Hace tanto tiempo que he escrito!! In English, that translates to: wow it has been a long ass time since I have written a blog entry. haha I have really been having fun these past three weeks but also have been doing a lot of work too. Hmmm sounds like the summary of my life. I never know where to start when I am attempting to express all that I have experience in the span of weeks. Let's see...Argentina was amazing. I would write about it here but I wrote about 10 pages in my journal on the bus ride home detailing the entire trip. My penpal and I got along swimmingly. Megan and I had such a blast with Dani and all her friends. We went to Oktoberfest and drank beer all day and met people from all over the world. There was a huge downpour and we were stuck under random tables for about 30 minutes meeting drunk people and then dancing in the rain with them. And basically it was just a magical weekend. I can't wait to get back to Argentina because it is completely different than Chile. The accent is awesome and they don't talk 1000000 words per minute like the Chileans. I came back to Chile with my mind set on getting to Buenos Aires during my month of travel time in December and since I returned I have been reading a travel book on Buenos so that I can be super prepared when I get there!
When I got back from the trip with Megan, it was really hard to concentrate on school. During my time abroad, I realize the intensely difficult balance that we all have to try to attain between working hard in school and our social lives. I don't want to be stuck in my books all the time because there are so many cool things to do here like traveling, talking to locals, and doing the cultural things. BUT I know that at the same time I have 10 page essays due in all of my classes by the end of November...in Spanish...which is gonna require basically a shit load of work. But whatever...with great opportunities comes great responsibility. My medical anthropology class has been going well because we use class time now to discuss/plan our final research projects. Michelle is my teacher and I recently found out that she got her masters from OXFORD! So she speaks English perfectly and when I don't understand, she speaks English with me. I am so grateful for this because the classes that I chose at the Uni are very challenging and I am the first extrajera to take them in history. Leave it to me to blaze my own trail, eh? But it is great to have her speak in my own language sometimes when I am confused.
I turned in my project proposal a couple weeks back and this week she handed it back to me with algunos consejos. Probably the coolest thing was that when she gave it back to me, she put her hand on my arm and said: Bien Rose! It was so heartfelt and really meant the world to me because I never know how good my work is that I turn in here because it is in Spanish! But she really likes my idea for my research question and she gave me the chance to correct the things I needed to in the proposal to turn in later. Of course, I took the time to correct it but I would say that this "redue" process probably took me about 10 hours. No joke. I read and read and read all the articles for the class and wrote and wrote and wrote the things that I wanted to express through my project. Gosh, I hope all of this hard work pays off.
My bioarchaeology class is crazy. Yeah...that is a good way to express it. That class is such a challenge!!! For so many different reasons. I am the first extranjera to take the class and I really don't get any handicap for being an extranjera either. I am expected to do all the readings and take the quizzes in the same amount of time as the other students regardless of my differences. I dunno...I'm all for challenges but honestly these people have taken the first part of this class during Semester 1 and since this is Semester 2, I am already at an disadvantage. Then add on the fact that I have never taken a Bioarchaeology class AND I am not fluent in Spanish AND we use these crazy big words like osteomielitis and hiperstosis porotico and riquetismo...oooh I know the last one...it means RICKETS in Spanish which is associated with iron-deficiency which is a type of anemia that is common in children in which the bones become spongy and weak. This can lead to a bending (or doblamiento) of the bones which we can see projected in the skeletal remains of the child. Ok great Rose...now say what you just said in Spanish. haha Oh gosh its great that I have such a great sense of humor.
This bioarchaeology class has probably been one of the things that has been the most interesting thing about my time here in Chile. From the beginning I have had Addy who is like my best Chilean friend now. She is SO caring and open and understanding. Even when I can't understand her sometimes, she keeps trying and gosh it's hard to express how grateful I am for her kindness. They say that one person can completely change an experience and she has totally proven that. I would have crashed and burned in this class without her as my selfless lab partner who listens patiently to me as I try to express the stuff I know about the skeletons we are analyzing...be it that they have an infeccious disease, a metabolic disease, an arthropathy, or osteoporosis. And because of her kindness, I am slowly starting to see the others in the class opening up to me. Honestly, let it be said that Chilean university students do not talk to the extranjera. Sorry to be blunt but this is blantantly true. I am still trying to figure out the reasons but basically they are either uninterested, super intimidated, or too impatient to see if I may or may not understand them. But like I said, over time and due to my very open personality and possibly my ability to laugh at my mistakes, I am seeing more and more of them open up to me. And that is a good feeling. Now if I just didn't have to write a 10 page research paper on the history of osteoarthritis in past civilizations in the Tarapaca region in the Greater North of Chile, including my analysis of 4 skeletons from these regions. Chucha.
On Thursday, we had our last EAP Culture Class. It is actually quite nice having my Tuesday and Thursday free and not having to get back at 10 pm to my house! But it was a good class overall and I am looking forward to our final essay only because it is a 5 page assignment but it is actually FUN! We get to write about the classes of our choice in the form of a journal entry, adding in our own thoughts about the class amongst cited sources of course. But it is quite obvious that I have no problem expressing myself through journaling so bring it on you final assignment you. My sights are totally set on November right now which actually keeps me working hard on all my school work without complaint. I am going to be traveling 3 out of the 4 weekend in November but that is the same month when all my final essays are due. But dude WHATEVER, I will get the shit done one way or another but I am ALWAYS a good student and I deserve to be rebelious which I am in South America and go travel on the weekends without feeling guilty like I should be working. And that is what I have to say about that.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
October 16 to 18
Such a busy last couple of days. So we had our last EAP class like I said previously and that night we all went over to Kelly's house to celebrate. Our friends that we met on the backpackers' train on our way to Machu Picchu were in Santiago staying with Meg so they came. And so were Gary, Elena, Kelly, me, and Megan so it was a Peru Travel Group reunion of sorts. :) I hung out for a couple hours and then Victoria and I left for home. It was nice because we ended up walking through the comuna of Nunoa at 2 in the morning. She has such a great spirit that we just talked and laughed and enjoyed each others company as we walked through the serene neighborhood. Actually, I don't think I will even forget the feeling of safeness that I felt in that place even at 2 am. It was a good feeling.
The next day was our cultural activity to Villa Grimaldi. Villa Grimaldi was a torture center used during the dictatorship and that day our guide was a man who lived through the dictatorship and even spent 2 weeks at Villa Grimaldi. Of course, it felt like more time to him because of the intensity of his time there and he even confessed that he couldn't be sure how much time he was there. But he talked to us in the classroom first for a couple of hours about the layout of Villa Grimaldi and expressed the stories of the people he had spoken too during his decades of research into the events of the dictatorship. To say the least, it was a humbling experience to hear about all the pain that was endured by these people during those dark years. After he spoke to us in the classroom, we took the bus over to the actual center and he took us around and recreated the scenes and experiences that he remembered like it was yesterday. He told us that things like that don't ever leave a person.
