First Impressions

I have been in the Elqui Valley for a week. I have had two pisco sours, have wanted to smack four 2nd graders, climbed one mountain, spent 14+ hours on a bus, and am writing looking at three of 3000 mountains.

Pisco is the furthest of moderate sized towns in the valley. The closest normal sized town is Vicuna an hour away and the closest city is La Serena two hours away by bus. Pisco, Montegrande and Paihuano have the three schools that volunteers are sent to and there are also tiny towns that volunteers get sent to once a week or so. Luckily for me I live in Pisco and work in the Escuela something something Godoy which is in Pisco. One of the other volunteers works in Paihuano and has to leave at 7:15 and the other one works in the satellite villages and has to travel all day between schools.

Most of the schools have new English teachers thanks to the Fundacion which is funded by the Valley’s wealthy man. My teacher Carlos used to teach at a private school where parents paid about 40,000 pesos a month (60 dollars) quite expensive from Chilean standards. He says the biggest difference is materials, i.e. he used to have them and now he doesn’t. I think he is a very good teacher with a lot of patience.

My first day I only had to go for assembly where I was introduced to the students, teachers and parents by the principal as the “senorita whose name I can not pronounce.” My first meeting with him he told me I had the face of a 15-year old, which does not give me a lot of confidence in my authority.

Chileans have as much trouble with my name as USA citizens. I have learned to say I am from Estados Unidos instead of America as I was quickly told they were from America too. I normally spend the first five minutes of class trying to teach the pronunciation of Imogen. The closest most get is eemohen. Mostly they find Miss easier.

I like working in Pisco because it means I am recognizable, not just enough strangely pale face. I get summons of Miss or Tia all the time from students, or La inglese from parents.

After being here a week Tota went to the beach with her daughter and a friend came to stay. Now Tota is back I am meeting many more people. There is a nice group of slightly hippy mostly single mothers. Their children go the Jardin, the Waldorf school, and they are a very nice support group for each other. Many live in Baquedano, a street that leads up away from the town. The nicest looking hostel is also in Baquedano, the owner is friend with everyone and today we went and picked figs, and Maria Tota’s daughter regularly goes to pick grapes.

All in all, after the first overwhelming feeling I was living in a complete foreign and incompatible society I have adjusted and am very happy. The adjustment most likely started when I figured out how to have hot water in the shower.

x