Last thoughts from Talca

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I’ve been working with the 2^nd year class on a self-introduction which ends, “In the future, I hope to ____.” We went over a variety of options for this: occupations and desires for the future, and I asked them to fill in the blank. The next class, when I looked at their notes, many had neglected to fill in the space. First I thought for not paying attention, but the more I asked individuals, “What do you want for your future?” only to be greeted by a blank stare, the more I realized that many of these kids do not have desires for their future. What I thought to be a very basic practical skill lesson uncovered some deeper truths for me.



Many of these kids are indeed poor, so I hear. Luckily I cannot tell by the way they dress because they wear uniforms. Francisca tells me that she can tell some of the children she works with first of all by the smell of smoke from kerosene or coal that heats some of the poorer homes. Additionally these kids are dirty from the sources themselves. She plays a game with the kids involving 3 pictures: an elephant, a highway, and an airplane. “Which of these is the fastest?” she asks. Sometimes they choose the highway – completely unaware of what an airplane is.



These kids and many more don’t travel as I’ve talked about before. My mom and sister lament over how many kids have never been to Santiago. Now, Santiago may be a 5 hour bus ride away from Conti, but travel here in Chile could not be much more manageable (perhaps the best thing about Chile). Imagine that you could walk to a bus station at almost any hour, pay $12, and make it all the way to the largest city in your country.



Maria Gloria tells about how she encourages her kids to travel as she herself is a traveler. “It’s totally possible!”<span> I found out recently, all the traveling she and Francisca have done together was by bus – that includes trips to Brazil, Buenos Aires, Peru, and Punta Arenas (south Chile). I found out because as we bought our plane tickets to the North, Francisca told me, “this will be my first time on an airplane!” “You went to Brazil on a bus!?”



The days are drawing near to the end of the program, and I have to admit I’m counting them (one month as of July 4^th!). While I’m still having a marvelous time, I’m ready to come home. I think this same kind of thing happened in Canada while studying abroad. Once 3 months comes around, you’re ready to go back. Well, and getting sick probably doesn’t help that desire. With cold blankets of rain falling, I’m fantasizing about the dry 105 degrees in Texas.



Also, at this moment, I do believe I’m here at the Talca house for the very last time. It makes me think back to the very first time I came here. We arrived, and the city was a big confusing mess – well it still is, but at least I know parts of it now.<span> I quietly followed where these two little Chilean women showed me, and watched with open eyes thinking, “wow, this is Chile!” Now, I make the trip by myself between Conti and Talca with no problems, and while my Spanish is still nowhere near fluent, I am 100 times more confident in my communication abilities. Occasionally, I find myself thinking, “Oh yeah… this is Chile, South America… I really know this place now!”

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