I'm back...to blogging. I'm still in Chile...

A summary of the last several months of my life.

Better late than never......

Yes, it was back in March 2010 when I was preparing to leave for Chile to volunteer for the year. I had been laid off in the summer of 2009 thanks to stupid people and stupider banks and a faltering economy. I took some time to travel and then came back to NY towards the end of 2009 to a still struggling economy and with even more uncertainty than with when I left.

The truth is I can't blame it all on the economy, I had never been too sure about my career. And after my post-lay-off trip and meeting people from all around the world, I was even more certain about my uncertainty...what? Well what I mean is I was sure that I didn't want to settle down right away with a job in NYC. I was hungry for adventure and something new. I kicked around and dabbled in a few part-time jobs at the end of 2009/start of 2010 until I finally made the decision to go to Chile.

I applied to a volunteer teaching position in Chile and started in April 2010. A lot of people, including Chileans, ask me why Chile? Well there were a few principal reasons. The volunteer program was well organized, had no fee, included a monthly stipend and room and board with a Chilean family. Most other programs require fees and don't include much. And then there was the language, I'd always wanted to learn spanish and be bilingual. (The wine, women and sea food were just the icing on the cake).

So I did it.....you've read the blog posts, seen the pictures on facebook...but then what happened? I finished the volunteer program in November 2010 and then what? Well in October before finishing as a volunteer I made the decision to extend my stay and I found a teaching position in Antofagasta, a city located 3 hours from the small town Taltal. Yes, still in the desert, but yes, still on the coast...

After finishing my program I met up with my friend Alex who'd been traveling through Peru and Bolivia. We travelled together to the South of Chile to climb volcanoes and see glaciers. We rode a 36 hour bus north through Argentina to Buenos Aires. We partied in Buenos Aires and learned the meaning of arrogance (don't ever tell a person from BA that you're from the states). And we finished our trip on the beaches of Uruguay. By this time it was Christmas and I was on the my flight home to NYC.

I spent Christmas and New Years with my family. I ate pizza and oversized sandwiches, drank beer, and shoveled snow. In January I was already on my way back to Chile where it just so happened to be the beginning of their summer. I found a place in the city of Antofagasta and started teaching on March 1st. I was living the life of a teacher, long vacations and pounding head aches. I've left out a lot of details, but if you've read my blog I'm sure you already know teaching here (nor anyway) is easy. To make it even worse, my new school was extremely disorganized.

In 2010 I had a support line, people from the English Opens Doors program that checked up on us, gave us support, spoke English....But in Antofagasta I was on my own. I was a teacher in the school system just like any other teacher. Of course I was treated a bit differently, but teaching is teaching. The school where I was teaching is a semi-private school and I thought the students would be better behaved than the students of the public school where I was volunteering the year before. I was wrong, very wrong.. Long story short, in June I took a job teaching at a Language Institute.

Since June 2011 I've been working at a Language Institute called Anglia. All classes are one-on-one. We primarily teach professionals looking to advance their careers. English is like gold here, speak English and you are guaranteed to move up the ladder...Antofagasta is the location of a lot of international mining company offices. Most are owned by English speaking countries like Australia, Canada, USA, South Africa, etc. I teach Monday - Friday, 8 - 10, 1 - 3, and 5 - 9, and on Saturday from 10 - 1. Those are the hours that the students are available, before or after work and during lunch. The environment is great and I like my coworkers. Though this whole teaching English thing is getting old for me....

So that should bring you up to speed with life for now. Like I said, I'm starting to get a bit bored of teaching English, and there is no future in it. Well, at least not for me in Chile. I'll never return to the school system of Chile (just google Chile education strike and see why). And though teaching one-on-one classes with mature adults is nice and rewarding, I don't see a future in it.

So then what's next? Good question... The interesting part of what I'm doing now is that I've actually made a lot of connections. I teach business executives, secretaries, and engineers from companies like BHP Billiton, one of the biggest mining companies in the world. One of my students suggested that I apply to a job called the 2012 BHP graduate program, designed for young college graduates who need mentoring, direction and some job structure to start a career. So I did...

