asked the teacher not to correct their English so students could see their true level. There were more students in this class than ours so some of our students may have more than one letter each. Some students may not have a name that they have replied to, but would like a pen friend. I also asked the students to add email addresses and some have also added face book contacts if they are interested.
The topics they wrote about were similar to what we had. I asked them to ask questions of our students - What did they want to know about NZ and also any festivals that we have just had here in Chile i.e. the Bicentennial celebrations. I have posted the letters today 24 Sep 2010. It should take 10 days to arrive to NZ but other mail of mine has taken over a month to arrive here in Chile.
The letters my year 9 Spanish class wrote are having replies written this week coming. So they will be on their way soon.
23rd September 2010
PRIMARY SCHOOL
A lot of High Schools over here have primary schools attached to them or just down the road. This is fantastic for foreign students or teachers like me. The schools have now arranged for me to join junior Spanish classes at the Primary schools. I am attending classes with Segundo basic. The students are 7 or 8 years old. When I sit on the chair and they stand next to me I am still taller than them. They are really cute and interested in me. I had a look at their text books and their level of Spanish is higher than mine. They use a lot of verb conjugations that I recognize but am unable to make myself accurately without help or grammar books. They are also a lot more reliant on vocabulary that I don’t yet know. However in saying this they have 6 or 7 years of Spanish more than I do. I was really interested in the classroom signs so have included some shots for you.
22nd September 2010
WALK AROUND VALPARAISO
Went for a walk around Valparaiso today for about four hours. I thought that I would follow the tourist trail and search for the Ascensors – most were closed. I started at the Ex- Intendencia (Blue building) and found my way to Ascensor ‘3’ It was short but had very steep steps going up the side of it. On most of the platforms was a concrete bench seat for people to use. I then tried to walk to Ascenor ‘4’ but it was closed so I walked back down the hill. On my way I took photos of the café I saw as well as some of the street art. I then turned up the wrong side street but found a really old broken down house that I took a photo of. So I turned around and at the base of the hill was a cultural museum. Because it was the weekend of the bicentennial they had a display of kites that people had made. I think the one with the dog and the people summed up Valparaiso very well. I had to walk past the court to access the side street back up the hill again as I couldn’t find the beginning of Ascenor ‘5’ so I walked up the stairs. One of the side streets had a Museum ‘Lord Cochrane’ that I couldn’t resist visiting. It had some really cool photographs of Valparaiso and a viewing platform. I could see down into one of the main the town squares and across to the Palacio Baburiza (green building). I continued my walk up the hill and discovered Ascensor ‘5’ at the summit, how ironic lol. There was a pink house near Palacio Baburiza that was being repaired so I took photos of this and then made my way to Casa Crucero (White). I walked back down the hill and found Reloj Turin which is a big clock tower but again couldn’t locate Ascensor ‘6’. I had very sore calf muscles for about 4 days afterward all this walking. So much so that I haven’t attended Salsa classes since the weekend
20th September 2010
LANGUAGE
Has my pronunciation improved?
No. Your pronunciation is pretty good with a few small errors.
How well can you understand what I say?
Good enough. Generally we understand what you say but there are still times when we don’t
Is my use of the language idiomatic? (use of formulaic expressions) etc
Starting to make my own sentences. Need to learn set phrases to build a base of your language
Do you have any other comments about my use of Spanish?
Your level is about a 3 or 4 year olds. Talk more – formulate questions. Read more newspapers front pages – make summaries of them. Watch movies TV in general.
TOILET PAPER
It was late in the evening and I needed toilet paper. I didn’t know how to say toilet paper in Spanish so I said to Alejandro ‘baño papel’ Both him and Ana were amazed that I could communicate my needs very clearly in just two words. They constantly say to me that English is a very concise language where the way words are put together gives an instant image or idea of what we mean or our intentions are. They say that in Spanish you are unable to get these ‘crisp’ meanings and that you need a lot of vocabulary to explain concepts. Alejandro and Diego went to a conference in New York called ‘Design Thinking’. This means a ‘structure of thinking, or concepts’. You cannot translate this directly into Spanish - ‘thinking about design’ as it does not have the same impact as the English version. What I should have said to Alejandro was ‘Necesito papel hygenico por favor’
DON”T LIKE - DON’T EAT!
