Love: Graffiti in South America- Vandalism or Art?

O graffiti

ɡrəˈfiːti/

noun

1. 1. 

   writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place.

   "the station was covered in graffiti"

   
   

   South America redefines this dictionary definition of graffiti in its own way as a public expression of Art and culture.

   
   

   As an incredibly colourful and vibrant continent, South America expresses its unique cultures through intricate public murals and what others may consider vandalism. Graffiti here is an important art form, it gives citizens the freedom to show artistic talent and profundity in any public place. Here are some examples...

   
   

   

   
   

   This beautiful mural in Puerto Natales, far Southern Chile shows the lives of the native indigenous peoples in history, emphasising the importance of Chile's rich cultural heritage in today's society.

   
   

   

   
   

   This, would you believe it, is the front of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which proves graffiti to be an refreshing art form that injects colour into the dull greyness of city life in order to draw attention and guests. 

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   And again, we return to the visionary Valparaiso, arguably the most imaginative city in Chile. For many years, the people of the city couldn't afford to full pots of paint to make their houses all one colour. So that's why there are rainbow coloured house (like the one in the picture).

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   "When the tyranny is law, the revolution is order" can be found on the pavement in a public park in Buenos Aires , Argentina, making a powerful political historical statement about Argentina's past dictatorship- A significant reflection of Argentinian memory in the city. 

   
   

   
   

   And here's some more...

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   Mural in La Paz, Bolivia that shows the mix of traditional and contemporary Bolivian fashion culture.

   
   

   
   

   

   
   
   

   Rio de Janeiro, Brasil declaring its undying love and talent (shown by the hand of God) for football and its skill for impressing women.

   
   

   
   

   

   
   
   

   A simplistic way to question the real motivations of Cusco, Peru that lie within a capitalist society driven by tourism.

   
   

   
   

   Whilst some may consider it vandalism, I see it as  a powerful tool in making essential cultural statements. And the graffiti is just one of the millions of reasons why South America such an exciting continent to visit!

   
   

Learn: What not to do when you're ill in Chile

(Public FONASA and Private ISAPRE health care insurance in Chile)

After having spent over 9 months in Chile, I consider myself pretty lucky that I haven't had any major problems and needed to go to the doctor. But after a nasty (and mysterious) mosquito attack, it now was my time to experience what the Chilean health care system is really like.

So one morning I woke up to find my face all blotchy, red and as puffy as a marshmallow. I had work later that day and obviously couldn't teach looking like this. So I tried to ring my boss but no answer. I then sent her an email explaining what had happened in the hope that I could stay home and hide away in my room until my face returned to its normal state.

But this is Chile. And when you're sick in Chile and you need a day off work you must ALWAYS provide a doctors certificate proving that you were actually too ill to work. This means, instead of resting at home, you must drag yourself out of bed and crawl to a doctor to get a medical certificate or 'proof of illness'. Knowing this, I reluctantly started research online how to get a doctors appointment in Santiago.

I found out from a Chilean friend that I could reserve appointments online with a private doctor. Easy! I thought. But when I finally managed to register online and get to the appointment reservation stage I was confronted with the worst news imaginable;

No appointments till Wednesday... And it was Monday!

Oh god, what do I do now!?

In a fit of panic I thought, maybe going to the public hospital on the other side of town would be a good idea. In this case, I was lucky. Even though my face was on fire, I was still able to walk. So being completely oblivious to how the health system works in Chile, I left the comfort of home and naively headed off to the hospital.

This was then followed by strange stares and comments regarding my swollen face, which I tried really hard to ignore.

Got to the hospital, just walking in through the nearest door I could find, with no clue as to what department I was in. I explained my situation to the receptionist at the desk. Afterwards she stared at me as if I was an ignorant foreigner (I was) and told me...

"Mejor que vayas a una clínica privada (it's best that you go to a private clinic)"

Turns out that, in order to receive treatment from a public hospital I would've had to become a registered patient for the specific hospital that corresponded to my residential area in Santiago. But I was quite relieved to hear this news, as there was more than a two hour wait even for urgent appointments. 

So in the end, I went to work the next day terrified of being fired. I couldn't get the doctors certificate and still took the day off, which in Chile is considered a sackable offence. But luckily my face was still a bit swollen- I had evidence that I was ill so I didn't need the doctors certificate after all.

Lesson well learnt: know about the health care system in your country and how it works BEFORE you get sick!

Learn: A newbie to Teaching. English. Abroad

When I first came to Chile, everything was new. I'd never lived in a different country before, I'd never had a full time job before, and I'd had only a little bit of teaching experience. I really felt like a fish out of water! 

      

        

Why am I in Chile? So, the main reason I'm in Chile is for the part of my Spanish/linguistics degree called the year abroad. The year abroad is a compulsory year spent in a foreign country that speaks the target language (for me it's Spanish).