There were times when he would stop what he was saying and fight to keep back the tears. Sometimes he couldn't hold them back and we were left helpless...trying to console him but knowing we could only offer our sympathy. To show empathy for an experience such as his would be almost impossible for most people to express. Nonetheless, he gave us his entire account and the accounts of others and we left the place with a solemn appreciation of the difficulties that he and countless others had to experience. After Villa Grimaldi, we went to the Cementario General in Santiago to finish the tour. All in all, the day remains one of the most memorable that I have had during my time in Chile. I will never forget our tour guide and his bravery in expressing all the memories that are still so vivid in his mind and yet so difficult to tell time and time again.
The next day I had another cultural activity to visit a Mapuche population in Santiago. We were greeting by the man and women who were going to lead our discussion that day. The woman was a Machi which is a woman doctor in the Mapuche culture. The man was a type of chief I believe but I dont remember his actual title. Their granddaughter Malen Kiyen behaved much older than the typical 14 year old and we enjoyed several meaningful conversations during the day. They spoke to us about their culture, gave us a tour of the Rucka and the surrounding Ruckas, and we got to eat a lunch of their typical food. Cornbread, sopaipillas, bean soup, fruit kabobs, Chilean wine, and of course, pievra which is a spicy salsa which is usually put on bread during once. After watching an educational movie, we went outside to enjoy the sunlight and sat in a circle to give our introductions to the group. It was kind of like the first day of 10th grade all over again, but in a way, it was super cool because I got to hear all of my fellow EAPers speak Spanish to the group. This is wierd but I have never heard a lot of them speak Spanish because if you think about it, when would I? When I talk with them, we speak English. And if I'm not taking any classes with them or hanging out with them WITH chileans...I never get to hear them. So it was a cool memory. Then we danced a typical Mapuche dance and eso fue todo.
When I got home, Liz came over and we talked about boys, drank tesitos, and then watched YouTube videos. Note: Tesito is just a little cup of tea. Chileans add -ita or -ito to the end of many words and one tends to pick up this habit after being here long enough. It was a great girls' night. You really have to appreciate those as life gets busier and busier. Continuing with the chronology of days past, on Monday I went over to the Puente Alto school to visit with Erick and was lucky enough to intersect the mother of one of the patients that I am observing for my research. I was so scared to ask her if it would be ok to observe her daughter and also to ask her to take her time to fill our my questionaires and do an interview. But she was SO WARM and WILLING TO HELP that I just about fell out of my chair. She was like: What can I do to help? When do you need me to turn the questionaire in? Etc etc. It was absolutely amazing. Actually I am writing this entry a week after all of this occurred but I was at the school today too and I gave all the questionaires to my "subjects" if you will. And when I gave it to the mother of Marie Jose who was there to pick it up from me, she asked me again when she should have it filled out and she must have said THANK YOU 3 times to me. I was blown away but her warmness and willing to help. Those are the kind of people that really make me want to succeed in the challenge of the language. Those are the kind of people that make all the difficulties and challenges and tears and frustrations that one experiences while studying abroad worth it in the end. God bless that woman. But ALSO today I went to talk with the mother of the other patient that I am observing named Tomas who luckily works at the school. And it was the same story which her. Erick gave me an introduction and I explained the rest to her after he left and she was so ready to help that even when I handed her the questionaire, she took it with open arms and wanted to make sure that I would get it back by next Friday and that she was happy to help. SIGH. It just is so lovely when things happen like that.
The next day was our cultural activity to Villa Grimaldi. Villa Grimaldi was a torture center used during the dictatorship and that day our guide was a man who lived through the dictatorship and even spent 2 weeks at Villa Grimaldi. Of course, it felt like more time to him because of the intensity of his time there and he even confessed that he couldn't be sure how much time he was there. But he talked to us in the classroom first for a couple of hours about the layout of Villa Grimaldi and expressed the stories of the people he had spoken too during his decades of research into the events of the dictatorship. To say the least, it was a humbling experience to hear about all the pain that was endured by these people during those dark years. After he spoke to us in the classroom, we took the bus over to the actual center and he took us around and recreated the scenes and experiences that he remembered like it was yesterday. He told us that things like that don't ever leave a person.
There were times when he would stop what he was saying and fight to keep back the tears. Sometimes he couldn't hold them back and we were left helpless...trying to console him but knowing we could only offer our sympathy. To show empathy for an experience such as his would be almost impossible for most people to express. Nonetheless, he gave us his entire account and the accounts of others and we left the place with a solemn appreciation of the difficulties that he and countless others had to experience. After Villa Grimaldi, we went to the Cementario General in Santiago to finish the tour. All in all, the day remains one of the most memorable that I have had during my time in Chile. I will never forget our tour guide and his bravery in expressing all the memories that are still so vivid in his mind and yet so difficult to tell time and time again.
The next day I had another cultural activity to visit a Mapuche population in Santiago. We were greeting by the man and women who were going to lead our discussion that day. The woman was a Machi which is a woman doctor in the Mapuche culture. The man was a type of chief I believe but I dont remember his actual title. Their granddaughter Malen Kiyen behaved much older than the typical 14 year old and we enjoyed several meaningful conversations during the day. They spoke to us about their culture, gave us a tour of the Rucka and the surrounding Ruckas, and we got to eat a lunch of their typical food. Cornbread, sopaipillas, bean soup, fruit kabobs, Chilean wine, and of course, pievra which is a spicy salsa which is usually put on bread during once. After watching an educational movie, we went outside to enjoy the sunlight and sat in a circle to give our introductions to the group. It was kind of like the first day of 10th grade all over again, but in a way, it was super cool because I got to hear all of my fellow EAPers speak Spanish to the group. This is wierd but I have never heard a lot of them speak Spanish because if you think about it, when would I? When I talk with them, we speak English. And if I'm not taking any classes with them or hanging out with them WITH chileans...I never get to hear them. So it was a cool memory. Then we danced a typical Mapuche dance and eso fue todo.
