Some days I wake up, look in the mirror and think ¨What the hell am I doing?¨
I don´t mean to sound as though I´m not enjoying my time here in Santiago. This place is, and always will be, one of my favorite cities in the whole world. I love where I live, I love my friends and I even love my job. The problem is I only love my job when I´m doing it. The rest of the time it´s kind of a nightmare.
I´m in my fourth week of teaching. I can hardly believe it. I still can hardly believe anyone would hire me to be a college professor. When I think back to week one I remember the optimistic thoughts I had. I was sure things would start to come together, that I would get more guidance, that I would get paid, etc. To my chagrin, none of this seems to be happening. I´ve been a part of the Chilean school system before so the disorder isn´t exactly a surprise. It is a surprise how much worse it is on the teacher´s end. Allow me to enumerate my woes.
1) It seems that the likelihood of receiving a paycheck on payday (this Friday) is incredibly slim. Apparently it is entirely typical for the first check to be late. They shared this information with us and said ¨So don´t worry about it.¨ I´m sorry, it´s tough not to worry about not being paid when you´ve been working for a month and your rent is due, your fridge is empty and your metro card is low. I think they are laboring under the delusion that we are a bunch of rich Americans with unlimited funds and while my parents will never let me starve or lose the roof over my head I shouldn´t have to ask them to send me money. I´ve been working as a full time college professor as a month. Give me a break.
2) We don´t have our login information necessary to access our online resources. This means we can´t assign our students online assignments which are not only 10% of their grades (supposedly) but are also useful practice for the quizzes we give. Also, somehow, lacking our login information is another reason our paychecks are going to be delayed and as many times as I have emailed my director(s) and as much as they are ¨trying to work everything out¨nothing seems to be getting accomplished.
3) We still don´t have a locker. Now, this isn´t the biggest crisis in the world but more of a further indication of how little we seem to mean to this institution. Apparently all that is necessary for us to gain access to our shared locker, which the American English teachers have every semester, is for a formal email to be written requesting it. A) How ridiculous is it that that is necessary for us to be granted a locker? B) How ridiculous is it that if that´s all that is required we haven´t gotten it yet? The answers to A & B are ¨completely ridiculous.¨
4) Our listening exercise CDs to use in class don´t work. How hard is it to burn a CD?
5) While all these woes have been shared between me and my other three American English teachers for four weeks now and while we have each communicated these woes to several different directors not only has nothing been taken care of, we never receive communication about when these things might be taken care of. This is what frustrates me more than anything, the sheer lack of communication. I feel like I´m constantly fumbling around in the dark.
The Teaching Chile directors have been as helpful as they can because now we are mostly in the hands of Duoc. I know that our directors are busy and dealing with a lot, but frankly so are we. We are dealing with living in another country, speaking a foreign language, teaching at a college level without training and all the while having to worry about being paid and having to field questions from our students that we don´t have the answers for. The time I have in the classroom is an incredibly positive experience but I´m afraid that so far the time outside has not been when it comes to dealing with my job. I hope things change because I want to teach for another semester but honestly the last four weeks have me seriously considering taking my chances with finding another job in July.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Week 1
Ay. Dios. Mio. "Week 1" is hardly the title for this entry since I haven't written in about two weeks but since this was actually the first week I did any teaching I decided to go with it.
We got back from our blissful beach vacation without a hiccup, arriving the day before the program was officially set to start. When we left the hostel 5 days earlier it had been completely empty and when we came back we found that it was packed to the brim with Teaching Chile participants. Jenna and I were moved into an 8-person all-girls dorm room where every bed was occupied but one. I feel I don't really need to describe the chaos that accompanies 8 girls sharing a room, especially when each one of those 8 girls also has luggage for the next 10 months. The room was almost a disaster from the get-go and would only get worse as time wore on. But that first night was so exciting with all the new people to meet that we could hardly think about the days to come.
