When you live in a foreign country to begin with everything is shiney and new. Slowly it looses its lustre and everything becomes normal flat colours. It has taken some time, but Chile is down to normal colours for me. There are still things that surprise me, but last week I found myself writing an email to the teachers that suprised me for all the wrong reasons. Here is an extract from it:
As you are probably aware today and tomorrow are national strikes. This shouldn't affect us too much except for the normal problems of tear gas, water canons, barricades and transport disruptions. Tomorrow there is a march authorised from Plaza Italia down Alameda as far as Portugal (Uni Catolica) where supposedly they will turn off and go south. I suspect that may not happen and you should be prepared for severe disruptions all the way along Alameda (including in the metro). If you have to come into town consider using the Plaza de Armas or Bellas Artes metro stops. The march is supposed to finish near Parque O'Higgins so hopefully later in the day the disruptions for us will be minimal. Really, who knows!! I came across a flaming barricade before 8am this morning.... so it is impossible to predict.
Please allow enough time for disruptions in getting to class, and stay safe.
Now these events might seem surprising to you, but this in not what made me take note. It was the fact that I wrote 'the normal problems of...'. It strikes me as incredible that I see these problems as normal inconveniences now. I wrote about water canons not long after I arrived in Chile. I was impressed by them. Now I see them all the time and don't take any notice. A normal day can go: car, truck, bus, police horse (at which point I take a second glance as the police horses are beautiful), car, car, tear gas truck (run!!), water canon, car, car, hooded youth setting something on fire, police in riot gear, car, truck, police bus full of police in riot gear, car.
I think you get the picture, it's all the same.
I do feel like I might be standing in the middle of a moment in history here. The eduaction protests, while they have quietened down for now, are not going away. They are beginning to build momentum in other countries too (Colombia has recently had hundreds of thousands of students in the streets protesting for reforms there) and there is solidarity between these two movements and burgeoning protests in Peru and Brasil. And yet I just see the inconvenience of getting tear gassed on a weekly basis, or of having to take the long way round the barricades to get home. I feel apathetic, but these things just annoy me now. Apparently my revoluntionary fire doesn't burn as brigthly as my ideals would hope.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Life in Facebook updates
I never realised how insightful it could be to track your Facebook updates. These random comments and observations of life illustrate the ups and downs of my journey from Melbourne to Chile (since approx September 2008). They aren’t in chronological order, rather completely random, much as they were random thoughts released into the ether of the internet. Recapturing them and remembering the moments in which I wrote them has proved illuminating, and given me lots of lovely times to relive. It really is incredible what you achieve and forget. This is an incomplete list, missing many which I am still editing and I hope to post in the future.
Wine with lunch - good decision; 5 glasses of very sweet orange stuff - bad decision; fish for lunch - good decision; left over chicken when I got home - really bad decision...
Celebratory lunch with Joanne after my first week as Grant’s Academic Director. Sept 2010
Thank goodness I was way up in the mountains enjoying swimming, swinging in a hammock, riding horses and drinking beer when the ABs decided to self destruct. Now, where has that good zen gone...
vs Australia December 2010
got caught by that rookie mistake - always have extra teaching material in case half your class doesn't show up and you have to postpone the planned test!!!
July 2009 – lacking those extra instant teaching ideas
needs a hottie. Any ideas on where to find one in Santiago?
en Buenos Aires esperando y esperando!
March 2010, waiting for my flight back to Chile
can run and talk in spanish, quite a workout for body and mind....
Running with Zeli, Nov 2009
Trabajo para hoy dia - un nuevo jardin con verduras....
Attempted vegetable gardening in Bellavista Sept 09. Unfortunately I went back to NZ, no one watered the garden through the hot Santiago days and what didn’t die immediately went to seed.
is watching the neurons march across the screen - again.
Mapping neuron trajctories in Melbourne July 2008
So this year I didn't walk 100km, but did the Inka trail instead. Next year the Himalayas? Who's keen...
Accomplishments and dreams near the end of 2010
thoughts and best wishes to all those affected by the mining tragedy - may you find some peace and closure soon.
After the Pike River mining accident in NZ, Nov 2010
Mañana Huaso Enrique? Tiki tiki ti!!
