What is Anne Marie up to these days?

The Holidays

2011-12-16T21:30:00.002-03:00

Holidays are supposed to be grand. People have high expectations. We all want something, whether it be time with family, thoughtful gifts, feelings of love, or genuine happiness. But despite the longing we feel, the holidays never truly bring these things. In fact, I think the holidays push these away because we get so caught up in the details that we don't even take time to stop. And breathe. And treat the holidays like any other time of year - where life is beautiful and overwhelming and fun and spontaneous and difficult and entertaining and true.

So I'm going to focus on that.

Today was a good day. I fell asleep early last night on the white couch in my sun room, and when I woke up late at 6am, I thought the day was going to be the worst. But I went to school, readied my classroom, and soon found myself standing in a room full of brilliant kids. Kids that love each other. Kids that pick up papers for their classmates when they fall. Kids that solve math problems with a zeal for true understanding. Kids that clap for each other. Kids that have honest conversations. Kids that beatbox and dance during Math Club meetings after school. Kids that change. Kids that turn in homework for their friends who couldn't make it to school today. Kids that decide that after a shitty year in 7th grade, they can make something of themselves in 8th grade.

Our kids will blow your mind to pieces.

I wish everyone had the job that I have. Because I think everyone needs to feel the things I feel. Like when Stacey came to visit, I just felt like she understood me better. And my kids understood something about my family. And as a result, they understood something about me.

And every day of my life, I want to understand things about them. Like who are you dating? What are you afraid of? Where did you go last night? Why were you crying this morning? What makes you happy? What do you do in the summer? What do you know a lot about? How do you truly feel about school?

And the only way to know is to keep going.

I always blog when I am happy - I hardly blog when I am sad. But to be honest, I have been more sad than happy this month. And I don't think I'm truly past it yet. But, today, and by talking with other teachers, I feel strangely peaceful.

"Lights will guide you home," according to Trev. I don't know what these lights are or how they will guide me or where home is, but I know something is here with me through this. Maybe it's the kids. Or the brilliant people I have around me. Or the challenges. Or the classes. Or the people who are willing to talk. Or the people who are honest and difficult and emotional. Or the things that make me think.

Or maybe it is the lights.

-Am

Happiness

2011-10-11T21:55:00.004-03:00

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything."

So true.

I have been thinking a lot lately, so I thought I would write.

The goals are going well. I am finding happiness. I find happiness when I spend my weekends reading books in the grass at the sculpture garden or at the courtyard of a Smithsonian (perks of living in DC!) I find happiness when I teach lessons that get have kids getting out of their chairs excited about math, or when I have kids asking questions anxiously like, "But Ms. Norgren, is a circle graph discrete or continuous data?!?!"

I find happiness when I run. After never having run more than a mile in my life before this year, I feel like I can say that I am proud of myself. And I feel good. Having a half marathon as a goal has really been motivating me to run, which is a really healthy outlet for stress, frustration, and exhaustion of daily life.

I find happiness when I play guitar. No matter how shitty it is, it brings me to my roots. Always.

And I find happiness when I spend time with good people. I have met a lot of ASU people this year, and I am always happy hanging out with Arizona folk. There's just something that we get about each other. So being on the alumni flag football team and doing other things with alums living in DC has been keeping me going as well this year!

I feel good about life, but I still crave more. I don't know what it is, but I am working on finding it. And I still like work and grad school and all that, but damn, October is legitimately difficult.

So I will keep moving forward, one foot in front of the other, and follow Harrell's advice to "just not stop moving." Along the way I am going to enjoy the leaves changing colors, the purple sunsets, and the last days of summer rolling into fall. Because there just isn't anything more happy than that.

New Beginnings

2011-08-27T13:44:00.002-03:00

Coming back from South America was quite the shock - not typical reverse culture shock, but a real change of pace from last year. Over the summer, I realized many things about myself: primarily that I have changed quite a bit over the last year. Having responsibility of 100+ students for a year forced me to mature quickly, which is a very obvious change.

While I was in SA, I made many goals for myself for the upcoming year, a few of them detailed below:
1) Find happiness in every day. Last year I struggled a lot. While I realize that struggle is part of being a teacher, I also realize now that it can't be everything. I love what I do - I love that I get to spend my days with students who make me smile and laugh, teach me about the world, and surprise me every day. This year, I want to focus on the positive and be sure to remember the jokes, the insights, and the innocence of the students that I teach.
2) Explore. Since adventuring is what I do in SA, I figured I needed to bring that back home to DC with me. I still have so much to get to know in this city and around, so I plan to use this year to explore, camp, hike, run, and just get to know my new home.
3) Exercise. I am a better person and a better teacher when I exercise, so I decided I need to make it part of my daily routine. As a result, I signed up for a half-marathon for my birthday this year - it will be the most challenging thing I have ever done physically, but I am super excited!
4) Cook, read, write, and play guitar. These things help me process the events in my life, and they make me happy. And happiness is good :)
5) Expand my networks. I decided that I need to continue to seek out people who challenge me, inspire me, and push me to become better at what I do. I know this is not always easy, but I am willing to try.

These goals have kept me going the past week, and I hope they will push me to be a better person all this year.

Now, a few stories:
1) On the second day of school, I was in 4th mod teaching procedures to my students. Kniyah raised her hand. I called on her. She said, "Ms. Norgren, the classroom is shaking." And immediately afterwards, the room began to shake even more - I watched as the metal doorframe moved back and forth. I thought a million things, and my heart started racing. I didn't know what to tell the students except "get away from the windows and come over here!" I have never felt more scared in my life - I actually imagined for a few seconds that I was going to have to watch the walls around me crumble on top of 20 students. It was a nightmare. But the students stayed calm, and I pretended I was okay. After 5 minutes, the entire school evacuated to the outside field. Yes, it was an earthquake in Maryland. A 5.8 earthquake to be exact, which happens to be the biggest in 70 years. We waited until the building was inspected and then headed back inside for MOD 5.

2) Hurricane Irene. I am currently waiting in anticipation for Hurricane Irene to hit the DC area. I bought water, non-perishable food, and batteries for my headlamp. I haven't left the house since my run this morning. I've been cooking, relaxing, reading, and writing. Life is good. It has been raining off and on - the brunt is supposed to hit later this evening. Hopefully all is well!

Take care,
Anne Marie

Some thoughts from the trip...

2011-08-01T14:15:00.002-04:00

6/30/110 - "We just crossed through a bunch of clouds and wow. They just sit there, suspended in the air. Not up or down. Just there. They change and move and rotatte, but all the while so graceful. So peaceful. Makes me feel like I'm in love."

7/4/11 - "Happy 4th of July! Apparently today is a holiday in Colombia, too. Though no one knows why. Still sitting at the beach, listening to the waves, about to put on my swimsuit and go for a swim. Reminds me of an early morning at the lake, when you wake up earlier than everyone else and you can just enjoy the peace and quite alone."

7/7/11 - "It hurts sometimes to be different. And I know everyone is different. I know we share the same world, the same sun, the same water, the same land. We are balanced by nature, but sometimes things seem so out of balance."

7/18/11 - "Hot! Everything is moving very slowly on this boat. The situation is comical. Veron keeps saying 'my brain doesn't work.' So many hammocks. So many people. Life has changed a lot since this morning. And by changed, I simply mean slowed down. We got on the boat at 9:30am. It is 6pm and we are still on the boat at the port waiting to leave....I saw a dolphin in the river, and a crocodile with its head cut off. And on our boat there is a cow pen that they built with cane sugar branches under the cows and fences they tied together with rope."

7/19/11 - "Now it's morning and we are going down the Amazon in the Eduardo VI. It's cloudy but the sun is just starting to peek through. It's rainy - the drops are all over the river. And I hear the engine grumbling under me. Breakfast."

7/19/11 afternoon - "The jungle changes you. It does. You can't feel like this anywhere else. I just saw one of the most amazing sunsets of my life. I stood up on the top rung of the railing, held onto the roof of the boat. I could see all the way across the sky - to my left a double rainbow and to my right the waters of the Amazon, going two directions, river people getting on and off boats, bathing, swimming at dusk."

7/27/11 - "Things I learned: 1) Don't wear glasses on busses. When you fall asleep, someone may take them. 2) I am not the same person I was a year ago. I grew and changed and have a new home. 3) Visiting is not the same as living. 4) Be strong and plan challenges for yourself. Relaxing is fun but challenges are better. 5) Definitely definitely definitely bring your party shoes. 6) Live in the moment. You will never be there again."

This summer has been fun, challenging, relaxing, difficult, eye-opening. Above all, I feel ready to head back to DC for another amazing year!

-AM

Welcome to the Jungle

2011-07-17T21:28:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow I head to Iquitos, Peru, which is the largest town in the world that is only reachable by boat or plane (no roads lead there). It will be an exciting journey on a cargo boat for 3 days...I cannot wait. If all goes well we will even catch some fish, just hopefully not pirannas. :)

The past few weeks have been as crazy as ever. After Colombia, we headed to Ecuador, where we went white water rafting! Then, from Ecuador, we started our LONG journey to Peru. We spent at least 50 hous in busses and combis, and many more hours in small towns where we are the only gringos in sight. It has been beautiful to get to know these places - empty beaches, desert cities, and towns with waterfalls just around the corner! AND, all this free time gave us the chance to try some local favorites - Peruvian ceviche, Amazonian liquor (named CPM, which they say stands for 'como puta madre'), and tons of potatoes. Oh, and we watched a million soccer games. Copa Americana is HUGE.

Writer's block. Will post more when I get out of the jungle! Hugs!

-AM

Fiftieth Blog Post but First from Colombia!!!

2011-07-07T18:49:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone! Sorry it has been so long since I have posted on this. I meant to do more posting towards the end of the year, when life as a teacher became a little more bearable and I had time to breath, but I didn't ever get to it. I guess my end-of-the-year wrap up will have to wait until next year!

Anyway, here I am...sitting in a internet cafe in Bogota, Colombia after one week of amazing adventures in this country! My first impressions of this country are phenomenal. The people are amazing and show extreme hospitality. The country is beautiful. And the coffee is damn tasty. And now, instead of chronicling every move I have made, I will share a few stories.

1) Arrived in Cartagena, which is a city of about 2 million on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. We spent the first day walking ON TOP OF a fortress built around the old part of town to protect the city from invasions. The following day, we decided to head to Playa Blanca, a beautiful beach, which according to Rich, is ¨straight from a Corona commercial.¨ To get to the beach, we headed to a busy market next to the water and found a small boat to take us along with other passengers. We set off to buy some fruit for the day at the beach, and I decided that I needed to buy a knife so that I could do productive things like cut mangoes, make sandwiches, etc. I walked up to a stall that appeared to be selling knives. I asked the man if he had any pocket knives. He said no. But then he took one out of a case that was on his belt, and asked if that was what I was looking for. I said yes! Exactly! He said, "Well, I don't sell these, but I will sell you this one. Here, take the case too." And four dollars later I was the proud owner of the man's beautiful knife. Not to generalize, but from everything I have experienced so far, Colombians have been some of the nicest and most helpful people I have ever met.

2) Second story of extreme hospitality: After the day on the beach, we planned to take the same boat home. However, the boat never showed up. So we were stuck on an island with no way to get back to Cartagena. We asked around and finally figured out a way to get home using ground transport, which would have consisted of motorcycles, ferries, and busses. But to me this was a terrifying option. Luckily, at the last minute, when we were about to get on the mototaxis (motorcycle taxis), a tour bus full of Colombians stops in front of us and tells us to get in. The tour guide, Monica, told us that they would gladly take us all the way back to Cartagena for free! So we spent the next three hours standing in the aisle of a tour bus with 50 Colombians from Ibague. We shared stories, sang, danced, drank beer, and had an amazing time. They not only saved us from a potentially very difficult trip home, but they also wanted to get to know us and spend time with us. It was a beautiful act of kindness that I will never forget.

3) After Cartagena, we had an epic adventure getting to our next stop, Parque Nacional Tayrona. First of all, we hopped on a small city bus to take us to the bus terminal. We thought it would take 30 minutes. Well, turns out our bus's route took us on a tour of the entirity of Cartagena, and we finally made it to the bus station 2 hours later. That was only the beginning of our troubles. Once in the bus station, we were quickly convinced of buying tickets that would take us "all the way to the entrance of Tayrona." Perfect, we thought. We gave them our money, threw our bags below the bus, and found the last empty seats. Two and a half hours later, the bus stopped in Barranquilla (Shakira's home town), and everyone but us got off. We still needed to get to Santa Marta and Tayrona, we thought! The bus driver came on the bus, told us that we needed to switch busses. So we ran down to get our bags, and he told us they had already moved them. We ran to the other bus, and the conductor tried to shuffle us in the bus. We said, "No! But what about the backpacks?" And they just insisted, "They are there, they are there, we already put them in." As a general rule, things in Latin America move a little slower than normal. However, this was one of the few times when everyone seemed to think that time was really important. So we got in the bus without having seen our bags. Then, we spent the next 3 hours convincing ourselves that our bags were not actually under the bus, and that we would have nothing but the clothes on our backs and the passports/money on our person. We convinced ourselves that we would be writing home to explain that we were silly gringos who had been taken advantage of in a very clever way. Well, we finally arrived in Santa Marta, and once again we did not know whether or not to get out. The driver told us he would take us all the way to Tayrona, like we paid for originally, but it was late and dark, and we didn't want to be stranded at the entrance to a national park that we assumed would be closed. So we got off the bus. We walked to the luggage compartment, hoping to see backpacks but expecting the least. But then, wet from rain and shaken by travel, the three packs appeared, one by one. We stood right there on the road and silently celebrated. We also promised to be a little more careful with our bags and a little more trusting of people who had been so good to us in the past. A learning experience :)

4) Okay last story. It's a short one. When we finally found a hostal in Santa Marta, we headed to our room, noticing that there was going to be one more person staying in the room with us. As we were unpacking, Steven complained of having lots of splinters in his foot, so I gave him my knife so that he could dig them out. I left the room. I come back, and Steven says to me, "A woman came in the room. She took one look at me with a knife in my hand, grabbed her bags, and walked right out." I died of laughter. And the best part is, we ran into this particular woman multiple times after this incident, one of which was ON THE TRAIL at Tayrona national park. We had a hard time containing ourselves.

Hope all is well wherever you are!!! Love you and miss you! Will post pics soon.

Anne Marie

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Conference, Indianapolis, IN

2011-04-15T23:52:00.001-03:00

I am sitting in a large, empty room in the Indianapolis Convention Center. In this room, in less than an hour, I will give a presentation to an audience of math teachers from around the nation.

After that, it happened—my first ever professional presentation. The topic was Invisible Culture: Locating Values in Mathematics Education, which is basically a fancy way of saying “finding values and biases in math texts.” It was a small session – we had about 15 attendees – but it was powerful. The discussion was rich, as participants offered new insights and thoughts about values in math texts that did not create any answers, but only more questions. Fascinating.

To give you a little more context for the presentation, consider the following problem, taken from a textbook that I use with my own students. I did an analysis of the values embedded in this problem, which is shown below:

Boswell, L & Larson, R (2010). Big Ideas Math. p. 351. Big Ideas Learning: Erie, PA.

What is valued in this problem? Who has power?

Because this problem comes from a nursery rhyme from the 18^th century, it attaches value and power to the male figure in the rhyme. In addition, the problem values heterosexism, male chauvinism, and even polygamy since it talks of a man with seven wives! The problem gives power to the man, since he is the only thing in the problem that there is only ONE of. In addition, in the graphic, the man is in the very front, while the women, cats, and kittens are behind him, even to the point where they fade into the background.

Our goal is to examine these ideas and ask questions: Should our students be reading questions like this? Do our students relate to these types of questions? Do the problems make them feel uncomfortable? Do the problems impose foreign cultural values upon them? Is there a better way to learn the material? I feel extremely lucky that I was able to join my graduate school professor in hosting a discussion on problems like these to bring these issues into the open.