For various reasons now I have made two meals that have been inedible for my host family. Ana sat at the table and tried to be polite and eat it because I had made her and Francesca dinner. In the end I turned to Ana and said Don’t like - Don’t eat ‘No te gusta, no comer’ Now in English this is rude to say this to someone in this way and I felt pretty bad saying it but my level of Spanish is not good enough to be polite yet. What I wanted to say was ‘if you don’t like it you don’t have to eat it’ I should have said ‘No te gusta, no lo come’
PEUMO CONTRYSIDE
I took these photos on the trip back from Peumo to Santiago. I love the way the sky looked that day. One of my favourite photos is the white flowers of the orchard in the foreground and the white snow of the mountains in the background. On the highways you are allowed to go 120kmph.
19th September 2010
MY BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS
I had the privilege of going to Daniela’s Aunts Farm to celebrate the Bicentennial. On the way there we saw many wooden waterwheels and I was fascinated by the way they worked. It is one of the few times that I have had my photo taken in Chile. I also took a photo of Daniela’s parents next to them as well. As you entered the farm you crossed over an irrigation system by bridge and alongside this were beautiful cacti and the remains of an old wooden umbrella. They have orchards of lemons and oranges and grow crops as well. However what kind of crops they grew is unknown. We went to the outhouses on the farm. Inside the floor was inlaid with rounds of trees of differing sizes. We made and baked empañadas. I of course made some vegetarian ones and put a ‘v’ on the outside. ‘V’ for vedura (vegetables) or vegeteriana which ever way you want to look at it. The family drank Pisco (a type of rum) and danced Cueca.
17th September 2010
FONDA
A Fonda is usually an enclosed area or inside a building where you dance Cueca.
A Ramada is usually an outside area were you dance Cueca. Later when I was talking to one of the teachers at school she said that a lot of people don’t know the difference between a Ramada and a Fonda and often the two ideas get mixed up.
Daniela and Diego and I went to a Fonda which was outside and was like a gala or fete day. They had lots of little enclosed areas where BBQ’s were being cooked. Usually they sold meat of some kind, empañadas or other kinds of traditional foods and drinks. One drink that I wanted to try was called the teremoto (earthquake) but they weren’t selling it in this area so I missed out on that. The following night we did have an earthquake in Peumo but it was only small and I didn’t feel it.
In one area they had a band playing and I took a photo of the people in the kitchen dancing away to the music. Around the sides were lots of stalls selling products such as sunglasses, jewellery, sweets and ponchos for dancing Cueca. They even had a tent setup for fuzeball. Some of the other games were to throw darts to pop balloons and earn a prize, fish for a prize within a time limit using the rods given, throw rings over pegs to earn prizes and spin a wheel to earn a prize.
9th September
SAN DOMINIC BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS
I seem to have the dates all wrong for this. The week before the bicentennial holiday (18th September) the school had their own anniversary celebrations. Then, last week San Dominic were on holiday as part of the national holiday plus one week. Not all schools have the same holidays at the same time it depends on the school, so I still attended San Ignacio.
On the Thursday before the school closed they had a ‘movie night’ I thought this would be showing movies in Spanish, so I was really surprised when I turned up to learn that the students had chosen a movie and made a short musical clip about it. Once all the houses had presented the students then moved onto the next theme of the night – this was music videos. The students had practiced the dance moves of a music video and were miming the words. Both the primary school and the secondary school were involved in this so it was really interesting. Sorry but I have to bring these clips back to show you as I can’t you tube them all.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The classes at San Ignacio are doing a Unit on correspondence at the end of September. I have told the teacher that I have a whole bunch of letters waiting for responses to set up pen pals. She thinks it's a great idea so I will give those to her to look over next Tuesday.
