¡Viva Chile, Viva USA!

I left the summer and 90 degree weather to come home to a serious winter storm, this is after a lot of the snow melted too

I am home now, and it is interesting looking back on the last 3 months. It is always easy to look back and wish that maybe you did something different, but that also goes along with my goal of always trying to improve myself and what I come in contact with. Still, I am happy with what I learned, experienced and accomplished in Santiago. I showed up expecting a pretty solid plan to follow, but it was pretty open both at work and the school. It can be difficult, but also an opportunity as it is fun to have a clean palate to work from. This is where I grew the most as it was up to me to decide what to do, and we were able to do some good things. I do think the blog and internet could be a big step for the school, not only is English useful for them, but as the internet is becoming a more and more important tool it is good for the teachers and students to learn it now. Otherwise, it was a good cultural exchange as I just had a good time telling kids about my life and being a good solid example for them. I could have been busier in the office, but it was still a very good experience to witness what this multinational company does and how it works. Well, that was fun, now I am pondering my next step, and in the meantime, les deseo un prospero Año Nuevo!

Schools out for Summer!

Oh yea, it is summer down here... well almost, the school year is almost over and the kids are very anxious to be done. The days are long, the weather is hot, and the kids get a little bit crazier with every piece of candy they eat, ah yes I remember that similar buzz in the air of being free for the summer. This is new for me though, as I am not used to the "Viejito Pascuero" or Santa, being all over the place in summer time. The kids are drawing sweet little cards wishing me a feliz navidad and saying they will miss me. We still have another week left though, so there is a lot more homework they need to do!

Historia Chilena

Okay, so maybe you have heard the news that Pinochet, former dictator of Chile has died. He is most famous for overthrowing a government that was moving towards Marxism, but also for questionable rule where thousands of members of the opposition "disappeared." He still has supporters and opponents, and the opponents celebrated in dramatic fashion yesterday. Even with a police force that is very trusted and respected here, there is still a mentality of people going crazy and destroying things for every big event or major soccer victory (stay tuned for what happens after their soccer team Colo-Colo plays for the South American championship on Wed.)
Anyways, I ran into the celebration zone last night on my way back from the weekend. I had not heard the news about Pinochet until I was on a very crowded bus that went through downtown and we noticed things were a bit "desordenado" and there was something in the air burning our throats more than the usual Santiago smog. I was surprised by the amount of damage that was able to occur as the police do not hesitate to use watercannons and tear gas to control crowds. Streets signs, trash, and confetti were all over the streets, and fires were still burning late into the night. So, people celebrated this historic moment in Chile by showing how happy they are, but by also making a mess in the streets. However, the guys who sweep the streets are very efficient and had already made impressive progress in cleaning it up by this morning.

I took this first photo in Plaza Italia around 11pm, my leg touched the sidewalk and it was still hot, I realized why when I saw some of the photos in the paper today

Chile Facts

So maybe it is a little late for an introduction to the country, but here are just a few things you may not know about Chile:

You can drink the water here, you can trust the police here, they have been ruled by dictators before, they currently have a female president, the average Chilean will receive the same amount of solar radiation by age 18 as an average European in their whole life, Chile is about as long as the US is wide, when you buy laundry detergent they often include a free bottle of wine, and other interesting things I will add later...

Con Todo el Corazon

Chile has an annual event called the "Teletón." This years theme was, "Con Todo el Corazon," and I was very impressed by the heart that the whole country showed. This telethon has been hyped for months, and it is to raise money for the disabled. Everyone came together to raise money on December 1 & 2 with many large events, and many small events too. I was taking a bus on Saturday, and there were people collecting money out on the highway where I didn´t think anybody lived, there was a performance in the small beach town I went to, and there was a huge celebration in Santiago that I saw on TV. They are very proud of their event, and it is nice to see something that really unites the country. They raised over 11 trillion pesos, or around 21 million dollars