I applied for the job in August and will know by January whether or not I got the job. It would probably be in Human Resources or Operations. I'm not sure because there are positions all throughout the company, but only in Chile. I see this as an opportunity that I probably wouldn't turn down. BHP is an international company and it would certainly open doors for me and give me the chance to have an international career. They have offices in locations such as Australia, Europe, Singapore, California and of course Chile. This program would be a 2 year commitment in Antofagasta, Chile. So yeah...another 2 years on the other side of the world. It's a big decision that I'll have to make, but let's wait to see if I even get offered a job...

The truth is I'm not 100% sure if I should go corporate, but I think it could be a good stepping stone to something else. And 2 years...that's 2 more years here. Besides that I've also considered going back to school in NY, Cali, or anywhere else in the world, but why, well because it's just an option, grad school is always an option I guess. Or just going back to the states and jumping back into the a job market at 10% unemployment....hmmm

So within the next 3 months I'll be making a lot of decisions...By 2012 I should be on some sort of new path...but where I'll be heading I have no idea. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated with this new email list. I'll try to get another email out before the world ends next year. I hope some of you get around to responding and filling me in on any news that I've missed out on. I miss everyone a ton!

Next up...Entrepreneurship in Antofagasta. A look into entrepreneurship in Chile and particularly Antofagasta.

What I'll miss, won't miss, and look forward to...

In no particular order...

What I'll miss:

1. pebre and sea food
2. CHEAP wine
3. My rediculous Chilean family and friends
4. My polola
5. Living on the ocean
6. Surfing without crowds
7. Lots of days off
8. Spanish music with too much bass
9. Laughing at almost everything
10. Rides by the beach and plaza to see who's out and about


What I won't miss:

1. Stray dogs and their crap
2. Copious amounts of bread
3. Endless Chilean jokes that are even more funny to them when the gringo doesn't understand.
4. Instant coffee and powdered milk
5. Not having privacy
5. Expensive beer that all taste the same
6. Smoke filled pubs and parties
7. dirt and dust
8. Not ever really knowing what's going on
9. The Simpsons in Spanish (It's just not the same)
10. Endless activities, no concept of time, inefficiency!

What I am looking forward to:
1. beer/nightlife variety
2. My family and friends
3. Christmas and New Years in NYC and maybe some snow
4. Understanding the daily news
5. Breakfast, lunch and dinner...
6. Pizza, bagels and Italian Food
7. My bed and room without a window to the hallway
8. Sandwiches and cold cuts
9. Green...grass, trees, etc.
10. Doing stuff without the city knowing

What are you doing this weekend?

I have yet to blog about what teaching has been like. I envisioned this great blog post delving into the lives of these out of control and undisciplined Chileans who will probably never see anything outside of this small town or the insides of a mine. But the truth is this whole writing thing is actually quite difficult for me and I'd rather keep things short and hopefully entertaining. Maybe the deep, moving, and philosophical writings that this trip can easily inspire will materialize another day.

Anyway, I teach at a technical high school. The students come after grade school and the age range is 13 – 18. After two years students must decide between Industrial Engineering or Administration. Most boys chose Industrial Engineering and the girls Administration. We have three large classrooms for shop where students can be heard sawing, welding, and building things all day. Engineering students graduate and move on to apprenticeships at local mines. This is where they start the work cycle that my host-dad follows of seven for seven, or siete por siete as they call it. Families encourage this life choice as university is expensive and the time spent at university can be used earning money at a mine. Administration students learn different computer, writing, and communication skills and will graduate on to jobs at banks, offices, and government buildings through out the country.

This is one of the main reasons that the students are very difficult to teach. Their lives are seemingly decided the minute they enroll in Liceo Politecnico José Miguel Quiroz. So what’s the point of learning English? That is the attitude and environment that I have to deal with. On top of this, most fathers are away 7, 10, or 20 days at a time; and mothers baby their children their entire life. This is the culture of all of Chile, not just the north (it is common for children to live at home until they are married). They are not given responsibility because the mother does everything for them. All this is reflected at school.

Point is, teaching these little terremotos is not easy. However, it can be pretty fun and very funny at times. I will leave you with one of my favorite stories. The day was Thursday and I thought, how about I teach these them to ask about the weekend. What are you doing this weekend? I wrote the question on my dry-erase board and began the normal theater performance to try and get my students to understand. Rather quickly this time I had one student raise his hand very enthusiastically with that sinister Chilean teenage grin on his face. But, with his hand being the only one raised, I said what the hell, let’s hear what this payaso has to say. The following teacher-student dialogue proceeded:

Me: Yes Brayan, What - are - you - doing - this - weekend?
Brayan: (loud and clear) Puro sex profe, puro sex!!!! (arm and hip thrusting in chair)

I could not restrain myself and I lost it and laughed uncontrollably. The fact that he knew what I was asking along with the combination of the Spanish word puro (close to pure) and the English word sex (close to sexo) while he was thrusting his body like the hormone driven fool that he is was hilarious.