Comments: why are you a vegetarian?
Because I went to England not long after Mad Cow disease and I didn't want to catch it from infected meat. I liked the taste of veg food and have now been a veg for about 10 years.
Questions from Year 10 Spanish:
- Is zumba popular?
Not really, not as much as I thought. I went to a YMCA gym the other day to check out the kinds of classes they have. Here are the titles of the classes:
Artes Marciales:Taekwondo, Quay combat, ninjutsu, Quay armony, Kendo, Jiu Jitsu, localizada, Quay Full, Latin Power, Quay pilates,
Dance: Salsa estilo cubano, Salsa estilo Los Angeles, Pre ballet - 3 a 6 anos, Ballet Clasico 7 a 15 anos, Ballet Moderno 12 a 18 anos, Danza Arabe, Bailoterapia
Aerobics: Quay Aeroobic, Aerobica Basico, Quay Cardiac, Quay Gap, Spinning, Aerobox, Step intermedio, Step Avanzada, Step, Juvenil, Step Basico
Sports: Gimn Basqutebol
- What fast food restaurants do they have?
All the same international ones that we have, mainly American like KFC, McDonalds, Subway, Dunkin Doughnuts, Starbucks, even some of the same restaurant chains. One type of food that we don't have is called 'completas' this is like a hotdog. It would be classed as a foot long subway and comes out on its own stand. I'll try and get a foto of one or two for you
- Boy, is it cold in Chile or what from Chad?
It's the same as Whangarei minus the rain. It has only rained 3 times in the month and one week I have been here. Silly but it's something I miss because it's what I'm used to hearing when I go to bed it puts me to sleep. We have had the 'estufa' going on the occasional night. From the apartment window of my host brother in Santiago I can see the Andes Mountains. It is colder in Santiago at night. I went to Llay Llay with the AFS exchange students and camped the night last weekend. That was freezing. I woke up at 5 and couldn't feel my feet so I went for a walk till I got back my circulation. I woke up again at 8am and decided to start the campfire because I had had enough by then.
- What songs are popular?
Chocolate ( I have yet to find out the singer or where I can download this) Alexandro. Most students listen to American music so unless you want to listen to folk songs it can be hard at times to hear Spanish songs. This weekend is an AFS meeting and I have asked one of the students to bring his cable for his IPod so I can download songs that kids his age listed to. Will keep you informed on this
- What do they consider to be exotic food?
That's a really good question. I'll have to follow that one up because I don't know
- Do they like Justin Bieber?
The girls love him. The boys think he is gay (I think the boys are just jealous lol)
- What’s their popular network websites?
Face book, twitter
- Are there any hot guys in the highschool. Please post photos.
The same as in NZ yes but not all. You'll have to check out the blog because my opinion of hot and your opinion of hot may be different
- Do they have beaches?
Yes I live on the coast line in Valparaiso. It is a huge naval port. I attend schools in Vina del Mar which is a tourist beach town. The waterfront has some really nice cafes where you can sit and observe life.
- From a teacher point of view what are the students like compared to us.
I think the students are really good in English. However national statistics state that only 2% of the population are able to speak English. I have recorded some scenarios that I'm unable to upload because of the size but can show when I return.
ALL classes that I have attended are taught in the target language i.e. all explanations, questions, instructions are given in English
- Do they surf much?
Yes they have a very good break at Vina del Mar. This I am told is packed in summer, you can't see the sand only bodies and you have to be in early to reserve a spot.
- Do they play rugby/netball?
They don't know what netball is. At San Ignacio I have come across only 1 boy who plays rugby
- Are the empanadas nice?
Yes but they take ages to make and very labour intensive. I love queso empanadas but the traditional ones have meat
- Are there any really good looking girls, please send photos.
The same as in NZ yes but not all. You'll have to check out the blog because my opinion of hot and your opinion of hot may be different
Hope this answers your questions. Any more feel free to ask
Comments: why are you a vegetarian?
