Fishermans Market

Hoy, we went to the fishemans market.  We walked around and talked to the fisherman.  Saw some sea lions up close and personal, I was so bummed I didn´t have my camera.  We talked to a nice old fisherman who voiced his frustration with the Ley Pescado.  Ryan fed a fish to the sea lions.

I want to go get an empanada and then we will watch a movie with Carlos.

Mc.Donalds is the universal drunk food, in every country. 

Chivelry- Carlos helped an older lady up the stairs with her bag

Spanis:
No me gusta- A me tampoco  (neither)
bajon- drunk food
la raja- bad word- like the shi**

Elementary school y dinner con burns

Vocab:
Q hielado- how icy aka freezing

Today we went to a jesuit school called Centro San Ignacio de Loyola Valparaiso.  Originally this school was created to educate the lower class and is part of the web of Fe y Alegria (faith and happiness).  This school was very interesting because they are working to provide education of the same quality for everyone.  They are also part of the REI (la red educacional Ignacia) to help vulnerable families obtain better education.   Their goal is to make the education in their school more equal with more solidarity in hopes that this will carry on and create a better society in the future.

I forgot my camera so I borrowed on of the school from google

Stats:
746 students (kinder-8th grade)
60% socially vulnerable

Impressions:
they loved their principal
2 grade one main teacher one helper for 40 students
8 grade wilder and flocked us as we came around
Happy environment with very hospitable people (they gave us tea, cookies and bread as we discussed our impressions) everyone was so nice and willing to answer questiosn

Upper grades had less women due to old traditions of separating the genders and it used to be a only boys school

Grading System:
2 reds (which is less than a 3 on a 1-7 scale) then they have to repeat the year
Students with special needs stay in the same classroom but have special exams (assessment) and workshops
Summer is 2 months around January
Each class has a book with a picture of each student where they take good or bad notes about their behavior, they use these books to determine how to punish

Price:
20,000 Chilean Pesos per month- food provided by government  ($40,000 per month)
Low income students don't have to pay- there is a limit of 7 students per class with financial assistanships
There is a weightlist to get accepted and the headmaster interviews the families

Education Structure:
1a and 1b were when classes came in at different times in the day one in the morning/afternoon
Offered electives outside of the required classes, some of these electives they worked out a partnership with other schools to use their resources (for swimming went to a neighbor school for their pool)
1 day per week the older kids stay till 5
Offer a preuniversity class that is not necessary but prepares them for the PSU (ACT)

Interesting fact was that they allow their students to have a voice in the Centro de Alumnos and this teaches early on accountability and democracy because the students hold their elected president accountable.


Dinner at The O'Higgins Restaurante en Valpo

Google image, we were there at night, it was just a couple blocks away from our university

O'higgins liberated Chile from Spanish rule.  It was a really nice restaurant with a giant fireplace.    I think it was the first time that I took of my jacket when I ate in a restaurant. It was so nice and toasty.  The food was also amazing I got a fish (Reineta) covered in onions tomato and ham.  Then on the side it came with sauteed veggies.  I do wish it came with a heavier starch because I ended up eating a lot of Retmals fries.  Burns gave me a look like I see what you're doing.  He also teased Retmal because his meal looked like a fancy chicken friend steak.  We mostly discussed what we liked and didn't like about the program and Chile. Lindsey had the most to say because she had been here the longest.  Mr./Mrs. Hargis gave us some none stick pistol pete stickers for our phones and paid for dinner.  For desert we got tres leches cake which was amazing.  The director of International programs at PUCV was also very interesting he picked out all the wines and the restaurant and told us what he recommended. He also told me that Once, used to stand for a drink with 11 letters, so it was code word for Chileans to go get an afternoon drink.  He said Chileans know how to drink and enjoy wine.

http://www.restaurantohiggins.cl/valparaiso/

Jumbo

Me encanta mi familia mucho mucho mucho

Today in class we learned how to say I love you:
te quiero: regular I love you, less strong
te amo: passionate strong love
Me caes bien: I like you as a friend
Me gustas: I like like you

Me encanta algo: I really like it

Today I mostly chilled. I am trying my hardest to beat this pesky cold.  My host mom took me to Jumbo and we walked around and she bought pisco and coke, and some lightbulbs. Interesting fact, they try out their lightbulbs before they buy them and there a TON of people trying to sell things in Jumbo (it's like walmart sort of). If wal-mart, target and whole foods and a low budged baby it would be a jumbo.  There was also a place to pay any bill you had right away, which I found interesting.

