Postscript

Here are some things I meant to add to the last post, haha sorry.

My school (continued)- There are no substitute teachers. When a teacher has to be somewhere else between the hours of 7-1 they just don´t show up for class, and the students go home.
Classes don´t start or end on time. This is partly because the bell system is not automatic. This means that whenever someone thinks it is time for classes to start they will flip the switch and the bell will ring. Quite often, due to fast or slow watches combined with human error, this means that everyone and everything is in a mild state of chaos. Sometimes class will end five minutes early, and others five to ten minutes late. This is especially annoying at the end of the day which is supposed to be 1PM, but often ends closer to 12:40PM. The teacher´s don´t seem to mind this too much as they are eager (in general) to get home to eat lunch and watch telenovelas (soap operas).
The students are unfamiliar with the concept of raising their hand before they want to speak. It´s not that they are bad kids, they´re pretty good for the most part, they just don´t understand that screaming across the room at each other the entire class is considered impolite. Speaking of politeness, it is rare to hear kids say please or thank you here (in Spanish or in English). Again I don´t think it´s a reflection of disresepect, it´s just that no one expects this of them.

Media- There are 5 (I think) TV stations here, the most popular being TVN. Roughly, 3/4 of their programming is soap operas. They are very dramatic, often with bad acting, and sometimes contain material that I would be shocked to find in the U.S. during prime-time. For example, there is a show that comes on about 3 nights a weeks (at 8PM) called Sin Sensos No Hay Paraiso which means Without Breasts There Is No Paradise. It tells the story of four highschool girls in Colombia who go to great lengths to get breast implants. Then, somehow, they end up as trafficked strippers in Mexico. It´s pretty adult content for 8PM at night, in my opinion.
Radio stations here play a mix of reggaeton, pop, and musica tipica (typical music). However, the DJ´s have a habbit not allowing a song to play through all the way. They interrupt it with their commentary, singing, and sound effects (like fog horns, laugh tracks, and the sound of glass shattering). It´s interesting...

Spanish- My Spanish has definately improved since I´ve been here! At first I felt like I could hardly understand anyone, due to the accent and my general confusion with my new surroundings. However, now I wouldn´t consider myself completely fluent but I feel much more confortable conversing with everyone from teacher´s to taxi drivers. I still make a lot of mistakes in daily conversations, but I am learning from them.

Below is a list of things I have yet to see in my village, just to give you an idea of what it´s like:

1. a computer with internet access

2. a vegetable peeler

3. a trash can in a kitchen (we have one in the bathroom, but no where else)

4. hand soap

5. a person washing their hands

6. a person wearing a seatbelt

7. a bookstore

8. library

9. bakery

10. any type of lettuce other than iceberg

11. a person smoking

12. a child reading a book

13. a person begging

14. a car wreck

15. an ATM

16. a dog on a leash

17. road kill

18. pharmacy

19. a person jogging

20. whole wheat bread

°I made that list a few days ago in my journal. It´s just interesting to reflect how small these things are on their own, but I feel like you could find all of the pretty easily in any city in the U.S..

All in all I really am still enjoying my time here. I feel that this experience has changed my outlook on many things. I have proven to myself that I can be independent, and learn how to interact with another culture. I have also developed a strong interest in U.S. educational policy.

More next week!

Besitas,

Jenn