Any given Thursday in Santiago...
Has found somewhere permanent to live - yay! No more being a sponge!
First house in Santiago, March 2009
thinks house hunting is hard enough without factoring in a foreign language that you hardly speak!
The frustrations of house hunting in the first days in Santiago, February 2010
Observations of today: Bus drivers + road rage = frightening scenario, Karen running on the street + eating bread + choking = she has beautiful eyes, and cement truck + driving the wrong way on a one-way street = nothing new.
Santiago May 2010, its amazing the things that are no longer surprising.
slept through last nights aftershock. Apparently it was strong. Naty said she was waiting for me to come screaming up the stairs but it never happened... I must have been tired.
Getting used to the ground rattling underneath me. Stability has a whole new meaning. March 2010
Why does the word Spanish word for handcuffs look the same as the plural of wife? Two wives = handcuffs?? (Las esposas).
Language realisations, June 2011
won a trip to Peru, and is super excited about it!
April 2009 - won a trip with Intrepid to Peru, to walk the Inca trail and explore the villages surrounding Cusco.
will be touring Santiago today, giving classes in different corners of the city.
Sometime in early 2010. The realities of teaching English in Santiago are that you become extremely familiar with the metro and bus system as you pass many hours each day acquainting yourself with the insides of these fascinating places.
is enjoying the long straight flat roads of Lagmhor on her bike.
No traffic lights, no pedestrians, no significant hills, just miles and miles of flat road. Bliss on two wheels, at my parents house NZ February 2010
Sorry, what was the outcome of the game??? GREG????!!!!
Anytime NZ beats Aus at the rugby...
estoy cansada....
Tired, probably any given Friday of the year!
is on a diet of mote con huesillo until she gets paid...
November 2009, some very tight months financially when I remembered exactly what it was like to have to eat like a student, and to search under you bed / in the bottom of every bag you own, for every last peso that you have. Mote con hueillo is peach juice with corn in it, and it’s a cheap option when you have no money!
exhausted - too much talking, words finished....
After a day of 9hrs of class, including 3hrs at the airport, July 2009
really just wants to go down to the tav and have a few quiets with her bros and cuzzies.
Summer 2010 / 2011, a bit of homesickness. Summer is always the hardest when I talk to my family and they are all working hard in the harvest and I am not there to share it with them.
is at the library, planning English lessons, on a Saturday.
Planning practice English classes for my TEFL certificate, December 2008
had issues trying to hang her washing out with two fat possums sitting above her, just watching and waiting...
Fear of possums, especially after being peed on, Sept 2008 in Melbourne.
is totally over being sick and wishes the doctor would hurry up and figure what beast is living in her stomach!
The souvenir I brought home from Peru which didn’t allow me to be more than 10m from a bathroom for 2 weeks.... Nov 2010
en NZ. Gracias amigas y amigos para una despidida muy bonita. Los quiero mucho!!! Nos vemos pronto....
After a gorgeous farewell BBQ and a beautiful farewell from all my friends in Chile when I went to visit NZ for 2 months, Jan Feb 2010
Took 20min to put on her socks (stupid Tait back)
Put her back out sleeping in her bed, ridiculous and frustrating as everythign took twenty times longer than necessary, and I’m not known for my patience... July 2009
Today my elementary student told me he was having Christmas with his family and "political mother" (mother in law). I nearly fell off my chair, it certainly made my day!
Students poetic mistakes. Another student said ‘cheers’ when I sneezed (a direct translation from Spanish usage of the workd salud). They try so hard and it makes me so proud. Dec 2010S
thinks its even more annoying when you don't understand the words to the song that is stuck in your head than when you do. Who knows what I am humming as I go around the supermarket...
Language learning, Jan 2010
was interested to learn that there was an "explosion of gays" in 2004 in Chile. Where did they come from? The sky? The things you learn in Spanish class ay?!
Basic Spanish classes Feb 2009
working working, colours, boxes, arrows, more colours, not really like work at all!
Writing conference presentations and posters for the Neuroscience conference in Cairns. July 2008
pichileeeeeeeeeeeeemu eh eh eh!
