Freezing
It’s cold. Chile has no centralized heating in most
buildings, including my home. Instead, there is usually a gas heater the size
of a small space heater called in an ‘estufa’ in houses and a larger heater
against one wall of the classrooms. As a result, I pile on numerous sweaters at
night to sleep and witness the classroom heater become transformed into a
social gathering place during school breaks. Still, it has proven fun to
experience a winter without the usual warmth of home. Maybe I will become
tougher by the end of this winter!
(Above is an example of an estufa.)
Impromptu
Singing
My class is a choir. In any moment of the school day,
I hear someone singing an American pop song. Today, someone began singing “We
are the World” in the middle of English class and was joined by the rest of the
class. Somehow ukuleles and guitars appear out of nowhere and our class becomes
its own band. Other examples of impromptu concerts include renditions of “Radioactive,”
“Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” and “Bailando.” I absolutely adore this, how
everyone, regardless of singing ability, breaks into song in the loudest tone
of voice in any given moment. I must admit, with a little shame, that every
person I have met so far remembers more lyrics to these songs than I do. My
classmates have watched more American television shows than I have and are more
up-to-date about celebrity news, which goes to show the extensiveness of the
Americanization process in Chile. As it is, I dance to the songs, sing when the
chorus comes (the only part I can semi-remember of songs), and take numerous selfies
with friends (it is even more popular here than in the USA, it seems!).
I have also gotten really involved on social media,
since everyone uses their phone in school in every moment listening to music
and chatting with friends on whatsapp, a hugely popular app used by everyone
from parents, teens, and teachers here. Thus, you may be surprised to learn
that I am semi active on Facebook and Instagram these days. (What? Michelle
more like a teenager and following the social trends? Yes. Yes, indeed.)
Daily Life
Life here has found its routine. Today marks 22 days
that I have been in Chile.
I wake up at 7 each morning, eat breakfast (usually
freshly squeezed orange juice, toasted bread, mashed avocado, and cheese) with
my parents and one of my Chilean sisters, and my dad drives my two sisters and me
to our private Catholic school. School starts at 8:15 each day and ends at 3:45
on Mondays and Wednesday, 4:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 1:30 on
Fridays. Three days in the week, I attend volleyball practice after school.
Then my Chilean sister and I take the public bus home.
When I come home, I make my own ‘once’, which is a large snack, and watch some TV (usually Gossip Girl). Then I exercise for an hour and begin homework. Homework consists of much studying for upcoming tests, since tests count for the majority of the year’s grades, and working on ‘trabajos,’ which are longer-term group projects to make poster boards, research concepts, do dissertations, make 3D sculptures (like the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge), and scientific reports. When my parents arrive home later in the evening, our family talks about our day in the living room and eat dinner around 9, which is equivalent to 21:00 since Chile mostly runs on military time, and, of which, I am still not accustomed. By that time, I am usually half asleep from exhaustion, but it is the time for new dishes and combinations to try since breakfasts and lunches are more predictable. Notably, I have eaten Chilean salmon with squash (yum!) and garbanzo beans with beets and rice. After dinner, I do more homework and get ready for bed. In the morning, everything starts again!
School Life, and an Epic Soccer Game
I am
in a class with 21 girls. We are together all day, every day, in the same
classroom on the first floor of a three-floor building. There are 11 classes in
total and each class usually is 1.5 hours, separated by ‘recreos’ (breaks). There
are three or four classes each day, usually in a lecture format accompanied
with PowerPoint presentations or group work on ‘trabajos.’ We call the faculty
as ‘Miss __’ or ‘Señor __.’ Depending on the teacher, sometimes we need to
stand to greet the teacher and wait for permission to sit again.
The teachers come to our classroom to teach, but sometimes we move to another room if there is a specific class like PE (yes, I still have to take PE here!) or technology (which is located in the computer lab). Yesterday morning, I played soccer for the first time. The extremely competitive soccer game resulted in me developing a bruise in the shin after getting kicked, me accidentally kicking a soccer ball onto my friend's forehead, and a girl to almost dislocate her knee. All in an hour of the life of Michelle.
Feriados
Tomorrow is a feriado (holiday) in honor of the Asuncion de Virgen (Assumption of Mary). This commemorates the death of Mary, mother of Jesus, and her assumption into heaven. Given that Chile is a culturally Catholic country and a deeply religious one as well (70% are Catholic and 15% evangelical), there are many feriados on religious days. So, as a family, we are going to the beach this weekend! What better way to take advantage of 4,270 km (2,653 mi) of coastline?