That night the hostel threw us a little party. Well, they charged $7 a person and made us sushi. I and two other girls opted to make our own dinner and then just join the party later, thereby saving about $5. By about 8pm the party was hopping. It seemed like everyone had brought a bottle of wine and there were close to 50 of us there. There was Spanish and English flying around as well as accents from all over the US, Ireland, Britain and Canada. People from as young as 21, freshly graduated from college all the way to a couple in their 50s who woke up one day and said "Hey, I'm tired of working at a desk job." We partied well into the morning, even the people who had just gotten off a 12 hour flight and eventually retired to be prepared for the meeting the next morning.
That next morning we officially met Bruce and Andrea, our directors. Our parents. Our caregivers. Our guardian angels. They run the program almost solely themselves and they manage to stay two of the most positive and engaging people I have ever met. You would think that constantly trying to manage a group of 70 (in total) foreigners in South America as well as running a business that doles our English teachers to Chilean universities would make someone stressed and unpleasant. Bruce and Andrea are the complete opposite of that. They are warm, helpful and they watch out for us like a lioness watches out for her cubs. Seriously, when we were getting our Chilean ID cards there was a Chilean woman there who was angry about us being there and said we were taking too long and we should let the Chileans go ahead of her. Andrea, who is Chilean herself though she speaks perfect English, took it upon herself to basically tell the woman where she could stick her attitude. It was awesome. Anyway, we had a meeting with them, which I thought would maybe some teacher training but was really more just some helpful tips about living in Chile, most of which I'd already heard last year. It was nice to get to know our directors though. The training would come later...right?
Sunday we had a free day and then Monday we had to take what is called the TOEIC. I don't remember what that stands for, but it's the same test our students have to take at the end of the year in order to pass the class. It's an English comprehension test. Ridiculously easy for a native speaker but I could see how it would be tricky for a non-native speaker. It was interesting to try to look at it from that point of view and I guess that was the point.
Tuesday we went to get our Chilean IDs. This is not a particularly complicated process but it is a long one, mostly involving standing in lines and waiting around. And of course the aforementioned awesome telling-off by Andrea. Afterward she took us to an awesome sandwich shop owned by a Korean guy who makes Korean-Chilean infusion sandwiches. They were fantastic.
Wednesday we had kind of an official day, meaning we had to dress in business casual. We went to one of the Duoc campuses, the closest one to our hostel, and listened to a couple presentations. The first one was by the head honcho at Duoc. "El jefe." He told us about Duoc, some of the history, what its mission statement is, etc. Basically it's a trade school with degrees in things like graphic design and IT. Since it is business oriented they require all their students to take at least 2 semesters of English so that they can have better luck in the business world. That's where we come in! Cheap labor that actually really works because the best way to learn a language is to be immersed in it. After his presentation a young man named Scott, who's been here for 8 months and who does exactly what we do, got up to do a presentation about what to expect when teaching. He is just so great. I have never seen someone so excited and passionate about the job they do. He put everyone at ease and made us feel like this is going to be the best year of our lives.
Thursday all we had to do was find our campuses. Some people had meetings with their individual directors but the teachers at my school didn't. We knew we had them on Friday so we wanted to make sure we knew how to get there on time. The commute wasn't short, that's for sure. It's going to take some getting used to. If I can get a seat on the metro then it's a good time to grade work but if I can't then it's 45 minutes of my life I'll never get back. Some days I have to be at work at 8:15 which means leaving my apartment at 7. I guess this is what it means to be an adult?
On Friday we met with our director and the other English teachers. Okay, finally we'll get some training. I mean, we have to teach in 3 days, they have to train us, right? Uh, no. The meeting lasted for about an hour. They gave us a little manual, some books and told us they'd send our schedule and lesson planning materials by email. Everyone was super nice and seemed really eager to give us any help we needed. Except, of course, that pesky training.
