Change of Place: Thoughts from 5 Weeks in Chile

This is me sitting in my bed in Chile.  Cool.

Below is a collection of thoughts from the past month while living and volunteering in Chile as a gringo who does not speak or understand much Spanish. There are a lot of thoughts here in English because I cannot share them all in Spanish yet. It may be bold to post a seven-page, single-spaced, entry. This long format goes against most Internet standards and attention spans. Perhaps you’ll find the time to read on your lunch break or something. Perhaps you’ll have smoothie for lunch instead of a big burrito. That way you can use your other hand to scroll the page while you eat at the same time- unless you are really awesome and can eat a big burrito, cleanly, with one hand. Either way, I trust your literacy, interest, and eating abilities. This paragraph is pretty unnecessary, but I thought starting a blog post with roman numerals and section titles would be pretentious. Although I am interested in self-reflection and serious thought, I’m more interested in fun and adventure then appearing smart or too-awesome-for-you-to-understand. That’s why I like to make up words or use colloquial words, which are casual, familiar, and non-pretentious words that require a pretentious word like colloquial to define them. If you don’t read English, this may be tough to understand regardless. But, you can use Google translator and miss out on most of my humor.

I. Time and Place

I made it to Chile!  The last five weeks have flown by quick:  One week of training in Santiago with the English Opens Doors Program, EOD Program.  A bus ride to my volunteer placement in the city of Concepción, in the southern region of Biobío.  Three weeks of work at school.  One week of English Winter Camp.  And now, one week of winter vacation and time to write. For my northern hemisphere friends:  Yes, while you are enjoying summer, it is winter here.

My neighborhood.

II.  Family and Friends

I live with a host family, a couple in their early 50s, and they care for me as a son, calling me hijo.  I address them as Tia and Tio, aunt and uncle, in return.  They have a son and daughter, each married with a child, living in the city nearby.  They are over at the house often for almuerzo, lunch, or once, tea, in the evening.  It’s nice.  We share a lot of family time in the kitchen.  On the weekend, I’m invited to many family birthday parties, outings, and barbeques or asados. 

I’ve met my friends here through the family, teachers at school, or other volunteers.  The daughter-in-law is my head teacher at school so both home and work life feel like a close family.

Some of the family together on my birthday.

III.  Gringo

There aren’t many foreigners here in Chile compared to the diversity of the U.S.  I use to think I had dark brown hair, but here I may border on the blond side. When I share Facebook photos of friends back home, people may something in Spanish like, “Oh an Asian,” or, “You have a black friend?!”

Blue eyes are a rare treat here in Chile.  I was having a michelada with some volunteers- it’s a beer with lemon juice and salt and spice on the glass rim- and an amusing drunk on the street started talking with us.  The volunteer with the blue eyes caught the man’s attention.  He couldn’t stop staring and talking about how beautiful her eyes were.  Eventually, he sang a Pink Floyd song and left.

Quite a few people have told me it is characteristic of Chileans to welcome foreigners, perhaps for this reason that, in contrast, we are different and exciting.  I heard this idea referenced in a song here too.  So far, I find it to be true.

I often run into students and their parents at the market who smile warmly and say Hello!  While waiting for a colectivo, a shared taxi, to go to school, a student’s father recognized me as the new gringo in town.  He offered me a ride and told me how he supports the EOD Program and how important it is for students to learn and practice the language.  The father continues to give me a ride to school in exchange that I help him with his English.  I find many people are interested in such a language exchange as there are few native English speakers here.  Others may care less.

I have felt incredibly welcomed by many people here making it easier for me to be far away from my family and friends back home.  (The drunken philosopher I met at a party who talked about Obama and said he was Osama is an exception.)  I wish I could tell my friends here who want to travel to the U.S. that it’s the same there.  That everyone welcomes foreigners kindly.  That there’s a fun welcome party at the airport where you get naked, felt up, and people pretend you’re a terrorist… that’s a joke, maybe?

As the gringo, I represent, or rather, appear to others, to represent the United States of America.  Yep, Just me- America!  It’s a position I was elected to without my consent, but it is what it is.  I often find myself being asked about money, politics, economy, capitalism, and things I don’t understand or care to discuss.