So that is what I am working with hear. Who knows what second semester has in store for me? I’ll find out in August when classes resume once again. For now, I am off to Peru.



Shop Classroom



The students are usually in uniforms, but this was the day of the Chile v. Switzerland game.

News Travels Fast (Aproximately 1,600 km/h in Taltal)

No more nightime cruising in Taltal with my host-brother. I mentioned in a previous post that one of my favorite things to do here at night is to cruise the empty streets, listening to 80s hits with Nacho! in the tiny Suzuki Alto.

I was walking the three blocks home from school yesterday when I spotted the mighty Alto flying down Avenida Matta with Nicanor, Nacho! and Marta. Nacho! was driving, as he usually does when Marta is in the car. The only differnce about this car ride home for them was the police car following them. I watched as Nacho parked the car and the police did the same. There were no flashing lights, sirens, or microphones ordering anyone do to anything. The Caribineros casually exited their vehicle and asked Nacho! for his license. Nacho! does not have a license, he is 16...though he drives like a pro and taught me to drive stick down by the beach. Anyway, Marta was able to talk their way out of it with some sob story about being sick.

But here is the funny part...Car arrival time was approximately 1:05pm. We sat down for almuerzo at about 1:25pm. At 1:35 the phone rang, it was Papa Alejandro. Remind you, he works about 800 km away in a mine further North. He was calling to find out what happened with the police. So within 30 minutes he some how found out about the incident while working in the mine 800 km away. News travels fast in this town, people talk, and are nosy, or ¡Sapo! as they say here in Chile.

This brings me to a bit about my town and Chile. Here in Taltal you can't do much without people knowing. I often see my cuartos at the disco. Actually, I see my primeros there too. The normal Monday morning comments from my students are Teecher Teeecher, te vi con tu polola, wooooo ewwww . Something as simple as buying a bottle of wine can be front page news, GRINGO DRINKS WINE ... not really, but you get the picture.

And on Chile, private space, non existent. My host mom once made my bed with me in it! By now you should know moms DO everything in the household, regardless of age! And that it is very common for children to live in the house until the age of 30ish. Families often gather on eachother's beds to watch TV. There is probably a host-family member staring at my computer screen as I write this. It is also very common for people to sleep with their doors open. And so on and so on...

Needless to say, I enjoy my time alone surfing...

You know it's a small town when...

1. The town is out of sandals because winter is coming.
2. Trips to the dentist take 4 hours. (My host brother Nacho! recently had his braces removed in Antofagasta. After he explained he was off to Antofagasta I asked, why? He casually responsed, ¨Voy al dentista¨.)
3. You check out both clubs, or discos, and see your students at both.
4.Your mailman hangs out at your house for 10 minutes after delivering the mail. He also requests beverages and snacks, asks for family members if missing, and comments on other people's mail
5. You can photograph it in its entirity from a nearby point.
6. You can familiarize yourself with the town in about an hour.
7. When returning from a weekend trip everyone asked you how it was, even though you told nobody you were leaving.
8. Many cars are from the 1980's
9. The mailman, or Señor Cartero, calls your name while strolling on a nearby street and hand delivers your mail.
10. Simple market runs can take up to an hour because your host-dad has conversations with at least five people
11. Parades travel a distance of about half a kilometer.
12. After telling someone the last names of your host-family he or she knows exactly where you live.
13. No fast food restaraunts.
14. After asking 3 teachers until when is the registro civil open, each responds with a different answer, 1pm, 12pm and 2pm. (Turns out it is open between 12pm - 2pm depending on the day, person working, and possibly weather?)
15. You can hear the school bell ring from your front door.
16. The nearest city is 300km, or 185 miles, away.
17. This is actually one of my favorites, though it is not a problem for me. A former volunteer, now full time teacher, used to have to travel that 300km...to use the ATM because her card did not work in the one in town.

I am sure that I will think of many more in the months to come, but that is it for now.

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...