I am going to try to condense the last two weeks into a short post so I can finally start writing about the present. During the second week I finally became somewhat accustomed to the cold weather. However, the rest of the week was an adventure. It started out with attending a parent-teacher meeting for 2 of the kids at the hogar. The schools here have these meetings monthly so they can be in touch with the parents and give them the students' grades. All of the parents convene in the classroom and the teacher talks about what is going on in class. Little did I know that these meetings last about 2 hours and consist mostly of parents complaining and disrespecting the teacher. I was amazed when some of the moms just refused to volunteer for the class because she didn't like the director of the school and last time she had to work with her. After the meeting was over I figured at least the other volunteer (who was on vacation) would be back soon so I wouldn't have to go to these anymore.
The other volunteer, Ophelia, from Belgium came back to the Hogar after spending some time in nothern chile and Peru. She went to Machu Picchu so it was nice to be able to talk to her about that and see what she thought.
Anika was leaving at the end of the week for a 2 week vacation with her mom. However, before she left she realized that she had lice...which she had earlier in the year. Needless to say I was a bit freaked out because I have never had lice and the idea of bugs crawling in my hair scares me. Luckily I have some lice combs coming in the mail just in case (thanks mom!)
Friday finally arrived and I was asked to go on a "paseo" with a five of the kids, Ophelia and one of the Tias (Tia Vero). I was told that we would go to San Antonio (a port city) for the day and just kind of look around. In the morning we went to drop off some of the other kids at school and I quickly realized that I was going on a school field trip. The kids here cannot go on a field trip unless they have somebody (a parent or guardian) with them to watch them. This surprised me because it is very different from the US where there are a few chaperones that watch over the kids. Unfortunately the set up here puts the kids whose parents have to work at a disadvanatage. I am sure there were many kids who weren't able to go for that reason. Luckily, the 5 kids from the hogar were able to go and it was a very nice day. The weather was great and we were able to take a boat ride around the port and spend the rest of the day walking around and looking at the sea lions, pelicans and boats.
The third week a new volunteer arrived and I had to attend two more parent teacher meetings. The first one of these two was even less pleasant than the previous week's meeting. I sat in the classroom for an hour and a half with about 20 parents and 15 kids. While the teacher was talking the kids were running in and out of the room, screaming, crying and talking to their parents. Then, the parents made announcements and aruged. They argued about class dues, about their kids fighting with one another and with the teacher on what she expected from the kids. I was amazed with how this meeting went: the lack of respect for the teacher and for one another. It was just a session for all of the parents to vent. Needless to say when I was asked to go to another "reunion" (as they are called) I was not too excited. Luckily this one went much more smoothly than the last two.
I finished out the week by accompanying one of the 4 year old girls here to another Children's home so she could visit her brother for an hour. Unforutnately I missed the carnival again, but I thought it was great that Darcy got to see her family (even if it was just for an hour).
By the end of the week I always look foward to the weekend. This past weekend Ophelia and I went to Pomaire, a small town about an hour from Santiago, that sells clay pottery and 1/2 kilo empanadas! We also decided to go to Cajon de Maipo, a town in the Andes where you can horseback ride and go rafting, next weekend for my birthday. :) Luckily the weekends are more relaxing and let me enjoy myself outside of Malloco (which is a pretty small town).
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