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Published: October 18th 2009
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WHOO!
on our way to santiago, enroute to buenos aires So when we first arrived in Chile, way back in May, we arrived amidst a massive, country-wide teacher strike. The day that we were shipped off to our host familys, June 6th, was the day that the teachers reached a compromise with the Chilean government, thus ending the strike, just in time for us to start teaching on Monday. After three weeks of no school, my students were reluctant to say the least, to return. But return they did, helping me to start my six months here with a bang. Although I have asked my host mom many times why they were striking, Im pretty sure things are lost in translation. It has something to do with a promise that the government would pay all the teachers a bonus, years ago, and they still have not received this bonus. They finally got fed up and went on strike. Unfortunately, the government has decided to ignore their threats and still refuses to pay. As another threat, teachers throughout the country went on a one-day strike last Tuesday, October 13. After that strike, the government told the teachers that they were not going to be paid. So now everyone is tiptoeing around the
WHOO!
on our way to santiago, enroute to buenos aires seemingly inevitable strike. My host mom told me that we will know on Tuesday whether or not there will be another big strike. So it could very well be that we get a nice long break from teaching.
Anyways, enough about local politics. Since I last wrote I have been to Argentina and back again. We went to Mendoza, Argentina for a long weekend. The bus to Mendoza is only about 7-8 hours, and it is much cheaper than flying, so we opted for the ride. The route is incredible. It takes you directly through the Andes. When we got off the bus to go through Customs, we were surrounded by soaring peaks, and snow-capped mountains. The Andes are massive. They make any mountains that the States can offer seem tiny in comparison.
Our stay in Mendoza was full of adventures and misadventures. Traveling with Kate and Cami is many things, but never dull. When we arrived at our hostel, tired and dirty from our day-long bus ride, we were met with quite possibly the two most annoying hostel workers in the history of hostels. The man was condescending and belittled our Spanish, while the woman was snooty and pretentious.
las violetas
we had afternoon tea here, absolutely delicious. They also messed up our reservation, saying that we had only booked one night for all three of us, and two more nights for one person. And as it was a three-day weekend for all of Chile, all the hostels in the entire city were at capacity, with people sleeping on couches and in hallways. So needless to say, we were slightly annoyed that there was allegedly nowhere for us to stay, through no fault of our own. Thank goodness it worked out in the end, they found us two more beds for the next two nights, so we weren homeless.
Saturday saw us biking and wine-ing. That is the only way to tour a vineyard. We rented bikes from Mr. Hugo, my newest hero, who plies you with free wine and terrible bikes, then ships you off with a map and a promise of more free wine when you return. So we set off in the beautiful sunshine, eyes and hearts open to a day full of biking and wine tasting. Until Camis camera was stolen right out of her hand while she was biking, and we all remembered that biking is hard. Drinking wine doesn really help. Especially
with the balance. Kate tried to get hit by a car, while I almost tipped over into a ditch a couple of times. But those small mishaps aside, we chalked that day up as a success. The rest of the trip was a mixture of walking, wine-ing, and steak.
Sadly, I headed back to Chile on Monday, leaving Kate and Cami to try and fend for themselves Tuesday. Suffice it to say that the bus trip back to Chile was one of the least enjoyable bus rides Ive taken. We left an hour late, were stuck behind a protest for another hour, and then Customs was backed up for four hours. What should have taken about 7 hours turned into a 12 hour ordeal, that was only made bearable because one of the people on the bus had a collection of DVDs that we were able to watch. I finally arrived back in Rancagua around midnight Monday night. Never have I been so grateful to see my uncomfortable bed, and I slept until about 1 pm the next day.
This week at school was a short one. What with Monday being a holiday and Tuesday being a strike, I only
taught Wednesday and Thursday. Chileans love any excuse to have a party, this week proving no exception. They have celebrations for everything. Whereas in the States we have Mothers and Fathers Day, and nothing else, in Chile they celebrate Childrens Day, Grandparents Day, and Teachers Day, which was on Friday. So there was no school on Friday, leaving Thursday night open for a massive teacher party. Chileans know how to get down. There were multiple schools there, including Camis school. They had a band, and cake, and all the teachers brought either something to eat or drink. My host mom is quite the party animal. I enjoy going out and dancing, but I was ready for bed around 2.30. She kept me out until almost 5 AM. Seriously. So the next day I was reluctant to leave my bed. Its been a very relaxing weekend though. Its nice to spend a weekend here in Rancagua every once in a while. Ive spent lots of time with my host family, cleaned my room, and planned my classes for this week. And now Im going to make brownies for my family. Time is running short here, just about six more weeks until
Im back in the states. Unbelievable, but true. Hope you enjoyed the message, photos to come shortly.
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Alicia
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Same here for me
Which program are u in? I am experiencing the same thing here in Chile!! If they go on strike next week i won mind, but i would be broke as well. LOL!!!