Chi Chi Chi Le Le Le Viva Chile!!

Hola!! Sorry for the delayed post –we had a 3-day weekend here in Chile due to Saint Peter/ Saint Paul, a national and religious holiday.

For starters, it was a great week at school, but a bit draining. We accomplished a lot as we are approaching the last few weeks of the semester. We had several assessments to take this week, which I spent significant time this weekend grading. Luckily, our kiddos are feeling much better and we were almost to full attendance this week. Tuesday was “Winter Day” aka the first day of Winter. The kids were allowed to wear something “wintery” and were asked to bring a snack to share with the rest of the class. About 6 or 7 kids brought sopaipillas, a traditional Chilean food that reminds me a little of fried dough.

On Wednesday, we had a meeting after school where the headmistress told us about a new law they’re passing here in Chile. The law is called the Super Ocho law, where all food companies must now label their products as being high in calories, high in fat, high in sodium etc. The law is effective as of tomorrow. As a result, the headmistress said that there will be significant changes in the school since the kids all bring some not-so-healthy snacks to school. Any product with these stickers on the front are not permitted in school. As teachers, we have to set an example and therefore are not allowed to have delicious treats anymore for celebrations. This alone is huge as you know how often we celebrate things here… I think this decision is a little bit drastic; it would be more well-received if we gradually cut these foods out.

Good thing we already had the principal's approval for our Friday Pizza Party. It turned out to be a funeral for junk food!

On Thursday, I finally went to this Spanish restaurant I've been dying to try. It's called De La Ostia and I enjoyed all of my favorite Spanish tapas and washed it down with a classic Estrella Damm.

León finished his antibiotics this week and returned to his normal crazy self. He zoomed around the dog park over the weekend and had a blast spending the day with Fran’s dog Sally on Sunday.

Yesterday (Sunday), was the big Chile/Argentina football match. This Copa America was a bit different because it falls on the 100th anniversary of championship, therefore they created this Copa America Centenario. This match was huge for the country because last year, Chile won the Copa America for the first time EVER. Like many other countries, Chile worships football. Since I grew up in a different kind of culture, I can’t even begin to comprehend what last year’s win meant to the country. Coincidentally, this year’s match came down to Chile and Argentina again. Chile won in an overtime penalty shootout. After that last goal, you could hear the screams from every floor in my building, the horns being blown outside in the streets and people chanting the famous football chant. People were honking their horns well into the early morning. It was an exciting win and the whole country is beaming with pride today! I will say that I was torn a bit watching my beloved Messi play against Chile. I will always be a fan of Barça’s best player.

^^ León was on the edge of his seat

Tomorrow, the kids are permitted to come to school in Chilean jersey’s rather than their uniforms.

Side note: We’ve been on “Pre-emergencia” (where cars ending in numbers ___ and ___ can’t drive for the day) for almost 2 weeks now. The numbers change every day.

Side note 2: Finding Dory was excellent. Everyone must go see it!!

Laughable Moments:

I learned this week that when all the kids who fake being sick go to the nurse, the nurse gives them cinnamon water to drink and then sends them back to class
I had a meeting with my best student’s parents this week. I was shocked to learn that both her parents speak 0 English at home. She has the most amazing English!!
My landlord kept talking to me about a “lightbomb” that needed to be changed. It took me a while realize he meant to say “lightbulb”
On Winter Day, I found it quite strange that several people brought in umbrellas as their “Winter Item”. Apparently rain is associated with winter here?
My classroom is so hot during the day, it feels like a tropical paradise sometimes. That being said, I wear T-shirts! I can’t tell you the amount of people that yelled at me in the hallway for wearing a T-shirt in the middle of Winter. They all told me I was crazy. Apparently wearing a T-shirt in winter is unheard of!
The kids were told they have to make a solution (using recycled materials) to a problem found at home. (For example making a key rack because mom can never find her car keys). One of my students decided he would build a robot. I told him he needed to create a solution for a small problem. He said he would build a small robot.