Things That They Say...

I think this will be a reoccurring blog post title because the kids just have so many good, ridiculous, and/or funny things to say...

I sat with some first graders earlier this week at lunch; they are adorable with their giant brown eyes and missing teeth.  I sat down near four boys who all turned and stared while shoving food in their mouths.  Soon, one little boy asked me, "Tia, do you know when my birthday is?"  Since I had no idea when his birthday was or who he was, I had to say no.  This was a huge disappointment to my new buddy, but the other little guys were not deterred...
"Tia, do you know how many brothers and sisters I have?" "No, I don't." "Oh, I have 7."
"Tia, how many kids do you have?" "I don't have any kids..." "Why not?"
"Tia, are you married?" "No, I do have a husband." "Why not?"
...and so forth...

I taught my fourth graders this past Thursday, it was the last class of the day before the holiday, Fiestas Patrias (Independence Days), began.  At the beginning of class, Benjamín, told me--straight up, that he had no interest in focusing today because he had stopped paying attention in school yesterday.  I told him I appreciated him telling me but we were going to still learn English today.  Fast forward thirty minutes and Benjamín was true to his word--goofing off, hitting other kids, not doing his assignments, only answering to the name Obama (he is half-black). So, I called on him to read something and he looks up at me and goes, "What the fuck, tia?" I was shocked and so he and I stepped out into the hall, where I explained that he is not allowed to use that kind of language and how offensive it is in English.  He needed to apologize before he could come back inside... So, Benjamín sighs, shakes his head, and then looks up at me all smooth and goes, "I am sorry for say 'what the fuck, tia'"  At this point, I was worried I was going to burst out laughing so I sent him back inside.

There was an asado at the parish last night to kick off the Fiestas Patrias celebration, and, in typical Chilean fashion, it didn't actually start until a couple hours after it was supposed to.  So, I was playing games with Nicole, one of the 2nd grade girls that I know from jornada, in the patio area of the parish.  We played hide and go seek, tag, and ran races.  And despite my most valiant efforts, I never seem to win a single game.  Finally, I told Nicole that there was a "gran injusticia" going on-- she always won, how fair was that? And she just looked and me and said so matter of factly, "Tia, you are too old to win games." I think I was rooted in place because she had to pull my hand and remind me that once again, it was my turn to count for hide and go seek.

And an Anais story to top us off :)  I wore my glasses the other day, and she had not seen me in them yet.  We were singing in the choir at mass on Tuesday and she just kept staring at me.  Father Chris was giving his homily, when she leaned over, and told me in this really loud whisper that the microphone happened to catch, that I was like Clark Kent with my glasses on and that makes me Superman on the other days.  Everyone turned to look at us, Father Chris stopped speaking, and I just sat there laughing...

Vow Renewals, Misa a la Chilena, and the Fonda al Colegio Andacollo

Saturday September 7th was a busy day for me!!  I began the day off by attending the renewals of vows for the three Haitian seminarians here in Chile.  Icemick, Jacquy, and Mickely are studying to be priests here in Santiago with the Congregation of Holy Cross, and at mass yesterday morning they renewed their vows before fellow seminarians, the District Superior, Holy Cross priests and brothers, and myself.  It was very exciting and it was wonderful to be able to share in this experience with my new friends!

Icemick and me after the renewal of vows

 



The Fiestas Patrias (Chilean Independence days) are coming next week and the Colegio Andacollo kicks off the celebration a little early with a Chilean Mass and then a fonda (kinda like a fair) at the school.  The mass began with a procession of Andacollo students in traditional Chilean garb as well as more traditional music and readings that were more or less tailored to the celebration of the country of Chile.  The church was packed and all of the students were adorable all dressed up!

The mass

 

Students in traditional Chilean outfits at mass

 

After the mass, everyone made their way next door to the school.  There were booths all around the courtyard selling food, like anticuchos (kebabs), dulces (sweets), empanadas, choripans (chorizo and bread sandwichs), and completos (hotdogs), as well as sodas and little toys.  All of the proceeds went back to the school, parish, and the classes that were sponsoring the booths.  I worked at the choripan station, as a part of the Pastoral--which was one of the most popular booths because we ran out of all of the food in two and a half hours.  I had the grunt, yet very important work, of cutting the chorizo links apart and separating the bread so it could be grilled.  We were crazy busy up until all of the choripans were gone. 

 

The best part, or at least I thought so, of the fonda was the giant stage that was set up in the middle of the courtyard so that all of the classes could dance.

The stage

 

So, grades kindergarten through 12th all danced traditional Chilean dances in traditional Chilean outfits.  It was really cool seeing these kids dancing these beautiful dances and how excited and proud they were to be up there. 

First graders dancing the cueca

 

High schoolers

 

High schoolers

 

 It was a wonderful way to kick off the celebration of Chilean independence!!

Finally, I thought that I should include a picture of Anais and myself, since I talk about her all the time. :)

 

Viva Chile!