When I got home, Liz came over and we talked about boys, drank tesitos, and then watched YouTube videos. Note: Tesito is just a little cup of tea. Chileans add -ita or -ito to the end of many words and one tends to pick up this habit after being here long enough. It was a great girls' night. You really have to appreciate those as life gets busier and busier. Continuing with the chronology of days past, on Monday I went over to the Puente Alto school to visit with Erick and was lucky enough to intersect the mother of one of the patients that I am observing for my research. I was so scared to ask her if it would be ok to observe her daughter and also to ask her to take her time to fill our my questionaires and do an interview. But she was SO WARM and WILLING TO HELP that I just about fell out of my chair. She was like: What can I do to help? When do you need me to turn the questionaire in? Etc etc. It was absolutely amazing. Actually I am writing this entry a week after all of this occurred but I was at the school today too and I gave all the questionaires to my "subjects" if you will. And when I gave it to the mother of Marie Jose who was there to pick it up from me, she asked me again when she should have it filled out and she must have said THANK YOU 3 times to me. I was blown away but her warmness and willing to help. Those are the kind of people that really make me want to succeed in the challenge of the language. Those are the kind of people that make all the difficulties and challenges and tears and frustrations that one experiences while studying abroad worth it in the end. God bless that woman. But ALSO today I went to talk with the mother of the other patient that I am observing named Tomas who luckily works at the school. And it was the same story which her. Erick gave me an introduction and I explained the rest to her after he left and she was so ready to help that even when I handed her the questionaire, she took it with open arms and wanted to make sure that I would get it back by next Friday and that she was happy to help. SIGH. It just is so lovely when things happen like that.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Study Break
Hey everyone! Gosh this has been a super crazy week...and it's only just begun. I worked alllll weekend on three essays that I have to turn in this week. This whole writing essays in Spanish has proven to be a very difficult process for a perfectionist like me. When I write essays in English, it is bad because I write and rewrite and switch and mix and match...you get the idea. So I'm sure you can only imagine that process that I go through to write these "scholarly" essays but in Spanish. Aye...what discipline I am building here. Well this week I might have a lot to turn in, and last week I might have had a crazy "prueba" that was definitely more like an "examen" at which I wrote 8 pages of solid Spanish vocab for bioarchaeology...but my point is that I am going to Argentina this weekend with Meg to meet Dani Ismael for the first time since we've been penpals. And that was FOURTH grade! So it is going to be a sweet reward that I get three/four days to just relax in Argentina with great friends :)
Yesterday we went to the Teniente Copper Mines with the program, and then I came home and got to go to bed at 8:30 pm!! CRAZY! But knowing me...of course I woke up at 6 am to start my EAP essay to make up for not getting much work done the night before. But I felt so rested that as I sat down at the computer with my slippers, bed head, and cup of hot coffee, I was ready to get to work. I actually managed to write like a page and a half straight so that is nice. Now I just have to go back and finish it. Damn...I hate that part. haha I left the house at 10:30 am to go to Puente Alto to meet with Erick--the occupational therapist who I am going my research with for my medical anthropology final research paper. He works with 8 students who have been integrated into the classes with the other children while working with Erick on Mondays and Fridays to perfect certain skills to promote greater selfconfidence and independence in their daily lives. I observed a little girl named Maria Jose who was in kindergarden but was born without muscle function of her lower extremities. Therefore, she is in a wheel chair and is just about the cutest girl I have ever seen! What an angel! I observed the session and took a ton of notes. It is all so interesting to see how Erick's job requires him to interpret the human mind albeit damaged from some act of nature...and then figure out how he can "trick" it to make it do the job it is supposed to do. I look forward to developing my research for this project, and I actually have to turn in my research proposal on Wednesday so I will be working on this right after this entry. Amidst all the school work, I have to remember that I am being exposed to so many amazing opportunities here that I need to be grateful for every day I can spend here working hard.
After my time with Erick and Maria Jose, I headed over to Hermanos Matte to have the long-awaited taller! We hadn't met for three weeks! There was only three kids today but it was actually nice because it was such an intimate setting that we got to really work on some important concepts. I tried out some new games and we all checked in about how our lives have been since we last met. My lovely friend Annette (who I sang literally the entire N'Sync album with on the bus home from the mines yesterday) taught me a game that she plays when she has all of her friends together which is "Best, Worst, or Funniest" in which you relay either the best, worst, or funniest part of your day. So I told my three students about that game and when I heard that their unanimous answers to my question were: "The best part of my day was Miss Rose's games," I smiled from ear to ear! :)
Hermanos Matte has a new volunteer for the next three weeks named Mikey who is a woman who recently retired from the army but must be in her late 20's at the most. Her husband is in the army still and he is over in Iraq so she needed to get out of the states and do something to keep her mind off that fact. I hope we become great friends during her time here because if she loves Hermanos Matte and all the people there as much as I do, it's going to be hard not to like her! Mikey, Mary Cruz, and I all walked to the metro together and then Mary Cruz and I headed off in one direction towards Los Heroes which Mikey headed the other way. I love Mary Cruz...what a lovely woman. And whenever we speak, it is either/or in terms of English or Spanish because we both speak both languages. What a great combination, huh? On my walk back home from the metro, I gave the most genuine smile to these two workers on the street which I just did spontaneously. But the guy like fell in love at first sight I think because he dropped his hammer and was like: Hola! Hola! hahahah I just said: Hola, como estas? and kept on walking. haha Got home. Skyped with my mama. Fell asleep for a couple hours. And now here I am in the wee hours of the morn' trying to get all the school sheyyyyuttttt done! It's worth it. It's worth it. It's worth zzzzzzzzzzzzzz haha
Well, tomorrow it is back to Puente Alto for me to work with the Gastronomy class. Then I have a big break where I used to go to Hermanos Matte but that is now going to happen on Monday. But its gonna be nice to have 2 to 7 pm open until I go to my culture class. Oh gosh and we only have two more weeks of culture class so my time will be a little more open in two weeks time! :) But you know me...I will quickly find SOMETHING to fill it with. Then Wednesday is my "reward" day because I plan on being done with everything and then going to see La Decision Mas Dificil, going to Med. Anth., and then meeting up with Meg, Mollie, Mikey, and some cool Chileans dudes we met at an international party who are super fun! That's the plan...we'll see what despliegue (<--unfolds...pliegue is fold--like a fold in your clothes...cool huh?)
Now I am going to attempt to upload a video file on here. I hope it works because it would be cool to be a part of this technological exploration that all the kids are doing these days. It's just a little video file...how hard could it be, right? Right. Speaking of technology, my computer definitely has something wrong with it. And I don't know where to take it because I don't know that I could explain the problem in Spanish. That's not really an excuse but I am really gonna have to take it somewhere because it keeps freezing and won't acknowledge things in the USB post and then it freezes I have to manually restart which it is never happy about. Actually in the middle of writing this paragraph about the problem, it just did it again. Bad luck. OK I'm gonna stop writing and add that video to see if I can...before it freezes again. I promise I'll fix it (whining voice)...I just don't wannnnna right now. LOVE YOU ALL! Muah, Rosey
Yesterday we went to the Teniente Copper Mines with the program, and then I came home and got to go to bed at 8:30 pm!! CRAZY! But knowing me...of course I woke up at 6 am to start my EAP essay to make up for not getting much work done the night before. But I felt so rested that as I sat down at the computer with my slippers, bed head, and cup of hot coffee, I was ready to get to work. I actually managed to write like a page and a half straight so that is nice. Now I just have to go back and finish it. Damn...I hate that part. haha I left the house at 10:30 am to go to Puente Alto to meet with Erick--the occupational therapist who I am going my research with for my medical anthropology final research paper. He works with 8 students who have been integrated into the classes with the other children while working with Erick on Mondays and Fridays to perfect certain skills to promote greater selfconfidence and independence in their daily lives. I observed a little girl named Maria Jose who was in kindergarden but was born without muscle function of her lower extremities. Therefore, she is in a wheel chair and is just about the cutest girl I have ever seen! What an angel! I observed the session and took a ton of notes. It is all so interesting to see how Erick's job requires him to interpret the human mind albeit damaged from some act of nature...and then figure out how he can "trick" it to make it do the job it is supposed to do. I look forward to developing my research for this project, and I actually have to turn in my research proposal on Wednesday so I will be working on this right after this entry. Amidst all the school work, I have to remember that I am being exposed to so many amazing opportunities here that I need to be grateful for every day I can spend here working hard.