Then on the way back she drove by her parents house which is two blocks away.  They were home so we went inside.  I met her brother, who's a doctor and speaks english, his wife, and both of her parents.  They live in a large beautifully decorated home.  Not elaborately decorated but with lots of decorations.  I love it. It was pretty big too.  We had coke (them with pisco and rum) and cheese puffs.  The dad is very interesting and fun to listen to. He lived in NYC for a while when he built ships and worked in a ship yard. Then spent some time in France. I understood a lot of what he said sometimes I get lost though.  I guess he saw Oklahoma when he was in NYC.  I like that my host mom corrects my spanish too, it helps me learn more. It is a little discouraging when it's a lot of corrections, but I have to learn. I think my conversation skills are coming along pretty well. My host sister asked me to go out again tonight. I hate turning her down, but I really seriously super think I need to sleep and try to get better. I am worried though because she goes on vacation soon so I might not have enough time to get to know her. But she is very friendly so I am sure it will work out.

I was just thinking how amazing it is to be at this point in my life.  I am basically rid of all my insecurities from when I was in my teens.  Like things don't phase me anymore really. It's kind of reassuring to KNOW without a doubt that you are who you are.  It's nice to know that although you're not the best at everything or the most beautiful you're still pretty awesome.

What I need to remember:
al tiro: right away, now (a chilean specific thing(
and how to say inVIERNO not en verano, I keep confusing the heck out of my host mom.

Primer Dia de Clase

Hoy fuimos a clase.  I was kind of bummed out because there weren't other students in our class, just us OSU folks.  But the lecture was interesting, the professor really enjoys to talk.  He told us about Chile and gave us a general overview of Latin American history and development.  He talked about the different structures and how Cuba has a very successful education system, because it is completely centralized and government controlled.  Then Martha brought up an excellent point when she said, well then after school they must realize that the government continues to control their choices and options for advancement.  It was an interesting class, as an American de los EEUU, communism is a ideology very hard for me to accept.  Her in Latin America it is a commonly supported idea and Finland and places like that seem to have a very centralized system and they like it.  I don't know.  Whenever people start comparing the USA with other places like Cuba and even Chile, I think they forget how huge USA is.  And although everything is 'bad' there right now, it's not as bad as it could be.  Especially because the country is huge, with a ton of different goals and ideologies.  It was mildly frustrating at times to voice my opinion because I am so uninformed.  But in my mind people should have the choice to work hard for what they desire, and that means working hard to get scholarships to go to University.  Or get a job to pay for university.  The professor also said that in Chile it is difficult to work while in school, which I guess would be a problem. I know I've been blessed with never having to live with a huge fear of debt or money problem, but I still think a completely centralized education system would not work in the states.

Then after that we went to the Cafe and got some VERY cheap tea and cookies.  Then we took the metro to the Cafe Journal, a gringo bar where we were hoping the thunder game was playing. No such luck.  I got a mango juice drink, it was yummmmmmmmmmmy.  I am looking forward to going back there.  It's supposedly the place to be.

Did I mention it's raining. It has been all day.  We had to talk to 1 Norte only to learn that the bus we needed was literally where we began.  Eventually, after the help of a nice man at the first wrong bus stop, then another nice man at the magazine hut, we ended up in the right direction on the right bus. THEN AGAIN the nice chilean bus driver helped me with my stop at los fresnos.  I am so lucky to have a decent sense of direction.  I found my way back home perfectly, I didn't get lost once.  But of course I second guessed myself and thought I was lost. But I wasn't :)  It was great to go into the city and see more of it.  It made me excited for everything. My host sister has her boyfriend over, I guess its common for him to come over and spend the night.  The mama said it's safer than them getting a hotel room so its acceptable.  That's so strange to me.  It does make me want a pololo, but my mother would probably kill me if I started dating a chilean boy.