La Familia

Chilean Host Family (minus the youngest) from Right to Left: Sebastian, Marta, Alejandro, Nacho!
Gringos from Right to Left: Matt, Vanessa, Peter, Heather, Alex

Living with a host family has and will continue to be an interesting experience. Like my real home, there are three boys, a mother and father. Alejandro Nicanor Zuleta Pena is my host-father. Marta Natalia Galvez Gamboa is my host mother. In Chile everyone has two given names and two last names. Given name 1 + Given name 2 + Father’s first last name + Mother’s first last name. For example, my youngest host-brother’s name is Nicanor Enrique Zuleta Galvez. If you refer back to my host-parents names you’ll understand. The middle host-brother’s name is Ignaccio, or Nacho! (I’m pretty sure the exclamation point is part of the name). The oldest is Sebastian. Despite the machismo culture of Chile, women do not drop either of their last names after marriage. They actually do not take the name of their spouse at all. Instead women will add: de + spouse’s father’s last name (first last name).

Did you get that? I have a hard time explaining things…Yet I’m here as a teacher, speaking another language, go figure.

Anyway…My host-dad works in a mine about ten hours North of Taltal called Collahuasi. He is a mechanical engineer and works on the machines throughout the mine. Collahuasi is a mining company that produces copper concentrate, copper cathodes and molybdenum concentrate from three open-pit mineral deposits in the Andean plateau of the far north of Chile. Alejandro leaves at 5am on Wednesday morning and returns the following week on Thursday in the morning. On his time off he fixes things around the house, drinks beer during lunch, takes siestas, prepares asados (barbeques), helps with the construction of the extension to the house, disappears in the late afternoon, explains things to me like I’m a child, drives around honking and waving at people, bothers the gringo, and hosts gringo parties and partakes in the festivities (which includes coming to the disco with us). He is extremely friendly, outgoing, a little intense, and always willing to help. It is actually nice to only see him every other week; I don’t think I could handle him everyday. I think the dinner conversation us gringos had with him pretty much sums up his personality. He polished off enough beer and wine for a wedding, had called me Weon (asshole or idiot, but not in a bad way) at least ten times, explained his passion for beautiful women at least five times, told us the story of his marriage to Marta three months after meeting her, and finished off with something about God and his mother. Remember, he had only known my gringo friends for about three hours. He’s great, but like I said, in doses.

Marta is from the south of Chile. She met Alejandro in the North. I don’t know what she was doing up here, but three months later she was married to the Alejandro. Let’s just say they had a very reason to get married after only three months…Marta is very religious. I am not sure what church she belongs to. She goes to church every Sunday, watches church TV, and listens to church radio. She is the boss of all household things and a master with the iron. She did not receive a high-school level education, so she attends classes five days a week from 7pm to 11pm. By now she probably has the best grade in English because I do, I mean explain, all her homework. I do not understand Marta too well because she speaks in different tones, draws out words, and drops the ending of words. My most interesting conversation with her thus far was over religion. I have a tough time explaining my views in English, just imagine that conversation in Spanish. I’m pretty sure that she thinks all humans are literally descendants of Israel. I have politely declined her invitations to mass numerous times.

Sebastian is the oldest brother and attends University in Antofagasta. He is 18 years old, does not go out much, he enjoys anime and video games. He is home every other weekend. Nacho! is in the middle. He is 16 years old. He and I spend a lot of time at the beach together because he body boards. Body boarding is very popular here because a body board is much less expensive, and more durable, than a surf board. He is a junior in high-school. I have a lot of fun with him explaining the significance of words that one hears in rap and reggae music. Examples include: I’ll woop your head boy, No woman no cry, Youza window shoppa and many other much more vulgar things that I will not write. One of my favorite things to do here is go for a drive with him at night and cruise the empty streets of Taltal listening to music from the eighties. Sometimes I actually feel like I am in 1980, it’s pretty interesting. Nicanor, 11, is hilarious. He skips around the house without a care in the world, playing with his finger-skateboards. Though Marta does order him around like a private in the army. He huffs and puffs and makes funny sounds when she orders him around. My favorite sound is his long sigh he lets out after being force fed and stuffed with food. It’s not a satisfying sigh, rather a more painful one, and I think to myself, I know the feeling kid. The portions at lunch are enough to last me the rest of the day, but leaving food on your plate is rude. They don’t understand the concept of secounds, there’s only firsts here. And you better finish your firsts.

The family has been great. I really have no complaints. After my spanish improves maybe I'll be able to give you more details. It's a bit strange because I have known them for almost two months now, yet only know about a few days worth of information. They treat me like a son and I am extremely greatful.

Here is a picture of the youngest skateboarding:

Mi Vida en la calle 23 de Enero

When I finally got around to finishing this one I realized it was a bit long and boring. It is my attempt to describe my life so far in Chile. So let me sum it up for you if you do not wish to read the entire entry:

Sleep - with 5 blankets, it is 40 degrees at night
Eat - más pan? Pan (bread) is eaten in copious amounts
Plan (for class) - this takes me forever for some reason
Teach - gives me headaches, but can be quite fun at times
Surf - with the gym teacher, a 5 minute drive to a nice left rock reef break
Study – Spanish and how to be more Chilean, and less gringo
Talk – this is extremely difficult in another language, for example, trying to explain why I want to prepare (pour milk) my own cereal or why I won’t attend mass

And if you're feeling ambitious:


Vivo en la calle 23 de Enero. I am still trying to figure out the significance of this date. I actually just asked the entire family, ¨Que significa, Veintitres de enero?¨ Each gave me a shrug of the shoulders and a “No sé por qué”. I live in the North of Taltal, about a half-kilometer (according Sebastian, oldest host brother) from the town center. It is a ten minute walk south over “the hill” to the town center. I have easy access to a few stores around the corner on my side of town, and rarely need to walk to the town center. Well, I rarely need to buy anything anyway so it really does not matter.