On top of helping with the workshop, I have participated in a variety of workshops on everything from creating comics to help students learn mathematics to comparing and contrasting teachers’ practices in the United States and China. I also attended receptions, connected with Teach for America alums, and met amazing mathematics educators from every grade!

I have dreamed of going to an NCTM conference since I was in high school, admiring my math teachers that were part of the organization. And now, at age of 23, I am finally given the opportunity to join other educators who want the best for their students. Coming to this conference is without a doubt the BEST growing experience I have had in my first year teaching.

There are days when teaching is difficult. There are days when teaching is exhausting. And there are days when teaching makes me want to give up.

But then there are days where I feel like I am in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.

And today was one of those days.

Much love from Indianapolis!

Wake up, all the teachers
Time to teach a new way
Maybe then they'll listen
To what'cha have to say

'Cause they're the ones who's coming up
And the world is in their hands
When you teach the children
Teach 'em the very best you can

The world won't get no better
If we just let it be, na, na, na
The world won't get no better
We gotta change it, yeah
Just you and me

-John Legend, “Wake Up Everybody”

Everybody's hands go up!

2011-03-04T00:55:00.002-03:00

And they stay there....

Had a great time at my school's dance tonight. Seeing all those kids dancing and having fun really made my life. It's times like these that I feel really lucky to be doing what I am doing. I'm so proud of all of them.

I love BLMS. Everyone is so supportive. I was sick, and my coteacher brought me ginger root. I was tired, and the teacher across the hall brought me coffee. I was struggling with my third period class, and my team came up with a new behavior plan to build a positive learning environment. I was healthy, and my counselor invited me out to meet her friends. I was having serious questions, and an amazing teacher helped me sort things out. I was excited about planning a field trip, and my secretary helped me get the ball rolling. I was stressed for MSA testing, and an amazing sixth grade teacher gave me pop song lyrics that he had rewritten as "MSA Pump Up" songs to sing with the students.

I was stressed, sick, tired, and agitated this week, but every minute of the day I had students doing amazing things. Some voluntarily stayed after school for extra test review, while others started studying at home with their parents. Some students became ridiculously excited in class when they finally started to understand fractions, while others made sure I was feeling okay every day. Some changed their behaviors positively, while others cheered them on. Some students danced with me tonight, while other students taught me how to dance. Some students even invented a new "insult" word and started using it in their own lives: "You are such a b-h! Hey, b-hches, listen up!" [yes, it is nerdy to use the area of a parallelogram as an insult, but they are honors students and I was proud of them].

So Go Team BLMS! LOVE YOU ALL!!!

One Day...

2011-02-15T00:13:00.002-03:00

These months are flying by, but I want to be sure I take time to reflect. I have been quite inspired lately--I made some amazing gains with my students; I went to the Teach for America 20th Anniversary Summit with 11,000 other TFA teachers and alumni; and I met some amazing people who really have a passion to change the state of education in this country and around the world.

These times have not been easy--I feel that I am really part of a fight. A fight for justice. A fight to change how people view our children.

Like Andrea, who regularly stays home from school to take care of her mother, her sister, and her niece. Yet, when she shows up to school, she puts every ounce of energy into her work. In fact, after getting the lowest scores on every exam of the year, she put in extra effort, stayed after school, and made years worth of progress in just days.

Or Devon, who is labeled as the "bad kid" by most teachers in the school for his disruptive behavior. Yet he committed himself to learning and scored above most of his peers on his past benchmark exam.

Or Mariela, who said at the beginning of the year, "I will never get an A in math." But just weeks ago, after working extremely hard and truly committing herself, she scored a 95% on a unit test--the highest score in the entire 7th grade.

Or Jair, who immigrated here from Central America a year ago. Last week, his brother was arrested, and though his mother was at court, Jair asked a special request--to stay after school in order to learn math that he truly wanted to understand.

With that said, I will leave with this song from Matisyahu. He says it best:

it's not about
win or lose cause
we all lose
when they feed on the souls of the innocent
blood drenched pavement
keep on moving though the waters stay raging
in this maze you can lose your way
it might drive you crazy but don't let it faze you no way
sometimes in my tears I drown
but I never let it get me down
so when negativity surrounds
I know some day it'll all turn around
because
all my life I've been waiting for
I've been praying for
for the people to say
that we don't wanna fight no more
they'll be no more wars
and our children will play
one day
one day this all will change
treat people the same
stop with the violence
down with the hate
one day we'll all be free
and proud to be
under the same sun
singing songs of freedom like
one day

Advice from an Inmate

2011-01-05T00:02:00.002-03:00

I went to prison last week to visit my brother for Christmas. Going to prison is an extremely humbling experience. It imparts a strange sense of gratefulness that is hard to come by.

Yes, prison is rough. After 3 inmates escaped from my brother's prison, everyone there was kept inside on lockdown for two months. Two months without light of day, without fresh air, without room to move. Yet while Zak told me this story, he was not upset. He was grateful, in fact, that he had books to read, a radio to listen to, and guys around to hang out with.

Standing in line to warm up greasy, individually-packaged, microwavable sandwiches, two prisoners were chatting:

"Yeah man, I like my bunk right now. And the guys around me are cool. And it is such good weather. I really have nothing to complain about."

He has nothing to complain about. And he is in prison. How come those of us outside of prison walls have such a hard time saying this?

Prisoners have a different outlook on life. Not better or worse than the rest of us--just different. But luckily, they have the ability to influence lives as much as the rest of us. Take the ending of Zak's last letter to me. Genuinely (and humorously), he states, "I love you Ammy. You are the best sister. Tell your students 'Prison is not cool!'"

So from his bunk at a Kingman prison 3000 miles away, Zak is influencing my life and the lives of my students. Thank you, Zak. You have taught me that beautiful things can happen when we accept each other and support each other.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2010-12-18T16:09:00.003-03:00

Winter. Such a strange thing. I'm going to come clean on this one--I had no idea what winter REALLY meant until about a month ago. Also, STOP READING NOW if you are going to make fun of me.

During November, I was complacent with the fall weather, with days in the 50s and 60s. I thought that was chilly. By December, it was still nice and I had a chance to ease into winter. But then, two weeks ago, it started to cool down. I mean like really cool down. The days got shorter. The skies were cloudy. Thirties. Then twenties. Then teens.

After a week like this, I started to feel weird. I had a few tough weeks. I was sadder than normal. What was it? Well, on December 10th, a Friday, I put the pieces together and realized that WINTER itself was affecting my emotional state. I was frantic! I didn't understand! I loved being outside in the cold, refreshing air. I loved bundling up before leaving the house. I loved the feeling of being having real winter during the holidays. Why did I feel so upset?

I came to the conclusion that the lack of sun really affected me, as I am a native of a place that is sunny 360 days of the year.

Luckily, it only took me a couple days to get past the winter depression, before my emotional state once again changed due to the weather. This time, however, it was for the better. On Thursday of last week, around 9am, it started snowing. And it kept going. At 10:30am, the announcements came on at school. We all knew what the principal was going to say but we held our breaths. But then it came out: "School will be closing two hours early today due to snow." NOT ONLY WAS IT SNOWING, BUT I HAD MY FIRST REAL SNOW DAY!!!

I came home as fast as I could. I drank hot chocolate. I put on all the "snow" clothes I could find. And, accompanied by three good friends, I took off on a snow day adventure in DC! We trekked through Rock Creek Park, rolled down hills, made snow angels, threw snowballs, fought, slid across a pond of ice, and drew smiley faces on cars. It was heaven. I was an 8-year-old, and I could not stop smiling. I didn't care what people thought--it was snowing and I was going to enjoy it!

After a pupusa dinner across the street from my place, we headed home, drank more hot chocolate, cuddled and watched some Christmas films. I have to say it was the "winteryest" day of my life. :)

And then last night, once again, I was elated. On top of the world. After another half day due to snow, I came home and hit the streets. It is hard for me to describe how happy it made me that I got to walk on sidewalks of snow. I was experiencing the closest thing to a "white Christmas" as I ever have. Thank you, DC.

So yay for winter. Yes, the adjusting is hard. Yes, I am extra emotional and overexcited. Yes, people make fun of me for being such a newbie. But in the end, I am happy with my new home and I feel incredibly lucky to have this epic change in scenery. :)

"A person's a person, no matter how small"

2010-11-25T13:53:00.002-03:00

Dr. Seuss was a genius. Every single time I read one of his books, I believe this more and more. Take "Horton Hears a Who," for example. Dr. Seuss created an entire book on the premise that "A person's a person, no matter how small." He disguises obvious social commentary by a colorful story of an elephant caring for all of Who-ville because he believes in them, even when no one else does. In fact, the bird and the monkeys in the book are willing to torture Horton AND the whole of Who-ville just because they don't believe that the small city exists. When the book was written in 1954, Dr. Seuss used it as an allegory to show the post-war American occupation of Japan.

I'm sure Dr. Seuss had a lot on his mind while he wrote his books, and he used events of his time to frame political, cultural, environmental, and other huge issues in children's books with simple story lines and great morals. I continue to be amazed at the level of discourse happening in books like "The Sneetches," "The Grinch," "The Lorax," "Oh, the Places You'll Go," "Yertle the Turtle," and "Horton Hatches the Egg." In fact, last May, on my college graduation day, I went to a bookstore with three of my best friends and had a Dr. Seuss read aloud. We read "The Sneetches," which was incredibly powerful at the time. Just days later, each of us would take off in our respective directions, into a world where life is not fair, where discrimination exists, and where people take advantage of others. Yet we knew, like Dr. Seuss knew, that in confronting these issues we had the power to fight back. And fighting back is exactly what we are doing.

Today, on Thanksgiving, I am thankful for many things. I am thankful for all the little people out there, who work extremely hard and receive little to no recognition. I am thankful for my students and their excitement about life and friends and each other. I am thankful for my friends in Arizona and everywhere else, who love me for who I am and push me to constantly be a better person. I am thankful for my family, who are supportive and genuine, artistic and talented, gorgeous and giving. I am thankful for all the people I have met in DC, who have made me feel comfortable here in this new place, by giving me soup when I was sick, baking me bread and other goodies, and offering me over for drinks. I am thankful for the world I live in, where I have the chance to travel, to experience other cultures, to learn from people who are different than me. And most importantly, I am thankful for my life and for all of those who have kept me going through the most difficult times.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

November

2010-11-16T14:00:00.002-03:00

Hello there. So far November is a good month. It is just flying by. And for some reason, I feel like I finally can breathe again, really for the first time since June. It took all this time, but the moment came where I figured out how to sleep again and how to enjoy life again!

I also realized that I love my job and feel very lucky every time I get to go to school. There are few jobs that give you the opportunity for success hundreds of times per day. There are few jobs that force you to recover from failure hundreds of times per day. And there are even fewer jobs that provide you the opportunity to impact lives every single day.

It is amazing because I feel like I want to wake up at 5am and drive to Maryland to get in my classroom. It is amazing because I love seeing my students' smiling faces every day. It is amazing because I love laughing with my kids about silliness (i.e. me tripping in class). It is amazing because I get to share the small amount of knowledge that I have with minds eager to share their knowledge with me.

For November, I'm out!

Tour de France Northwest DC Style!

2010-11-01T22:54:00.004-03:00

Today I had the day off. It was grading day but I managed to finish all my first quarter grades on Friday night so that I could relax today :)

Steven and I decided to see DC, tour de france style, and it was an incredible adventure. Seeing DC and all it's character and beauty (especially now during fall!) was such a treat!

Here are some highlights:

We biked to the Tidal Basin and saw the Washington Monument!

Then we biked along the Potomac towards Georgetown and saw pretty buildings like the Kennedy Center!

We hit up the FDR Memorial.

Then we stumbled upon the National Zoo and found an emu named Edward and an elephant named Wilber!

Such a beautiful day and start to the week!

Ammy

2010-10-19T00:34:00.002-03:00

This morning I woke up at 5am after getting three hours of sleep. I was so tired that my eyes were puffy and burning until 7:45am, just minutes before students would enter my classroom. I chugged coffee like it was no one's business. And then I started my day.

Welcome to October of being a first-year teacher. It hurts. I'm tired. And I want my kids to dsjssddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd. See. Point proven.

Goodnight.

Waiting for Superman

2010-10-03T11:25:00.003-04:00

On Friday night, I went to see the new documentary titled "Waiting for Superman." I was greeted at the theatre by supporters, who wanted to know if we "had a minute to help education." We chuckled, saying we already help education.

The bottom line is everyone should see this film--it will inspire you to support students in a broken system. Whether you support the students themselves, their parents, or the people who work with them, please do something. See the movie, and open your eyes to the horrible state of education in our country.

On top of that, the film talks a lot about Michelle Rhee and her ideas for education reform in DC. So if you want to get a feel for the system that I work in, watch the film!

Lots of love,

Ammy

If I Can Do This...

2010-09-27T21:05:00.002-04:00

Then I can do anything.

Over the past five weeks, I have felt:

Happy

Sad

Joyful

Sorrowful

Pensive

Quiet

Angry

Elated

Distracted

Surprised

Fearful

Excited

Annoyed

Amazed

Anxious

Admiring

Apprehensive

Trustful

Disapproving

Approving

Oppressive

Submissive

Crazy

Peaceful

Tired

Interested

Drained

Energetic

Bemused

Amazed

But most of all, I have felt lucky and loved.

I really couldn't be in a happier place.

Much love,

Anne Marie

Two Weeks In...

2010-09-07T00:01:00.001-04:00

It feels like the first day of school was a lifetime ago. I feel like I have been hit in the head by an iron skillet every day since I started teaching (for lack of a better analogy).

First of all, I’m a bad teacher. It’s pretty much a given. I make about 10,000 mistakes a minute. I misspeak. I trip in front of my students. I forget things. I get flustered. I react unfairly. I never finish my lessons in time.

Yet I love this job. My kids are lovely. They get so excited about anything out of the norm (e.g. we “rode” a roller coaster in class the other day via a YouTube video…and the kids went wild, to say the least). Also, they smile. They greet me. They help one another. They clap. They cheer. They love figuring things out. But more notably, they LOVE candy.

If I could re-do the first two weeks of school, there is a lot I would change. But since it is over and past, all I can do is change what I do tomorrow and in the future. Some of my goals for this week are the following:

-Give a solid presentation to parents tomorrow at Back to School Night

-Get my class websites up and running

-Find a couch to put in my room to make it homier

-Find an exercise ball to keep in my room for kids who need to constantly move

-Find a way to work all the knots out of my muscles……….

I have found out that I carry stress in my neck. Literally 100% of my stress concentrates in a 1 inch knot in my neck. So far, I wake up every morning with a stiff neck, and it only gets worse as the day goes on. And don’t even ask me what it is like when I carry my backpack full of pounds and pounds of books, computers, files, etc—it’s NOT pretty.

Oh, and on top of that, I had my first teaching nightmare the other night. Woke up panting thinking that my class was spiraling out of control and my kids weren’t going to learn anything as a result! Ah! The horror!!!

On another note, I have found that time management is KEY to being a good teacher. And lack of time management makes life difficult, to say the least. Right now it takes me about 4 hours to write a lesson plan, complete with handouts and activities and all that. 4 hours a night seems manageable, right? Well, not when you have THREE DIFFERENT CLASSES that require separate lesson plans. How am I supposed to fit 12 hours of work into the hours of 6pm-12am, during which I also have to eat and take care of other life issues as well?!?! Haven’t quite figured that one out yet.

On Wednesday last week, I stayed at my school for 16 hours in one day. When I told veteran teachers about this feat, they looked at me like I was from another planet. So my question is…how did THEY do it as first-year teachers?!

Well, I’m out. Sorry about the stream of consciousness post. This is how my mind works apparently!

Anne Marie

I'm so happy I never have to have a first day again...at least until next year!

