19 Weeks! Almost halfway...

Weeks: 19

Cravings:This was a rough week at work, and it would have been a great time to sit and enjoy a glass of wine.  Instead, my pregnant co-worker mentioned having a milkshake and that became my new craving.  That same night I stopped at the store and got vanilla ice cream and peppermint oreos (delicious, but with a horribly fake red dye).  This definitely hit the spot.  

Symptoms: None

Maternity Clothes: Up until this point, I have been wearing regular clothes, sometimes with the button undone.  I recently purchased a belly band so that my pants would stay up if they were worn unbuttoned.  This was working out well, up until about Wednesday.  My stomach just popped.  This was the first day anyone has mentioned noticing my bump.  Additionally, one of my former 2nd grade students said he and some friends think I'm pregnant.  I asked him why and he said Abigail thinks my belly is getting big.  :)  I decided it was time to finally go shopping for some actual maternity clothes and Matt and I stopped at a couple stores in Brooklyn.  I finally found a couple pants, a dress and a top at Motherhood Maternity.  I had no idea how maternity pants worked.  They are fascinating and unbelievably comfortable!  I can't believe I held out this long to get them :)  

Movement: None

Updates: We have our 20 week appointment with Dr. Gold on Feb. 4 and our Anatomy scan the following week on February 11.  We'll find out that day if we are having a boy or a girl.  

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Punctuality and Organization

We have a very different idea of punctuality and organization in the States. I have found this to be true in the two countries that I have most recently lived in. You are told to be somewhere at 8:00, but this really means 9:00, or perhaps 10:00 depending on the situation. One can never be sure what time is appropriate, but all the locals seem to know exactly when to show up. This makes it extremely difficult on foreigners and quite awkward when you show up an hour late and they tell you that you are early!

Additionally, coming from a culture where tend to plan things with at least a week's notice, it can be quite frustrating to find out five minutes before your scheduled class that there is a special activity and class will not be held. This has happened numerous times since I've been here. It almost makes me not want to plan anything ahead of time for my classes because more often than not there is a change in schedule. I like to think that as gringos, we are just well organized and efficient as opposed to uptight in this regard.

I've been living in the desert for about a week now. The altitude is extremely high and it took a few days for my ears to pop. It is extremely dry here, and my skin has already started to crack and bleed despite practically bathing myself in lotion twice a day. The city I live in, El Salvador, was created by North Americans in the early 1900's. Later, the mining company was nationalized and the North Americans left. For this reason, many of the street names are in English and the streets are extra wide compared to the typical Chilean streets. The city was set up in the shape of a Roman Helmet. I climbed to the top of a nearby mountain and was able to verify this fact. Most everyone lives here because either they or their family works for the mining company. There is a population of about 6,000. Everyone that works for the mining company, CODELCO, lives in a house owned by the company and they do not pay for the rent, water, electricity, or phone. CODELCO also funds 50% of the school's budget in El Salvador. The copper in El Salvador is starting to run out and there is talk of shutting down the mine by 2011. This will have huge ramifications for the city.

The father in my family works for CODELCO as a chemist. His daughter just finished University and will be joining him at CODELCO. The mother is a baker and makes cakes and pastries all day long. This weekend she is particularly busy because it's Children's Day on Sunday and everyone is asking her to make sweets for their family. Children's Day is widely celebrated here in Chile. Do we have this holiday in the states? There is also a 13 year old boy in the family. He is one of the best students in his class and will be traveling to Antofogasta next week for a public speaking competition in English. I have been helping him practice for this. The final member of the family is a 5 month old poodle named Tatam. He wears an adorable fleece jacket because it's winter here and they don't have indoor heating in any of the buildings. I don't think I could ever get used to this. It's about 58 degrees in the house right now and my hands are freezing as I type this!

My school is incredible. It's 50 years old and was built by the North Americans. They have wi-fi throughout the entire building. Incredible. I came from a school with no running water and intermittent electricity. There are three English teachers at the school who all speak English very well. I will be working with all of their classes (grades 3-8). This week I observed and on Tuesday I will start teaching my own classes.

Diego De Almagro

Tonight I will be leaving on a bus to go to Diego de Almagro, my home for the next four months. It´s a smaller city (pop. 19,000) in the Atacama Region of Chile. The climate will be significantly different from Santiago. Temperatures will be warmer and there will be less vegetation, as it is a desert region. It will be nice to leave behind the smog of Santiago and head to a area that is known for its stargazing. The national park, Pan de Azucar, is only a couple hours away and has desert penguins. It sounds amazing.

Matt and I just figured out skype and were able to talk with webcams today. Technology is unbelievable!

Santiago

Well, I arrived in Santiago safely today. The flight was about 12 hours total, but luckily I slept through most of that. There are about 130 volunteers in all that will be doing the teaching program here in Chile. I met eight of them from the flight to Santiago. We spent the day walking around Santiago and sightseeing. It is pretty cold here. In the morning and evenings it is around 35 degrees Farenheit. It warms up during the day and the sun makes it appear less cold. It should be warmer at my site, as I will be in the northern part of the country. We will be in Santiago for the first week, taking Spanish classes, TEFL classes and taking care of paperwork. Next weekend I will travel to my site (still unknown) and meet my host family.

Ironically, many of the volunteers do not know much Spanish at all, since it technically wasn't required. I think it's pretty brave of them to travel to a country not being able to speak the language. Santiago appears to be a well-kept, developed city. They have an extensive metro system, which we rode today, several parks, universities, numerous shopping areas (including jewelry shops with lapis lazuli, a blue stone that is only found in a handful of countries, including Chile).