So, I've been a bit down for the past week or so, but I think I'm getting over it. I think I need to accept the fact that I am really not a city person, and keep that in mind for my next move. I am thinking about teaching English in a different country at some point, but maybe in a smaller city. Unfortunately, it seems that most of the jobs are in big cities! Although, here in Chile, English teachers are wanted pretty much everywhere and I do have some friends working in small cities (populations of 400,000, etc... so, big, but not capital-city big!). It's something to think about.
We just finished up with our tests, so today I have to go over them in class. This is the part that I hate the most--they only care about their grade, and once the test is over, they don't want to have to remember it at all! I keep telling them that is it going to be on the final, but they just want to see the grade and nothing else. I had my first class this morning, and after thirty minutes of waiting for everyone to arrive (only 2 students came on time), we could finally review, but I may as well have been talking to the wall with how much attention they paid to me! Two students even pulled out a laptop and started watching a movie! I'm starting to get really frustrated and there is nothing that I can do about it!
But with every bad experience there comes a good one, too. Yesterday I gave back the tests, and one girl had received perfect scores on both the oral and written tests. She was so excited that she nearly cried, and she even came to give me a hug after class! Most of my students are about 21-25 years old, so hugs are not something I usually get from them! She is a really great student, and she loves reading. She asked me to bring her a book from the US, so I'm hoping that Scott has room in his suitcase to bring her one when he comes in a couple weeks. Books here (even in Spanish) are insanely expensive. Most have to be imported, so that raises the price right off. Then, there is a 30% tax on all books, making them almost unaffordable for the average person. Books are really prized possesions here. The "cheap" books that you can get second-hand (you know, the ones that have been read a million times and are dirty and dog-eared) start at about $5USD, just to give you an idea!
So, I've had a rough couple weeks, but things are getting better! I've decided to move to a new apartment, more towards the downtown area. I've been living in something like a boarding house, so it's been fun to be around so many different people from so many different places, but it can get old after a while. I really like to have privacy sometimes! And quiet! I am going to rent a private apartment, which is really uncommon here. Chileans really do not like to be alone, so they tend to live with family or roommates until they get married. It is very rare for a Chilean to have ever lived alone. In fact, the reactions I get from people when I tell them that I am here alone are hilarious! I am still at the age where most Chileans live with their parents, so when I tell people I have not lived with my parents for 7 years, they look like they are going to cry! They want to know why my parents hate me so much! Actually, the other day I decided to go to a movie by myself. I went to the ticket counter and said (in Spanish), "one ticket, please." The woman looked very confused and repeated what I had said, "one ticket?" "Yes," I said, "one ticket." She repeated it again, this time holding up her finger to indicate the number. Once again, I confirmed that I only wanted one. At this point, she was getting very concerned and did her best to ask me in English whether I was sure that I really wanted only one ticket. I finally convinced her that yes, I really was alone. She gave me the ticket, but had the saddest look in her eyes as I walked away, as if something extremely terrible must be wrong with me if I was going to go to the movies by myself (especially a woman)! It's very interesting...
Anyways, time for dinner. I went to Cerro San Cristobal today... I'll see if I can get some pictures up soon!
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