Why am I teaching? During the year abroad, you must complete a placement. This can be an internship, a paid job, or studying at university. Although I was very tempted by the thought of reliving freshers week again as a student, I decided to go for the more rewarding option of being an English language teacher.

How did I get the job? I sent off an application to the British Council , a scheme which helps organise overseas opportunities for British students to teach English. It was a lengthy process which started nearly a year before I came to Chile. I sent off the application, did the interview and went to two pre departure briefings. Finally, in September 2014 I found myself in Santiago about to start a job as a British Council English Language Assistant.

What was the first day like? Naturally my first day was the worst, mainly due to my complete lack of teaching experience. In lessons, all the students could tell I had never done this before which inevitably pushed my confidence right down. I remember I was put in a level 1 class on my first day, so everyone (myself included) spent the whole class feeling just a little bit confused as to what was going on. 

What's it like now? Although I'm an assistant at most of the time, the experience I got teaching my own classes, has been the most rewarding (I've had three in the time I've been here). Now, I feel much more comfortable with giving explanations and presenting information to students. I have more confidence so the students listen to me more and ask me questions all the time.

What's been the best experience? Surprisingly, teaching teenagers has been my best experience. When my bosses first asked me to take over a group of 12, level 1 teens...for four hours...on a Saturday, I was a bit reluctant to accept, but I really wanted to teach my own classes. So I took my opportunity. And it actually has turned out to be fun and rewarding all at the same time. In classes I used to do games with them and competitions with edible prizes, and it was a lot of fun, so everyone could enjoy the classes.

And what's been the worst? Giving oral exams. I find this part of the job awful, seeing students so stressed- mainly because the oral exams count for a lot. And when they are so nervous they can barely talk, it's heartbreaking to give them a bad grade. It also puts a lot of pressure on me because, I'm then largely responsible for the students' final grade.

Finally, what do you think the key to teaching is? From my experience, I would say that the main key to teaching is confidence. If you can present and explain something confidently, people will naturally listen to you and believe what you're saying. Also preparation. If you know what your next steps are, the lesson runs smoothly without any awkward pauses. And keeping it fun. When students are having fun, they are more confident to join in with classes, which helps them to learn better. 

                    

                            ( my class organised a surprise birthday party for my 21st) 

Now, it's been nearly a year. Thanks to my time in Santiago, I've learnt a lot about what it means to be a teacher and why it's such an important, rewarding job! 

Live: Work as an English Teacher in Chile

As I'm in Santiago at the moment working as an English Language Assitant, I thought I'd write a blog post for others hoping to teach English here in Chile.

There are many opportunities for teaching English in Chile as everyone wants to learn the international language of business. And native speakers in particular are even more sought after because Chileans always want to practice an authentic accent!

It is possible to find English Teaching jobs up and down the country, from Arica in the North to Concepcion in the South, although the majority are in Santiago. 

The main places to look are...

Private institutions, such as (Instituto Chileno Britanico de Cultura, Instituto norteamericano de Cultura, Tronwell, Instituto Profesional Inacap, DuocUC)

Universities (Universidad Chileno Britanico de Cultura, Universidad de Santiago, Universidad Catolica, Universidad de Talca, U de Valparaiso etc...)

Private tutoring sites (it's relatively easy to find private clients, especially in Santiago. Depending on the client you can make up to 15.000 pesos per hour (~20 USD))

English tutors in Santiago, there´s a facebook page to advertise yourself. Check it out at  https://www.facebook.com/groups/646226682125245/?fref=ts

For my classroom experiences in Santiago, read my next blog post:

                          

                                Learn: A newbie to Teaching. English. Abroad

Love: Mariscos, Chile's National Treasure

If you're a fan of seafood, you'll love Chile. Here, you will find many varieties of tasty mariscos (shell fish) in abundance. Along with wine, they are a national treasure and feature in many traditional Chilean dishes.

Here, the Chilean pacific is full of fruits of the sea with so many different types of fish and shell fish that you wouldn't even dream of existing.

I first got the taste for seafood when I went to one of the makeshift restaurants in the fish market (a famous food market in Santiago called 'la vega') with some Chilean friends. 

They knew all the best dishes and urged me to try Paila Marina (a shell fish soup) I thought I may as well start simple.

My bowl came to the table looking like something out of a pirates of the carribean movie! Oysters, muscles, octopus, Machas (which I don't think exist in Europe but are similar to clams) 

At first I was a bit sceptacle, but after one taste I was hooked. This first encounter marked the beginning of my seafood quest to find the best fish dishes in Chile.