2010-08-23T19:28:00.002-04:00

I could have never been prepared for what I faced today. Before I even started my first class, I realized that there were a million and one things I didn't know. Where do I pick up the kids? What do I give out in homeroom? Why do I still not have a roster? How do the kids walk to my class?

On top of that, I had a million other questions...What are the kids going to think of me? What do I do if my students don't speak English? Why does everyone keep telling me that I look like I am eighteen?!

But I made it through the day, somehow, with no casualties.

Highlights:

-Danny: "So, you are from Arizona...?" Me: "Yes." Danny: "I thought people in Arizona were tan." Hahaha, kids are great.

-My second class of the day applauded for me when I told them I moved here from Arizona. They literally applauded. Wow.

That's all for now! Can't wait for this year to get on the move!!

Ammy

DC is a Happening Place!

2010-08-16T22:44:00.003-04:00

So, I have been here a few weeks now, and I am finally starting to feel like I actually "live" here. So here are my first impressions of the area:

1. I have never seen so many bikers that wear helmets. Not sure that bodes well for actually biking in the city, but a good practice nonetheless ;)

2. Driving in the city is like playing Frogger--I am constantly dodging cars, pedestrians, bicyclists, busses, and emergency vehicles while also being bombarded by storms, pot-holed roads, stop signs, and traffic lights. It's a new experience...

3. The area outside of DC is gorgeous. I went hiking the other day and I could not believe that I was only thirty minutes outside of the city.

4. People are nice. I already have a community of wonderful people right inside my building, including my cousin Kat and her husband Adam, a few of their friends, Doug, who seems to run the place, and Jim, the king of the building (a former teacher, who constantly gives me encouragement about teaching). I can't (and won't) leave my building without having at least a five minute conversation with someone. It's wonderful :)

5. It's muggy. Enough said.

6. I see national monuments when I walk down the street.

7. Everyone seems to be a big deal.

8. Art is everywhere.

9. NPR sounds so much better when I know the things they are reporting about are happening just minutes away.

10. The USA Today building is incredible.

11. Everyone is still talking about the Snowpocalypse from last year. (I secretly hope it happens again this year)

I am excited to be in this exciting city, and I can't wait to see what comes of my time here! I worked at my school today for the first day, and I officially have a classroom of my own. Come Monday, I will have 100 7th graders enter my doors...and you can't even imagine how excited I am! It's going to be quite the ride. :)

Take care!

Anne Marie

EPIC JOURNEY

2010-08-06T14:41:00.002-04:00

Though this whole TFA thing has been quite a journey, it wasn't a REAL adventure until this past week when my friend Jake and I got in a car and drove across the entire country in 2.5 days. We spent 60 hours in the car, only taking ONE 12-hour break in Chicago. While there, we rested for a few hours, showered, and explored a bit of the city before taking off again and heading straight to DC.

The road trip was fun but exhausting--at the least, I was able to spend invaluable time with Jake after not having seen him for 9 months! Also, we saw so much of the country--I had no idea that Ohio, WV, and PA were so full of trees and gorgeous!!

Since arriving in DC, everything has been happening really fast. I started more TFA training yesterday. But more importantly, I went to interview yesterday for a REAL TEACHING JOB. After driving through the city in a crazy thunderstorm, I made it to Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, Maryland. I met with the principal and talked with him about the school. Then, three hours later, he offered me a job as a 7th grade math teacher!!!!

I am so excited about working at the school--it has a very diverse student population, where students from countries around the world are represented. It's population is 77% Hispanic, so I may be teaching bilingually at times. The principal is young, energetic, and excited to get students to achieve this year! I feel like it is a perfect fit for me, and I can't wait to get started there!

See you soon,

Anne Marie

One Day Left!

2010-07-29T10:55:00.001-04:00

Life is good. One day of Institute left.

The past week has been challenging, exciting, and frustrating, but most of all, full of learning.

My thirteen students took their final exams on Monday, and the results were less-than-perfect. I would be lying if I said that my class did well, but I do not want to underestimate the good that did come of the final few days of class.

First of all, getting the final exam results gave me a chance to reflect on my whole experience here. The students that I waited for outside classrooms and dragged to tutor sessions were the students who truly shined on the exam. The students that I pushed to do extra work were the students who came in confident on Monday morning. On the other hand, the students that I relaxed expectations for did not show up. And the kids that I gave up on also gave up. I am pretty sure that this is how it works as a teacher—you win some battles and lose others. But next time I lose a battle, I want to know that I lost because it was out of my control, not because I gave up.

The good that came of the week, outside of a few awesome exam scores, was the progress my co-teacher and I made with the students the last two days of class. We taught lessons about writing resumes, choosing colleges, filling out applications, taking SAT/ACT exams, and taking other steps in order to pursue post-high school education. Our students made posters focused on the schools that they planned on attending, and I cannot explain how exciting it was to hear the students talk about their future plans. “In 2012,” one student said, “I am going to Spelman to study Psychology, and these are the things I am going to do now to get there.”

I can pretty much sum up how my life has been for the past five weeks with a thought from one of the advisors at my school. She said, “Turn up the volume of every emotion that you have ever felt. That is a day of teaching.”

Take care,
Anne Marie

2010-07-23T14:26:00.002-04:00

So I one week away from the end of Institute, and I have had many successes (as well as many failures) thus far. I have taught badass lessons, and I have made huge mistakes. I have gotten to know my students, and they have gotten to know me. I think I get them to chuckle at least once a day by doing something nerdy (like getting excited about math) or by being clumsy (like tripping). It happens :)

My students are wonderful. Today was our last day of class before the final, so we did a class wide review. They are learning so much, which is incredible seeing how far behind they were at the beginning of the summer session. We were challenged greatly this week because the Geometry curriculum we were trying to teach required previous knowledge of Algebra, and NONE of our students, not even the brightest ones, knew how to solve equations. But after teaching and re-teaching and having an "Algebra Intervention," we think we got enough across to the students so that they can at least get by and pass the final! (I hope it actually plays out this way...)

In other news, last weekend I went out and explored Philly a little bit! I went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (the "Rocky" museum!), the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall. I also walked around Chinatown, ate some great food, and hit up Philadelphia's "Gayborhood"!

This weekend is my last weekend in Philly, and I hope that the good times continue!

Anne Marie

Apparently There Is Such Thing as a Snow Day in the Summer

2010-07-06T10:13:00.001-04:00

I could have had a breakdown last night when my laptop crashed while I was mid-lesson-planning for this week. I swear I never learn my lesson about backing up. But somehow I put myself together enough to get my materials ready for today.

I came to Frankford this morning nervous but giddy, ready to finally start the work I came here for--teaching a classroom full of students that deserve a good education. I set up my classroom and at 8am began introducing myself as Ms. Norgren to students (after first making the embarrassing mistake of introducing myself as Anne Marie to one girl). They filed in...all four of them...and sat quietly and respectfully as I explained to them my high expectations for their work in my class. At that moment, I was told that I would only have 36 minutes for my lesson, as opposed to the 60 I had planned for. This change was due to the fact that Philly schools called for a "snow day" in July due to the heat, since most of our schools do not have A/C!

So despite all my planning and practice for today's lesson, I ended up improvising most of it! But I believe I at least made a small amount of progress with the students.

Being in the classroom, even for the mere half hour, was just what I needed to move forward. The students filled me with an incredible sense of purpose and showed me exactly what I need to do to push them to learn.

They showed me that in order to teach them, I must first push myself. So even when my laptop crashes and my lesson plans disappear, Ihave no other option than to move forward.

Cheers,
Anne Marie

Some Thoughts

2010-07-03T12:55:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone. I am going to try to update more frequently with smaller entries, since there is so much that I want to share.

I just completed the first week of Institute, which is TFA’s five-week long teacher training program. I am staying at Temple University in dorms with all of the new TFA teachers who will teach in DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Living in the dorms has actually been a great experience—I get to share stories with people on a regular basis, and I get three meals a day provided for me!

Yesterday, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article about our TFA Institute. See it here!

The schedule at Institute is a little intense. I wake up at 5am, eat breakfast at 6am, get on a bus with other people teaching at Frankford High School at 6:45am, and attend sessions and prepare materials for teaching from 7:15am – 4:30pm at the school. Then I come home, eat dinner, and work for the rest of the night before I go to bed around 11pm so that I can wake up the next day! We have not started teaching yet, but our first day is next Tuesday, and I am very excited/nervous. I will be in charge of an entire summer school Geometry class with the help of Adam, my collaborative partner. We will each teach one hour of the class, and we control every aspect of the classroom.

As nervous as I am, I know that I am doing this to combat the reality that there is an incredible achievement gap facing students in urban Philadelphia (and in much of DC as well). A friend shared the following graph with me, which shows the huge achievement gap specifically at Frankford High School (the school I am teaching at this summer):

The blue bars are Frankford’s scores for 11th graders in 2009; the gray bars represent the average performance of students in Pennsylvania in 2009.

We have a lot of work to do! And with one week of training, I am off on my own to do what I can to close the achievement gap. Starting Tuesday, I will be a real teacher with real students. I can’t believe this day has come.

Anne Marie

PS My mailing address at Temple is the following:

Anne Marie Norgren / Corps Member
c/o Teach For America DC Region
1300 Residence Hall
1300 Cecil B. Moore Avenue
Philadelphia PA 19122

The Beginning of My Teach for America Adventure

2010-07-03T10:54:00.002-04:00

Hello! I am back again. I have just embarked on a new journey, but this journey is much different than my typical traveling. This time, I am going on a journey to become a teacher as part of Teach for America.

For those of you who are not familiar with it, Teach for America is a national nonprofit organization that recruits college graduates and young professionals to teach in low-income schools throughout the US. They have a five-week summer training program, called Institute, where they give their corps members a crash course in teaching. Then, TFA requires a two-year commitment to teaching service in a specific region in the US. In March, I was selected as a 2010 Corps Member, and I was placed as a secondary mathematics teacher in the Washington, DC Region. Specifically, I will be teaching in either a middle school or high school in Prince George’s County in Maryland, which surrounds DC.

Two week, I traveled to DC to meet the other two hundred ten members of the DC Region Teach for America Corps. In just days, I found myself being utterly awed at the caliber of people I was meeting. I met people like Fareed, who just finished a year-long research project in Argentina as part of a Fulbright Grant. He was researching and teaching playrighting to children and adults! I am happy to say that I am going to be living with this amazing fellow—we found a lovely two-bedroom apartment in Columbia Heights! ☺

Aside from getting to know the other Teach for America Corps Members in my region, I also had the opportunity to get to know the DC Region, especially in terms of education and reform. On one day last week, we traveled to Prince George’s County to get oriented to the area and learn a little bit about its history, culture, and politics. We learned the sad truth that poverty in Prince George’s County has actually grown in the last five years, due to gentrification of many neighborhoods in DC, which has forced many low-income households into the outskirts of the city and into Prince George’s County in Maryland.

Lastly, I became very excited to be a part of a movement that has so much presence in the DC Region. Teach for America (TFA) has affected almost every aspect of education in DC. This year, when our corps begins, there will be 460 corps members teaching 24,000 students in the region. Many TFA alums have stayed for third and fourth years at their schools (and more). Other alums are involved in education reform (like DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee) and Jason Kamras (2005 National Teacher of the Year and Director of Human Capital Strategy for teachers in DCPS).

I really can’t wait to be part of this movement. It is not going to be easy, but it is going to be an adventure like nothing I have ever seen before.

Will write more soon,
Anne Marie

From Romania!

2010-06-14T11:35:00.001-04:00

Saturday, June 12th was an extremely busy day. It was physically exhausting, as we walked around the city of Targu Mures while the temperature was over 100 degrees and very humid). It was also mentally exhausting, as we went to three lectures and a tour and discussed some important and weighty issues in Romania. However, while exhausting, the day was satisfying, as it provided us with more perspectives and viewpoints on the history, culture, and social issues in Romania.

One of the recurring themes of this trip is the obvious tension between different ethnic groups in Romania, including Romanians, ethnic Hungarians, and Roma people. We have attended numerous lectures that discuss these issues, and the latest was a lecture on minority issues given by Maria Korek, former Project Manager for a Romanian organization dealing with inter-ethnic relations. In her lecture, Ms. Korek explained the tensions between Romanians and ethnic Hungarians living in Romania. Before the 1920 Trianon Treaty, much of what is now Romania belonged to Hungary. Therefore, after the treaty, much of Hungary became part of Romania, even though it was home to an extremely large population of Hungarians.

Still today, millions of Hungarians live within Transylvania in Romania. For the most part, they have fought to keep their language and culture alive. In fact, in Transylvania, an ethnic Hungarian child can go to a Hungarian language school or even live in an entirely Hungarian-language town. The reason for the tensions between Romanians and ethnic Hungarians come from the fact that Romania has attempted to get Hungarians to assimilate, while Hungarians have fought to live as Hungarians in the lands that their families have lived in for generations. Ethnic Hungarians living in Transylvania are stuck in between two identities: they are not Romanian, but they are not allowed to be entirely Hungarian either. Therefore, they are caught somewhere in between, and there are still many unresolved issues as a result of this century-long tension.

To give a more tangible example, I will provide a metaphor. Imagine that next year, the US signs a treaty where (somehow) Arizona becomes part of Mexico. If Mexico acted as Romania did when this happened in 1920, Mexico would then force Arizonans to speak Spanish, teach their kids Mexican history, and follow Mexican norms. Then Arizonans would rise up, gain influence, and establish society of their own—an English-speaking community within Mexico. In response to this, people would ask Arizonans, “Why don't you just move to the US?” And Arizonans would reply, “We didn't move to Mexico. Mexico moved to us.” That is essentially what happened (and is happening) in Transylvania. Just imagine the tensions that causes.

Unlike the Hungarian minority, which has power and influence in Romanian society, the Roma minority, which is probably close to two million people, has little to no influence in the larger society. The Roma, or Gypsies, are marginalized by society and live in extreme poverty. The unemployment rate is 90% among the Roma, which illustrates how little this minority has been able to integrate into society. The strong prejudices against the Roma by Romanians and Hungarians alike further pushes them to the fringes of society, and their situation does not seem to be improving any time soon. Ms. Korek pointed out that a change in mentality of the majority is required before the Roma will ever be able to get out of their current dire situation. But only time will tell what form this “change” will take.

After the lecture on minority issues, we attended a lecture on social issues, given by an employee of the Alpha Transylvania Foundation, an NGO devoted to increasing life opportunities for disabled persons within Romania (unfortunately, I was not able to get the lecturer's name). The most striking part of this lecture was the discussion about civil society in Romania, which was a communist country where the nonprofit sector did not exist until after 1989. Our speaker discussed how nonprofits are forming in order to “fill in the gaps” in social services that government and for profit agencies cannot address. Yet these new nonprofits still have to fight to be heard by the Romanian government. For example, the Alpha Transylvania Foundation applied for a government grant to run their day care center, and the government agreed to the grant and signed a contract to give them the funding. However, when it came down to it, the government did not come through, and the foundation was forced to close down the center for a week while lobbying for the funds that were promised to them by the state.

Therefore, as much as the third sector is gaining more weight in the previously-communist state of Romania, it still has a long way to go to be accepted, influential, and supported by the government and by the general public. However, this sector has had some major achievements, and unlike many of our lectures in Romania, this lecture provided an extreme sense of hope. The speaker was optimistic about the possibilities for her foundation and for the entire nonprofit sector in the future, and pointed out that the general public, including the media, is starting to understand and offer to help. She made clear that the nonprofit sector is built using the freedom that Romanians gained after the fall of communism in 1989. And she had hope for the future of the sector, claiming that NGOs are playing an increasingly larger role in Romanian society.

