LIGA 26.9.10

Here are a few photos taken from LIGA yesterday. Throughout the day we had football, tennis, ping pong, squash, twister & dancing going on.

A great day was had by all:) 

An extra bonus was that none of our Aldea girls ran away so hopefully that means next time maybe more can come?

Day before our first LIGA

I started my day off today with a run, which ended with me being attacked by 5 dogs. I'm not trying to be dramatic I promise. In Santiago there are stray dogs EVERYWHERE. They run in the streets alone or in packs & snooze in parks or shop doorways. The majority of them are big dogs too. They've never bothered me until now when I was trying to stretch in the grass after my run. One dog started barking at me and then ran towards me, then 4 others joined it! I've never really liked big dogs so needless to say when they all started jumping up on me and barking I was freakin scared. I felt one dogs teeth on my arms and another one actually chomped on my ponytail. All I could yell was OMG! OMG! OMG! whilst the other Chileans frequenting the park were probably laughing at the stupid gringa being attacked by dogs. I finished up my stretch in the living room of my apartment, and wrote in bold letters on my 'things to do' list 'GET LAST RABIES VACCINATION ASAP.'

Next on my agenda was my first Arts & Sports committee meeting. The 14 volunteers have been split up amongst 4 different committees who are in charge of things like implementing VE programmes in institutions, education, fund raising and volunteer relations. Being a part of the Arts and Sports committee means we are in charge of LIGA de Deportes (held once a month) and Festival de Artes (held twice a year). We are having our first LIGA tomorrow so it is great that we have an opportunity to see how it works so soon. We will be collecting children from their institutions around midday then taking them to a gymnasium in Santiago where they are able to play games, sports and dance for the day. We have 4 girls coming from Aldea Maria the institute I work at. We were initially told by the director of Aldea that no girls were allowed to attend LIGA after asking if 6 girls could come. This was partly because we are new volunteers, and also because on previous occasions girls have ran away (getting to the venue involves taking the metro.) After Chris (the director of institutional relations at VE) offered to accompany us, we were given permission to take 4 girls. I am really excited for tomorrow as it will be great to meet kids from the other institutions and experience our first LIGA.

I've enjoyed the last few days I have had at Aldea because I have been able to get to know a few of the girls a little bit better. I know it is going to take a lot of time to build relationships with them, especially because I am limited by my Spanish. The day before yesterday we opened up a room they have at Aldea that is pretty much like a dance studio, I was impressed! It is a large space with a wooden floor that has a mirror along one wall. After hearing how much the girls love to dance here it was great to finally see them in their element. They blasted reggaeton and other pop songs (Justin Beiber is a favourite) and danced away. Initially I didn't really know what we were supposed to do with them because obviously dancing with these girls is completely unlike a structured dance class from back home. The girls are not trained so their style is more free, and there is a variety of ages and abilities to work with. Of course the style they love most is hip hop, which as those of you who know me well would know it is not my strongest style! I feel like there is a divide between the girls, and it is hard to say if some of them actually want to learn something or if they just want to be left alone to do their own thing. For me I found it was nice to sit back some of the time and watch them going for it themselves to get an idea of what they enjoy. They have a routine to one particular song that they did many times which I tried to learn. At another point one of the girls taught me some salsa too!
A few of the girls sat with me on the couch for a bit and were really good about speaking slowly and repeating themselves to me so I could understand them. They ask me if I have a 'Pololo' (a boyfriend) and are shocked when I tell them that I do not want one right now, which I find hilarious. They then proceed to try set me up with Stephen, demanding we dance together. We go along with it for awhile as they giggle hysterically on the couch. Pretty funny.

feliz bicentenario Chile!

Last weekend was the bicentennial celebration of Chile's independence. We kicked off the long weekend celebration by going to see the first night of the light show at La Moneda on Thursday night. Walking to the venue you could feel the  energy and excitement from the masses of people walking there. When we arrived the sea of people already there was ridiculous. We spent the show being pushed and shoved around as people jostled for the best view. What I did see of it looked pretty cool. The papers estimated the next day that 70,000 people turned up to watch the show. 

Earlier in the week my Chilean house mate Vero had invited me to go away for the weekend with her friends to Maintencillo. When I woke up on the Saturday morning she informed me there was a change of plan and that instead of going later in the evening we were leaving in half an hour. After throwing a few things into a backpack we met Vero's two friends Rafael & Anaris a few blocks from the apartment and we drove to their house in Melipilla. It was wonderful enjoying the scenery along the way. Chilean flags were flying everywhere and we saw many people celebrating in their backyards, children flying kites and playing football. There is such a sense a national pride here, and even the poorest shanty towns we passed had their flags flying for their independence day.

When are arrived at their home, we were joined by both Rafael & Anaris's extended family and some friends. I'll tell you now the language barrier really made it so the whole weekend I never really knew hour to hour what our plans were or what we would be doing next. It actually made it quite fun. I for one didn't know I was in for a Chilean family gathering with all the relatives! I felt very lucky to be invited into their home to celebrate with them. It was lovely to meet them all and every one of them tried to converse with me and find out more about me and why I was in Chile etc. Together they decided what they knew about New Zealand. We have good wine, many sheep and 'Lord of the Rings.' I guess that is nothing I haven't heard before. My favourite person of the day was Anaris's elderly mother who tried very hard to speak slow Spanish to me (Chileans really do not know how to speak slow!) She was so cute.