So then is was the weekend. And Monday loomed as the first day I would ever teach a class. I had some books, but I knew the students wouldn't have theirs yet so they were sort of useless. I had some lesson planning guidelines, which are actually very helpful. And I had...well...my charm and good looks? That weekend we ended up going out quite a bit, possibly to alleviate the stress of the coming week and possibly because by then we would do anything to get out of the hostel. I cannot tell you how sick I became of showers that only stayed an ideal temperature for 30 seconds before switching to ice cold or boiling hot. Or floors so dirty that as soon as my feet hit the ground they were black. Or a room so full of people that the lights didn't go off until 2am and the alarms started going off at 6am meaning that for about 2 weeks I got roughly 5 hours of sleep a night. Sometimes less. This is where my new roommate comes in.
I had received an email about two days earlier saying that a friend of mine had mentioned me to this girl and said I needed a place to live. The price and location were right, according to the email so I agreed to come check it out. The place is small, but perfectly adequate. I have my own room and my own bathroom. There is a housekeeper who comes twice a month and leaves the place spotless. There is a rooftop pool on top of the building. We live on the 11th floor and we have a balcony overlooking one of my favorite vistas in the world (the Santiago skyline.) I saw, I wanted, I took. After looking at the place and thinking about it for almost 20 whole minutes I decided to take it. The price, location, bathroom, housekeeping and pool were too good to pass up. Also, my new roommate is a Chilean girl in her early thirties, so I will be constantly surrounded by Spanish. She seems really cool too. We sat around watching "Friends" this evening. I think it's going to be a good situation. Here are some photos of the new apartment.
So I've now been teaching for a week! I feel like a complete noob (newbie) but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. It's the most bizarre thing in the world to be addressed as "Profe" when 3 months ago I was sitting in a university classroom. I have basic and intermediate level classes. No one really seems to speak any English but I find that if I talk slowly, mime and supplement with some occasional Spanish I can get by. Today I had classes for the second time and I can already tell we're starting to have some good chemistry. I'm having such a great time so far. It's unbelievably cool that this opportunity has been given to me. I'm freshly out of college and literally doing exactly what I want to do. How many people in my generation, or in any generation can say that? It's also such a humbling experience. I've already had two girls tell me after a class that they've already taken the class but when they heard that a native speaker was coming to teach it they wanted to take advantage of the opportunity so they asked me if they could just sit in on my classes even though they won't get credit for them. How cool is that? And how cool is it that I get to teach people who are that eager to learn?
It's also been humbling just to be in the part of Santiago that I am. It's one of the poorer areas. In fact, on my bus route home we pass railroad tracks where people have built slums up against a fence. And a hundred yards away there are nice homes. It is impossible for me to imagine living in poverty like that and it is also impossible for me to imagine how that STILL happens. I really love this country like any parent loves an adopted child and I sincerely hope that while I'm here I can do some good for it.
Phew! That might be my longest blog ever. Next time I won't wait so long in between. I have reliable internet now that I'm out of the hostel so it will be easier. OH! Favorite story about teaching so far. Today I was working with my intermediate class, teaching them how to talk about childhood memories using "used to" and "didn't use to." (By the way, every time I seriously think about English I realize how weird it is.) Anyway, I had them write a paragraph about their childhood using "used to", for example: "When I was younger I used to play soccer, but now I don't." One of the students turned in his paragraph and the first sentence was "When I was younger I used to have a girlfriend, but now I am happy." I literally laughed out loud when I read it.
Okay. For real. Good night.
Que estén bien!!!
We got back from our blissful beach vacation without a hiccup, arriving the day before the program was officially set to start. When we left the hostel 5 days earlier it had been completely empty and when we came back we found that it was packed to the brim with Teaching Chile participants. Jenna and I were moved into an 8-person all-girls dorm room where every bed was occupied but one. I feel I don't really need to describe the chaos that accompanies 8 girls sharing a room, especially when each one of those 8 girls also has luggage for the next 10 months. The room was almost a disaster from the get-go and would only get worse as time wore on. But that first night was so exciting with all the new people to meet that we could hardly think about the days to come.