Hers is my attempt to paint you a picture of where I come and go from everyday:

I can see the mountains from my house and the ocean horizon from the street.
The home is protected by a ten foot sheet of metal held up by wooden posts. The gate is obnoxiously large, and a pain to swing open and closed. When you pass through the gate there is about ten feet of dirt, just enough space to pull the car in at night. The ground is then concrete for about another ten feet, plenty of space to shuck clams, mussels, filet and hang fish, and hang out and drink a few beers.

The house is longer than it is wide for the first two-thirds. The first twenty-five feet or so consists of the living room, dining room, and kitchen together. The room then narrows off into a hallway of about twenty feet long, with two rooms off to the right. Ignacio, the middle son, sleeps in the first room. I sleep in the second. The bathroom is at the end of hallway and is actually quite large. The house widens at the end of the hallway and evens out. To the left is the “game room” with the computer, washer, and bed to sit on. The master bedroom is back here, along with Nicanor’s room, the youngest son. I currently occupy Sebastian’s room, the oldest son who is studying in Antofagasta city and staying with a relative. The backyard is used to hang clothes. There is an unfinished part of land for the first two-thirds of the home to left and is currently under construction. To my understanding they are adding another bathroom and bedroom.

My room is about 10’x15’, plenty of space. I even have a 12” TV. The house is cleaned everyday by Marta, the mother. My room is cleaned everyday and my bed is made. Something I am very capable of, but after doing it myself day 1, and having it redone later that day, I have since stopped trying. However, I am pretty sure my host mom peruses through my things out of curiosity and boredom (we were warned about this). Marta does not have a job outside the home. She cooks, cleans, drives, does laundry (mine too), and maintains order. She is also a master with the iron. I could not stop laughing the first time I was given a pile of my underwear ironed and folded. I have two windows in my room, but neither face outside. One is boarded up because of an extension that was done to the house. The other is a window to the hallway. When was the last time you saw a bedroom with a window to a hallway? Apparently these are very popular in Chile.

During the week I get up around 7:00 am, for class at 8:00 am. It is still pretty dark and cold at 8 because the sun doesn’t reach the mountain crests until about 9. Breakfast usually consists of cold or hot cereal, an apple, maybe some yoghurt. Breakfasts are never big in Chile. Also, Chile is not a coffee drinking country, so you can scratch that from the menu unless you buy some instant coffee made by Nestlé. Lunch is the largest meal of the home, and of all of Chile. It spans from 1:00 to 3:00 and is equivalent to dinner in the States. Once, or Té, is eaten around 6:00 or 7:00pm at my house and usually consists of leftovers, bread and butter, and some sort of salad, and of course tea. Also, usually something too sweet like powdered donuts and a large glass of coca cola. The Chileans love sugar. Nothing can get done during lunch hours in Taltal. This is not the case in larger cities.

Meals can get awkwardly silent sometimes, but as a friend once said, it’s only awkward if you make it awkward. But nothing is as awkward as an upside turtle…Anyway, Nacho and Nicanor always want to watch TV so that helps. Yes, the family calls Ignaccio, Nacho, I chuckle every time Marta screams “Nacho!!!” from across the home. Also, when Alejandro, the father, is home for the week (he works 7 on and 7 off at a mine) he always finds a way to communicate. He is great and could probably find a way to explain Calculus to me in Spanish. He used to work in a mine in Brazil and he told me he would have to speak very clear and slow in order for the Brazilians to understand him. He does the same for me. He is also extremely outgoing and feels the need to tell me everything at every moment. I do not think he would be able to handle silence, this has worked out for improving my Spanish.

Things are slightly better when the father is around. I am able to communicate better and learn more Spanish. Also, the food is better and there is more seafood. He is the man about town, whenever I am in the car with him he is constantly beeping and waving at people, pulling over to have a conversation, or occasionally popping into a house to say a hello. Picking up bread can take a long time sometimes. He is a native Taltalino, unlike my host-mom Marta who is from the South.

Weekends are spent sleeping, surfing, studying Spanish, and hanging out with my new Chilean friends. Parties last until 5 or 6 in the morning. But this is not because beer is being guzzled. Chileans just love to talk and they don’t ever seem to get tired. The great thing about this is I am able to practice my Spanish. However, as every volunteer can relate to, there comes a point in the day when you are physically and mentally exhausted from translating Spanish in your head all day, and sleep is the only remedy.

Teaching has been quite difficult. English is the students’ most difficult class and it shows. Trying to plan an activity that is interesting, fun, appropriate, and effective is difficult, especially when you don’t speak the students’ language. I´ll try and elaborate on teaching in another post.

So eh, that's all for now. I should be throwing up another post about the family soon.

Here is a photo of Taltal from a distance, yeah, it´s small...