Trips to the coast with Eduardo. So much partying, so much family, so much love.
Sometime in 2009 or 2010
quiero tomar el sol en una playa linda... pero estoy aqui en la ciudad y hace frio!
NOT enjoying winter in Santiago Aug 2011
is looking forward to a evening watching Cricinfo.
NZ cricket tests when they looked like they might actually win something....
has been watching High School Musical - in Spanish.
TV is in Spanish, radio is in Spanish, everything is in Spanish! Kids programmes are just easier to understand. May 2009
has bought the cheap airfares to Cairns, now she just has buy the expensive ones to South America...
Flights for Char’s wedding and to live in Chile, exciting times. Who knew what would lie ahead. Three years later I remember the exact moment I wrote this, and basically announced to the world that I was leaving Aus to live and work in South America. It was 6pm on a Friday, I had given my resignation notice that morning, and I was about to head up to catch the end of work drinks. An emotional moment Dec 2008.
is working working, but not too long to go now!
The excitement of my last days at the Florey, and the adventures ahead, Melbourne Dec 2008
Karen Tait: the Christmas grinch.
Not feeling the Christmas spirit (ie missing the family), Dec 2010
had an amazing time picking grapes in the south of Chile with an amazing bunch of people
A defining moment in my life - a weekend where I met my best friends and the people who would become my family in Chile. I participated in a wedding there later the same year, saw the house destroyed by the eathquake, and the resilience of the people who are now rebuilding it. Beautiful people, full of love, acceptance and courage. This weekend is the reason that I am still in Chile after 3yrs. March 2009.
No mucho mas tiempo ahora hasta voy a ver mi pequeña guacala!
Getting excited about seeing my little dog in Chile after 2 months in NZ. March 2010
ate her weight in steak in Argentina, almost. They even have steak flavoured chips....
Border run to Mendoza, May 2009.
Donde puedo ver 'le tour' en Chile??!!!
Trying to find a location to watch Cadel Evans win the Tour de France, mid 2011.
Huevos, cafe, pan y sol! Necesito el periódico y el dia es perfecto!!
Eggs, coffee, bread and sun. Just need the paper and the day is perfect. April 2010, enjoying a lazy Sunday.
All Blacks, 11am Saturday.... anyone else up for a breakfast guinness (or coffee??)
Trying to excite some supporters, always a battle due to the time zone.. August 2011
thinks that the yanks might have finally done something right.
The election of Obama, whenever that was.
was eating steak in Argentina when a crazy Latin dance remix of Fat Freddy's 'Hope' came on the radio - go NZ music!
Border run to Mandoza May 2009, getting sentimental about NZ music.
is waiting for the people of Australia to wake up...
Waiting to skype my friends in Aussie for a catch-up. All too rare unfortunately.
is amazed at the number of public holidays in Chile - there is one every month!
Living in a Catolic country isn’t all bad - a realisation from May 2009
primavera + cerveza + el sol = Karen muy feliz!
Spring, beer and sun makes a happy Karen. Enjoying the patio in Bellavista in October 2009
hopes Mr Laing knows the profound effect he had on so many people.
The passing away of my extraordinary swimming coach, Mr Lang. A sad moment when I felt very far away. Mid 2010?
got on the party bus today and realised she was in South America! Latin band on public transport, with people dancing in the aisles....
Catching public transport in South America is often quite entertaining. Another experience to add to the shiny and new category of happenings, June 2009.
Wine with lunch - good decision; 5 glasses of very sweet orange stuff - bad decision; fish for lunch - good decision; left over chicken when I got home - really bad decision...
Celebratory lunch with Joanne after my first week as Grant’s Academic Director. Sept 2010
Thank goodness I was way up in the mountains enjoying swimming, swinging in a hammock, riding horses and drinking beer when the ABs decided to self destruct. Now, where has that good zen gone...
vs Australia December 2010
got caught by that rookie mistake - always have extra teaching material in case half your class doesn't show up and you have to postpone the planned test!!!
July 2009 – lacking those extra instant teaching ideas
needs a hottie. Any ideas on where to find one in Santiago?
en Buenos Aires esperando y esperando!