That night the hostel threw us a little party. Well, they charged $7 a person and made us sushi. I and two other girls opted to make our own dinner and then just join the party later, thereby saving about $5. By about 8pm the party was hopping. It seemed like everyone had brought a bottle of wine and there were close to 50 of us there. There was Spanish and English flying around as well as accents from all over the US, Ireland, Britain and Canada. People from as young as 21, freshly graduated from college all the way to a couple in their 50s who woke up one day and said "Hey, I'm tired of working at a desk job." We partied well into the morning, even the people who had just gotten off a 12 hour flight and eventually retired to be prepared for the meeting the next morning.
That next morning we officially met Bruce and Andrea, our directors. Our parents. Our caregivers. Our guardian angels. They run the program almost solely themselves and they manage to stay two of the most positive and engaging people I have ever met. You would think that constantly trying to manage a group of 70 (in total) foreigners in South America as well as running a business that doles our English teachers to Chilean universities would make someone stressed and unpleasant. Bruce and Andrea are the complete opposite of that. They are warm, helpful and they watch out for us like a lioness watches out for her cubs. Seriously, when we were getting our Chilean ID cards there was a Chilean woman there who was angry about us being there and said we were taking too long and we should let the Chileans go ahead of her. Andrea, who is Chilean herself though she speaks perfect English, took it upon herself to basically tell the woman where she could stick her attitude. It was awesome. Anyway, we had a meeting with them, which I thought would maybe some teacher training but was really more just some helpful tips about living in Chile, most of which I'd already heard last year. It was nice to get to know our directors though. The training would come later...right?
Sunday we had a free day and then Monday we had to take what is called the TOEIC. I don't remember what that stands for, but it's the same test our students have to take at the end of the year in order to pass the class. It's an English comprehension test. Ridiculously easy for a native speaker but I could see how it would be tricky for a non-native speaker. It was interesting to try to look at it from that point of view and I guess that was the point.
Tuesday we went to get our Chilean IDs. This is not a particularly complicated process but it is a long one, mostly involving standing in lines and waiting around. And of course the aforementioned awesome telling-off by Andrea. Afterward she took us to an awesome sandwich shop owned by a Korean guy who makes Korean-Chilean infusion sandwiches. They were fantastic.
Wednesday we had kind of an official day, meaning we had to dress in business casual. We went to one of the Duoc campuses, the closest one to our hostel, and listened to a couple presentations. The first one was by the head honcho at Duoc. "El jefe." He told us about Duoc, some of the history, what its mission statement is, etc. Basically it's a trade school with degrees in things like graphic design and IT. Since it is business oriented they require all their students to take at least 2 semesters of English so that they can have better luck in the business world. That's where we come in! Cheap labor that actually really works because the best way to learn a language is to be immersed in it. After his presentation a young man named Scott, who's been here for 8 months and who does exactly what we do, got up to do a presentation about what to expect when teaching. He is just so great. I have never seen someone so excited and passionate about the job they do. He put everyone at ease and made us feel like this is going to be the best year of our lives.
Thursday all we had to do was find our campuses. Some people had meetings with their individual directors but the teachers at my school didn't. We knew we had them on Friday so we wanted to make sure we knew how to get there on time. The commute wasn't short, that's for sure. It's going to take some getting used to. If I can get a seat on the metro then it's a good time to grade work but if I can't then it's 45 minutes of my life I'll never get back. Some days I have to be at work at 8:15 which means leaving my apartment at 7. I guess this is what it means to be an adult?
 |
| Teacher's lounge...am I allowed in there? Oh, right. I'm a teacher. |
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| Renovating |
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| Cool, right? |
So then is was the weekend. And Monday loomed as the first day I would ever teach a class. I had some books, but I knew the students wouldn't have theirs yet so they were sort of useless. I had some lesson planning guidelines, which are actually very helpful. And I had...well...my charm and good looks? That weekend we ended up going out quite a bit, possibly to alleviate the stress of the coming week and possibly because by then we would do anything to get out of the hostel. I cannot tell you how sick I became of showers that only stayed an ideal temperature for 30 seconds before switching to ice cold or boiling hot. Or floors so dirty that as soon as my feet hit the ground they were black. Or a room so full of people that the lights didn't go off until 2am and the alarms started going off at 6am meaning that for about 2 weeks I got roughly 5 hours of sleep a night. Sometimes less. This is where my new roommate comes in.