Now that I am reliving the day of June 12th, I feel even more lucky to be hearing multiple different viewpoints on the major issues in Romanian society. In one way, Romania is a very old society, with traditions and culture from the Roman Empire and earlier. Yet in another way, Romania is a very new society, which underwent major transitions in the 20th century that are still affecting every day life. Who knows what the future will hold?

From Romania,
Anne Marie

Reverse Culture Shock

2010-04-20T17:27:00.000-04:00

“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” ~G.K. Chesterton

Just two weeks ago, I was in Huaraz, Peru. I lived in a hostel; I taught street kids at a nonprofit school; I climbed every day; I was surrounded on all sides by the highest mountains in Peru; I could get a three-course meal for a dollar; and I could get to any place in my town by walking fifteen minutes or less. Since I returned to the US, I have spent a week in Washington, DC and a week in Chicago, and life is VERY different.

When I first walked through the streets of DC two weeks ago, I was truly shocked. I saw businessmen and women in pressed suits talking on their Bluetooth headsets, drinking Starbucks, and walking briskly towards their high-level jobs in the capital of the United States. I saw a city that was very clean, had dozens of historical monuments, and had free museums on every corner. I stuttered numerous times when talking to strangers, since I was still thinking in Spanish. I could not believe that just hours earlier I was in the middle of the mountains in Peru.

Culture shock from living in another country is difficult, but it is bearable. I have experienced it on every trip I have been on to some extent, usually when I get sick and feel like I need some comfort from home. But reverse culture shock is different. In my opinion, it is much more noticeable and much more difficult to deal with. I never expect to be so shocked to return to my home country, but it is often more shocking than going somewhere new!

This time, I am experiencing a heightened level of reverse culture shock because I have gone from one extreme to another. After living in a city where people wore the same clothes three days a week, I went to probably the most clean-cut city in the US. After living in a place where I could eat for just dollars each day, I spent $30 on one meal. And after living in a place where I had fallen in love with fifty amazing kids, I came to a place where I couldn’t even contact them. It was hard, to say the least.

However, as hard as reverse culture shock seems to be, I love it. It puts life into perspective for me, since I come home and view my own country from the position of an outsider. It is only upon returning to the US that I truly start to understand the significance of my trip. For example, before leaving Peru, I did not realize how much I would miss my wonderful students. I was always so caught up in the moment with them that I did not really take the time to reflect on how much they meant to me. I cared about them so much, and I always felt close to them. If I didn’t see them at school, I saw them at their houses or in the streets playing or at the market. However, when I came home to the US, I found myself walking the streets of Washington, DC looking for familiar faces. I waited for Belizario to jump out from behind me and hug me. I waited for Linda to spot me from across the street and run over to say hi. But it didn’t happen, and I realized that I would not be seeing them again for a very long time.

Coming home also gave me a chance to reflect on everything I did and learned while I was in Peru. Though I traveled and climbed and met people, the majority of my experience in Peru related to the work that I did at Seeds of Hope. It was a perfect situation—I helped kids by being their school teacher, and they helped me by teaching me about their simple and beautiful life. A week before I left Huaraz, I had an experience that showed me truly how important the kids were to me. I was eating dinner around ten at night in a restaurant close to the market, when I saw my students Belizario, Keler, and Vitmer outside the window. I went outside to say hello to them, and we hugged and smiled and talked about our days. While I was talking to them, a man walked up to me and told me to stop talking to them. After I said no, he said, “Don’t talk to them…they are just street kids…they are dirty and from the campo…they are stupid and only want your money…” I protested again, saying that they were my kids and that they were students that I had taught for two months. He responded by saying, “No, you don’t understand. You are from the United States and you don’t understand how stupid and worthless they are! What do they want? Money? Well I’ll give them money as long as they get out of here!”

At the moment, I was more upset than I have ever been in my life. I was furious at the man for saying those things and literally kicking my kids aside, but more than anything I was sad that he said them to begin with. I could do nothing else but take the man aside and tell him to leave us alone, but the mark from what he said remained clear in my mind.

I thought, how can anyone think that way? They are just kids that have grown up in terrible conditions. They are just doing what they can to survive, not by choice but by necessity. Because of people like that man, these beautiful, talented kids will be pushed further into societal oppression based solely on the way they have grown up. People like him are the reason that the cycle of poverty continues—these kids will be looked at as worthless; they will not be encouraged; they will never find their talents; and they will never be able to overcome the fate that their parents have suffered.

Luckily, there are people like Yuri (the founder of Seeds of Hope), Elvis, and Mariela (teachers at Seeds), who spend their lives trying to give the kids opportunities. There are people like Megan, Alice, Marie, Jess, Jenny, Dean, Jonathan, Sofia, and all the other volunteers who give up months of their lives in order to make life better for these kids. In our efforts, we help kids who have next to nothing to develop their abilities so that they can beat the cycle of poverty that endures generation after generation.

I have experienced reverse culture shock upon returning to the US, but in the end it is good for me. It helps me reflect on my trip, and it gives me the chance to appreciate what I had in Peru, while also appreciating what I have here. I would never give up my travels for anything, even if it means a little discomfort upon returning.

Mark Twain once said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

Anne Marie

Education

2010-03-28T21:12:00.002-03:00

Two weeks ago, the students from Seeds started school. After the first day of class, they arrived at Seeds with their school supply lists, which include large quantities of items that the kids would never be able to afford. Some teachers asked the kids to buy packs of poster board, multiple rulers and compasses, special clothes, and dozens of laminas, which are laminated pages with definitions and diagrams that can only be found in special bookstores. The unfortunate part is that most of these things are hard to find and even harder to afford. Luckily, Seeds is able to provide the kids with school uniforms and basic supplies, but this covers only the bare minimum.

On top of the pricey supply requests from teachers, the kids are assigned homework that is even more of a joke. Apparently, a few years ago the Peruvian government passed an initiative to improve the nation’s education. As a result, they imposed ridiculously high standards on students, especially secondary students, in hopes of augmenting learning. And what does this mean for our students? It means that Kati, a seventh grader, has economics homework asking her to comprehend the three sectors of economic activities—something that most students learn in tenth grade. It also means that ten-year-old Belizario, a second grader, has pages and pages of letters to copy to improve his handwriting even though he still cannot read.

Although the schools here mandate high standards for their students, they do not seem to reinforce these standards with proper instruction. As a result, the students suffer greatly in comprehension—arguably the most important part of education. For example, even after doing economics homework for two days, Kati had no concept of what she was learning. She would read a question out loud, read the answer out loud, and then look at me and ask, “Now what do I write?” She had good intentions of doing the homework, but her situation for actual comprehension of the material was bleak. Her teacher did not explain anything; her homework was way over her head; and she had no prior experience in the subject. On top of it, Kati has parents who, like the majority of the parents of the kids at Seeds, are illiterate. So they can’t do much to help her out, and her only other option for learning is Seeds.

Though Peru’s education system is sometimes said to be one of the best in Latin America, it does not seem to have tricked down all the way to the poorest children in the department of Ancash or its capital of Huaraz. Perhaps some students are successful if they have the right resources, but the schools that our students attend do not offer these resources. The schools swear by their own high standards, but they do not give proper instruction in how to reach these standards. So the poorest, most helpless kids suffer. And those are the kids who come to Seeds.

The up side of all of this is that Seeds is doing very important work and truly making a difference. Even in the two months I have been here, I have seen some of the kids make incredible progress: Belizario is finally starting to read; Estefani is becoming more confident in her writing and speech; Adrian is becoming more focused with his work; and Bladimir is excelling greatly in upper-level mathematics. Seeds of Hope not only gives the kids a place to study outside of their one-room, dirt-floored houses, but also gives the kids continued support in education that they do not receive from any other avenue.

At Seeds of Hope, there are fifty kids who now have a chance to succeed in the future.

Anne Marie

Quinua con Maca

2010-03-27T15:59:00.001-03:00

I have been in Peru for a month, so I think it is finally time for me to write an entry about food because the cuisine here fascinates me. Though the food here comes in all shapes and sizes, I have found that there are a few characteristics that unite all foods. First of all, the freshness. I have been to markets in Europe, Mexico, Chile and the US, but I have never seen a variety like that of the market in Huaraz. When I go shopping there, I start by walking around outside to buy fresh limes, juicy oranges, sweet mangos, crunchy apples, ripe tunas (cactus fruit), mandarins, and other fruits. Then, I walk inside to get fresh bread, eggs, and cheese. Walking upstairs, I encounter the massive variety of vegetables, and I usually get stuck there for at least thirty minutes, trying to decide what to buy and how to limit myself! One stand sells six varieties of leafy greens, while another sells every type of pepper. Others sell onions, tomatoes, carrots, beets, maca (similar to potato), green beans, peas, basil, spinach, parsley, and yerba buena (similar to mint). Still others sell different types of hand made sauces and salsas containing oregano, chile and other flavors. On top of all this, there are many more foods that are still unknown to me!

Apart from the market, there is fresh food in every direction I look. Even fast street food is fresh—stuffed potatoes, boiled quail eggs, fresh squeezed orange juice, and anticuchos (kabobs with meat from cows’ hearts).
Now, the freshness is only the beginning of the beauty of Peruvian cuisine, which has incredible flavor as well. From cuy (gineau pig) to chicken in cream sauce to pizza to bistek (beef), everything is seasoned to perfection. I don’t know how they do it, but Peruvians even make rice and potatoes flavorful—with garlic, chile, oregano, and lime. It is hard to convey flavor in words, so I will just say that Huaracino cuisine is delicious.

Nothing about Peruvian food surprises me more than price. Yes, I do come from an expensive country, so it is obvious that it would be different, but it is so striking that I can buy anything for the amount I pay here! For example, for lunch or dinner I can order menu for a dollar fifty, which is usually some sort of chicken or beef with rice, soup, and salad. Another treat that I love is quinua con maca (boiled quinua with maca, a type of potato, cinnamon, and sugar, which costs 15 cents for two large glasses. I can also get stuffed potatoes, churros, or fresh squeezed orange juice on the street for 30 cents, or I can order chifa—Chinese food, which usually includes fried rice, noodles, and/or meat with wonton soup—for two bucks!

I do not know what spurred my diatribe on food from Huaraz, but I think it has something to do with the fact that I spent last weekend in Peru’s capital, Lima. While I was there, I committed the unforgivable sin of eating American fast food from chain restaurants, and after a month eating homemade meals in Huaraz, the taste of fast food was very strange. More than anything, though, the food made evident a large contrast—the contrast between a big coastal city and a small mountain town. When I first arrived in Lima, I felt as if I walked into another world—there were endless lines of cars with incessant horns, crowds of people in every direction, fast food restaurants, tall buildings, and views of the ocean. It is surprising that I felt so different in Lima because usually I am very comfortable in big cities. However, after living in Huaraz for a while, I seemed to have adopted the mountain mentality, where everything moves ten times slower.

I enjoyed my stay in Lima for a few days, but I was glad to return to Huaraz, which has a strikingly different culture. On Monday morning, when I was walking to work, I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the view of snow-capped mountains, when I walked by Quechua women knitting hats, or when I noticed people selling cancha (a very common corn snack). I have to admit that I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to get to know Huaraz. I have a purpose here; I have a life here; and though I never thought it could happen, I have to admit that I am extremely happy not living in a big city.

Take care!
Anne Marie

Positive Reinforcement

2010-03-05T17:17:00.001-03:00

Today at Seeds we asked our students to respond to the question, “If you could change places with any one person for a day, with whom would you change places?” Most of kids responded by saying they would be a famous singer or actor or rock star. Jair, however, responded with something different—he said that he would like to change places with a universitario, or university student, so that he could see how it feels to learn in a university.
Jair, like many of the kids at Seeds, does not receive encouragement in the realm of education from his parents. His father works as a street cleaner and his mother works in a restaurant, and they have little educational advice to offer to their twelve-year-old son. Fortunately, Jair comes to class every day at Seeds, and he not only fills the room up with positive energy, but also provides a good example for the other students due to his strong work ethic and persistence. At Seeds, Jair has the chance to hone his skills and work towards his future—things he would have never had the chance to do if he had not come to Seeds.
And Jair is just one of the many examples of students on which Seeds has really made a difference. Wilber, the oldest student at Seeds, graduated from high school last year. He is currently studying diligently for his university entrance examination, which he will take in April. Had he not come to Seeds, Wilber would have never been able to afford university, or even get close. Yet now, with the support of the organization and his own hard work, Wilber is going to be able to enter a university to study mathematics and physics and truly make a future for himself.
These are just a few of the success stories from Seeds, but the list continues. In every success story, there are many elements, including the kids, the teachers, and the environment in which they learn. As a teacher at Seeds, I have had the opportunity to help create a learning environment that fosters growth. In doing this over the past few weeks, I have learned (and experienced) the importance of positive reinforcement.
When I arrived at Seeds, the volunteers had a “points system” in place, where they would give each student a certain amount of points (between 0 and 5) every day. The idea was that every student would receive five points, unless they lost points for showing up late, refusing to participate, or otherwise misbehaving. At first, I played along with the system. I would tell Marcos that I would take away a point if he kept destroying his notebook. I would tell Carmen that I would take away a point if she complained about the assignment one more time. And so on.
However, after three weeks, I became tired of being the bad guy. My threats to the kids did not seem to change their actions, and my attitude seemed to keep me from truly getting to know them. So this Monday, I tried something new. Instead of threatening, I started rewarding. Instead of taking away points, I started giving out points. Instead of getting upset and raising my voice, I explained the positive aspects of hard work to the kids. With my new attitude, the students started to respond to me, to respect me, and to value me. Also, and perhaps more importantly, they started to respect and value themselves. They learned that I was not going to punish them for acting up, but rather that only they would feel the effects of their own negativity. After I started using positive reinforcement, I have seen a great difference in the kids’ attitudes towards me and towards themselves.
Though teaching is the most challenging thing I have ever done, I love it because it is a constant learning experience. I learn so much more from the kids than I could ever learn by myself, and I have a lot more fun while doing it.
In the end, it is not every day that a nine-year-old will offer to teach you how to make an origami bird with wings that flap. 
Until next time,
Anne Marie

“¿Vives en Huaraz?”

2010-02-24T01:49:00.003-03:00

When the owner of the restaurant asked me if I lived in Huaraz this morning, I responded saying yes. After three weeks being here, I have moved beyond the stage of being a traveler.

Now, I live here.

It is not easy to get to know a new city, much less adapt to it. However, in my stay in Huaraz, I have really begun to settle in. I have friends here; I have seen much of the surrounding areas; and I have developed a daily routine. After drinking a coffee at Continental Café, I head to Seeds of Hope for the morning, where I work with twenty students, who are mostly in primary school. Then I take a lunch break, where I typically eat menu at a restaurant somewhere in town, which is a multi-course meal with a drink that usually costs around a dollar. Then I head back to Seeds for the afternoon with another fifteen students that are in secondary school.

The activities Seeds differ depending on the day, but a typical week consists of lessons such as geography, language, math, and science. My role as a volunteer is to work with the students, especially in math and science. I came to Seeds hoping to implement a science curriculum developed by a friend of mine. So far, I have taught two of the ten science lessons that she developed, which include background information, activities, and experiments to explain topics such as static electricity and polarity of water. During the lessons, the students have been able to practice forming hypotheses, doing experiments, filling out worksheets with data, and coming to conclusions. Bringing science lessons of this kind to Seeds is especially important because the kids rarely have contact with hands-on activities that challenge them to use their minds to solve problems. It is true that they may not remember what “atoms” or “molecules” are, but at least they are gaining contact with some scientific concepts and the experimental method, which will surely show up later in their education.

Working at Seeds is very fulfilling, even though it is frustrating at times. Some of the kids are so behind that they have trouble with things like adding and writing, even though they are over ten years old. Linda and Estefani struggle greatly with multiplication, and even though we have tried playing “Bingo” with multiplication charts and using paper cutouts and writing times tables over and over again, they still ask day after day, “What is 5 X 2?”

