Tu eres loca o no?

Here in Chile, the process of finding a job is a little different than at home.  In Texas, looking for a teaching job includes checking out TMEA.com, hearsay from friends, and ultimately filling out a school district application that takes 4 hours.  Job openings are advertised, albeit sometimes for no reason, but with enough internet digging you can at least know what is going on. 

Who you know is important everywhere.  Who I knew is the reason I had keys to my band hall at Alamo before I had actually interviewed with anyone or even met the principal.  In Chile, who you know is everything.  They call it “pituto”, and it is more valuable than any degree or experience it seems. 

Almost immediately upon arrival I missed teaching.  (I say almost to be completely honest).  It isn’t that I haven’t enjoyed free time to explore a new place and be a student again, but it was REALLY weird not having kids to call my own when September rolled around.  I knew that even if it wasn’t going to be possible to teach band here, I needed to get back in a classroom.

I was so nervous for my first interview, realizing I’d never actually had a proper job interview since interviewing with Applebee’s in college.  Actually, even that one went something like this:

“So you have no restaurant experience?”

“No… but I’m pretty good with people”

“Yeah… ok… you start Monday.”

At my first interview, the interviewer, instead of asking me questions, read my resume aloud to me, pointing out that I was obviously a qualified applicant.  Then I left, realizing that yet again, that wasn’t an interview, but more of me saying “yes” when they said… “So you really had 130 kids in ONE class”, and “you’ve dealt with kids with learning disabilities before?” and “You organized concerts?  Wow!”.  Somehow that school thought my experience teaching 7^th and 8^th grade band meant I would be an AWESOME 2^nd grade teacher.  I was excited.

THEN… because Michael went on a job interview, and happened to talk a little small talk with his psychological interviewer (getting there) who happened to know that another school was looking for a Native English speaker with teaching experience, I got another interview… this time at an actual Chilean school.

This interview took place in both English and Spanish, and I even had to actually answer a few questions this time.  The really interesting part was the next thing…

Before Chilean companies will hire you, they send you to another “psychological interview” firm to confirm that you aren’t nuts, I guess.  I had no idea what to expect, other than the fact that the email said it would take 3 hours… and it did.

First, I received a three-page questionnaire in Spanish, and was taken to a small cubicle to complete it.  After the first page, I emerged from my cave to ask the girl if I had to answer everything in Spanish.  She said yes, and then I said no way.  My reasoning:  I speak Spanish like a child, and I didn't want that written down forever in a file somewhere.  It is one thing to answer questions and just worry about communicating, but it is quite another for your bad grammar and child-like vocabulary to be permanently accessible.  They agreed to allow me to answer questions like “What about your last job makes you qualified for the job you are applying for?”

After that, I got to answer 80 plus questions that were “fill in the shape”, as in, squiggly triangle plus circle equals squiggly circle, so square plus triangle equals… what?

THEN, and only then we got to the interview part, where I proceeded to answer job related questions in Spanish, occasionally sneaking in an English word when my vocabulary failed, and honestly feeling decent for the first time in awhile about my Spanish progress. 

Then it was time for the ink blots.  (Yeah, those are actually real.)  I don’t know what those things can possibly tell about your psyche (I’m not trained obviously) other than if you constantly see death, blood, or marijuana leaves.  This went something like this( but mostly in Spanish):

Ink Blot 1:

Lady: “What do you see?”

Me: “Ummm.. a bat”

Lady: “How is it a bat?”

Me: “Well… it has wings, and a head, and well, maybe it is a no-legged bat”

Lady: “Ok, what else do you see?”

Me: “Something else?”

Lady: “Yes, what else could it be?”

Me: seriously reaching… “A president looking in the mirror”

Ink Blot 2:

Lady: “ What about this one?”

Me: “Lungs, like inside the body, like the things that let you breathe (just incase my Spanish word for lung was wrong”

Lady: “What else?”

Me: “Seriously?  Uhhh.. Elephants, at the circus”

Lady: “You don’t see people?”

Me: thinking that this is totally a trick question… answering apprehensively “Nooooo…”

Ink Blot 3:

Same old crap..

Me: “A guy wearing a bowtie” (I didn't know the word for bowtie, so then I did some charades)

Lady: “Or?”

Me… “I guess it could be Germany??”

Ink Blot 4

Me:  In English now, because I’m tired.  “A trophy.”

Lady: ????

Me:  “hmm maybe a goblet

Lady: ???

Me: needing to change my answer to something I could either say or describe in Spanish.. “Like in Church… when you take communion” (Winning answer!!)

There were like 5 more… all I know is that ignored the red blots, and tended to see internal organs, animals, and outlines of countries (perhaps I secretly love geography, or want to visit a country where I can see bats AND breathe at the same time… who knows).  It was the most bizarre experience, and I think I will never feel nervous for an interview again, because I was able to prove I wasn't crazy, while speaking a language that I don’t actually speak… or maybe I proved that I am just crazy enough to make a good teacher… either way.

