I think I have finally recovered. There was food. So. Much. Food. For many days. Wednesday through Monday. I'm tired all over again just thinking about it all. Here are a few highlights: Wednesday, September 14thWednesday was a big day for our school. The students put together a presentation that represented Chile's history and key cultural icons and also featured dances from different regions of the country. Afterwards everyone got together as the families, students, and school staff shared typical food. Children kept bringing me food. I ate 10 different things. Then the staff had our own little celebration afterwards...with, you guessed it, more food. Thursday, September 15thThursday was Longaví's parade and our school was proud to march. Since the parade was not until 4:30pm, everyone came to school after lunch, around 2:30. You may be wondering what marching in the parade exactly entails? I think one student summed it up the best like this: "We wait for 2 hours and then walk for 2 minutes." Saturday, September 17thOn Saturday I went with Jon & Elise out to el campo {el cahm-po} [the countryside] to share in the festivities of the lovely family of Maria Rosa & Gustavo. What did I learn this weekend? I actually really enjoy oysters and mussels. Especially raw with lemon. #surprised #wow #delish Check out this video that Jon made of our day, including a trip to a beautiful nearby river! Also make sure to check out their blog post for some great pictures from the weekend! Sunday, September 18thSunday we went back to Maria Rosa & Gustavo's house where there was lots more food, family, fun, and cueca! Check out this video summary of another great day! Check out other celebration week related videos Jon has done about Chile's National Dance "The Cueca" and Fiestas Patrias celebrations at his rural Chilean school (which includes dances from all over Chile). You have probably realized by now that you should be subscribing to Jon's vlog on YouTube! Subscribing to his vlog will also bring you great benefits such as: news, joy, happiness, tidbits about our lives in Chile, and random appearances by yours truly. Coming soon to a blog near you...Stay tuned for another update coming to you very soon about an AMAZING hike we took last Saturday. Here's a teaser: Also coming soon, the first installment in a section I'm going to call "Meet & Greet" where I will introduce you to special people in my life here in Chile! Mystery Guest #1 is...a secret.
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Why, hello there.More than a month has gone by since I have written a blog. Why?? Because God is great. God is so incredibly great. He has given me more than enough to keep my time occupied and my heart full. So, there. That is my excuse, and well, you're just going to have to accept it. I really hope you haven't been sitting around hitting the refresh button every hour in hopes that I've posted something...(but if you have, I appreciate you and thank you for that very special committment.) So, without further ado, here is a bit of one year anniversary reflecting! "I can't wait..."Lately I have been thinking back to the first few months I arrived here. There were times when I was frustrated with not knowing many people and feeling like I didn't have many extra things to do. I would pray that God would give me opportunities to fill my schedule and to meet awesome people and knew that with a bit of patience and time that surely things would change. And then they did. Some weeks I wonder if I'm even going to be able to Netflix at all. Today in town I saw at least a handful of people I knew. My schedule is now sprinkled with tutoring, dinner invitations, a puppy, and hanging with friends. [And, don't worry, Grandpa, a few dates now and again too.] ;-) God. Is. GREAT. Things are really just getting startedWhen people ask me how long I plan to stay in Chile I like to reply: "Entre hoy y la muerte" which means "Between today and death." Why? Partially because it is an unexpected answer and I like the reaction. Partially because many English-speaking teachers come to Chile but only for a few months to a year and I want people to know that we are here for something more than a cultural exchange. Partially because after one year I feel at home...and let's be real...it is a lot of work to move. Partially because I finally can pronounce Quiñepeumo and Freire. But mostly because in the past when I have made plans of what I thought was a great idea, God's timing was different...and always better. Always. Slow but steadyEvery neighborhood here is sprinkled with little corner stores that carry a small supply of just about anything you could want. Here in Chile they are known as almacenes {al-mah-cen-ehs}. Ever since getting settled in my población I noticed that everyone in the almacenes greeted each other as "neighbor", vecino {veh-see-no}...and thus my dream was born. I wanted soooo badly to be called vecina. I patiently waited and about 9ish months later....it happened. I was on my way out somewhere and as I turned the corner one of the shop owners smiled and said two little words that turned my world upside down: "Hola, vecina." I felt so alive! You know that tingling feeling that you get when a dream becomes a reality? It was just like in the movies...no, actually, it was better. A tear may have escaped. I'm pretty sure there was a rainbow and a shooting star at the same time. I am not even sure if I remembered to greet her back. While the tingles have subsided, the vecina comments keep coming from my corner shop friends and other people I have met in the neighborhood...and sometimes even in the cuter form of veci {veh-see}, which I personally highly favor. Two little words. So much power. Sometimes that's all it takes to make someone feel alive. And those two little words were like a gift that keeps on giving. They have given me a confidence...I feel like I could talk to my vecinos about anything! Well, ok, some stuff anyways...but I am sure we'll get there someday. They have given me a sense of belonging...they know I am not just on tour, but a part of the community...they have accepted me! [cue gospel choir music] They have opened up new conversations and opportunities to share...and I pray that it continues to do so! Those two little words took some time in coming, but they were well worth the wait. (Maybe someday I will have a picture with a neighbor that I can put here!! #newgoal) Etc.
