Frustrations

So as I am beginning my third month here in Chile, I have become frustrated with different things related to my job and my life here.  In general, things are outstanding, but there are certain things that need to be noted.

First and foremost, I hate having a “double life.” To my friends, family and coworkers I am an English teacher for the government of Chile.  I am 21 years old, I speak Spanish, and I am single and loving every moment of it.  For my students, I am 27-30 years old, unable to speak Spanish, and I have a serious boyfriend in the South of Chile.  The decision to have these two lives was not mine, and although extremely frustrating, completely necessary.

Although my students here are 16-20 years old, they have the maturity level of 15 year olds.  I would make this same comparison with most of the Chilean youth. In my experiences, I deduct three years from the age of each person and this is the age that they act.  This is definitely due to the cultural differences between the United States and Chile.  In Chile, it is very common for people to live with their parents until they reach about 30 years old.  Sorry Mom and Dad, but I would die. They do not know how to cook, do laundry, and most do not have their first job until 23 or 25.  This is very true, especially in my host family.  My host brothers are so lazy and complain about any small task that they are asked to do.  They expect to receive money from their parents for their “late nights out” and don’t do anything in return.  I am pretty sure that one of my host brothers is constantly stoned, and it gets really old.   The other constantly argues that he pays for everything, including his education.  Which, I may add, is the biggest joke of my life.  The kids are extremely spoiled and with enough arguing receive everything they could ever want.

Enough venting about the host brothers, I would like to touch on more of my experiences teaching in the high school.  First, I would like to explain why it is so essential that I have a double life.  Respect.  If I were to tell some of my 20-year-old students that I was only 21 years old, I would lose every ounce of respect that I have gained. In addition, if I didn’t have my “boyfriend” I would be harassed until the end of time.  Another cultural difference, forwardness.  Chilean men are very forward and are not afraid to express their feelings.  In the beginning, it was flattering. “Miss, we love you.” “Miss, you are beautiful.”  However, when students cross the line and say filthy things about me in Spanish, I become angry and I sometimes feel violated. Constantly, I am with a red face, sometimes out of embarrassment, and other times out of anger.  And still, the students do not know that I understand Spanish.  I do think that this is the best for them, but at times I wish that I could break out in Spanish and surprise them all.  Self control, Sarah. 

My biggest problem is not classroom management.  I can be a bitch if I want to and I will not be offended if someone doesn’t like me.  The hardest part of my job and life and this point is the fact that I see my students, everywhere.  I see them walking down the street, at the discos, in the grocery store…everywhere. Not that it is a problem, but there have been numerous issues of students exaggerating stories.  For example, last weekend I saw a student walking down my street late at night as I was walking with my neighbor Cristhían and his friends.  When Monday came around, everyone was talking about how Diego had seen Miss Sarah walking with a bunch of “watchituros” down his street. (Watchituros=Chilean gangsters).  This caused a huge riot in the class and it was really annoying.  However, this is the way of life here, and I guess I will need to get used to it.

Yesterday, Thursday, was a LONG day for me.  After finishing up with school I met up with my friend Cat and her coworker Israel at a bar in the center of Iquique to have “a” beer.  Well, we all know that when you plan on drinking only “one” beer you end up drinking a lot more.  So, after drinking about 4 beers I headed off to a professor’s house to have dinner, not KNOWING that she was the PASTOR of the school.  There, I was given 2.5 glasses of AMAZING red wine and a huge steak with a mustard sauce.  There was also a couple and their two children from England visiting and it was nice to speak in English for a change.  They work as missionaries for the Methodist Church and had lived in Iquique for 5 years but recently had moved back to England for family purposes. The dinner and conversations were great, however, by the end of it… I got the feeling that the only reason I was invited was so the Pastor could introduce me to his 28-year-old son.  Looking back on it, it was ridiculous!  I was seated next to him at the table, was asked to go purchase coca cola with him, and later (WHAT A COINSIDENCE) he was going to the same BAR as me! Needless to say, by the end of the night I escaped with friends and (sigh) have only received about 4 text messages from the 28-year-old, son of a Pastor.

Tomorrow, I will go to Pica.  The trip was cancelled last weekend since I was sick.  So tonight I am relaxing and plan on going to bed soon so I can wake up early tomorrow morning.  I am so excited for camping!

Some things that I miss about life in the United States:

1)    Of course, my family and friends

2)    Drinking water from the sink  (we really are very fortunate in the US to have water available at all times-here-you are not able to drink the water because of the high levels of minerals.  Also, it is quite common for the water to completely shut off----funny story---I had not known that the water shut off and I went #2 in the bathroom, we all know what this means---special surprise for later—very embarrassing.  Warm water, also, tends to shut off, especially at times that I like to shower.  So just remember, next time you decide to take a super long shower, people here can not even drink the water…so make it fast, and don’t take advantage of what you have!)

3)    Being barefoot.  It is improper to walk barefoot in your house.  You must always walk with slippers or shoes.

4)    Drying machines.  My laundry takes forever.

5)    Bars closing at 2AM-sometimes I just don’t like going out from 12AM-6AM

6)    Spicy Food- chicken, white rice, and tomato.  Hello, Chilean food.

7)    Being able to relax while walking through town- it’s hard to live in Chile’s second most dangerous city.

8)    Having dogs…only as pets- stray dogs… are everywhere. My neighbors have three dogs that they allow to roam the streets-they are constantly barking and sometimes it sounds like they are dying a slow and painful death.  It is also quite common to see “Watona” chillin’ in the corner store.

Next post I will explain what I like more about Chile.  For now, I am off to bed.  Hugs and kisses for everyone.