After my time with Erick and Maria Jose, I headed over to Hermanos Matte to have the long-awaited taller! We hadn't met for three weeks! There was only three kids today but it was actually nice because it was such an intimate setting that we got to really work on some important concepts. I tried out some new games and we all checked in about how our lives have been since we last met. My lovely friend Annette (who I sang literally the entire N'Sync album with on the bus home from the mines yesterday) taught me a game that she plays when she has all of her friends together which is "Best, Worst, or Funniest" in which you relay either the best, worst, or funniest part of your day. So I told my three students about that game and when I heard that their unanimous answers to my question were: "The best part of my day was Miss Rose's games," I smiled from ear to ear! :)
Hermanos Matte has a new volunteer for the next three weeks named Mikey who is a woman who recently retired from the army but must be in her late 20's at the most. Her husband is in the army still and he is over in Iraq so she needed to get out of the states and do something to keep her mind off that fact. I hope we become great friends during her time here because if she loves Hermanos Matte and all the people there as much as I do, it's going to be hard not to like her! Mikey, Mary Cruz, and I all walked to the metro together and then Mary Cruz and I headed off in one direction towards Los Heroes which Mikey headed the other way. I love Mary Cruz...what a lovely woman. And whenever we speak, it is either/or in terms of English or Spanish because we both speak both languages. What a great combination, huh? On my walk back home from the metro, I gave the most genuine smile to these two workers on the street which I just did spontaneously. But the guy like fell in love at first sight I think because he dropped his hammer and was like: Hola! Hola! hahahah I just said: Hola, como estas? and kept on walking. haha Got home. Skyped with my mama. Fell asleep for a couple hours. And now here I am in the wee hours of the morn' trying to get all the school sheyyyyuttttt done! It's worth it. It's worth it. It's worth zzzzzzzzzzzzzz haha
Well, tomorrow it is back to Puente Alto for me to work with the Gastronomy class. Then I have a big break where I used to go to Hermanos Matte but that is now going to happen on Monday. But its gonna be nice to have 2 to 7 pm open until I go to my culture class. Oh gosh and we only have two more weeks of culture class so my time will be a little more open in two weeks time! :) But you know me...I will quickly find SOMETHING to fill it with. Then Wednesday is my "reward" day because I plan on being done with everything and then going to see La Decision Mas Dificil, going to Med. Anth., and then meeting up with Meg, Mollie, Mikey, and some cool Chileans dudes we met at an international party who are super fun! That's the plan...we'll see what despliegue (<--unfolds...pliegue is fold--like a fold in your clothes...cool huh?)
Now I am going to attempt to upload a video file on here. I hope it works because it would be cool to be a part of this technological exploration that all the kids are doing these days. It's just a little video file...how hard could it be, right? Right. Speaking of technology, my computer definitely has something wrong with it. And I don't know where to take it because I don't know that I could explain the problem in Spanish. That's not really an excuse but I am really gonna have to take it somewhere because it keeps freezing and won't acknowledge things in the USB post and then it freezes I have to manually restart which it is never happy about. Actually in the middle of writing this paragraph about the problem, it just did it again. Bad luck. OK I'm gonna stop writing and add that video to see if I can...before it freezes again. I promise I'll fix it (whining voice)...I just don't wannnnna right now. LOVE YOU ALL! Muah, Rosey
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
For me to remember...
1) It's so cold in the D.
2) Leon Polar's Miedo is the most beautiful song I've ever heard.
3) What the heck in Deja Vu? People always have different definitions and different thoughts about this phenomenon, but Megan and I were talking about it and we have full on dreams because when were just going about our lives, something will happen that sparks this memory that we must have dreamed previously because then scene that plays out for the 30ish seconds next is exactly as I had dreamed it. Craaaaazy when you think about it...but in my thoughts, I start wondering how I could possibly dream the future?
4) I was talking to Gary today and told him about the phenomenon I have seen with people explaining situations in their life with a sort of unanimated view like: Hey did you go to Machu Picchu?!?? Answer: Yeah. It was hot. -- Well I told Gary that and he said I guess that's why we have art. I found it a particularly interesting answer because maybe some experiences that we ourselves live are just too difficult to express in words and thus through art are able to get it across to people that actual gravity of the situation. Quizas. OK buenas noches...
5) If you didn't believe me about how crazy our trekking experience was, just read this awesome article that a girl in my program wrote for the Chilean yet english-written magazine Revolver. http://www.santiagomagazine.cl/index.php/en/living/357-trekking-in-the-andes.html
2) Leon Polar's Miedo is the most beautiful song I've ever heard.
3) What the heck in Deja Vu? People always have different definitions and different thoughts about this phenomenon, but Megan and I were talking about it and we have full on dreams because when were just going about our lives, something will happen that sparks this memory that we must have dreamed previously because then scene that plays out for the 30ish seconds next is exactly as I had dreamed it. Craaaaazy when you think about it...but in my thoughts, I start wondering how I could possibly dream the future?
4) I was talking to Gary today and told him about the phenomenon I have seen with people explaining situations in their life with a sort of unanimated view like: Hey did you go to Machu Picchu?!?? Answer: Yeah. It was hot. -- Well I told Gary that and he said I guess that's why we have art. I found it a particularly interesting answer because maybe some experiences that we ourselves live are just too difficult to express in words and thus through art are able to get it across to people that actual gravity of the situation. Quizas. OK buenas noches...
5) If you didn't believe me about how crazy our trekking experience was, just read this awesome article that a girl in my program wrote for the Chilean yet english-written magazine Revolver. http://www.santiagomagazine.cl/index.php/en/living/357-trekking-in-the-andes.html
Another Manic Monday...and Tuesday...