After careful and rigorous testing I would strongly recommend to try following dishes:

1) Paila marina (a bowl full of different types of shell fish with white wine) 

2) Chupe de Mariscos (a dish made with mushed bread, seafood and cheese on top)

3) Reineta (the name translated means little queen but it's a delicious fish)

4) Machas a la Parmesana (shell fish in the shell covered with Parmesan cheese)

5) Ceviche (typically a Peruvian dish of raw fish marinated in lemon juice)

6) Empanadas de Mariscos (fried pastries with seafood inside)

7) Empanadas de camaron-queso (a deep fried cheese and prawn filled pastry)

8) Curanto (a special dish traditionally from the South of Chile which involves digging a hole in the ground, filling it with meat and shell fish covered over with leaves and leaving it to cook for a day)

So if you visit, don't miss out on one of Chile's greatest assets: Mariscos! 

Live: Banking and Finance in Chile (it´s gottta be done)

Now, I know this topic may be a very boring for some, so i´ll keep it short and sweet (and mostly as informative as I can)

The Cost of Living

Santiago is also one of the most expensive cities in South America. Although travel is fairly cheap $620 pesos (1USD) to enter the metro! Food and luxuries such as restaurant meals, travel abroad, clothes can be very expensive.

In an average week, I would spend:

$10.000 pesos on travel

$20.000 pesos on food

$20.000 pesos on going out/social

Excluding rent, I would spend…. $80.000 pesos (100 USD). Santiago is actually an incredibly expensive city, especially when you take into consideration that the average chilean wage is $250.000 pesos per month (300USD). With my wages, If I was careless I easily went over and had to use my backup debit card with my student loan on it. But Chileans don't have this luxury so I´m not really sure how they manage.

Banking

I really don't get on well with banks in Chile. They open at 8am and close unbelievably early in the day at 2pm. And if you are a foreigner with a visa like I am, an account with BancoEstado (the state bank) is your only option. As the only state bank in Chile, every Chilean is entitled to an account there. So of course, whenever I went to the bank it was always crammed full.

My day trip to the bank: It was a wednesday in the last week of the working month. I had just been given my paycheck by the institute so I went to cash it before the long weekend we were about to have (thursday to sunday). As I casually strolled into the bank, I bumped into some people waiting in a line at least 60 people long. I thought to myself ´it must be awful having to wait in such a long line like that, I wonder what it´s for´. I arrived at the reception desk and explained that all I wanted to do was to cash a check.

They uttered three dreaded words... ´espera en fila´ (wait in line)

Oh god, please no! The idea of having to join this queue gave me the horrible realisation that I would not be leaving this bank any time soon. And guess how long I had to wait in that line just to cash one check? 4 hours… it felt like the whole day.

Definitely not my idea of fun!

Learn: Getting to Grips with Chilean Spanish

Now, if you think you have a fairly solid comprehension of the Spanish language, in Chile think again. Famously known as one of the hardest Spanish accents to understand, you probably won't get a single word of what Chileans say at first. But don't worry! Even native Spanish speakers have a hard time understanding them. 

Forget all the European Spanish that you learned at school/university (knowing how to conjugate the subjunctive will only get you so far here) and prepare to learn a whole new vocabulary including lots of Chilean slang, or 'chilenismos'.

My first encounter with Chilean Spanish shocked me into a stunned silence. It was when I met my Chilean host family for the first time... and all they asked me was if I wanted a cup of tea!

Chilean Spanish: Hola Hannah! Como e´tai? Queri un técito? 

Spanish Spanish: Hola Hannah! Como estas? Quieres un té?

A translation of the above statement into comprehensible Spanish shows that there is A LOT of variation in the Chilean version.

Now this might seem like a pretty easy phrase to understand, but bear in mind that Chileans also speak at 100 miles an hour, so I had absolutely no chance. 

This unfortunately meant that, in response, my first words of Spanish in Chile were actually 'no entiendo' (I don't understand). Such a great way to make a first impression! 

It was a struggle at first but in a desperate attempt to understand the world around me, I learnt Spanish a lot faster than I ever did in England. After just a couple of months, I felt a lot more confident to speak and join in with conversations. Now, I can chat easily with most Chileans. Sometimes, I even drop in a chilenismo or two just to show I can.

Spanish students- please don't be down hearted if you can't understand everything straight away. As you can see, there's a whole new language to learn so you'll probably spend the first few months asking what on earth it all means.

Patience, practice, and before long you'll be speaking like a local!

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to Live, Learn, Love Chile!

My Year Abroad Stories- Santiago 2014/15.

Hi, I'm Hannah. I'm a student of Spanish/Linguistics at the University of York and I'm currently working for the British Council as an English Language Assistant in Santiago, Chile.

This is my experience/advice based blog on how to live, learn from and love your experience in Chile and South America. It includes my own adventures, as well as hints and tips for Latin America travellers.

If you want to know a bit more about South American life, give it a read. I hope I can inspire you to visit Chile.

Happy blog reading!