Other students excel greatly in some subjects and struggle in others, like Marcos, who is incredibly creative, but cannot form complete sentences or use punctuation marks. Then there are kids with family problems that impede learning. For example, yesterday, Yeni showed up at school with a black eye and multiple cuts on her face. After asking her what happened, we realized that she had been hit numerous times with a beer bottle by her drunken father over the weekend. She swore it was an accident, but it was not the first time that she has showed up with similar wounds.

Despite the difficulties we have working with the kids, we feel that we really do make a difference. Sometimes it is hard to see the results of the work, but we know they are there. Communication is a key aspect of my work here, and I have begun to truly appreciate what it can do in helping me learn about the culture. I am speaking Spanish, teaching in Spanish, and getting to know kids in Spanish—I am living my life in Spanish. In the United States, I have held teaching and tutoring positions before, but for the most part I have taught in English. Here, I am experiencing teaching in another language, which is very challenging. Yet because it is challenging, I have had lots of fun because I am constantly learning new words and forms of communicating in order to assure that the kids understand what I mean. The most significant difference about teaching in Spanish rather than English is that I no longer beat myself up over my mistakes. With the kids, I make mistakes on a daily basis. However, they are non-issues—we just laugh and move on.

The most important form of communication here is not verbal communication, but rather non-verbal communication, which happens when I play Ultimate Frisbee with the students or give hugs to kids who never get them in their houses. Also, non-verbal communication is a main component of getting to know a new culture, and in Huaraz, I have learned culture from my communication with the kids. When they want to share their culture, they invite me to city-wide beauty pageants; they invite me into their “gang” for the “water wars;” or they invite me to see them wearing masks and costumes and riding on floats.

While I am here providing lessons in science and math for students with few resources, the students are here providing me with lessons about life in Huaraz and culture in Peru. The relationship I have with the students is reciprocal—we teach each other, and together we are always learning new things.

Until next week,
Anne Marie

Martes Guerra

2010-02-16T20:42:00.003-03:00

Though I have been working at Seeds for only two weeks, I have already felt a range of emotions, from ecstatic to upset to proud to overwhelmed to excited to sad. I have seen students working hard at school, even though they are currently on summer break. I have seen the kids’ faces light up during relay races during our field trip day. I have seen the kids doing experiments with balloons in order to understand static electricity.

Working at Seeds is challenging at times—trying to get students to learn during summer vacation can be quite difficult. Yet seeing them succeed is rewarding, and worth every ounce of effort we put into the school. Though my job includes teaching lessons about science and helping the kids learn the departments of Peru, my true position requires much more. More than anything, my work at Seeds is to be a positive influence to children that do not have any one else to push them to value education.

On top of being a positive influence, my job is to be a cultural ambassador—to share my culture while learning about a new culture. Observing culture can be one of the most fascinating parts of traveling, and today I experienced Peruvian culture first-hand. Today was the final day of Carnaval in Huaraz, affectionately called Martes Guerra, or “War Tuesday.” During the month prior to today’s festivities, Huaracinos have been celebrating Carnaval with parades, masks, floats, beauty pageants, neighborhood contests, and community parties. Also, Carnaval is a time for city-wide water wars, where Huaracinos band together with water balloons, buckets, hoses, and Super Soakers to drench innocent passersby. It is girls against boys; it takes place all over the city; and it lasts weeks. In my three weeks here, I have only arrived at home dry once.

Today was the final day of the wars, where bands of kids, teenagers, and adults hit the streets with large quantities of water and even larger smiles. Boys attacked girls and girls attacked boys—from streets, from houses, and from balconies. I was lucky enough to be in a group with the kids and volunteers from Seeds of Hope, which was not only more powerful, but also more fun.

On Martes Guerra, the whole city comes together. No matter who you are or where you’re from, you are just as vulnerable to be drenched. I have never seen so many smiles in a city in my life—while being attacked with water, smiling is really the only thing you can do. On top of smiles, there were dozens of bands playing music in the central plaza, where people were not only throwing water, but also flour, confetti, and fireworks. After using all of our water, we joined the party. There, we danced and sang and came together with the whole city of Huaraz to celebrate.

Experiencing a Latin American Carnaval celebration is an amazing opportunity to see the world through the eyes of another culture. Carnaval brings together a whole city into one community that celebrates similarities over differences. It brings a new beginning to a city that has strife and poverty. It brings insiders out and outsiders in. And in Huaraz it brings many surprises, including buckets of water and a city-wide “war.”

A Stark Juxtaposition in Huaraz

2010-02-09T15:49:00.001-03:00

A week and a half ago, I arrived in Huaraz, which is a town of 150,000 located about eight hours north of Lima. The city is the capital of the department of Ancash, and it lies in between two mountain ranges—the Cordillera Negra and the Cordillera Blanca. Before coming here, I had heard grand stories about the town from friends and travelers. However, I did not know exactly how great it would be until I arrived in person a week and a half ago.

I arrived in Huaraz last week after riding busses for 36 hours while traveling north to Peru from Chile. I came in late at night, so I went straight to a hostel and rested my exhausted body. It was not until the next morning, when I stepped outside, that the reality of my trip finally began to sink in. I went to the roof of the place I was staying and looked at the landscape of the area that I would be in for two months. I saw Andean peaks in every direction, rising over 18,000 feet, blanketed in snow and capped with glaciers. The mountains radiated sunlight and towered over everything in the valley below, including Huaraz.

My awe at the scenery continued to grow during my first few days in the area, when I explored the town and hiked up some nearby mountains. However, when I started my work at Seeds of Hope, I began to confront a different reality. I faced the reality that there are dozens of children that lack formal education and live in extreme poverty in the foothills of majestic Andean mountains that stunned me upon my arrival.

Luckily, I would become a volunteer for the small nonprofit organization Seeds of Hope, which seeks to support children who live in extreme poverty in Peru and provide vocational training for those without economic means. Founded four years ago by Yuri Chavez, Seeds of Hope now helps around fifty children of ages six to eighteen. The organization is almost entirely supported by volunteers, including two Peruvian teachers and multiple international volunteers who tutor, teach, and run workshops for the students. The Seeds of Hope school has three classrooms, a kitchen for preparing food for the children, a bathroom where the students can clean up and brush their teeth, and a garden where the students can play safely.

In January and February, the students are on vacation from their normal schools, so we have the ability to work with them all day at Seeds of Hope. Last week, I started working with Seeds of Hope by meeting the kids that attend as well as the Peruvian teachers and the international volunteers. The students who come to Seeds often have heartbreaking stories, such as Julio, who lives with his grandmother after his father died and his mother left to be a domestic worker in Lima, and Carmen, who sells potatoes in the market to help provide for her mother and five siblings who live in an adobe-brick house with a dirt floor. And these are just a few of the stories.

The teachers at Seeds are Yuri, Elvis, and Mariela, who provide formal structure for the school, including one-on-one instruction for students who struggle the most and normal classroom activities for students who need more instruction than what they are getting in their public schools.

The volunteers at Seeds of Hope augment the daily instruction by developing activities, lessons, and workshops on many subjects. Jonathan, who is working at Seeds as part of a backpacking trip through Central and South America, has been working with the kids in geography. Megan arrived at Seeds after graduating from high school, and she works with the students who are very behind for their age. Sofia, who lived half her life in Morocco and half in Canada, is working on math and communication skills with the youngest kids at Seeds. Dean, a die-hard Saints fan from New Orleans, is teaching at Seeds in order to gain skills in educating and Spanish for his future job as a bilingual teacher in Texas. Lastly, I arrived at Seeds in order to develop and teach science lessons, which include fun experiments for the students that use as few resources as possible.

My first impression of Seeds was favorable—I saw the children’s faces light up when they came together to learn in the classrooms. I saw the Peruvian teachers putting in great efforts every day to encourage learning. I saw the volunteers planning events, games, and activities that would augment the students’ learning. And I saw the Seeds of Hope facility, a very simple place that provides so much for the kids that come.

Last week, while working with students in math, communications, language, and geography, I noticed that some students struggle greatly, while others fly through problems without thinking otherwise. I was surprised by the very high education level of many of the kids, who I expected to be much farther behind than they are. In the last four years, it seems that Seeds has really made an impact on the lives of these children. In reality, more than providing tutoring and teaching, the teachers and volunteers at Seeds provide continued support for many kids who do not have any positive influences in their lives.

After a week, I realize that working at Seeds will not be easy—the reality is harsh; the kids are stubborn; and the resources are limited. However, I know that it will be a growing experience, and I am very excited for weeks to come.

Anne Marie

Thoughts on Traveling

2010-01-30T19:40:00.002-03:00

I never really understood traveling until I went to Mexico for a Spanish language immersion program in 2005. On that trip, I felt as if I were injected with new information daily in large doses. My senses were open to the new place—I saw stray dogs roaming the streets, I smelled spray paint from graffiti artists, I touched fruits with soft, yellow spines, I tasted gorditas and chalupas, and I touched the hands and faces of others every time I said hello.

Going to the new place blew me away, and as a result I continued exploring in later years. Since summer 2005, I have been back to Mexico four times, and I have been to Hungary, Romania, Guatemala, Chile, Argentina, and Peru. And at this moment, I do not see any end in sight to my thirst for traveling. I caught the “bug,” and, to my delight, it will not go away.

One of the most important things traveling brings is understanding and appreciation for other cultures. Though this sounds obvious, it is very important to remember. For example, last weekend I had the opportunity to experience Valparaiso’s Carnavales Culturales (Cultural Carnaval). Once again, it was one of those experiences that I would not do justice by describing in words, but take my word for it--it was awesome. Basically, the city throws a three day party where the city is jam packed with porteños (people from Valpo) and extranjeros (foreigners) twenty four hours a day. Streets are closed; there are huge concerts with famous artists, art displays around the city, theater shows throughout the day, parades at night, and lots of confetti. Basically, it was New Years all over again, except this time it lasted three days!

The best part about the entire event was that I spent it with my Chilean friends. So the entire night long while there were street bands performing on every corner, we danced and sang typical Chilean songs (I made up the words as much as I could) 
I have never felt more pride in a place in which I lived until I experienced carnavales in Valpo.

The best way to describe it is in the song ¨La Joya del Pacifico¨:

Del cerro Los Placeres yo me pase al Barón
Me vine al cordillera en busca de tu amor
Te fuiste al cerro alegre y yo siempre detrás
Porteña buena moza no me hagas sufrir mas
La plaza de la victoria es un centro social
O avenida Pedro Montt como tu no hay otra igual
Mas yo quisiera cantarte con todito el corazón
Torpedera de mi ensueño Valparaíso de mi amor

Listen here: http://letras.terra.com.br/joe-vasconcellos/427433/

Miss you all!
Anne Marie

Presidential Elections in Chile

2010-01-22T13:44:00.002-03:00

I learn so much while I am traveling! I had the opportunity to be in Chile while its presidential elections took place this year, which was quite an experience! Chile has had a left-wing government for 20 years, and this election was a very close run between Frei (the leftist candidate) and Piñera (the right-center candidate). The election was very close and contested, and days before the election there were demonstrations in all the streets of Valparaiso. There was SO MUCH noise—cars honking, people chanting, politicians speaking. Then, the day of the election finally came (last Sunday), and everyone went to vote. Around 8pm they announced the results—Piñera came out ahead by a very small percentage, and for the first time in 20 years, the government would be lead by the conservative party in Chile. Wow.

I had the chance to actually go “vote” with my friend Alfredo, and in the process I learned everything I could possibly learn about elections in Chile. Here are some of the things I found interesting:

1) In Chile, they use a “voluntary inscription, mandatory vote” system for voting. This means that registering to vote is voluntary, but once people register, they must vote in every election for their entire lives! If they do not vote (and do not notify authorities with a reason), they can be fined a lot of money (sometimes close to two hundred dollars)! Apparently they are trying to change the system to a voluntary inscription, voluntary vote system, so we will see what happens with that.
2) People who are registered to vote are not free from voting until they are 80!
3) Chilean voting locations are guarded not by police, but by armed forces. They stand guard at all the doors and around the buildings to keep order and make sure nothing goes wrong.
4) The people who help out at the voting locations are mandated by law to help out. For example, they will get a summons to be a “vocal” (table helper) and they must comply, or face time behind bars!
5) If the people running the voting stations need more help, they can ask people who vote early in the day to stay for the rest of the day and help out. If these people resist their summons to help, they can be taken to jail by the police. The only way they can get out of it is if they have a plane flight or something along those lines.
6) Chileans use black ink to tint their thumbs as a marker that they voted (like our “I Voted Today” stickers).
7) When they count the votes at the end of the day, everything is very transparent and open to the public. Any person can come and watch counting of the votes, which is done out loud and on a white board in each room. You can literally watch them tally every single vote. Wow.

That was about it! It was pretty fascinating to be here for the election because it showed me how Chileans feel about the electoral process and being a democratic nation. Even though most of the people that I know voted for Frei and lost, they were not upset. They said that they were happy that democracy worked in Chile, in a way that both parties can hold power and do good for the country. Also, people in Chile do not take for granted the fact that they have a system set up so that power can be transferred between parties peacefully and amicably. Since Chile is still a young democracy, these ideas are very important in the minds of Chileans.

Nice!

Will post more soon!

Anne Marie

More on Chile

2010-01-22T13:40:00.000-03:00

I have now been in Chile for about three weeks, and I have had the opportunity to do so many amazing things! After New Years, Ivey and I went with her family to Ritoque, a very peaceful area about an hour north of Valparaiso that has dunes, beaches, beautiful rock outcroppings next to the water, and nice houses. We spent two relaxing days there, while recovering from the craziness of New Years.

Being in Ritoque for two days was very good for me, as it cleared my mind and allowed me to see the beauty in life, friends, family, and nature. We passed the time exploring on the rocks by the beach, playing with starfish, biking through lagoons and grasses, riding horses, strolling through town, watching the sunset over the beautiful ocean, playing cards, eating amazing food, talking, laughing, resting, and loving. It was an experience I had never before had in Chile—I was with my girlfriend and all her closest friends and family for two days, without phone or internet, enjoying the simple life, relaxing, and having a blast. Thank you Ivey, Tito, Alfredo, Tia Ana, Mauri, David, Victor, and Berto for the wonderful time!

Apart from our trip to Ritoque, Ivey and I caught up with friends, cooked good meals, had dinner parties, went dancing, hung out at the hostel, walked around the hills of Valparaiso, went shopping, ate empanadas, and met new friends. We also took two other day trips, to Con Con (where we climbed around and explored rocks next to the ocean) and Quintay (where we saw the old whalery, now made into a museum, and went to a tranquil beach with sparkling turquoise waters). Both places were amazingly beautiful, and I am very happy that I have been able to see so many new places on this trip!

I feel very lucky that I had the chance to return to Chile with Ivey—I learned a lot from her experiences and perception of the country, which only augmented my own. Unfortunately, she had to leave before I did, so I dropped her off at the airport and decided that I wanted to stay a bit longer before I returned to Peru. My decision pretty much resulted from the fact that a friend of mine offered me a free place to live—there was no way I was going to say no to that! So now I am living alone in a beautiful house in Valpo, getting to know the city better than I have ever known it before. Since I have been alone, I started a sailing class at Muelle Baron (the pier) and went back to Ritoque for another relaxing day with Ivey’s family.

Viva Valparaiso!

Anne Marie

New Years in Valparaiso

2010-01-22T13:35:00.001-03:00

Valparaiso is said to have one of the best New Years celebrations in the world, on par with Sydney and Rio de Janiero… and now I know why.