On Monday, I went over to the school at Puente Alto to meet with the occupational therapist that I am going to be observing for my research project for my Medical Anthropology class. He is very nice and willing to help, but he has to talk to his supervisor before I can start observing his patients. This school is awesome for my research because not only are things going well with the gastronomy class, but this school is one of the first in Chile to integrate children with motor difficulties/disabilities into the classroom with the other children. There are 8 children with disorders ranging from parapalegia to Down's Syndrome to Aspergers, and these kids participate in all the same activities as the other students with some differences...one being that they have to work with this occupational therapist once a week. Because this is a relatively new concept in Chile to incorporate these students in the school and not to isolate them in a school for children with discapacidades, I am lucky to have the opportunity to do research at this school. After meeting with Erik, I went over to Meg's apartment and we cooked dinner together and planned trips to far-off places and then watched a movie that my new Chilean friend had recommended. Unfortunately, the movie was one of the hardest to watch in my entire life, but it was still a great night. This morning I headed back to Puente Alto even though it took every ounce of energy I had to leave Meg's house, take a bus for 20 minutes to finally arrive at the metro, take the metro to the end of the line which takes 30-40 minutes, and then hail a collective taxi to finally take me to the school. But I got there finally and hung out with my gastronomy class for like 3 hours interviewing the kids and getting their unique opinions on topics such as the importance of food in the Chilean culture, the concept of the ideal body, exercise/gym culture in Chile, body image in relation to what one eats, the popularization of the course of gastronomy, and many other interesting topics. There is a guy named Miguel in the class who has way too much energy for his own good but him and Jose are HILARIOUS! They are always so nice to me and they can seriously make me laugh. Today I was talking to a girl named Connie and the boys came up and started dancing but Miguel was in front of Jose and started to full-on body roll and Jose like grabbed his waist and was basically freak dancing with him for a second. It was hilarious. Then the girl I was talking to mentioned that kids today would rather eat processed food than eating spinach or tomatoe...and Jose heard this and said (imitating a little kid): "Mama, no quiero comer espinaca. Mama, no quiero comer tomatoe." I will never forget that voice impression. Connie and I didn't stop laughing for 5 minutes at least. I am going back on Thursday to do more interviews but I'd say all-in-all, tuve exito. I even talked to the teacher afterwards and he told me that he was very impressed with my Spanish because in years past when extranjeros have come to the school, they had such a hard time understanding their Spanish that they had to call in one of the school's English teachers to translate. Luckily, I am really progressing in my Spanish and every day I learn something more. After Puente Alto, I returned home for a nice lunch and then a 2 hour nap because estoy resfriado y tengo que dormirme muuuucho para recuperar. I am looking forward to tomorrow because I am going to the cycling class in the morning, studying at Starbucks, returning home for lunch, going to Medical Anthropology, and then going to have dinner/study night at Megan's house with Annette and Casey. I might try to go over to El Tunel to bitch out that lady at the coat check who GAVE AWAY or STOLE my jacket on Saturday night. But that is something that I don't want to think about right now. C'est La Vie, no? Last two things I will say before I finish this entry is that 1) today before I left Puente Alto, I was in the bathroom and ran into Miss Lily who is the sweetest Chilean woman ever. She teaches the little kids English and I spent time in her class one day helping her with the instruction/pronunciation. She always asks me to speak to her in English because she wants to practice, and it was so cute today because she told me that she has to write a book review for a class she is taking at the university. Then she asked if I wouldn't mind correcting the page that she had written and of course, I had no problem so after this and before I finally get to bed, I am going to read through that and offer my corrections. I just think it is great that a Chilean woman of 30 years would look to me...a 21 year old California girl...for help just because I was lucky enough to grow up speaking a language that most of the world wants to know. The last thing that I wanted to say was that I was waiting at the bus stop today and this guy ran by me looking like he has someone super important to be. I was like: dang that guy is in a hurry to do something important. Well I stayed at that bus stop waiting for the bus and wouldn't you know that 5 minutes later...that same guy runs back by me with the same necesity of hurrying. But with a bag to chocolate chip cookies clutch in his hands. Only in Chile. Chao :-D
Sunday, September 27, 2009
It's So Cold in the D
What a whirlwind of a week. I got back from Peru and I feel like everything just started up right where I had left it in spite of the fact that I had been gone from Santiago for a week. I never thought I would be SO happy to get back to my little house on Simon Bolivar with my own bed and my own closet full of clothes and my mama's yummy cooking. We got back to Santiago at 4 am on the 17th and I slept in until 3 pm! I woke up, ate something, and then spent the rest of the day in bed recovering from the stresses of the amazing yet trying trip.
The next day was DIECIOCHO which is the Chilean independence day so we went to Parque O'Higgins and also to Parque Ines de Suarez to experience the fondas in two different comunas in Santiago. Basically, we ate our way around the parks and listened to Chilean music and watched the festivities all around us. I ended the night by going over to Karen's house and talking for hours. She is such a great friend--always ready with inspiring advice and a listening ear. I got to meet Juan and Irene who she had lived with for the past 2 months and they gave me food and were just super nice which I am beginning to see is the demeanor of many Chileans who invite you into their home. They are such hospitable people who will stop at nothing to assure that a guest feels comfortable in their home. Que tierno.
The next day I went to Vina del Mar with Francisco and we passed the whole day sitting on the beach talking and later drinking Pisco Sours in a restaurant that overlooked the shore. It's not everyday that you get the chance to spend the entire day speaking with a Chilean friend in Castellano...especially someone who you feel comfortable to mess up in front of and someone who has patience for my speaking. It was a lovely day. After his recent trip to Brazil, he decided that he wasn't going to keep working so much so now he tells me that he has more time for himself. This makes me very happy because he totally deserves it.
On Sunday, I went to church and then went to lunch with Karen and her host "dad" who is actually more like her son because of her maturity and his lack-thereof. We went to an incredibly authentic Chilean restaurant complete with live music from a guitar-playing vaquero, and we were joined by Juan's sobrina and a friend of Karen's who is here for a year named Molly. After lunch, we went back to their house and what started out as having a copete de Chica (fermented grape drink with the same alcohol % as a beer) ended up being a conversation of about 3 hours...no joke. Molly gave me about 4 pages of Chilenismos that I am now using as often as I can, but it was definitely a learning day for me. [But isn't every day? :) ]
On Monday, I had a very nice Rose day in which I woke up early and ran over to the gym that I am now a member of in my neighborhood. I did my cycling class, ran back, took a shower, and ate lunch with the fam. Then by 3 pm or so I finally got out of the house and walked over to the correo to mail some postcards. After that deed was done, I decided to try out this cute sweet shop called El Ingenio and found its warm, rustic atmosphere so appealing that I stayed there long after my frothy Cafe Cortado was finished. Imagine a mom and pop bakery that you find on the side of a road during a long road trip with the smell of coffee and sugar in the air and a women with a bright smile at the counter waiting to fill your heart's desire for goodies. That is the feeling that I got from this place, and I also didn't mind that fact that I had the place to myself for the most part and I was left to write in my journal and look out the window as the rain tapped on the opposite side of the glass as if sutily asking to join me.
