Dos mundos
I had been kindly given a book, “Dos Mundos”, for learning Spanish, by Yolanda. It was a brilliant book - with a chapter on “La clase y los estudiantes”. If I had a lot of time to spend on it, it should have helped ,u Spanish immensely. However I was still somewhat jetlagged, not to mention culture-shocked. Yesterday I had been introduced to six classes and brought what papers I had been asked to to the school for my work permit. Jorge was also ringing several schools in the Santiago area, enthusiastically, for me to take Spanish lessons…I had been told two friends of his were to be at the school today from the States also - Tom and Guillermo (Bill), both bankers. However when we got to school he told me no, he’d got mixed up, it was tomorrow. I had also arrived home after another trip into town to see Yolanda up on a chair in the kitchen, screaming. Reason? Mouse.
I was told to do more observation by Mónica and prepare. She suggested I do some crosswords on The Discovery Site. When I was doing assignments on structures and operations and how to teach mathermatics this was not what I’d had in mind as a job afterwards…(!) Tim and Bill arrived. Bill and Jorge embraced and kissed as only South Americans can and at one point I thought they were crying. We all sat in the school canteen while classes were on, having a meal as if we were honoured guests. It was a very pleasant meal and I almost forgot I was in a school English department. I think Tim was glad of some English speaking company, knowing as he did next to no Spanish. At least I was able to follow the conversation between Bill and Jorge. All those hours of studying, getting books from the local library and reading my sister’s old Spanish novels was now paying dividends. At the end of the meal I had to pinch myself when Jorge said, “I love you, Bill” and Bill replied, “I love you too” befoer parting. After this I had to meet a man called George and get a mobile phone for Chile (my own wouldn’t work on the South American waveband) as well as visa papers and my work contract. Getting visa papers entailed queueing in the Banco Santander in town for quite a long time. Many South Americans arrive in Chile to work, having as it does a relatively robust economy and I was now one of them. However if you have enough money it is not a problem. Fortunately for me the school was paying my visa. I remembered fillling in the landing card on the plane and telling them I was not there on holiday but to work. When I then joined a long que that was patrolled by burly, heavy security guards with alsations on leashes I thought I might be about to be out back on the next flight to Europe however I was waved through with no questions asked. It was only later watching a TV documentary at Jorge’s I realised the extent of the narcotics trade in South America and what the sniffer dogs and drug enforcement officers were up against. I needn’t have worried about my work visa however I also realised later that many enter the country that way and are caught out by one of the many army patrols when asked for their work visa and promptly fined a large amount for not having one!!
Bernardita was the most senior female teacher at the school - a very jolly large spinster.She became like a mother figure to me and on telling her of my difficulty in sleeping last night with the noise and ants, compunded by waking with cramp she, alongwith Vivianna told me a cure they were convinced of : “Eat many bananas and mch fluids!”…