After we finished Machu Picchu and left Cuzco, Ivey and I began another adventure—finding a way to get from Peru to Chile! We had bought bus tickets to get us out of Peru, and without knowing it, one of the bus rides was a “tour.” As a result, we were forced to get out of the bus at all these sites and listen to tour guides talk about churches, Inca ruins, llamas, and museums. Halfway through the 9 hour bus ride we started to get really sick of the tour aspect of it. However, just moments later, the bus dropped us off in a town called Pukara, which would not have been special if it weren’t for the festival that was going on that day! They called it the Festival de Niño Jesus (Festival of Baby Jesus), and they celebrated with intricate costumes, beautiful dances, marching bands, food, alcohol, and music! We were only there for 30 minutes or so, but it was best half hour of the entire journey! We experienced true Peruvian culture and life—up close and personal—in a tiny town in the Andean highlands of Peru!

We also had another unexpected experience due to our own bad planning—we spent two days in a city called Arica, a coastal city in the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile. The city was hot and dry and dusty, yet it had a nice sea breeze coming in from the coast. We spent our days walking around town, visiting museums, and climbing up “El Morro”—a cliff that overlooks the entire city and the entire bay.
After Arica, we flew to Santiago and then bussed to Valparaiso, our favorite city! It was my first time back since I studied there, and naturally I was excited to go back to visit a place I grew to love so much!

We arrived to Valpo right before New Years, which meant constant party for a few days. And in Chile, party means eating and drinking--wine with peaches, melon con vino (honeydew melon filled with white wine and sugar), cola de mono (aguardiente, cognac, and milk), completos (hot dogs topped with avocado, tomato, mayo, mustard, and ketchup), and chorrillanas (a pile of fries topped with beef, onion, and egg)! Then, all this partying culminated in the INCREDIBLE New Years celebration on New Years Eve.

In Valparaiso, New Years is a very important holiday. Ivey and I found this out by means of a very hectic grocery store trip on December 31st. It turns out that going to a Chilean grocery store on New Years Eve is a recipe for disaster. The store was the definition of a madhouse—we had to fight our way through a group of Chileans just to get a cart; we had to squeeze through crowded aisles, full of people hoarding massive quantities of alcohol; and we watched beer and wine displays shatter and spill booze all over the floor. After an hour and a half, we left the store, amazed that we made it out alive!

Then, come night time, we searched for a spot with a good view of the fireworks display. Other people flocked to hills, beaches, and high rises. Then we ate, drank, screamed, and celebrated! On the street where we were, there were probably 50,000 people or more yelling and screaming and flashing lights and spraying champagne. At 11:55, all the lights in the city went out. Everything was dark, apart from lighted hats, glasses, and necklaces. When the clock hit midnight, people hugged and celebrated, screaming in anticipation for the fireworks. The show was coordinated among fifteen platforms sitting about a mile apart throughout the entire bay. They all had the same show, which made for an incredible display.

Seeing New Years in Valparaiso is one of those experiences that is next to impossible to describe in words. The only thing that I can say is that I had an incredible time and would not exchange the experience for anything.

The night did not end until 9am the next day, when we left the club we had been dancing in since 4am. Then, from there we drove through the city, viewing the “destruction” from the night before—trash covering every inch of pavement, people sleeping in plazas, young people leaving clubs, and cars crushing bottles with every turn of the wheel. Yet the amazing part of it all (as my Chilean friend told me) is that the city can have a celebration like this where everything is in good fun, no one gets hurt, and the city cleans up by the next day.

So I end this entry by saying ¡FELIZ AÑO NUEVO! from Valparaiso!!!

Anne Marie

Christmas Day on Machu Picchu!

2010-01-14T20:47:00.003-03:00

I am so shocked that is 2010 already, and I am even more shocked to say that I spent my last couple weeks of 2009 and first couple weeks of 2010 traveling throughout South America with some of my best friends! This trip has really been an experience of a lifetime, and I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it.

When I was studying in Chile last year, I really learned how to travel and became comfortable with going to new places with few plans and an open mind. I also started to think about where my next trip would be when I had the chance to travel again, and I immediately chose Peru. I knew that Peru would be quite different from Chile—from the food to the culture to the landscape. I also wanted to be able to see Machu Picchu and learn about the Inca culture. So after many months looking for plane tickets and trying to make plans to go to Peru, things finally fell into place. Not only did I find a way to get to Peru and stay there for many months, I also found three friends who wanted to join. And even better, I found a way to come to Chile for New Year’s and visit all the people that I met a year ago!

I spent the last couple months of 2009 waiting in anticipation for the trip, along with my friends Anne, Ivey, Ke, and Kristina. Then, within days of finals ending in December, we all left the U.S. (on four different flights) and met up in the Lima airport on the night of December 19th.

We arrived in Cuzco the next day, where we stayed for a couple days in order to acclimatize to the altitude before we started hiking to Machu Picchu. Our first moments in Cuzco were incredible—we drank coca tea and explored the hills and streets of the antiquated town. We also ate Peruvian food, which was by far some of the most exquisite food I have ever tasted. To give you an idea, we ate asparagus soup, stuffed chicken, homemade pizzas, and avocado stuffed with chicken and veggies. We also tested our palettes with cuye, aka guinea pig, which is a traditional Peruvian dish (see photo albums for detail). It is supposedly full of fiber, but we found it salty and strange. I don’t really know how I feel about it, but I think I will give it another try at some point!

After two days in Cuzco, we woke up at 4am on December 22nd so that we would be ready for our 5am pickup to hike the Inca Trail. We finally arrived at Kilometer 82, the starting point of the four day hike! Rather than going through the details of the trek, which I could not even begin to put into words, I will provide you with a few anecdotes from each day to give you a feel for how it went!

Day One: The most memorable moments of day one included hiking alongside the Urubamba River, listening to our guide’s discussions about Incan culture and flora and fauna. He taught us about a hallucinogenic flower, pigment from wood lice, and the culture and history of the Incas. I learned so much, including the fact that the Incas represented the universe in three levels—the underworld, represented by a serpent, the land, represented by a puma, and the heavens, represented by a condor. Also, the constructed their communities in the shapes of these animals, so we had the chance to see a complex that housed about 400 people that was built into the side of the mountain in the shape of a serpent. Very interesting! Also, on Day One we hiked through areas populated by indigenous people, so we had the chance to see their houses and their lifestyle.

Day Two: Day Two was affectionately called Challenge Day, and it is not without reason. Before this trip, I thought the Grand Canyon was difficult, where we hiked almost a mile uphill on Day Two. However, the Grand Canyon was cake compared to Challenge Day, where we would have to hike about 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) not only uphill, but up Inca “death” stairs, as I began to refer to them since they were huge, steep, and slippery. Also, we were hiking at a pretty high altitude, where our highest point (Dead Woman’s Pass) was 4,200 meters (13,800 feet)! Seeing as all of us were coming from at or near sea level, this was quite the shcok to our systems, and took a while to get used to. Luckily for us, it was raining almost the entire day, so the extra oxygen in the air made things a bit easier (relatively). Haha.

The most memorable moment of that day happened exactly at the moment Anne and I arrived at Dead Woman’s Pass. We had gone up at least 1200 Inca “death” stairs for four hours straight, and we could see the entire valley below. I was singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall when I finally took the last step up to the top of the pass. And right at the moment that we arrived, it started to rain and hail very heavily! I quickly threw on my “waterproof” clothes, took a look at the looming clouds hanging over the valley, and started to go down the other side. Then, I saw Anne come frolicking down the steps with a huge smile on her face, saying, “This is badass!”

Despite the pain in our legs and the fact that we were soaking wet (turns out even rain clothes don’t keep out rain on Machu Picchu), we had a blast. Plus, when we arrived to the campsite, we got to eat lomo saltado, a famous Peruvian meat dish with veggies, potatoes, soup and garlic bread! What a treat!

Day Three: Day three was pretty eventful—we hiked up to another pass, saw more ruins, hiked downhill past a couple lakes, and then hiked through an area of rainforest while it was raining and misty out! Everything was so green and wet—it was really incredible. Plus the mist in the air made the whole scene very mystical, which just added to the experience! Once again, our clothes didn’t really keep out the rain, and we ended the day with just as many wet clothes as the day before.
The up-side of the whole situation was that getting to camp felt AMAZING and since it was the last night of camping, we were at a place that even had a bar/restaurant! AKA it had beer, a VERY welcome relief to exhausted bodies (and the altitude made getting tipsy very simple). Sitting in the restaurant with dry clothes and cold beer, I felt ridiculously lucky—I was on the side of a mountain in the Andes and I was with my best friends. Plus, it was Christmas Eve and the next day we would be at Machu Picchu!

When I didn’t think life could get any better, I was proved wrong. We went to eat dinner and had the most beautiful Christmas dinner prepared for us, thanks to our amazing cooks and porters, who work so hard (and for so little) to help us do the trek (they pretty much run the trail, while carrying around 60 pounds of supplies and wearing sandals). I can’t even remember exactly what we ate, but it was to die for. And it was cooked in a tent on the side of a mountain. Wow.

Day Four: Machu Picchu. After passing out cold the night before, I was awoken when it was still dark (and naturally, pouring rain). I am normally not a morning person, but that morning I jumped out of bed, gathered my things, and went to breakfast in a hurry, saying Merry Christmas to everyone I saw!

Then, still sopping in rain, we started the last two hours of the trek that would bring us to Machu Picchu. I was so excited to arrive that I was practically running down the slippery Inca “death” stairs, but I couldn’t help myself. Just as a child beams while opening a present on Christmas Day, I was beaming while opening myself to a cultural masterpiece that I had dreamed of seeing for years prior.

The day went amazingly well, despite the persistent rain and icy wind that hit us while exploring the ruins. By the time we left Machu Picchu at midday, we were sufficiently awed by the temples, the designs, the rooms, the symbols, the views, the ideas, and the lives of the Incas. And then the moment finally came where we had to say goodbye to Machu Picchu—a true wonder of the world.

You are right if you are thinking that I sound corny in writing all this. However, I do not believe that there is any other way to describe it. After participating in a four day hike with incredible company and a finale of arriving at a gorgeous and famous site, I feel like the luckiest person on earth.

Pictures are here:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=49873058&l=a3d3b8f5c4&id=10048141

More to come!!!

I send my love!
Anne Marie

Mucho que hacer…

2009-07-16T16:55:00.001-04:00

Before I begin, here are some pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2510753&id=10048141&l=90ffb528c7

It is amazing how much can happen in just a few weeks. After spending some time in Tapachula, I went to Guatemala with the group, but for the most part, I traveled alone. I stayed in Antigua for a couple days, which is a neat colonial town that has lots of foreigners, Spanish schools, and bars. I found a couple hangouts and met some interesting people. Among them were two Argentinean hippies who were traveling from Argentina to Tijuana and back in an old car under the name “Bandera Latino Americana” (Latin American Flag). They were educated, open-minded, understanding guys, and they taught me a lot. After my meeting with them, I started reading a book called Open Veins of Latin America, which tells the stories of conquer and killing and greed that brought about the birth of Latin America as we know it, complete with problems of hunger and poverty and conflict and disparity. Although it is not necessarily warm and fuzzy, the book is a must read for anyone who wants to know more about the history and development of Latin America.

After Antigua, I made my way to a few of the communities around Lake Atitlan, including Panajachel, San Pedro, and San Lucas Toliman. In the few days that I spent on the lake, I met people from all over the world, rode in the back of pickup trucks full of indigenous people, met some volunteers from the U.S. who work on economic development projects, read, wrote, and relaxed to the sound of insects chirping and water crashing on the lakeshore. Though I felt lonely at times, I was happy to meet new people and to appreciate the beauty of the landscape around me.

Since we returned from Guatemala, we have been busy visiting water systems and working to establish more economic development projects here, including a nursery of rambutan trees. The whole time I have been translating, and I have had some pretty hilarious moments (one of which occurred when I misinterpreted someone’s question and gave a completely wrong answer in front of fifty people). ☺

A couple days ago, we visited one of the water systems, which is run by a cooperative of coffee farmers called Procacen. The cooperative has many projects beyond coffee, including growing mushrooms, producing organic compost, harvesting honey from African bees, and now making purified water. The cooperative was started by an organization called ECOSUR to use as a model for other areas, and after four years, it is doing very well and constantly expanding. The coffee farmers of Chiapas (and most other areas) are typically individually minded, as they usually work solely for themselves and for their families. Yet in this cooperative, about 30 families come together to pool resources and augment development in the area. Also, they attempt to sustain the natural environment with the products they produce. Being able to see the cooperative in action was incredible, and seeing amazing results come from the projects was even better. Groups of people banding together to carry out projects like these are truly making a dent in lessening poverty in this extremely poor region of Mexico.

I also finally had the chance to spend some time with the kids at Mision Mexico (www.lovelifehope.com), and I even joined them at the beach last Sunday. It was an incredible day—we played in the waves, jumped around in the sand, found shells and crabs in the rocks, and watched the kids surf! At this point, about 25 kids are surfing, from ages 8 to 18. These kids have come so far, to the point where they not only swim and play in the ocean (which is not very common in Mexican culture), but also surf all day long!

After my own personal surfing lesson (where I actually stood up!), I made it home and passed out for half a day. It turns out that going to the beach with fifty-five kids on one hour of sleep is not the best idea ever…

Well, I guess that is enough for now. Write me at anorgren@asu.edu and let me know how you are doing!

I leave you with the lyrics of a song by Bacilos:

Esto no va a pasar, esto no va a cambiar
Esto no va a dejar de ser una tragedia
La tragedia del que no se quiere
Esto no va a pasar, esto no va a sanar
Porque no hay un disparo que pueda borrar la historia
Que nos corre por las venas

This is not going to pass, this is not going to change
This is not going to stop from being a tragedy
The tragedy that no one wants
This is not going to pass, this is not going to get better
Because there is not a bullet that can erase the history
That runs through our veins

Though we cannot erase history, together we can work to make the future better. I see progress here everyday, and my only hope is that it continues.

Hugs from Tapachula,
Anne Marie

In and around Tapachula!

2009-07-02T00:31:00.002-04:00

Hello again! Since I last wrote I’ve been around all of Chiapas, and I have seen some pretty amazing things!

I will begin with a funny story: Today we drove a truck into a ditch on the side of the road, and it took us two hours to get it out, as we had to build an entire new road in the ditch so that the truck had something to drive on. Luckily half of the town came out to help the silly gringos, so it was okay. ☺

And now for the rest of my entry: After we spent time in Nuevo Progreso, we took a couple days off and went to San Cristobal, an awesome little colonial town in Chiapas. It was my third time visiting there, but it was definitely the most informative trip I’ve had. John had a friend who is a tour guide, and he took us around the city to a bunch of different sites that were incredible.

First, we went to Cañon del Sumidero (Sumidero Canyon), and we took a two-hour boat ride on the river that runs through the canyon. We saw waterfalls, caves, 1,000 meter cliffs, and even crocodiles! There were lots of crocs in the water, and they swam up close to our boat. Upon seeing crocodiles in real life, Matt and I decided that we now know why ancient peoples used to revere them as gods—they are incredibly powerful creatures that look like something from another world. Awesome!

Then, our tour guide Esteban took us to this town called San Juan Chamula, which is an indigenous village outside of San Cristobal. Everyone in the town is the same religion, and there is only one church. If you do not belong to the church, then you move out of the town. The rituals that these people perform are captivating. They drink alcohol, kill chickens, and sacrifice eggs and Coca Cola during their rites. The whole religion is incredible in its details, but I cannot even start to explain them here. (Just go to Chamula if you are ever in San Cristobal!)

After being awed at these people’s customs, we took off to another indigenous town called Zinacantan. There, we learned about traditional indigenous clothing, ate homemade black corn tortillas, and tasted poosh, an alcoholic drink made from cane sugar that is typical of indigenous people.

After exploring the city a little more, stopping at some cool reggae bars, and relaxing for a bit, we took off to Tapachula on Sunday. We finally went to see the kids at Mision Mexico (the orphanage), which was a blast. I love them so much!