It’s challenging for me to understand my own life, ideas, and philosophies and explain them in English let alone Spanish, which I also don’t understand well.  In these situations, I try to explain with limited Spanish and hand gestures that the U.S. is very big, different, and complex including its geography, systems, corporations, and some of its people.  I also say the U.S. is great for road trips and there are many beautiful national parks.  I’m not sure if I can really say all that in Spanish or if people understand me… but with a few beers, I try.

IV. Speaking and Smiling

Many people here speak little or no English since it is not necessary.  There are also many people who say their basic English is bad, but I seem to understand them just fine.  Sure, it’s not as expressive or grammatically correct, but it gets the point across.  Then, there are people like the motivated students at English Winter Camp who impress me with how well they articulate themselves in English and how well they understand me.

The only Spanish language education I had prior to this was two months of listening to audio lessons while in Puerto Rico.  I am now learning basic grammar and my vocabulary is limited.  My Tia and Tio don’t speak any English, but some of the other family members do.  Communication for me can be fun and creative with lots of miming and hand gestures, but it is also difficult and exhausting.  There are times when my Tia and I eventually give up and just laugh and hug.  Or she says something simple like have a good day and when it’s not one of the stock phrases I know, I reply with No entiendo.  Translation:  I don’t understand how to have a good day.

My mind works all day to say basic things like where I’m going, when I’ll be home, I’m going to take a shower, whether I’m hungry or not…  At this point, I can’t express many complex thoughts or ideas, which is tough when much of my communicative strength comes from storytelling, anecdotes, and relating with humor.  For now, I settle with communicating thoughts such as, “I too, like dogs.” 

I often listen to a bunch of Spanish I don’t understand, though it still sounds nice. Even when I’m with people who speak English, I would prefer to make the effort to communicate in Spanish.  I want to distinguish myself from the American that speaks loud English as if it makes more sense and the jerk that likes to give non-consenting people nicknames because he or she won’t bother with the correct pronunciation of their real name.  Still, I do find mental relief communicating in English every now and then.

There are times I wish I could say, politely, how I need to rest and stop trying to communicate.  Once or twice, I almost became quite irritable, but was able to contain my frustration.  I spend a lot of time in my head, which can be a nice break.  I realize how important it is for me to rest, eat, and exercise well to maintain my patience and keep myself in good humor.

Smiling is my primary form of communication whether I’m abroad or at home.  With a smile, I can express gratitude, I can humor, I can persuade, I can attract, I can make others smile, and I can say everything is great without ever speaking a word.  Body language is universal.  It’s the emotions inside expressing itself on the surface.  A righteous smile communicates a good mood that can be shared with others, regardless if you speak the same language or not.

If you don’t have a good smile that can radiate joy, I would work on that.  It may be more important than a college education.  I would much rather be in a room with a smiling quiet person then in a room with a person not smiling and telling me how the room and I are not real because some philosopher said so and how I cannot prove him wrong.  (Or her… but it is more characteristic of males to want to prove themselves right to the point of annoying. And I have yet to meet a boring female philosopher.)

It’s not my intention though to just smile while I’m here.  I am motivated to learn Spanish so that I can further communicate my appreciation to my family and friends here.  I also want to have deeper conversations about things other than my like of dogs.

I study a lot and people have said that I’m learning fast.  I’ve already been able to make some jokes in Spanish with my limited knowledge.  Finding humor with a foreign language is a good gauge for progress.

A typical evening: Tea, verb conjugations, and TV in Spanish.

V.  Stress and Focus

I came here to Chile with no expectations.  No expectations for my region or school placement, no expectations of living conditions or lifestyle, no expectations of anything.  The flexibility of this approach works well for traveling and working abroad.  This wisdom comes partly from my experience in Puerto Rico where I experienced culture shock when my expectations for work were not met.  Without expectations, there is less room for any disappointment.  I accept nearly everything as is:  I ignore any negative aspects and embrace everything else as a happy bonus. 