...the winner of the 100th Copa America!For those of you who don't follow soccer, this was a big deal. Not only did Chile win the title during the 100th year anniversary celebration year, this is the second year in a row they have taken the title...after never having won before....beating Argentina, the #1 ranked soccer team in the world (and conveniently Chile's arch nemesis). It was a nerve-racking-yet-exciting game and after winning it seemed as though almost all of Linares went to the plaza with gigantic smiles to celebrate with cheers, songs, fireworks, and dancing. Parades of cars filled with proud fans drove through the streets shouting, honking, and making noise in any way possible. It was a beautiful sea of contagious chaos. P.S. The United States took 4th place. P.P.S. For the first time ever, the USA hosted the tournament. ...a place you need to visit!"Chile is just like one big National Park." These incredibly true words are from my friend Maria who just finished one month of traveling through southern and central Chile. And just in case you don't trust Maria (which you should), here are a few pictures to prove what she means: I was fortunate enough to have Maria stay with me for a couple of weeks. Apart from the warmth she brought to my heart, I also loved coming home to a warm house and a roaring fire! We hung out with some friends, watched lots of fútbol, traveled a bit in the area, and enjoyed lots of good conversation. ...building a new church! Our congregation here in Linares "broke ground" this last weekend on a new church building! (Well, technically we broke a wall, moved some plants, and ate lots of meat...) The new building will be on the same property where the worship space is currently. We have so many wonderful talents within our church family and it was absolutely amazing what was accomplished in just one afternoon! The big items on the agenda for the day were: 1) to move some plants as well as do some other needed landscaping and 2) knock down a piece of the wall and put up a gate so that needed materials and machinery could easily be brought into the work area. Our congregation's president owns his own welding business...very handy to have around when doing a building project! Check out some more of these photos on our church Facebook page (and don't forget to click that little "like" button)! Are you interested in helping with the construction of our new worship space? There are 3 great ways that you can get involved from afar: 1) prayers and sharing our story with those you know, 2) sending a letter of encouragement that I can share with the members here, and 3) if you're interested in donating funds, contact me and I will get you connected. ...your opportunity to give!Chile is your opportunity to be a part of a world mission! Our Kingdom Workers team is raising some funds to help support our work during the 2016 year. We have set our team goal at $25,000 and appreciate any help you have given or might be able to give! Check out the video below or click the link to read more and donate: http://www.kingdomworkers.com/chile.php *(Click "I'm not a robot" to activate the donation bar.) Hi, its me again! Thanks for coming back to read...even though it has been a while since I've posted! I guess I could blame it on getting a schedule back together, the general business of life, vacation hangover, or just plain laziness....but let's just say that the fact that you're reading this means you've already forgiven me and so let's get down to business. Here are a few things that have been going on in my version of the southern hemisphere: thing one.School has started! We marched back into the Longaví schools on March 7th...more specifics on that next week! thing two.We had a garage sale at church...sort of. Read about it HERE. thing three.3) We decided last weekend to take a trip to somewhere the doggies could run and play freely...so we went camping...just a few kilometers from the Chile/Argentina border...on a volcano. HERE you can see Jon's breathtaking pictures and Elise's lovely ability to tell a story. DON'T miss the epic video at the end. thing four.Fall. Fall happened. And, as if he knew I was having troubles rearranging seasons & months in my head, my friend Facebook helped to remind me what season it was. It was also helpful during a vocabulary review with 5th grade to practice: "Fall: March, April, May / Winter: June, July, August"...now I just have to work on internalizing it. #lifeinthesouthernhemisphere thing five.My puppy had a 'sterilization' surgery at the end of February and is recovering well. I think she was upset with me for a few hours, but we talked it through and soon her snuggles resumed.
She knows {"Sit" / "Lay down" / "Venga" (Come in Spanish) / "No (No in Spanish)"}. Technically I don't believe this makes her bilingual, just confused. She continues to be adorable and snuggly and I recently learned that she is a mini-puma, born to climb mountains. One of the questions I was sure to hear on a daily basis at school: “¿Tienes confort?” “All of these truths we hold to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and toilet paper in public places.” Well, I never was the best at history. However, growing up in the USA one might never think twice about if there will be toilet paper before entering a public bathroom. In fact, I don’t think it is too much to say that it is nearly a social crime to not provide your patrons with a sufficient supply of "decent" toilet paper. I am going to guess that you most likely have either had and/or overheard a conversation much like the following: A: "Can you believe that they still don't have any toilet paper in there?" B: "Uh, I know, so ridiculous. And when they do it is only 1-ply...ug." A: "1-ply? Puh-lease. You mean half-ply?" B: "Mmmmmhhhhhmmmm. True dat." Let’s go back to: “¿Tienes confort?” {tee-en-ehs-cone-fort} Did you figure out what it means yet? Maybe this picture will help: The word Confort could be compared to the USA’s usage of Kleenex…a name brand turned common term. Confort is also a Chileanism so you can imagine my confusion at first when asked this question…wait, do you want to know if I’m comfortable? A confier? Do I have a conifer tree? Is that a way to say gum here in Chile? After a few gestures it became known that the conversation was about toilet paper. Do you have toilet paper? Ahhh, sí…that makes so much more sense…. Something I have learned while traveling and living in other countries is that toilet paper is not a requirement, but rather a luxury…many places do not provide toilet paper so it is safest to always carry a roll with you, or, at the very least, a package of tissues. In conclusion"¿Tienes confort?" can be translated to standard English "Do you have toilet paper?" and if you also speak Seinfeldease you might say "Do you have a square to spare?" Oh, and while we're on the topic, don't flush your confort here. Bathroom wastebins get much more use in Latin America and other places in the world versus the USA. But fear not! If you're traveling and not sure if your used paper should go in the bowl or the bin, someone has taken the time to save you from a potentially awkward social situation: www.wheredoiputthepaper.com. (Not only a practical website, but quite entertaining as well.) |
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