This past week we have been checking up on all of our already running water systems in this area. We have visited six sites so far, and we have seen a very wide range of results. Some communities are producing a stable amount of water; some are not. Some communities modified on their systems, adding filters and moving tubes and pipes, showing an incredible sense of ownership. Some communities were very appreciative of their systems, telling us how much of an impact the systems have made on them. One community, which has a system installed in their primary school, told us of the “radical change” that has occurred in the health of young people, as they no longer have stomach problems. They went from drinking bacteria-infested water from wells and taps to drinking purified water that they know is guaranteed to be clean. It is such a success!

Not all the places were doing amazing, but even those with problems were trying to fix them. Seeing the systems become part of the communities, in any capacity, has been a really important thing, since we need to make sure that the people are sustaining the systems.

Aside from systems, we have gone a couple of other places in the area. Yesterday we went to see a family with five kids, four of which are deaf mute. It is incredible but sad how these kids live. They do not have shoes, but yet they have the most incredible smiles of any children I have ever met. They communicate in hand signals and expressions and are really fast learners. Only the youngest girl speaks, and she “translates” for them to others. But yet they are poor, and they need help. They need shoes. They need clothes. They need beds. They need doctors. They need something—anything—to have opportunity in life. So if you are reading this blog and feel compelled to give, please help us help these kids. It is the dream of many people to get them clothes and shoes, to get them a computer, and to hopefully find a way to get their hearing tested and cured (either with hearing aids or surgery). If anyone needs help, it is these adorable kids.

Here they are. So cute.

That’s about all for now. Hope all is well wherever you are.

I miss you all!

Ammy

And I'm off again...

2009-06-28T22:38:00.003-04:00

So I’m back! And by back, I mean back traveling again! After a crazy 4700 mile road trip to Chicago and back, I spent a day in Tempe unpacking and repacking, and I was off again to Mexico. I flew into Veracruz City, Veracruz, where I was welcomed by John, Steve, and Susie from the Peace and Justice Center. Since it was late, we went to a hotel for the night, which happened to be part of the city’s central plaza. After putting our stuff down, we went downstairs to get a couple drinks and enjoy the energetic atmosphere of the Zocalo. There were competing mariachi bands playing and singing loudly for patrons at the restaurants, people selling everything from cheese to hammocks to sunglasses, and a man giving a show on a tight rope strung between two trees. There were families sitting down enjoying some food and drink, couples dancing together, and people winding down after a hard day of work. And the best part was that all of this was happening at 1:30am!

Since then, we have been visiting various parts of Oaxaca, Veracruz, and Chiapas. First of all, we visited a place called Laguna, which is an extremely poor barrio outside of Veracruz City. The streets there are made of dirt and mud, covered in trash, and almost impossible to navigate. The houses are shacks. Everything is shoddily thrown together from tin and rebar and some concrete, but nothing has any permanence. Of all the communities I have seen in Mexico and in other parts of the world, this one is definitely the worst. We went there to visit a place called “Los Amiguitos,” which is a children’s center founded by a woman named Goldi. The kids come to the center during the day and play, sing, learn, and eat because their families cannot provide for them. Goldi is incredible—she is one of those people that just literally never stops going. I wish that I had more of a chance to work with the kids there. Maybe next time.

After seeing the kids at the refuge and looking at a new piece of land that the Peace and Justice Center bought for the construction of a community center in Laguna, we took off and drove to a place called Acayucan, where we only stayed for a night. The next day we drove three hours to Nuevo Progreso, a small community of 300 people that is nestled in the mountains of Oaxaca. The only way into the community is a one and a half hour dirt road. When we got there, we immediately started working on the installation of a water purification system.

Nuevo Progreso is an incredible place. Aside from the landscape being gorgeous and lush, the people are hospitable beyond anything we could have ever asked for. They fed us three meals a day and housed us and took us around the area to explore. They were also extremely grateful for the water system we installed.

We stayed in the community three days and two nights, and here are a couple of highlights:

1. After installing the water system, the community planned a celebratory party. They slaughtered a sheep and cooked it for us in honor of the occasion, and it tasted absolutely incredible. We also sang and danced to Matt’s fiddle tunes (including Turkey in the Straw translated into Spanish), and I made balloon animals with the kids. It was a great fiesta!
2. The day after we finished the system, some of the people from the community took us to caves that are about an hour away from the town. They were immense and picturesque, and they were almost completely untouched by tourism. We felt like true villagers, which was pretty cool ☺
3. I also had the chance to go on a horseback ride to the top of a hill that overlooks the entire community! The landscape that surrounds the place looks like it should be featured in National Geographic, with its lush greenery and rolling hills and mountains.
4. Lastly, I started my thesis research! I plan on doing my thesis on the effects of economic development projects carried out by nonprofit organizations on communities in southern Mexico, and I interviewed some women from the village who started a community panadería (bakery). I found out some interesting information, and I am very excited to continue my research over the next couple of weeks and months.

That is about it for Nuevo Progreso! I’ll write a new entry about my next stop!

Hope all is well wherever you are.

Take care,
Anne Marie

Caves near Nuevo Progreso--we went exploring! Woo!

People washing water bottles for their new system.

Yay horseback ride!

Beautiful Nuevo Progreso.

Working on the system.

My last blog from Chile!

2008-12-14T18:25:00.010-03:00

Hey everyone! My time here came to an end SO quickly, so I figured I’d write one last entry in here before I get home, with intentions of continuing to update the blog in the future (but we’ll see how that goes…).

I have wanted to write about education in Chile in this blog for a while now, and now (after writing a paper and doing a presentation on it in one of my classes) I feel like I finally understand it enough to attempt to explain it. Doing the report really surprised me and answered a lot of my questions about why education is the way it is in Chile. To begin with, it is obvious that education is a problem everywhere. Even countries that seem to have good results still face difficulties. Chile, however, has a system that came into being during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in the 1980s. The day before he left office in 1989, Pinochet passed a law called the Ley Orgánica Constitucional de Educación (Organic Constitutional Education Law), which basically privatized the education system so that people could profit off of schools. This was one of the many neoliberal reforms that the dictator put into effect, and it had very bad consequences for students.

First of all, the Chilean school system has three different types of schools: private schools, particular subsidized schools, and municipal schools. The private schools are very expensive, costing upwards of $500 a month—an amount that only the upper class in Chile can afford.

The particular subsidized schools are partly subsidized by the government, meaning parents pay some of the costs of the education, ranging from $10 to $100 a month. These schools are generally worse in quality than private schools but better than the municipal schools, which are free for students. However, as a result of Pinochet’s reforms, these schools are managed by anyone who can afford to start a school. Therefore, people with no background or experience in education (such as lawyers or doctors) are able to start schools as long as they have money, regardless of the fact that they have no idea of what resources the teachers and students need to provide and receive a good education. Obviously this is a recipe for disaster.

The municipal schools are generally the worst schools in Chile, and they are the only free schools for students. This creates a very stratified school system because only the lower class tends to assist municipal schools. In reality, parents are able to choose which school their children attend, but because school transportation costs money in Chile, lower class families are almost always forced to send their children to the worst of the municipal schools because they have no other options.

Because the structure of the system forces lower class students into the worst schools and upper class students into the best schools, it is inherently unequal. Also, even students who pay money for school tend to have bad returns on their education due to problems within the schools, including lack of resources and lack of evaluation. For example, teachers in primary and secondary schools in Chile are not evaluated. Not at all. In other words, Chilean teachers are never forced to change their teaching styles if their students are failing, which results in very bad returns by the students. Also, schools lack resources to deal with special needs students, who are almost always alienated by the system.

Another very interesting fact I learned about the education system has to deal with universities. In Chile, and completely opposite from the United States, the public universities are much better than the private universities. This stems from the fact that high school students in Chile have to take a university-entrance exam, which decides which universities they can attend depending on the scores they receive. The best students end up going to public universities, where they study what they want. Other students, who do not do well on the test, are forced to either go to a trade school or another institution or pay a very large amount of money to attend a private university so that they can study what they want. Therefore, the difference between public and private is the students—the best go to public universities and the worst go to private universities and basically pay their way toward getting a degree.

Because education in Chile is more of a business than anything, all the people that do not have money lose. The teachers and students are not evaluated, which causes problems to persist. The structure of the system produces inequality, which makes the poor get poorer while the rich get richer, which is not good for a country that already has one of the worst income distributions in Latin America. And the system doesn’t encourage the students to be competitive, which is one of the major differences I noticed as a foreigner taking classes with Chileans.

I know that was quite the diatribe on education, but I found it very interesting (and upsetting) at how the system works in Chile. Let me know your thoughts on all of this—it is a very thought-provoking topic.

So, moving on to something completely different now, I want to talk about my last couple weeks in Chile! I am currently on my plane flight back to the US, so by the time this is posted I will be home!

A couple very exciting things that happened in the past couple weeks were the following:

1. I went on a horseback ride in an area about an hour away from my city called Ritoque. The ride was 7 hours long, as we rode over dunes, next to rivers, and next to the beach. I hadn’t ridden a horse in a long time, so it was really fun to do that again, especially in such a gorgeous setting. The guide was a girl that had ridden horses her entire life, and the other person in our group was a avid rider also, so we ended up running almost the entire time (up and down sand dunes, next to the river, through the forest, and on the beach). At one point, we were galloping on a completely desolate, flat, gorgeous beach that seemed to continue forever, had wind in our hair and salt water splashing up on our legs as the horses ran their hearts out. I couldn’t stop thinking about the song “Wild Horses” by Natasha Bedingfield (download it if you have a chance and you will understand what I mean). It was a blast! Also, as part of the ride, we had a barbeque in a small forest, where some cowboys cooked meat and sausages and salads and desserts for us. We even drank wine to cool off from the tiring day. Then after lunch we went back, and on the way home the guides even asked us to help them herd cows! (I guess in Chile going on a guided horse tour includes becoming a cowboy for a day). But we had fun with it!

2. After the horseback ride, I had about 2 weeks of classes left. However, because I am a slacker and wanted to travel more before I headed out, I decided to buy a plane ticket to Patagonia and see the bottom of the world. J I went with three guy friends of mine, and we geared up to do a nine-day trek through the National Park Torres del Paine. Then, we set off on our trip, and I had the TIME OF MY LIFE. On every turn of the trek, we were confronted with absolutely breathtaking landscapes—snow-covered mountains, magnificent rock towers, lakes of glacier water, lush valleys, enormous glaciers, iceberg-filled lakes, and pretty much anything else you can imagine.

The trek was not easy, and we were pretty burnt out by the end of it, but it was so worth it. I love the boys I went with, and we had such a great time hiking, camping, and enjoying Chile together. Without a doubt, what I saw in Patagonia was the most incredible thing I have ever seen in my life. J

3. After I returned from Patagonia, I had a final for one of my classes (go figure) and then I had just two more days to pack, say my goodbyes, and leave Chile. In those two days, I started to reflect a lot on my time here, and I became very nostalgic. All in all, I enjoyed myself very much. I took a break from my normal busy, stressful life and did things I had never done before. I moved for the first time in my life and learned how to deal with that. I learned a language and a culture. I traveled to a huge portion of Chile. I fell in love with my Chilean family and friends. I fell in love with traveling even more. And more than anything, I discovered many things about myself and what I want to do with my life. I don’t mean to be so sentimental and corny, but I feel it necessary, for myself if nothing else, to reflect on what this trip did for me. After all, I am extremely lucky to have been given this opportunity, and I am so happy I have to chance to talk about it now.

Well, I think I will stop writing a novel now and let you go, but take care! I posted lots of pictures on Facebook again, so here are the links if you are interested in taking a look.

Patagonia:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2401663&l=20e91&id=10048141

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2401679&l=ba3ec&id=10048141

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2401690&l=7990e&id=10048141

Last couple weeks in and around Valpo:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2401706&l=40339&id=10048141

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2401713&l=a9a88&id=10048141

Take care and I will see you all very soon!

Anne Marie

Rafting! Volcanos! Climbing! Birthdays! And more!

2008-11-22T14:28:00.016-03:00

Hola!!!!!

So unfortunately, my time in Chile is coming to an end. I have three weeks left here, which I plan to live up as much as possible. The last couple of weeks have been equally exciting, so here are a couple of updates.

I went to Pucón, a city in the Lakes District, with my study abroad group for a three-day trip. While we were there, I did a bunch of things I’ve never done before, including white-water rafting and climbing a volcano! The day we went rafting, it was rainy and a little bit stormy, so it added quite the effect to the ride. Here is my rafting team after the two-hour ride:

Also in Pucón, I went hiking at Parque Nacional Huerquehue and had some gorgeous views of lakes, volcanoes, and waterfalls:

Our group was supposed to climb the volcano on Sunday, but due to bad weather, the guides told us we would not make it all the way to the top if we climbed it because there might be ice. Therefore, a group of 8 of us decided to stay in Pucón an extra day, rent a cabaña (cabin), and climb the volcano the next day. We woke up super early, made ourselves breakfast and prepared lunches, and took off to conquer this:

Then we got all geared up and drove towards the volcano. The hike to the top took about 4.5 hours, since we took a couple breaks along the way. However, getting to the top was so ridiculously worth it. Once we reached the summit, I had the chance to look directly into the volcano’s crater, which was spitting out smoke that smelled strongly of sulfur. It was a very interesting feeling to be looking into a giant black hole, realizing that I was so small in comparison to the earth.

Unlike the way up, getting down from the volcano was easy—we slid the whole way down. Once we arrived at the bottom, we were exhausted, refreshed, and proud. After climbing a 3000-meter volcano, we felt like we could do anything. J

The weekend after we went to Pucón, a couple of us went to Cajón de Maipo, an area of Chile east of Santiago towards Argentina in the Andes Mountains. We spent a night in Santiago with a gringo who works there who used to study in Valparaíso. We even ate Indian food, which was the first ethnic food I’ve had my entire stay in Chile. The next day we woke up super early and headed to Cajon de Maipo, which involved an hour-long metro ride and a three-hour long bus ride, which we were forced to endure standing up. You gotta love Chile J

While we were there, we hiked to a couple different climbing spots, which had gorgeous views of the valley and the snow-covered Andes. We also had a huge asado (barbeque) complete with sausages, bread, potatoes, onions, peppers, and homemade pebre (salsa). Delicious.

It was my final climbing trip of my Chile trip, and I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. We even managed to secure our own seats in the bus on the way back. J

My birthday! A couple days ago was my twenty-first birthday, and I had a blast! I had no idea I was going to have so much fun on my birthday in Chile!

Mostly, having my birthday here made me realize how lucky I am. I have so many people to thank for making my birthday so wonderful, so I am going to make a list (because I love my lists).

1) Chileans. I have to thank a couple Chilean girls that took me to a bar on November 19^th to celebrate my birthday at midnight.

2) My mamá and host brother. They gave me a cake and hugs on my birthday, which was the start of a great day.

3) The weather. I woke up on my birthday expecting to see a cloudy sky (the rest of the week had been overcast), and I was completely surprised by BEAUTIFUL, sunny weather.

4) My gringo friends. When I got home to my house, I had a couple friends over to help me set up for my party. They helped blow up balloons, draw faces on them, buy booze, put up streamers, and set up the stereo.

5) My Chilean friends. After my party started, I was completely surprised to see all of my Chilean friends show up, including people I hadn’t seen in months. Some of them even brought me presents. J

6) Everyone else that came to my party. I had such a great time at the party, which was so much bigger and better than I expected.

7) The people that started shouting “manteo.” So, this takes a little bit of explaining. At around 1:00am, people started singing “Feliz Cumpleaños” to me. Then, they brought out the cake and I blew out a candle and got the cake smashed in my face. Then, some Chileans started chanting “manteo.” I was scared because I had no idea what was going to happen, but my questions were soon answered. I was picked up by about 8 people and thrown into the air TWENTY ONE TIMES. It was almost like I was at an ASU football game after a goal was scored, except that the purpose was to celebrate my birthday, and not a football team! It was probably the most fun I’ve ever had on a birthday, and I am so glad I experienced that part of Chilean culture.