Once I decided to leave the coffee shop, I walked back to the correo to mail the few remaining postcards that I had written en El Ingenio and when I exited the correo and started walking down the sidewalk, a car that had been parked there honked at me. I decided to ignore whoever it was honking and continued down the sidewalk until the car pulled up next to me and I look and see it is Maggie! Well, I was excited to see that it was her...especially because it was really raining and I had no umbrella. BUT at that moment that I saw it was her, I stepped off the sidewalk and onto slick mud so all Maggie sees is that I was there one second and gone the next. hehe I totally ate it on the sidewalk on a busy street and me and Maggie had a good laugh reenacting that scene later for Jeremy (new host bro). Que chistoso. Es bueno que yo tenga un buen humor...
On Tuesday, I spend the day at Puente Alto. First I ran into some girls from Mariela's class who begged me to come back to their class that I had visited one day. I did and got to help the kids with their lesson plan, and Mariela who teaches the class at the age of only 24 has an amazing ability to speak English and I really get along well with her and look up to her. After spending time with those kids, I went to the Gastronomy class to talk with my kiddies about my research. They filled out questionaires about my research and now I am just pulling them aside one-by-one and asking them to elaborate on certain things that they put down. It is incredibly interesting to get their views and I plan on starting my paper soon because I really am gaining a lot of information in terms of my research. I am very lucky that I have the opportunity to do this because it is something that really interests me and at the same time the kids are very nice and patient with me AND it gives me a great chance to practice my Spanish. All in all, I am proud of myself. To get to Puente Alto, I have to take my metro line allllll the way to the ennddddd and then get a collective taxi to take me to the school. It takes an hour all said and done...mas o menos. But its worth the trip and I feel lucky to be a part of this school in the mountain outskirts of Santiago. Everytime I am coming back on the metro from Puente Alto, I stop into a mini-mart in the metro station terminal and I have made friends with a woman named Monica who tells me about her day and I tell her about mine. She has a good energy about her and always seems happy to see me. I love people like that.
Then I went to Hermanos Matte but there was confusion with the kids about whether I was still in Peru so they had all gone home. But the trip was saved because I got to tell Mary Cruz all about my Peru trip and I really love my conversations with her. She is such a lovely lady who works too hard but is still always with a positive attitude. After our talk together, I went to my culture class and got to hear about everyone's trips over the week vacation. So many people went to Peru too but we only ran into a select few during our travels. On Wednesday, I went to the gym again, ate lunch with the family, and then went to my medical anthropology class. We have a HUGE research project to tackle independently before the end of the term and it really scares me at times but I am making progress with securing my source so I am going to just forget about the fear for now and focus on first-things-first. I am going to be working with a child physical therapist at the same school in Puente Alto where I have my other research with the gastronomy class. My research topic is: What are the perceptions of patient's disability for the patient him/herself, the physical therapist, and the parents? How do each of these groups view the treatment process and results as well? I am supposed to have about 3 different patients to study for this reseach project and I am going back tomorrow to talk with the physical therapist named Eric.
Thursday was Bioarchaeology class but I decided to head to Starbucks early in the morning to finish rewriting my notes for that class and getting some studying in. It was a lovely way to start my morning and as I walked home from lunch, I couldn't help but feel very accomplished and proud of my self. After another scrumptious lunch with the fam, I went to my Bioarqueology class and I can't help but smile when I think about the fact that despite how difficult/scary that class seemed to me in the beginning and despite of the future work that I will have to do for that class, I am so happy that I have been able to break through that language barrier and start making friends with my classmates. And it was mostly all due to the selfless and amazingly sweet character of Addy--mi angel. After bioarchaeology, I went to the my EAP Culture Class and got to sit next to the homies from the trip: Gary, Kelly, and Elena as well as sitting with Annette and Casey. I had run into Casey on the metro on our way to class and we learned that we both love big, unused words so we were throwing out some bigs ones. Like big enough to stab someone's eye out como pernicious, nefarious, laconic, cogent, vicissitude, popinjay, etc....
Friday was un poquito fome al principio porque fui a Puente Alto para hablar con la fisioterapeuta pero el tenia citas todo el dia con pacientes. Entonces, tuve que salir sin hablar mucho con el pero voy a regresar manana y espero que pueda pasar tiempo con el en su oficina explicando mi situacion y que quiero observar su tiempo con los ninos discapacitados. When I got home, I sat in bed and watched movies all day and then went to Cine Hoytz with some friends to see La Nana. It was amazing...and I especially liked that fact that the girlies decided to unite at a place that was a hop, skip, and a jump away from my Chilean casita. Saturday Megan came over for lunch and then we did errands until it was time to meet Casey and Annette at Meg's house for some vinito antes que que salieramos para carretear. It ended up being a suuuuper fun yet suuuuper interesting night. There was a few casualties including maybe my favorite expensive jacket but I am going back tomorrow to see if maybe it was left behind. But I basically spoke a lot of Spanish and met a ton of cool people. And now Megan and I have some fuuuuunny memories that only we shall remembered but that will one day be fun to explain to people at inappropriate times like in front of strangers or at her wedding party. hehe For my own recollection, I am going to choose to write: Vodka con naranja con glow sticks, cool Czech dude, not being a mama, el jote, crazy expensive cab ride home, "the cab driver", and Cheerios at 5 am with Meggie.
I woke up today and went to church despite my tardiness. I got to see Pablo and Timo again who I missed like crazy. I also got to see Stephanie and Carissa too, and after church, we all went back to a friend's apartment in Las Condes which was the most beautiful place I have been in in a long time! It reminded me of a Southern home and they ended up serving lunch for all the guests and then we had tea afterwards and all talked...granted it was in Spanish so I didn't get it all...but it was such a warm atmosphere with friendly, kind people that I found myself thanking my lucky stars that I had found such amazing people during my time in Chile. I told Pablo I was getting sick and this guy named Sebastian asked what I was sick with. Pablo interjected by saying that my sickness was being a woman...and that there was no cure. I later retaliated this attack by point out the ice chest that he was carrying and asking if there was a heart inside. He said maybe and asked why. And I said because I thought we might need to perform an emergency transplant to replace his heart that had gone missing. He said it had been broken when I told him that his jacket was the color of caca. Gosh my life is funny :)
Welp, now that we are all caught up with Rose's exciting hustle-bustle life, I will leave you all saying GOOD NIGHT. Tomorrow is another big day and I just hope that I can make a stab at my research essay because I would really love to start that tomorrow! Always so much to do but it is a delicate balance between valuing the social time and thus making the best of my time in Chile but while also balancing the academics because I am STUDYING abroad and this means I have to apply myself to all the work I have at school too. Goosssssh I can't wait to be graduated sometimes!! OK buenas noches...PS: It's so cold in the D.