Because I went to England not long after Mad Cow disease and I didn't want to catch it from infected meat. I liked the taste of veg food and have now been a veg for about 10 years.
Questions from Year 10 Spanish:
- Is zumba popular?
Not really, not as much as I thought. I went to a YMCA gym the other day to check out the kinds of classes they have. Here are the titles of the classes:
Artes Marciales:Taekwondo, Quay combat, ninjutsu, Quay armony, Kendo, Jiu Jitsu, localizada, Quay Full, Latin Power, Quay pilates,
Dance: Salsa estilo cubano, Salsa estilo Los Angeles, Pre ballet - 3 a 6 anos, Ballet Clasico 7 a 15 anos, Ballet Moderno 12 a 18 anos, Danza Arabe, Bailoterapia
Aerobics: Quay Aeroobic, Aerobica Basico, Quay Cardiac, Quay Gap, Spinning, Aerobox, Step intermedio, Step Avanzada, Step, Juvenil, Step Basico
Sports: Gimn Basqutebol
- What fast food restaurants do they have?
All the same international ones that we have, mainly American like KFC, McDonalds, Subway, Dunkin Doughnuts, Starbucks, even some of the same restaurant chains. One type of food that we don't have is called 'completas' this is like a hotdog. It would be classed as a foot long subway and comes out on its own stand. I'll try and get a foto of one or two for you
- Boy, is it cold in Chile or what from Chad?
It's the same as Whangarei minus the rain. It has only rained 3 times in the month and one week I have been here. Silly but it's something I miss because it's what I'm used to hearing when I go to bed it puts me to sleep. We have had the 'estufa' going on the occasional night. From the apartment window of my host brother in Santiago I can see the Andes Mountains. It is colder in Santiago at night. I went to Llay Llay with the AFS exchange students and camped the night last weekend. That was freezing. I woke up at 5 and couldn't feel my feet so I went for a walk till I got back my circulation. I woke up again at 8am and decided to start the campfire because I had had enough by then.
- What songs are popular?
Chocolate ( I have yet to find out the singer or where I can download this) Alexandro. Most students listen to American music so unless you want to listen to folk songs it can be hard at times to hear Spanish songs. This weekend is an AFS meeting and I have asked one of the students to bring his cable for his IPod so I can download songs that kids his age listed to. Will keep you informed on this
- What do they consider to be exotic food?
That's a really good question. I'll have to follow that one up because I don't know
- Do they like Justin Bieber?
The girls love him. The boys think he is gay (I think the boys are just jealous lol)
- What’s their popular network websites?
Face book, twitter
- Are there any hot guys in the highschool. Please post photos.
The same as in NZ yes but not all. You'll have to check out the blog because my opinion of hot and your opinion of hot may be different
- Do they have beaches?
Yes I live on the coast line in Valparaiso. It is a huge naval port. I attend schools in Vina del Mar which is a tourist beach town. The waterfront has some really nice cafes where you can sit and observe life.
- From a teacher point of view what are the students like compared to us.
I think the students are really good in English. However national statistics state that only 2% of the population are able to speak English. I have recorded some scenarios that I'm unable to upload because of the size but can show when I return.
ALL classes that I have attended are taught in the target language i.e. all explanations, questions, instructions are given in English
- Do they surf much?
Yes they have a very good break at Vina del Mar. This I am told is packed in summer, you can't see the sand only bodies and you have to be in early to reserve a spot.
- Do they play rugby/netball?
They don't know what netball is. At San Ignacio I have come across only 1 boy who plays rugby
- Are the empanadas nice?
Yes but they take ages to make and very labour intensive. I love queso empanadas but the traditional ones have meat
- Are there any really good looking girls, please send photos.
The same as in NZ yes but not all. You'll have to check out the blog because my opinion of hot and your opinion of hot may be different
Hope this answers your questions. Any more feel free to ask
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