one more:)

some of our work at San Rafael teaching creative arts

I used to think...

I used to think I was born in the wrong decade.  I should have been born in the 40's or 50's so I could have been a hippie and made change and revolution happen.  But sometimes I have moments of clarity where I realize that the world is constantly in need of change and revolution, and even though we're in the 21 century I can still have some pretty zen experiences.  Besides, women have it a lot better now than we did 40 years ago.  

Last Saturday we had a Chakra workshop the entire day, where we learned chakra 101 and discussed all of our different energy centers.  We also reviewed different exercises that help develop and harmonize the chakras.  I realized that I feel most connected to the first 2 chakras; earth energy.  And I also discovered through one of the exercises that it feels really good to stomp my feet on the ground as hard as I can to the beat of drums.  Every day I find more reasons to join a drum circle when I get back to the States :)

That night we went to the Victor Jara music festival in the plaza.  Victor Jara, from what I can understand, was a truly iconic Chilean folk singer who was brutally tortured and assassinated during the 1973 coup.  He was born near Chillan, the city where I live, so every year they have a huge music festival in his honor.  Let me tell you, there was some great people-watching!  Lots of young dread-locked Chileans "volando" (flying).  At times I felt like I was in a mosh pit, but the energy was contagious and the music helped create a sense of community and laughter. We sat and drank cheap beer and tried hard not to get knocked over by people who had consumed far too many altering substances.

This past weekend was also exceptional.  Apart from other things, on Saturday we went to the sub-20 women's world cup game between the U.S. and Argentina.  Since Obama won, we felt patriotic enough to dress in red, white and blue.  We all put our hair in pigtails and tied them with red, white and blue ribbon.  We even made signs!  Although we looked ridiculous, we were pretty awesome and I'm confident that everyone in the stadium agreed.  Thanks to our support, the U.S. team won 3-0!

After the game we went to the campo for an asado (bbq). Sandra and Juan, thos hosts, had gotten up at dawn to start preparing.  The killed two sheep, skinned them, and prepared the meat.  I did eat a little bit of it, since they worked so hard to prepare such a feast.  We had plenty of time to wander in the fields, sharing conversation and laughing constantly.  After dinner we all sat in the garage drinking wine and mate, watching the sun set and the stars come out.  

I'm beginning to feel more of a sense of community here, although it's sad to think that Kristy and Caryn, the other volunteers, will be returning to the States soon.

In other news, the greenhouse is fantastic and we've been enjoying fresh spinach, parsley, lettuce, swiss chard, and cilantro!  The tomato plants are turning into monsters that could win blue ribbons at a state fair, as are the nasturtiums.  

Also, if anyone knows anyone who has ever been to Patagonia, put them in contact with me!

la primavera

Spring is truly spectacular in Chile.  It's not like spring in the States, which is all wrapped up in the smell of wet earth and industrious worms and tender green.  Chile is dry, thanks in part perhaps to the hole in the ozone layer right above the country.  The sun glares pretty fiercely in the afternoon, which I'm imagining will make for a fairly brown and dry summer. But for now everything is soaking up those rays of heat and you can see the sun dancing in the brilliance of everything that is blooming.  Burgeoning. That's really the only word for it.  Roses are literally spilling over walls and gates with cala lilies peeking through, snapdragons are towering higher every day, and the hills in the campo are carpeted with pink, yellow, orange, purple, and white wildflowers.  One thing you have to understand is that the words we have to describe colors do no justice to what these flowers actually look like.  

We went to the campo on Sunday to ride horses, and looking around me I couldn't help but feel more connected to the earth mother.  Imagine looking out over rolling hills with the snow-capped mountains in the backdrop.  The hills are literally every shade of green and brown imaginable, from chartreuse to hunter green, from terra cotta to dark chocolate and coffee.  The smell of eucalyptus is carried on the breeze, and in that smell you can even see the calm blue-green of the eucalyptus leaves.  Willow trees gracefully bend into glittering streams, and pine trees add a hint of spice to the air.  The sky, of course, is always a clear bright blue.

Also, I allowed myself to be surrounded by bees, which is pretty amazing.

dulce o travesura

So much has happened since my last post!  We've gone to all-night festivals, handed out candy on halloween, seen Michelle Bachelet (Chile's president), seen the first ever futbol game at Chillan's brand new stadium (which will be hosting the sub-20 women's World Cup soon - and we have tickets!!!), gone to a wake and funeral, started new projects, and helped ELECT A NEW PRESIDENT!!!  And so much more:)

Halloween has only become popular in Chile in recent years.  Halloween candy started getting imported here, and in order to sell it they had to create the holiday.  It truly is a consumerist thing here:)  Ironically, last month Chile decided to make October 31 an official Evangelical holiday, so we had the whole day off.  There weren't a whole lot of kids, and it didn't feel quite right since there was no smell of fall in the air, but I think Halloween is a tradition worthy of importation.

Obama is big news here right now... there have been special programs on tv and it's all over the news in all medias.  At one of our meetings, all the women in the house came and gave us big hugs in celebration.  Tonight we volunteers will be having an Obama celebration with funfetti cake and maybe some macaroni:)  I know there are some people back home who aren't happy with the results of the election, but literally everyone here is.  It's great to be able to say I'm from the United States and actually feel good about saying it!

As far as projects for the rest of this year and next year, things are starting to fall into place a little bit.  On Wednesday mornings we are all teaching creative art at San Rafael, a school/centro laboral for youth with different developmental capacities.  Some have mild learning disorders, some have down syndrome, some have autism, and there is a wide range of others.  On Thursday afternoons we all will be teaching circle dance at Los Heroes, another school along the same lines, and right from there Andrea and I walk over to San Rafael for a faculty meeting to discuss how class went on wednesday, how our development objectives are going for each student, and so forth.

If those activities work out well, we can continue with them next year after summer break. We'll also be doing basic skills reinforcement at Libertador, where we now go with Kristy and Caryn to teach English.  We'll be able to do some home visits and keep tabs and build connections w/ the kids there in a more personal way.  We also plan on doing a self-esteem and creativity class with the girls at the Casa, a reflection and art class, and of course oil painting!

Now the big thing is planning our summer activities.  I'm hoping to be able to go to Peru to visit a friend there, we're doing a dance retreat in January, and Andrea and I would really love to go south to Patagonia or something along those lines.  Time is flying by!  Every day gets busier, and every weekend we have more activities than would ever be possible to do.

Andrea's video

Andrea, my fellow volunteer, just made a video update about being in Chile.  You can find it on youtube in 2 parts if you're interested.

part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVQ55Z_GuhU

part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKLjAjIeviI

hopefully those will work.... I can't figure out how to just post links on here.