Even with this approach, it took about 2 weeks for my physical stress to subdue.  When I arrived, I didn’t have many thoughts or worries to stress me mentally, but I still felt anxious and could feel my blood pressure operating at higher level than usual.  Perhaps it’s because I now consume a significant amount of caffeinated tea, which I haven’t drank in a while.  Either way, I am feeling healthy and well now as I maintain rest, diet, and exercise.

I also came here with unfinished work.  In the quick month I was home between Puerto Rico and Chile, I directed a new music video for IAMDYNAMITE.  I intended to finish the edit and deliver the video before I left, but in the craziness of preparing and packing, that didn’t happen.  So, during my first two to three weeks of training, meeting my new family, starting a new job, and trying to communicate and live in a new country… I also needed to find time to finish the music video.  It was too difficult to express in Spanish that I needed time to myself to finish work or that I need to find a fast enough Internet connection to upload the final video, which will probably take 8-16 hours.  The video is done now though, it’s really rad, you’re gonna love it and I’m excited to share when it premieres August 8^th.

I can now focus more on school, learning Spanish, exploring, and enjoying the experience here.  It helps that my verb conjugation knowledge is limited to the present and I don’t know how to talk about the past or the future.  Everything is right now!

A nigh time break at my window.

VI.  School

Working at school is awesome!  I assist one of the English teachers with grades 5^th-8^th.  My primary direction from the EOD Program is that I speak only English at school and facilitate speaking and listening components from the teacher’s lesson plans.  This way, I am an asset providing teachers the opportunity to practice and improve their English while students, who are excited to communicate with me, are more motivated to learn.

It’s fun to see some students struggle to understand that I don’t speak Spanish.  To them, I am foreign and exciting.  Everyone wants to ask questions.  Everyone stares.

The students truly bring me much joy.  I start everyday with so many young kids excited to see me.  I get several hugs and high-fives as I walk to each class.  I’m treated as if I’m a celebrity.  A few times I have found myself in a frenzy of signing autographs, after which, one student, a boy, hugged me and said, “I love you man,” and another student said, “This is the best day ever!”

With this much love and excitement, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to have a bad day at school.  Especially with the occasional surprise such as an eight-year-old dancing Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean at an assembly.

A video the students choreographed at English Winter Camp.

VII.  Money and Things

I often receive complements for how nice my things are.  I feel relatively self-conscious of my personal possessions, which I have selected and packed carefully in my nice backpack [Perhaps, a future blog post on packing].  At school, one student wouldn’t stop prodding me about how much my Apple MacBook Air costs.  My Tia always warns me about theft and dangers on the bus and at nighttime.  Whether they’re expensive or not, my possessions stand out with foreign appeal.

What makes it difficult is that I cannot avoid appealing to the rich American stereotype.  In the processing of whittling down the majority of my possessions back home, the things that remain which I have selected for utility and quality are also quite expensive.  I cannot communicate that my computer and camera are the tools for both my passion and profession and the means for which I make money.  Or, that I have really nice shoes because I run a lot and believe in preventative health care through exercise and food and how I prefer to do without medicines and health insurance.  Or, that I’ve acquired really nice outdoor and travel gear because I often sleep on the ground, in a car, or on someone else floor by my own frugal preference.  And how I often enjoy work exchange for room and board, which is what I’m doing now and have done for six months during the last year.  I cannot express my minimalist philosophy and disregard for the majority of material culture.  Or, how I sold a majority of my stuff to afford to come to Chile and the nice things I now have.  I just have to deal with it.  No importa. 

It has taken several weeks to muster the courage to pull out my camera.  I’m still looking for ways to draw the least attention if possible, as I don’t feel quite comfortable being a gringo wandering around the city with a nice camera.  But, I am finally starting to explore, photograph, and experiment.

Camera envy in the bathroom.

VIII.  Dogs

There are many stray dogs here in Chile, more than Puerto Rico.  Some are cute and some are dangerous.  While I’m out on a run, some try to bite me.  I yell at them and they go away.  I spaced out for a moment while running through a field and almost tripped over two dogs huddled in the grass.  While stretching, I let a dog approach me.  He seemed pretty chill while he sat nearby.  Then he spazzed out and tried to go after my feet.  That’s not as scary as though as the dogs that dart out in the middle of the street barking at the wheels of the colectivos.  I step in poop occasionally and it’s gross.