8) Stacey. The next morning, I woke up and cleaned my house a little bit, and then I checked my emails. My cousin Stacey sent me a link to a video, which I didn’t expect would be much. However, I was soon proven wrong because I watched the homemade, three-part video she made me and cried for twenty minutes straight. She even had Jake, Anne, Christy, Craig, and Quest participate in the video, which made me even happier. Stacey and I have lived twenty-one years of our lives together, and because of the timing of my study abroad trip, we are missing each other’s most important birthdays. However, after seeing the video she made me, I was elated. I felt like the luckiest person in the world. I love my cousin. Check it out at www.youtube.com/slnorgren: Ammy #1, #2, and #3

9) My family. I thank them for always letting me live my life and for encouraging me to pursue my dreams and do things like study abroad in Latin America.

So anyway, I feel extremely lucky to have had such a great birthday in Chile, and to know that so many people were thinking about me, even thousands of miles away. Thanks again to EVERYONE who made my last week so wonderful.

That’s about all I have for now (I know that post was HUGE). Here are links to my albums on Facebook if you would like to see all my pictures from the past couple of weeks:

Pucón 1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2392164&l=23e38&id=10048141

Pucón 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2392222&l=e2bea&id=10048141

Pucón 3: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2392234&l=c4ff6&id=10048141

Cajón de Maipo: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2392242&l=b2b90&id=10048141

Birthday: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2392976&l=1f312&id=10048141

I love you all! And I will be home soon!

Hugs,

Ammy

Chile por Obama!

2008-11-11T10:24:00.003-03:00

Obama won! And everyone in Chile was very excited! Living abroad during a U.S. election was very eye-opening because I had the chance to experience it from a completely different perspective. For example, Chileans discussed the U.S. presidential race in their classes, on the streets, and in bars. They watched CNN on the night of the election and followed the race as close as we did. They even commented on my "I hope Obama wins" / "Obama won" shirt that I wore on election day and the day after (pictured above).

I could write more about this, but I don't really know how to express my feelings on the subject. All I can say is that it was a great learning experience, especially because it was such a historic election.

I will post more soon! Hugs!

Nine Days Later...

2008-11-03T01:56:00.004-03:00

Hey everyone! I just returned from my journey to the south and I definitely want to write about it! I have too many good pictures to post only a couple, so if you want to see my pictures, you should check out my albums on Facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2384808&l=3d482&id=10048141

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2384917&l=10778&id=10048141

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2384994&l=398c7&id=10048141

(PS You don’t have to be a Facebook user to look at these—they are open to the public).

So basically, I will just write a couple highlights of the trip because describing the entire thing would take hours. Lots of them have pictures to go with them, so make sure you check out the albums.

1. I went to a “clinica” while I was in Valdivia (for the second time during my study abroad experience), and I was, once again, amazed by Chilean medicine. To meet with a doctor, have him diagnose me with bronchitis, and get three different prescriptions (antibiotics, cough syrup, and an inhaler), I waited about 20 minutes and paid about $35 total (without any insurance). AMAZING.

2. The scenery in the region of Chile I went to is absolutely gorgeous. It is called the Lakes District for a reason, considering we were passing lakes left and right. We also saw tons of crystal clear rivers, huge waterfalls, and towering, snow-capped volcanoes.

3. We saw lots of rural Chile, including many indigenous villages of Mapuche and Huilliche people. We drove on more dirt roads than I can count and bottomed out the Revolution (the name of our tiny Chevy that was full to the brim with people, clothes, food, and camping stuff) one too many times. But in the process we saw llamas!

4. We swam in a freezing cold lake in front of snowy mountains, and we saw other lakes that were unnaturally blue.

5. We hiked up part of a volcano, which definitely looked like the moon.

6. We took a ferry to Chiloé! And saw penguins! And palafitos (aka houses on stilts)!

7. We went to termas (hot springs) in the middle of the night on Halloween night.

That’s pretty much it. Obviously I have a lot of other fond memories, but it is hard to describe them in words. Just check out the pictures and you will get a pretty good feel for what I experienced.

Hugs from Chile! Hope all is well back home.

Ammy

Road Trip!

2008-10-24T09:50:00.003-03:00

What happens when you get a car and fill it up with guidebooks, clothes, tents, blankets, ice chests, and people? Road trip! I am about to leave on an 11-day roadtrip to the lakes district, which is a gorgeous area of Chile. Then, we plan on heading to Chiloé, the largest island off the coast of Chile, which has it's own "island culture."

I should have lots to post when I get back, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I am going to be gone for a while.

Hugs!!!

Anne Marie

6100 Feet Up

2008-10-20T12:40:00.004-03:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to climb Cerro La Campana, a 1880 m (6100 foot) "hill" in Chile. I posted a couple pictures because it was absolutely GORGEOUS. We were lucky because we had beautiful weather, which meant that when we arrived at the top of the cerro, we had a 360 degree view of all of Chile from the Pacific Ocean to the Andes Mountains.

The first picture shows La Campana out the window of our bus. That was what we climbed. The second picture is a picture while when we were halfway up. The third picture is my friend Harrison and I at the top of the mountain, and the fourth picture is a view from the top of the mountain (you can see Cerro Aconcagua in the distant background, which is the tallest mountain in the world outside of Asia, at 22,834 feet). And the fifth picture is a gorgeous waterfall that we saw on the way down the mountain.

Hope you enjoy the pics as much as I enjoyed the views!

Hugs,

Ammy

A couple lists...

2008-10-17T15:54:00.005-03:00

I think it's about time for some lists. :)

Things I miss about home:

-Xtreme Bean. There is nothing better in the world than sitting at Xtreme Bean with my laptop and WiFi, sharing stories with fellow math majors who stop in for a cafe, smoking cigarettes while watching people play card games on the porch, and drinking coffee from my thermos while attempting to write, do homework, or prepare for math tests.

-Clothes. I definitely miss being able to wear ripped jeans and flip flops and t-shirts and hoodies in class or in town, without getting glared at.

-Real coffee. Don't get me wrong, Nescafe is amazing. But it is just not freshly-ground, meticulously-brewed Café Justo.

-Get togethers with friends. Enough said.

-Relaxing spots on campus. Everyone has their tree, their bench, their lawn, their shady area, their coffee shop, their classroom, their library. It seems silly, but these spots are taken for granted.

-Cooking. My mamá chilena is an amazing cook. However, I love the feeling of having the kitchen to myself, listening to music, sautéing some veggies, and baking creme brulee all for myself. I need that "out" sometimes.

-I'm ready to out myself as a true gringa, but I really miss American Football. Especially as a recreational sport. Here, it is really hard to find a football to throw around on the beach. ;)

Things I know I am going to miss about Chile:

-Public transportation. I can get anywhere within one hour of my house in either direction at any time during the day or night by hopping on a bus or metro for about 20 cents. And I can take tour buses to any destination in Chile or South America for super cheap too. Less money spent on gas. Less time spent on traffic jams. Less damage done to the environment. It's pretty sweet.

-The weather. Day weather = tank top and flip flops. Night weather = light jacket and Chuck Taylors. It is bright and sunny and I have a beach next to me wherever I go, and the ocean breeze keeps the temperature from ever getting too hot. :)

-The views. Living in a city with hills next to the ocean means almost everywhere you go you have a good view. Also, traveling around a country with such a varied terrain provides a lot of good views. The sunset picture above is a view from my bedroom window, and the second picture is from a park in La Serena. I'm pretty lucky.

-Traveling. I have few obligations on weekends so I can leave basically whenever and explore Chile and other South American lands. On top of the fact that it is possible to travel a lot, it is cheap to travel, too.

-The language. I am going to miss hearing Spanish 24/7. And especially Chilean Spanish, full of wonderful modismos like "cachai" and "pololo" and "huevon."

-"Textbooks." Here it is not illegal to check out textbooks from the library and copy them in their entirety. In fact, it is the preferred method of getting texts for your classes. I spent less than $10 on textbooks this semester. It was exciting.

Anyway, that's about it. Neither of these lists is exhaustive, but you get the general idea.

Hugs!

The Shock Stage

2008-10-13T23:52:00.003-03:00

Before I begin, I just want to give a shout out to my family. They are awesome, and I love them more than anything. I specifically want to say congrats to my little brother, Trevor! He is doing super well in Academic Decathlon at Mountain View High School, and he is still composing, recording, and playing music with his awesome band (www.myspace.com/resetyourmind). I have posted a picture of him and his girlfriend Taylor (who is also doing awesome in Academic Decathlon) because I think they are super handsome, and I am so proud of both of them.

Warning: I am about to be very honest with you in the rest of this post, so bear with me. J

It has been a while since I last wrote, and a lot has happened since then. I haven’t really gone on any new trips or done anything too exciting in the past month (except going snowboarding in the ANDES MOUNTAINS, of which I posted a couple pictures), but I have had sufficient time to ponder life in Chile. Basically, in the last month, the shock stage of being abroad hit. After two months living in Chile, traveling every weekend, spending lots of money, and not really having any obligations, I realized that the life I am living here is entirely different than any life I have ever lived at home (or in Mexico, where I was right before this trip). For some reason, when I arrived in Chile, I thought that I would like a break from what I really am passionate about (namely, working with kids and nonprofits), so that I could take a break and do something for myself (namely, traveling and partying in a foreign country). But two months into it, I realized that living without volunteering just doesn’t make me happy, and that when I don’t spend my energy furthering causes I am passionate about, I have a very hard time getting motivated about everything else going on in my life.

When I realized this, I had a really hard time dealing with being abroad. I became upset with Chile and with what seemed like a lack of accomplishments on my part. I stopped traveling on the weekends. I was homesick for things that I was used to (family, friends, volunteer work, ASU…and the list goes on). And I fell behind in my classes. Through all of this, I felt very insignificant.

But after a couple weeks of this behavior (and with the advice of a few very rational friends), I realized I needed to find a way to be happy again. So I pursued volunteer opportunities. I reminded myself of the real reason I came to Chile (to learn Spanish). And I realized how lucky I am to have this opportunity in the first place and that I should appreciate the life that I do have here. After all of this, I finally became “Chilean Ammy” again, and I even went climbing last weekend to prove it J.

This realization is the most important thing I have learned this entire trip, and it will guide me forward for the rest of the trip, and more importantly, for the rest of my life. I now know what my heart desires—to work with people and for people to make their lives better. And even if I am not doing any significant amount of this while I am here, I realize that in learning Spanish and in experiencing another country and culture, I am still working toward my goal of helping people in the future as I am learning skills that are necessary to help to bring about change in the lives of others.

So there is my blog for the month. It was a whirlwind month for me, and I learned more about myself than I ever have before in my life. I guess that is why people study abroad. J

Send me updates on your lives. I would love to hear from you!

Hugs from Chile,

Ammy

Fiestas Patrias in Chile!

2008-09-20T22:27:00.005-04:00

Hello all! So I have survived the Fiestas Patrias in Chile, and I lived to tell you about it! In Chile, the 18^th and 19^th of September are celebrated as Fiestas Patrias. The 18^th marks Chilean independence from Spain and the 19^th is known as the Día de las Glorias del Ejército (literal translation: Day of the Glories of the Army). However, practically speaking, these days give Chileans a reason to take breaks from work and school, drink lots, have numerous asados (barbeques), and celebrate their patria for an extended period of time (there are celebrations throughout the entirety of September). And Chileans definitely know how to celebrate.

For the Fiestas Patrias, I met up with three friends in a city north of Valparaíso called Coquimbo. There, we camped and climbed around on boulders for a couple days, and I even had my first hitchhiking experience. No worries, though, throughout Chile it is safe, and actually very common, to “hacer el dedo” (hitchhike). Plus, it saved us about two hours worth of walking uphill with full backpacks after a long couple of days, so we were content.

Then, on the 17^th, our gang traveled to Pisco Elqui, which is a town in a valley in Chile known for the grapes that grow there that are used to produce Chile’s national alcoholic drink—pisco. We lucked out when we arrived in the valley because we met a couple Chileans on the bus who invited us to come camp with them at a popular camping spot, frequented by Chileans, which turned out to be the center of the biggest party in the valley. After a bit of persuasion and a lot of patience, we were allowed to enter the almost-full campground and find a spot with our new friends.

The next two days lasted for what seemed like forever, as we were not permitted to sleep by Chileans who insisted that we abide by their customs during the fiestas. J Therefore, we ate lots of barbequed meat, drank lots of pisco, sang songs and played guitar, went to “la fonda” (a place put up specifically for the fiestas patrias, where they serve food and drink and dance cueca, the Chilean national dance), and had a good time in general.

Aside from having the time of my life, I feel like I really experienced Chile during the biggest fiesta of the year. Seeing patriotism in a country different than the United States was a unique opportunity that helped me truly appreciate being abroad. Plus, I was able to see more of Chile, meet more Chileans, and learn more Spanish. I also learned that sleeping in the bus terminal is not a good idea after not having slept for two days when you have a bus to catch at one in the morning because you might miss your bus. But it’s not like I know this from experience or anything ;)

Anyway, that’s about all for now. Let me know how everything is going on your end!

Chao,

Ana María

After a month and a half in Chile...

2008-09-14T16:36:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone!

So I have never done a blog before, and I haven't yet blogged on this trip, but I am going to start blogging in addition to sending emails so that I have something that I can direct people to if they want to hear about my trip. If you are on my email list, then you have already read this entry :)

So surprise surprise...I like Chile. Here are a couple interesting observations I have made so far:

-The Spanish here is super difficult to understand because Chileans leave off consonants and speak with tons of slang. However, that means that I am learning to understand Spanish really well (I hope...).

-Secondly, Valparaíso (my city) is awesome! It is super unique and artsy and full of really neat hangouts. Also, it is in a central location in Chile, which means I can explore lots of the country very easily. I posted a couple pictures of Valpo above.

-Thirdly, I have noticed that Chileans are super lax about lots of things. Honestly, I thought I was used to this cultural habit after spending lots of time in Mexico, but it is definitely different here. For example, I went to class yesterday and the students talked through the entire class while the professor lectured. Then, halfway through class, they all got up and left before class had even ended. I followed, naturally, but was (and still am) confused. ;)

So, in addition to being thrown into a new culture, I have been experiencing lots of other new things as well. For one, I started rock climbing, which I have been doing about five days a week. This new sport has brought me to some really neat places in Chile and Argentina, and I have met some amazing climbers (gringos and Chileans) that are so helpful and have taught me so much. By the way, all the pretty pictures above are of places I have been climbing on this trip!

I also started my classes with Chileans, finally, and I seem to be learning a lot. I decided to take a break from mathematics and study social work for the semester. It is really interesting to take university classes in a different country, and I had no idea how much of a shock the teaching style would be. In all of my classes, the students seem to be in charge. They lead votes to make class end early and pick the due dates for papers and tests. It seems so odd to me, but it is quite normal to them. The students here seem to have a very powerful voice in general—for example, last semester, they led (and won) a five-week long strike to demand that the public buses do not raise student bus rates.

Also, for the past two weeks I have been spending time with my friend Sarah, who came to visit me here before she goes to Bolivia to start an internship for the semester. We spent a few nights in Santiago, traveled and climbed in Mendoza, Argentina, saw a winery and tasted wines, climbed in Con Con (a rural town on the beach north of Valparaíso), climbed at Las Chilcas (my home-away-from-home here in Chile), explored Valparaíso and Viña del Mar, and just hung out. She leaves today, but I am so happy that I had the chance to spend time here with someone I care about. I am not homesick by any means, but I was longing for a friend that I could share some of my experiences with. Therefore, when she came, I was ecstatic to be able to show off my new home!

Well, that is about all for now! I will try to post another update sooner than a month and a half from now, so that I can tell more detailed stories and post more pictures. Please let me know how everything is going on your end!

Besos y abrazos fuertes,

Ana María