March 2010, waiting for my flight back to Chile
can run and talk in spanish, quite a workout for body and mind....
Running with Zeli, Nov 2009
Trabajo para hoy dia - un nuevo jardin con verduras....
Attempted vegetable gardening in Bellavista Sept 09. Unfortunately I went back to NZ, no one watered the garden through the hot Santiago days and what didn’t die immediately went to seed.
is watching the neurons march across the screen - again.
Mapping neuron trajctories in Melbourne July 2008
So this year I didn't walk 100km, but did the Inka trail instead. Next year the Himalayas? Who's keen...
Accomplishments and dreams near the end of 2010
thoughts and best wishes to all those affected by the mining tragedy - may you find some peace and closure soon.
After the Pike River mining accident in NZ, Nov 2010
Mañana Huaso Enrique? Tiki tiki ti!!
Any given Thursday in Santiago...
Has found somewhere permanent to live - yay! No more being a sponge!
First house in Santiago, March 2009
thinks house hunting is hard enough without factoring in a foreign language that you hardly speak!
The frustrations of house hunting in the first days in Santiago, February 2010
Observations of today: Bus drivers + road rage = frightening scenario, Karen running on the street + eating bread + choking = she has beautiful eyes, and cement truck + driving the wrong way on a one-way street = nothing new.
Santiago May 2010, its amazing the things that are no longer surprising.
slept through last nights aftershock. Apparently it was strong. Naty said she was waiting for me to come screaming up the stairs but it never happened... I must have been tired.
Getting used to the ground rattling underneath me. Stability has a whole new meaning. March 2010
Why does the word Spanish word for handcuffs look the same as the plural of wife? Two wives = handcuffs?? (Las esposas).
Language realisations, June 2011
won a trip to Peru, and is super excited about it!
April 2009 - won a trip with Intrepid to Peru, to walk the Inca trail and explore the villages surrounding Cusco.
will be touring Santiago today, giving classes in different corners of the city.
Sometime in early 2010. The realities of teaching English in Santiago are that you become extremely familiar with the metro and bus system as you pass many hours each day acquainting yourself with the insides of these fascinating places.
is enjoying the long straight flat roads of Lagmhor on her bike.
No traffic lights, no pedestrians, no significant hills, just miles and miles of flat road. Bliss on two wheels, at my parents house NZ February 2010
Sorry, what was the outcome of the game??? GREG????!!!!
Anytime NZ beats Aus at the rugby...
estoy cansada....
Tired, probably any given Friday of the year!
is on a diet of mote con huesillo until she gets paid...
November 2009, some very tight months financially when I remembered exactly what it was like to have to eat like a student, and to search under you bed / in the bottom of every bag you own, for every last peso that you have. Mote con hueillo is peach juice with corn in it, and it’s a cheap option when you have no money!
exhausted - too much talking, words finished....
After a day of 9hrs of class, including 3hrs at the airport, July 2009
really just wants to go down to the tav and have a few quiets with her bros and cuzzies.
Summer 2010 / 2011, a bit of homesickness. Summer is always the hardest when I talk to my family and they are all working hard in the harvest and I am not there to share it with them.
is at the library, planning English lessons, on a Saturday.
Planning practice English classes for my TEFL certificate, December 2008
had issues trying to hang her washing out with two fat possums sitting above her, just watching and waiting...
Fear of possums, especially after being peed on, Sept 2008 in Melbourne.
is totally over being sick and wishes the doctor would hurry up and figure what beast is living in her stomach!
The souvenir I brought home from Peru which didn’t allow me to be more than 10m from a bathroom for 2 weeks.... Nov 2010
en NZ. Gracias amigas y amigos para una despidida muy bonita. Los quiero mucho!!! Nos vemos pronto....
After a gorgeous farewell BBQ and a beautiful farewell from all my friends in Chile when I went to visit NZ for 2 months, Jan Feb 2010
Took 20min to put on her socks (stupid Tait back)
Put her back out sleeping in her bed, ridiculous and frustrating as everythign took twenty times longer than necessary, and I’m not known for my patience... July 2009
Today my elementary student told me he was having Christmas with his family and "political mother" (mother in law). I nearly fell off my chair, it certainly made my day!