I start in March!  I am going to be in charge of a new “English Resource” room, coming up with nontraditional activities to help students learn their English. The possibilities are so endless, and I’m pumped!!  They also found it stupid to hire me and not make me a part of the music department as well, which means I am hopefully going to help that expand as well (mainly from a performance stand point… music class teaches a lot of music history here from what I understand).  I look forward to putting on a spectacle of English songs!!  I will be the only Native English speaker at the school, which means all of my correspondence with teachers and parents will be in Spanish even though I will ONLY speak English to the kids.  I can’t wait to be a teacher again!  I can’t wait to learn more about education in a new place!  I can’t wait to become a better teacher in general!  I am so excited about a new challenge !!  More than anything, I’m so excited to realize that I really did choose the right career path because I am so excited.  After feeling slightly burned out at times, I still don’t feel completely me when I’m not teaching.  I can’t wait to pick the brains of my elementary school and English teaching friends and colleagues and maybe even connect our students through Skype! 

Basically, Am I crazy or not??  I’m sure some people would answer with a definitive YES!  But according to the ink blots, I’m just crazy enough! 

Saying Goodbye to Peru, and Hello to visitors!

We rounded out our trip to Peru by slowing making our back from Cusco to Arequipa to Tacna to Arica to Santiago.  Our last day in Cusco, before taking the overnight bus back to Arequipa, we spent walking the streets and writing postcards.

One of the traditional dishes of Peru is "Cuy" which is basically a whole fried or bbq-ed Guinea Pig.  This restaurant had a giant mascot of a Chef Guinea Pig which I found to be incredibly wrong in so many ways.

These ninos dressed themselves up to make a buck or two... I found them cute so obviously paid them to take a picture with their llama.  

Our overnight bus trip from Cusco to Arequipa was followed immediately by another bus ride from Arequipa to Tacna.  This time we were treated to "The Horse Whisperer" starring a young Scar-Jo and Robert Redford dubbed in Spanish, but then our bus had not one but TWO flat tires, causing our driver to randomly bang on things for about an hour until I unwittingly looked out the window to see the shredded tire that had been on our bus as we weaved through the crossbacks.  We were soon on our way, and eventually made it back to Arica. 

Since our flight home was late in the afternoon, we spent our final day of vacation hanging out at the beach, perfecting the art of boogie-boarding and getting wicked sunburns.  My ability to put on sunscreen resulted in a sunburn on my feet that looked like I was wearing red socks that has lasted for 3 whole weeks.  My only souvenir from Arica.  

We returned home to Santiago where Blas had arrived the day before.  The following week, the rest of the Zenteno clan arrived, which was obviously a reason for an all day Sunday celebration with the entire family.  It was one of those days where you realize that event though there are terrible things in the world (The Newton shooting), there exists simultaneously so much awesome.  I guess our happiness is made better by our suffering and our suffering made worse because before we were happy.  (Philosophy....)

Blas holding a fish head.... 

A Makeshift basketball goal.

If you look closely, you can see my red sock.

Life is Precious.

The Trek to Machu PIcchu (Peru Part... yeah)

Our trip to Machu Picchu began with the sound of an alarm clock at 3:15am, as our departure time was 4 on the dot.  (4 AM as our tour guide Javier told us multiple times the evening before).  We began the day with an hour bus ride, followed by about an hour scenic train ride on Peru-Rail, the beautiful blue tourist train, that if you stay on it, will take you all the way to Aguas Calientes, the little town closest to Machu Picchu.  We hopped off at Km 104 to begin our 7ish hour hike UP (almost leaving Michael in the bathroom).  Immediately, everyone in our group seemed to forget the early hour and began soaking in the first of literally thousands of picture-worthy moments.  Our cast of characters made the hours fly by as we hiked, rested, listened to the ever-so-knowledgeable Javier tell us about "his ancestors" and their struggles, climbed Incan stairs which are incredibly steep for people that had such small legs, and soaked up the natural beauty around us.  

Our group consisted of us, a girl from Germany, one from The Netherlands, a 71 year-old woman from Arizona named Judy (she was a rockstar that had no trouble keeping up with us), and a group of 7 guys from Dallas (what are the odds).  It made for fantastic conversation about travel, the Texas Rangers, owning hotels, flying advice, Jerry Jones, and ultimately reality TV.

(Side story: During the first night "roll call"  one guy had a name that Michael and I immediately recognized.  We actually thought we may have gone to HS with him before we realized he was quite a bit older.  Eventually through conversation, and some random girls recognizing him in the hostel, we realized that he didn't actually go to Lee HS, but was actually "The Bachelor" from a few years back.  I guess that would explain why the name sounded familiar.  I googled him later to find out that season of "The Bachelor" was called "On the Wings of Love.." so there's that.)

