A little over three months ago now I was about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Six months earlier I’d taken the big plunge and applied for leave from my comfortable corporate existence to throw myself deep into the unknown, yet just five days prior to my departure something you couldn’t possibly imagine happening happened – an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck.
I was neither in Chile nor affected anything like those on the ground but my plans did come crumbling down. The volunteer program I had planned and prepared to join there (assisting with teaching English in public schools) was canceled, and having already stopped work and sold most of my things, I suddenly found myself with no job and no income for 18 months, no car, flat or home of my own, no plans and no real sense of what was to come.
A view of Santiago taken from the top of Cerro San Cristóbal in the north of the city.
Several weeks of midnight madness ensued trying to figure out what and where to next – there was no way I wanted to give up on what I had set out to do and yet a natural disaster is a somewhat formidable opponent! Then out of the blue, I received a message from a friend of a work contact who suggested that I plan to come to Chile again and that they were sure they could find me a volunteer placement.
I’ve neither taught English professionally nor have any real Spanish speaking ability but the opportunity to assist in this way and to test myself and my capabilities was too good to turn down. So many people asked me whether or not I had any idea of what I was getting myself in for and to be honest the answer to that question was ‘no,’ but then if I had, would it be nearly such an adventure that I’m now living, and would I learn so much and grow?
Just six weeks into my time here, Google translate has become my new best friend and my relationship with the public transport system a steamy (or at least sweat-ridden) and tumultuous one! I’m assisting in two public schools in Peñalolén, a commune of Santiago where the mix of socio-economic groups spans full-circle and the area within which I’m assisting is the less-advantaged one.
English is spoken little if at all including amongst many teachers, resources are scarce, and class sizes large, yet I see so much potential. Each day is a complex mix of challenges and the most amazing experiences – moments that touch your heart, moments that test you, but every moment one that you’ll forever remember.
My lack of Spanish has proved comical – I’ve merrily washed my whites blue; got myself onto what I had no idea was an express metro – a Ruta Roja when I should have been on a Ruta Verde – or so it became apparent as soon as I watched my destination whizz past!; developed a new language ‘eng-fre-spanish’ to account for the fact that whenever I try to speak Spanish, out comes my High School French; and met the most wonderful, warm-hearted people. Every other day I seem to end up somewhere completely unexpected usually because I don’t say no to any opportunity and others because they just happen – there’s something so incredibly freeing about just going where life takes you.
Idealistic? Yes, that’s me, in fact according to one of those internet personality quizzes ‘dreamy idealist’ is even more correct! However, I’m also someone who seeks out experiences and memories rather than materials. It’s not always pretty, not always easy and at times can be a little unsettling but it’s exciting, it’s learning and it’s living!
Amanda Patterson is currently teaching English and public speaking as a volunteer with Corporation for the Development of Learning (CDA) in Santiago, Chile. For more on the Chilean earthquake, check out this post by Lauren Foukes and this one by Meridith Price.
Latest posts by manzlpatt
- How to Learn a Language - July 22nd, 2010
- Those Final Few Days ... - July 5th, 2010
- Curious About Chile? 15 Facts and Fictions Any Newcomer Should Know. - June 29th, 2010
- Ironies and Self-Indulgence - June 21st, 2010
- Translation on the Fly - June 14th, 2010
- Reconstruction & Breaking In - June 7th, 2010