The next day was DIECIOCHO which is the Chilean independence day so we went to Parque O'Higgins and also to Parque Ines de Suarez to experience the fondas in two different comunas in Santiago. Basically, we ate our way around the parks and listened to Chilean music and watched the festivities all around us. I ended the night by going over to Karen's house and talking for hours. She is such a great friend--always ready with inspiring advice and a listening ear. I got to meet Juan and Irene who she had lived with for the past 2 months and they gave me food and were just super nice which I am beginning to see is the demeanor of many Chileans who invite you into their home. They are such hospitable people who will stop at nothing to assure that a guest feels comfortable in their home. Que tierno.
The next day I went to Vina del Mar with Francisco and we passed the whole day sitting on the beach talking and later drinking Pisco Sours in a restaurant that overlooked the shore. It's not everyday that you get the chance to spend the entire day speaking with a Chilean friend in Castellano...especially someone who you feel comfortable to mess up in front of and someone who has patience for my speaking. It was a lovely day. After his recent trip to Brazil, he decided that he wasn't going to keep working so much so now he tells me that he has more time for himself. This makes me very happy because he totally deserves it.
On Sunday, I went to church and then went to lunch with Karen and her host "dad" who is actually more like her son because of her maturity and his lack-thereof. We went to an incredibly authentic Chilean restaurant complete with live music from a guitar-playing vaquero, and we were joined by Juan's sobrina and a friend of Karen's who is here for a year named Molly. After lunch, we went back to their house and what started out as having a copete de Chica (fermented grape drink with the same alcohol % as a beer) ended up being a conversation of about 3 hours...no joke. Molly gave me about 4 pages of Chilenismos that I am now using as often as I can, but it was definitely a learning day for me. [But isn't every day? :) ]
On Monday, I had a very nice Rose day in which I woke up early and ran over to the gym that I am now a member of in my neighborhood. I did my cycling class, ran back, took a shower, and ate lunch with the fam. Then by 3 pm or so I finally got out of the house and walked over to the correo to mail some postcards. After that deed was done, I decided to try out this cute sweet shop called El Ingenio and found its warm, rustic atmosphere so appealing that I stayed there long after my frothy Cafe Cortado was finished. Imagine a mom and pop bakery that you find on the side of a road during a long road trip with the smell of coffee and sugar in the air and a women with a bright smile at the counter waiting to fill your heart's desire for goodies. That is the feeling that I got from this place, and I also didn't mind that fact that I had the place to myself for the most part and I was left to write in my journal and look out the window as the rain tapped on the opposite side of the glass as if sutily asking to join me.
Once I decided to leave the coffee shop, I walked back to the correo to mail the few remaining postcards that I had written en El Ingenio and when I exited the correo and started walking down the sidewalk, a car that had been parked there honked at me. I decided to ignore whoever it was honking and continued down the sidewalk until the car pulled up next to me and I look and see it is Maggie! Well, I was excited to see that it was her...especially because it was really raining and I had no umbrella. BUT at that moment that I saw it was her, I stepped off the sidewalk and onto slick mud so all Maggie sees is that I was there one second and gone the next. hehe I totally ate it on the sidewalk on a busy street and me and Maggie had a good laugh reenacting that scene later for Jeremy (new host bro). Que chistoso. Es bueno que yo tenga un buen humor...
On Tuesday, I spend the day at Puente Alto. First I ran into some girls from Mariela's class who begged me to come back to their class that I had visited one day. I did and got to help the kids with their lesson plan, and Mariela who teaches the class at the age of only 24 has an amazing ability to speak English and I really get along well with her and look up to her. After spending time with those kids, I went to the Gastronomy class to talk with my kiddies about my research. They filled out questionaires about my research and now I am just pulling them aside one-by-one and asking them to elaborate on certain things that they put down. It is incredibly interesting to get their views and I plan on starting my paper soon because I really am gaining a lot of information in terms of my research. I am very lucky that I have the opportunity to do this because it is something that really interests me and at the same time the kids are very nice and patient with me AND it gives me a great chance to practice my Spanish. All in all, I am proud of myself. To get to Puente Alto, I have to take my metro line allllll the way to the ennddddd and then get a collective taxi to take me to the school. It takes an hour all said and done...mas o menos. But its worth the trip and I feel lucky to be a part of this school in the mountain outskirts of Santiago. Everytime I am coming back on the metro from Puente Alto, I stop into a mini-mart in the metro station terminal and I have made friends with a woman named Monica who tells me about her day and I tell her about mine. She has a good energy about her and always seems happy to see me. I love people like that.
Then I went to Hermanos Matte but there was confusion with the kids about whether I was still in Peru so they had all gone home. But the trip was saved because I got to tell Mary Cruz all about my Peru trip and I really love my conversations with her. She is such a lovely lady who works too hard but is still always with a positive attitude. After our talk together, I went to my culture class and got to hear about everyone's trips over the week vacation. So many people went to Peru too but we only ran into a select few during our travels. On Wednesday, I went to the gym again, ate lunch with the family, and then went to my medical anthropology class. We have a HUGE research project to tackle independently before the end of the term and it really scares me at times but I am making progress with securing my source so I am going to just forget about the fear for now and focus on first-things-first. I am going to be working with a child physical therapist at the same school in Puente Alto where I have my other research with the gastronomy class. My research topic is: What are the perceptions of patient's disability for the patient him/herself, the physical therapist, and the parents? How do each of these groups view the treatment process and results as well? I am supposed to have about 3 different patients to study for this reseach project and I am going back tomorrow to talk with the physical therapist named Eric.
Thursday was Bioarchaeology class but I decided to head to Starbucks early in the morning to finish rewriting my notes for that class and getting some studying in. It was a lovely way to start my morning and as I walked home from lunch, I couldn't help but feel very accomplished and proud of my self. After another scrumptious lunch with the fam, I went to my Bioarqueology class and I can't help but smile when I think about the fact that despite how difficult/scary that class seemed to me in the beginning and despite of the future work that I will have to do for that class, I am so happy that I have been able to break through that language barrier and start making friends with my classmates. And it was mostly all due to the selfless and amazingly sweet character of Addy--mi angel. After bioarchaeology, I went to the my EAP Culture Class and got to sit next to the homies from the trip: Gary, Kelly, and Elena as well as sitting with Annette and Casey. I had run into Casey on the metro on our way to class and we learned that we both love big, unused words so we were throwing out some bigs ones. Like big enough to stab someone's eye out como pernicious, nefarious, laconic, cogent, vicissitude, popinjay, etc....