Students poetic mistakes. Another student said ‘cheers’ when I sneezed (a direct translation from Spanish usage of the workd salud). They try so hard and it makes me so proud. Dec 2010S
thinks its even more annoying when you don't understand the words to the song that is stuck in your head than when you do. Who knows what I am humming as I go around the supermarket...
Language learning, Jan 2010
was interested to learn that there was an "explosion of gays" in 2004 in Chile. Where did they come from? The sky? The things you learn in Spanish class ay?!
Basic Spanish classes Feb 2009
working working, colours, boxes, arrows, more colours, not really like work at all!
Writing conference presentations and posters for the Neuroscience conference in Cairns. July 2008
pichileeeeeeeeeeeeemu eh eh eh!
Trips to the coast with Eduardo. So much partying, so much family, so much love.
Sometime in 2009 or 2010
quiero tomar el sol en una playa linda... pero estoy aqui en la ciudad y hace frio!
NOT enjoying winter in Santiago Aug 2011
is looking forward to a evening watching Cricinfo.
NZ cricket tests when they looked like they might actually win something....
has been watching High School Musical - in Spanish.
TV is in Spanish, radio is in Spanish, everything is in Spanish! Kids programmes are just easier to understand. May 2009
has bought the cheap airfares to Cairns, now she just has buy the expensive ones to South America...
Flights for Char’s wedding and to live in Chile, exciting times. Who knew what would lie ahead. Three years later I remember the exact moment I wrote this, and basically announced to the world that I was leaving Aus to live and work in South America. It was 6pm on a Friday, I had given my resignation notice that morning, and I was about to head up to catch the end of work drinks. An emotional moment Dec 2008.
is working working, but not too long to go now!
The excitement of my last days at the Florey, and the adventures ahead, Melbourne Dec 2008
Karen Tait: the Christmas grinch.
Not feeling the Christmas spirit (ie missing the family), Dec 2010
had an amazing time picking grapes in the south of Chile with an amazing bunch of people
A defining moment in my life - a weekend where I met my best friends and the people who would become my family in Chile. I participated in a wedding there later the same year, saw the house destroyed by the eathquake, and the resilience of the people who are now rebuilding it. Beautiful people, full of love, acceptance and courage. This weekend is the reason that I am still in Chile after 3yrs. March 2009.
No mucho mas tiempo ahora hasta voy a ver mi pequeña guacala!
Getting excited about seeing my little dog in Chile after 2 months in NZ. March 2010
ate her weight in steak in Argentina, almost. They even have steak flavoured chips....
Border run to Mendoza, May 2009.
Donde puedo ver 'le tour' en Chile??!!!
Trying to find a location to watch Cadel Evans win the Tour de France, mid 2011.
Huevos, cafe, pan y sol! Necesito el periódico y el dia es perfecto!!
Eggs, coffee, bread and sun. Just need the paper and the day is perfect. April 2010, enjoying a lazy Sunday.
All Blacks, 11am Saturday.... anyone else up for a breakfast guinness (or coffee??)
Trying to excite some supporters, always a battle due to the time zone.. August 2011
thinks that the yanks might have finally done something right.
The election of Obama, whenever that was.
was eating steak in Argentina when a crazy Latin dance remix of Fat Freddy's 'Hope' came on the radio - go NZ music!
Border run to Mandoza May 2009, getting sentimental about NZ music.
is waiting for the people of Australia to wake up...
Waiting to skype my friends in Aussie for a catch-up. All too rare unfortunately.
is amazed at the number of public holidays in Chile - there is one every month!
Living in a Catolic country isn’t all bad - a realisation from May 2009
primavera + cerveza + el sol = Karen muy feliz!
Spring, beer and sun makes a happy Karen. Enjoying the patio in Bellavista in October 2009
hopes Mr Laing knows the profound effect he had on so many people.
The passing away of my extraordinary swimming coach, Mr Lang. A sad moment when I felt very far away. Mid 2010?
got on the party bus today and realised she was in South America! Latin band on public transport, with people dancing in the aisles....
Catching public transport in South America is often quite entertaining. Another experience to add to the shiny and new category of happenings, June 2009.
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