The four of us set off again, now joined by another friend of Vero's called Javier. Three hours later we arrived in the beach town Maintencillo. Maintencillo is 40 minutes north of Viña del Mar on the coast of Chile. We all stayed up late chatting and drinking wine. I have never had so much fantastic wine in my life as Rafael is quite the wine connoisseur and made sure Chile's reputation for great wine met my expectations. After Vero and Javier went to bed I stayed up with Rafael & Anaris and they wrote down lots of funny Chilean slang and sayings for me so I can sound just like a local. We'll see about that. My favourite saying they taught me was 'Pasarlo Chancho'  which is a expression to use when you're having 'too much fun' as they said. The word 'Chancho' means 'pig' so essentially I think they were trying to explain how it refers to a pig having fun rolling in the mud or something. I thought it was pretty funny.

The next day we walked to the beach taking in all the beautiful scenery along the way. We walked through a fish market and then to a rocky area of the beach that had a statue of St. Peter the patron saint of fishing which was surrounded by many Pelican birds. Next we stopped at a restaurant to have amazing Empanadas (a traditional Chilean food) that had shrimp and cheese in them. Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuum. After lunch we went and laid on the beach. Vero and I being brave decided to go into the water which was freezing! Needless to say we didn't stay in long. We headed back to the house and I tried my first glass of Chicha Cocida a type of Chilean alcohol that tastes a little like cider. We played a trivia pursuit board game which was definitely a challenge for me. It's hard to try to answer a question when you have to first understand specifically what you're being asked, then answer that question in Spanish, even if you know what the answer is in English. They were very patient with me though and made me read out most of the trivia questions to help me practice my Spanish. I do have to add here that my team won both of the games we played!

In the morning we cleaned up the house and headed back to Santiago. I had such a wonderful time and felt very lucky to be invited so warmly into Vero's group of friends. It has left me with great impression of Chileans already and their friendliness and hospitality. 

Rafael, Javier, Analis, Vero y yo

Saint Peter

Maintencillo Sunset

Empanadas

Proof I went in the water!

Shore side

View from the house

That night myself and a few others decided we would try go see the light show a La Moneda again in the hopes that there would be less people than last time. We went an hour and a half early and managed to get a great spot almost in the center. I could see much better than last time so I really enjoyed the show. I'm glad that I went again. I will try post a video that my friend took so you can get more of an idea of what it was like but here are some pics for now.

hola from Santiago

So here it is! My very first blog entry coming to you from Santiago, Chile. What a whirlwind the last 2 months has been. I made the decision that YES I was actually going to try do this. I applied to VE Global, was accepted and started making plans. I decided to spend 4 months volunteering in Santiago, followed by 2 months traveling around South America. After everything felt like it was finally falling into place my hometown Christchurch literally decided to shake things up a little bit and have an earthquake the day I was supposed to fly out. With a little bit of luck that usually seems to be on my side, I arrived in Santiago one day later than I was supposed to, slightly frazzled, but with plenty of enthusiasm for what was ahead of me.

And what was that? A week of orientation with my 13 new amigos/fellow volunteers. We listened to many ‘charlas’ (speeches) in English AND Spanish, to arm us with as much information as possible to help prepare us for our institution placements and committee work we will be doing with VE Global. Of course we also spent this time getting know everyone, and I am happy to say that I really feel like we have a great group of people here.

The institution I have been placed in is called Aldea María Reina. I found out before I left New Zealand where I was going, but I honestly had no idea what to expect. Aldea is a hogar (home) for teenage girls between the ages of 12-18 years old. The girls have been removed from their homes for such reasons as abuse, abandonment or neglect. Our role within the institution is to provide recreational activities, emotional support, help with schoolwork and positive role models.

Today was the second day I have spent at Aldea. It feels somewhat surreal finally being here and walking around thinking that 2 months ago I didn’t even know this place existed, and now it’s impossible not to think what it will mean to me in 4 months time.

I am working with 2 other volunteers, Lily & Stephen at Aldea. Yesterday was our first day so I will try describe it to you a little.

We meet the girls who greet us with ¡Hola Tia! and a kiss on the cheek. Of course being newbies they ask us many questions, and then they grin and laugh at me when I have to try very hard to understand what they’ve asked me let alone answer them back in decent Spanish. I tell them my name is ‘Aleisha’ and get ‘Alicia’ back from them so that is what I am going by here. When I meet them I am introduced by Meghan (who already volunteers there) as the one who dances, as I have been told many times already that the girls here love to dance. They all ask me what type of dance I do, I think hoping I will say Reggaeton as that is what is popular over here. We play a few games with a football and then end up sitting around a table chatting and getting to know the girls. At the very end of our day, I am laughing my head off as the girls chant at me that they want me to dance for them (extra hilarious when at the time you have no idea what they’re actually yelling at you!) Next I am asked if I can do the ‘splits.’ I oblige feeling like an idiot but I have to say looking back it was pretty funny. Not to mention the fact that feeling like an idiot is a feeling I probably should get used to for the next month or so anyway!

There is so much else to write that I have missed out due to starting this late but I will fill in the gaps at some point I promise. Here is a picture of clase de septiembre de 2010 at the end of our orientation.