Friday was un poquito fome al principio porque fui a Puente Alto para hablar con la fisioterapeuta pero el tenia citas todo el dia con pacientes. Entonces, tuve que salir sin hablar mucho con el pero voy a regresar manana y espero que pueda pasar tiempo con el en su oficina explicando mi situacion y que quiero observar su tiempo con los ninos discapacitados. When I got home, I sat in bed and watched movies all day and then went to Cine Hoytz with some friends to see La Nana. It was amazing...and I especially liked that fact that the girlies decided to unite at a place that was a hop, skip, and a jump away from my Chilean casita. Saturday Megan came over for lunch and then we did errands until it was time to meet Casey and Annette at Meg's house for some vinito antes que que salieramos para carretear. It ended up being a suuuuper fun yet suuuuper interesting night. There was a few casualties including maybe my favorite expensive jacket but I am going back tomorrow to see if maybe it was left behind. But I basically spoke a lot of Spanish and met a ton of cool people. And now Megan and I have some fuuuuunny memories that only we shall remembered but that will one day be fun to explain to people at inappropriate times like in front of strangers or at her wedding party. hehe For my own recollection, I am going to choose to write: Vodka con naranja con glow sticks, cool Czech dude, not being a mama, el jote, crazy expensive cab ride home, "the cab driver", and Cheerios at 5 am with Meggie.
I woke up today and went to church despite my tardiness. I got to see Pablo and Timo again who I missed like crazy. I also got to see Stephanie and Carissa too, and after church, we all went back to a friend's apartment in Las Condes which was the most beautiful place I have been in in a long time! It reminded me of a Southern home and they ended up serving lunch for all the guests and then we had tea afterwards and all talked...granted it was in Spanish so I didn't get it all...but it was such a warm atmosphere with friendly, kind people that I found myself thanking my lucky stars that I had found such amazing people during my time in Chile. I told Pablo I was getting sick and this guy named Sebastian asked what I was sick with. Pablo interjected by saying that my sickness was being a woman...and that there was no cure. I later retaliated this attack by point out the ice chest that he was carrying and asking if there was a heart inside. He said maybe and asked why. And I said because I thought we might need to perform an emergency transplant to replace his heart that had gone missing. He said it had been broken when I told him that his jacket was the color of caca. Gosh my life is funny :)
Welp, now that we are all caught up with Rose's exciting hustle-bustle life, I will leave you all saying GOOD NIGHT. Tomorrow is another big day and I just hope that I can make a stab at my research essay because I would really love to start that tomorrow! Always so much to do but it is a delicate balance between valuing the social time and thus making the best of my time in Chile but while also balancing the academics because I am STUDYING abroad and this means I have to apply myself to all the work I have at school too. Goosssssh I can't wait to be graduated sometimes!! OK buenas noches...PS: It's so cold in the D.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Una Mente Llena
Wooo tengo mucho en mi mente que es tan dificil expresar todo lo que quiero decir. Es que durante los dos dias pasados he tratado a arrepentir para mi falta de hablar en castellano. Asi que hable con Francisco por el viaje hacia Vina del Mar por como 8 horas mas o menos. Y hoy fue el dia final de mi Karen preciosa entonces fuimos a un restauran muy autentico para almorzar y despues regresamos a la casa en la que ella quedo durante su tiempo en Chile. Desde aqui nos quedamos hablando por casi 2 horas pero bueno no hable mucho pero de todos maneras aprendi mucho...especialmente los chilenismos. Aca en Chile siempro siento arodeada por personas suuuper lograda que en adicion puede manejarse super bueno en la lengua espanol. Es impresionante para decirlo en menos palabaras. Es que ellas ya se han graduado, han vivido en el mundo real, y han aprendido mucho informacion sobre todas partes y todas topicos. PERO la cosa mas impresionante para mi es que en adicion a hacerse inteligente en todos cuestiones en ingles, ellas decidieron aprender todas estas cosas en castellano tambien! Si, ellas se podian haber quedado en su inteligencia en solamente ingles pero ellas tuvieron ganas de desfiarse y por eso, es algo muy admirable en mi opinion. Como es mi habito, me estoy preguntado siempre si es importante para mi conquistar los obstaculos de espanol para que un dia pueda hablar con fluidez. En una mano, no soy una persona para facasarme sin una pelea pero a la otra mano, yo se que quiero perseguir el trabajo de fisioterapeuta y eso requiere mucho trabajo tambien. Entonces, mi mente siempre me dice que es demasiado dificil enfocarme en el aprender de otro idioma mientras el estudio de todos cosas fisioterapeuta. Ahhh pero eso es mi facaso en el fondo!! Es que a veces desprecio mi habilidad por creer que mi mente necesita enfocar en solamente una meta antes de que yo escoje otra meta. Pero necesito recordarme que existe gente como la Karen que es inteligente en muchismas cosas sobre que se yo!! Cualquiera cosa ella va a saber y tener una opinion o si no ella va a preguntar formalmente para que sepa en la proxima vez que alguien lo menciona. El dicho en mi Facebook actualmente es: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that seems to frighten us most." En cuanto a mi mentalidad, este dicho cabe perfecto. Tengo que empujarme a darme cuenta de que soy capaz de entender muuuchos talentos y no es demasiado aprender sobre fisioterapeuta mientas aprender espanol. Ambos valen la pena!! Durante mi experiencia en Chile, he conocido gente que son engenieros, estudiantes de maestria, maestras, o que se yo...pero la vincula es que todos tienen una pasion para la lengua de espanol y esta pasion no tiene que ser algo pesimo. Es mi metodo de divertirme mientras la vida dura...es mi diversion y no tengo que estresarme todo el tiempo. Solamente es que tengo que abrir mi boca y sencillamente tratar de hablar...tratar de abrir mi boca para ver que va a escapar. Yo se que se mucho mas espanol que no pienso y he visto eso durante mi tiempo solo con chilenos como Francisco o a la escuela en Puente Alto. Tengo un don como Molly me enseno. Tengo ganas para ser diferente que los demas monolingues en los Estados Unidos y mas encima es un milagro que estoy con esta oportunidad de aprender este idioma entre los nativos. Que suerte tengo yo. Entonces, me he dado cuento que cada dia es diferente en referencia a mi espanol. Cada dia va a costarme hablar en este idioma pero la razon que ahora conozco gente lograda pero con tanto talento en este idioma es para que pueda tener prototipos para mirar por consejos. Karen es una de las chicas mas inteligente pero genuo con lo que he pasado tiempo y ahora quiero formar mi vida o sea mi tiempo en Chile dejado especialmente estar guiado por los consejos de la Karen. Y ahora tengo una buena amiga Molly que conoci hoy por Karen. Que buenas las vinculas. OK voy a acostarme finalmente porque tengo que despertarme a la 7:30 para caminar hacia una clase de spinning! YAY! Chao, La Rose Determinada
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