I was on the bus heading to school.   I notice it smells really bad.  After five minutes or so of wondering what the awful smell is, I look over and see a smushed pile of dog shit in the aisle of the bus.  I then see that there’s poop on my shoe.  Gross.  I am now pretty self-conscious because I am unsure whether or not I was the one that stepped in the shit first and brought it on the bus, forcing several people to smell it in a closed environment for the next 20 minutes.  One lady puts a napkin over it in the aisle and tells the bus driver.  Everyone boarding for the next several stops is warned to watch out for the caca.

I wrote a ‘serious, heartfelt’ poem about dogs and poop that I recited in Spanish during the talent show at the English Winter Camp.  The students loved it and I got the laughs I was hoping for.

Regardless of their caca littering all the streets, I really like the street dogs.  I decided to photograph them while I’m here.  I think they’ll make for good subjects because I don’t have to worry about communicating with them in Spanish.  And if a dog does indeed try to communicate with me in Spanish, I will try my darnedest to understand.  In some ways I can relate to the street dog because I too like to wander and sometimes feel a bit lost or unable to communicate.  But, I don’t poop on the sidewalk… or on the bus…

Cute.

Cuter.

Winner.

A street dog with dignity watches sea lions eat dumpster sea food and plastic.

IX.  Marty un Poquito

Un Poquito, a little, is my nickname and a running joke with the family because that is often my response to several questions.  Do you speak Spanish?  A little.  Do you eat meat?  Solo un poquito.  Do you like bread, cake, beans, rice, beer, wine…?  Un poquito.  My host family has been very accommodating while providing me with vegan options.  It’s only been a year since I really started changing my food choices.  While I aspire to make as many vegan choices as I can, I’m also trying to be flexible.

I prefer to say un poquito because I don’t want to say no to many things since I already appear foreign and crazy as it is:  Like going out and running for two hours or refusing to use the microwave.  Yesterday though, I did express to my Tia that I was fasting for one whole day on only tea with lemon and honey to give my digestive system a rest.  She understood what I was saying, still offered me food throughout the day, and probably still thinks I’m crazy.

X.  Cold

The winter here is often cold and rainy.  However, the majority of last week was sunny and nice.  The days aren’t much of a problem because the sun is warm.  It’s the nights and mornings that are cold and challenging.  It takes a lot of motivation to get up during the cold mornings.  I often go to school wearing all my layers and take off several by mid-afternoon.

While I was packing for Chile, I looked at the average year round temperatures for the region and it didn’t seem that cold compared to winters in Michigan.  What makes it cold is that central heating is pretty much non-existent in homes, schools, and buildings here.  So while Michigan is colder, you often experience only periods of cold as you travel outdoors from home, to car, to work, to home.  Some jerks even wear tank tops and flip-flops in their house in January. 

Here, I experience cold for most of the day.  We have a space heater that we use in the kitchen for an hour or so in the evening during tea.  Other homes may have a wood stove.  I usually wear many layers of clothing.  I can often see my breath.  My hands are cold as I type on my computer.  After using the bathroom, I wash my hands with ice-cold water.  I sleep with many blankets and a ‘Guatero’ which is a bag or bottle that you fill with a kettle of hot water to keep your bed warm.  I’m usually quite congested in the morning but after a few glasses of water and a cup of hot tea I can cough up the majority of my phlegm.  I still break a good sweat when I go out for a run and I steam like the kettle when I return home.

Hot foreplay with my Guatero before bed.

I say this all not as a whiny complaint, it’s simply how things are and I’m adjusting to it fine.  It may be tough for some, people here still complain about the cold, but it’s not that bad.  That’s why this is the last and least important section of this blog post.  It’s included merely as interest for understanding my experience.

Although the weather can be cold, the Chilean people of the south are warm and friendly.  I’m happy here and feel very fortunate to have such a great host family, school, head teacher, and students with my volunteer placement.  While I embrace the warmth of the people, summer will come soon enough.

Good night.