Although it is rainy season, the sun stayed out for our entire hike to Winay Wayna and then on the actual Inca trail to Machu Picchu.  We saw a waterfall, killer ants, and entered the sacred ground of Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate, just like the Incans did 500 years ago.  

"You guys will thank me for this later"--- he was right.  What a great picture.

A "park ranger" watching over Winay Wayna.  Not a bad view every day.

When we arrived at the Sun Gate, it was midday.  Our first views of this wonder of the world were every bit as overwhelming as I thought they would be.  There aren't words to describe something like this place--- mystical, incredible, majestic-- while all accurate descriptions, don't actually come close to painting you a picture.  We sat in the Sun Gate, and watched the rainy season creep up on us, as the pilot kept trying to decide whether or not it would turn our way.  It eventually did, and a portion of tour was conducted in the rain as we were the last people to leave for the day.  (Javier kindly ignored the rangers telling him to go until he was finished doing what he wanted... ).  

There is a "dramatic" setting on my camera which makes all things look rad.

Our fellow Texans lugged a giant Texas flag to represent the Lone Star State in Inca land.  We may have forgotten that red goes on bottom, but we represented just the same.

And then we embraced the rain before heading down to Aguas Calientes.  

Once we arrived at our hostel, Javier asked how much time we needed before we'd all be ready to head to the bar.  Pisco Sours and Cusquena rounded out an excellent day before we headed to bed to prepare for our second visit to Machu Picchu the following morning, yet again at stupid o'clock.  

We made it (barely) to Machu Picchu the following morning in time for sunrise.  Yet again, we were blessed with gorgeous weather, stunning views, and an incredibly passionate tour guide.  As we walked through the old city, we all grew more and more excited for our hike of Huyana Picchu (the mountain that gives you the epic view of the city) in a few short hours.  The clouds hung low like smoke on the water (you're singing it aren't you) making the ancient city eerie in a good way.

Ninja duck makes an appearance.

Our other tour guide Andy.

This llama appears happy now, but earlier he was trying to "get frisky" with another llama, causing the park ranger to chase him full speed with a belt.  One of the guys on our group decided he felt sorry for him and tried to feed him a granola bar, getting him in trouble (yet again) with the "Machupolice".

Sunrise at Machu Picchu.

Before I left Alamo, one of my darling students gave me this bracelet and I quote "so Alamo would always be in my heart."  I visited this place the week after these students competed in their All City competition, and I was seriously overwhelmed with excitement for their success.  I feel super blessed to have the opportunity to be doing what I am doing, but that kid (at only age 12) was right... I will always be connected to Alamo.  When Javier asked me what my bracelet meant, I got almost choked up telling him about my kids I had left behind; however, I can rest easy knowing that they are taken care of :).

Javier explained the Incan cross on his necklace.  We so lucky to have had such a knowledgeable tour guide with so much passion for the Incan culture.  (He even speaks the ancient language).  The Incans believed in giving to the Mother Earth and one of their pillars or rules of their faith was the act of "not being lazy".  Everyone paid "taxes" in the form of work, they embraced the acquisition of knowledge, and they managed to keep their "holy city" hidden from the Spaniards even long after they were gone.  (Yellow fever wiped them out unfortunately).  If was fascinating to learn all about the people who built this magnificent place that is still standing.  

That is "Huaynapicchu".. the mountain we would climb soon.

And THEN!! The world remembered it was rainy season, meaning it started and never stopped.  We climbed that mountain in the pouring rain triumphantly.  Yet again, the steps seemed awfully steep for those tiny Incan legs that used to make the trip.  By the time we reached the top, there wasn't an inch of dry on any of us.  We looked out for the excellent view and saw... clouds.  These pictures could have been taken with a white wall behind us,  but I assure you, we are at the top of that stinking mountain.  Javier mentioned that his record speed to the top was 17 minutes, we definitely took closer to 45.

This was my attempt to sneak a picture of Machu Picchu from about half way down.  As you can see, I was less that successful.  By the time we made it down, not only were we soaked to the bone, but everything in our backpacks was soaked too.  We all made our way through the rain to the bus and back to our hostel for dinner, the rain never ceasing.  Because everything was soaked, I made the purchase of these over the top PERU Pants (along with about 5 other members of our group).  

By the time we made it to the train, everyone was super tired... as displayed by this adorable picture.

When we finally made it back to Cusco, our group dispersed for showers, and even though our tour was over, we met up to eat dinner.  We found a Peruvian restaurant WITH dancing entertainment (unintentionally) which somehow brought up "Dancing with the Stars" and that the Bachelor guy had been on it.  Nice.  We enjoyed one another's company and late that night went our separate ways, always sharing a once in a lifetime experience.