I had received an email about two days earlier saying that a friend of mine had mentioned me to this girl and said I needed a place to live. The price and location were right, according to the email so I agreed to come check it out. The place is small, but perfectly adequate. I have my own room and my own bathroom. There is a housekeeper who comes twice a month and leaves the place spotless. There is a rooftop pool on top of the building. We live on the 11th floor and we have a balcony overlooking one of my favorite vistas in the world (the Santiago skyline.) I saw, I wanted, I took. After looking at the place and thinking about it for almost 20 whole minutes I decided to take it. The price, location, bathroom, housekeeping and pool were too good to pass up. Also, my new roommate is a Chilean girl in her early thirties, so I will be constantly surrounded by Spanish. She seems really cool too. We sat around watching "Friends" this evening. I think it's going to be a good situation. Here are some photos of the new apartment.
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| The kitchen |
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| Living room |
 |
| MY bathroom |
 |
| My room |
 | ||
| Santiago skyline |
So I've now been teaching for a week! I feel like a complete noob (newbie) but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. It's the most bizarre thing in the world to be addressed as "Profe" when 3 months ago I was sitting in a university classroom. I have basic and intermediate level classes. No one really seems to speak any English but I find that if I talk slowly, mime and supplement with some occasional Spanish I can get by. Today I had classes for the second time and I can already tell we're starting to have some good chemistry. I'm having such a great time so far. It's unbelievably cool that this opportunity has been given to me. I'm freshly out of college and literally doing exactly what I want to do. How many people in my generation, or in any generation can say that? It's also such a humbling experience. I've already had two girls tell me after a class that they've already taken the class but when they heard that a native speaker was coming to teach it they wanted to take advantage of the opportunity so they asked me if they could just sit in on my classes even though they won't get credit for them. How cool is that? And how cool is it that I get to teach people who are that eager to learn?
It's also been humbling just to be in the part of Santiago that I am. It's one of the poorer areas. In fact, on my bus route home we pass railroad tracks where people have built slums up against a fence. And a hundred yards away there are nice homes. It is impossible for me to imagine living in poverty like that and it is also impossible for me to imagine how that STILL happens. I really love this country like any parent loves an adopted child and I sincerely hope that while I'm here I can do some good for it.
Phew! That might be my longest blog ever. Next time I won't wait so long in between. I have reliable internet now that I'm out of the hostel so it will be easier. OH! Favorite story about teaching so far. Today I was working with my intermediate class, teaching them how to talk about childhood memories using "used to" and "didn't use to." (By the way, every time I seriously think about English I realize how weird it is.) Anyway, I had them write a paragraph about their childhood using "used to", for example: "When I was younger I used to play soccer, but now I don't." One of the students turned in his paragraph and the first sentence was "When I was younger I used to have a girlfriend, but now I am happy." I literally laughed out loud when I read it.
Okay. For real. Good night.
Que estén bien!!!
Fotos (Viña, Valparaiso, ConCon, Algarobo)
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| Viña del Mar on a cloudy day |
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| Outside Pablo Neruda's house in Valparaiso |
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| Viña del Mar on a sunny day |
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| Viña |
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| Empanadas from Las Deliciosas in ConCon. Now I've eaten there twice and Anthony Bourdain has only eaten there once. |
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| Algarobo, a gorgeous beach town where my friend David's grandparents live |
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| Traveling companions: Dave, Jenna and Kortnee from left to right |
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| My new Chilean family |
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| Algarobo at night |
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| Marina in Algarobo |
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