Well, life's moving right along, as it does. My family's been reeling a bit since my grandmother and uncle died, but we're here for each other. It's hard to get back in the swing of things. We have a lot of things to be distracted by right now-- my sister's getting married in May and going to Germany or Switzerland for the summer. She's not the only one with big changes-- my boyfriend proposed to me, and we're getting married in April. So there's plenty of wedding planning and dress shopping to be done.

My months in Chile were amazing, and I couldn't have done it (well, not while being able to afford to eat) without you. Over half of the cost of my trip was covered by your generous donations. Thank you so much!

Expect a few more pictures and follow-ups in the upcoming months.

I'm back in Fayetteville.

I received a couple really difficult phone calls this week. First, I learned that my uncle (my dad's brother) died of a heart attack several days ago. My dad went to California to try to take care of things. Then my grandmother (my mom's mother) died on Monday. Unfortunately, my dad was tied up in California for at least a few more days, my sister was in Santiago with me, and my mom was in Arkansas, so we were all really spread out. I decided that I really need to be with my family right now, so I came back to Fayetteville yesterday. My sister got back this morning.

I was going to be in Santiago for another month and a half, but because the plane ticket costs so much (over $2000), I'm not going to be able to return to Chile. With everything that's going on right now, though, I feel like I need to be home.

Thanks so much to everyone for your support. I'm feeling a lot of mixed emotions right now, but I know that my four months in Santiago definitely made a difference for the kids at the hogar, and for me as well. I'll post pics from New Year's and my last afternoon at the hogar when things calm down a little bit.

The last couple weeks have been busy! I've been settling into my new home, and now my sister is here visiting!



My mom was supposed to come too, but she couldn't make it. We miss you, Mom!



On Christmas Eve, A.K.A. Noche Buena, we went to my friend Javiera's house, where we met her family and ate a delicious Christmas dinner.



Here's my roommate Marga and me:



On Christmas Day, it was super hot outside, so my sister and I donned t-shirts and shorts and made our way to the hogar. The kids were swimming when we arrived.



They were already well into an exciting day when we arrived, having opened lots of presents in the morning:



Then some of the kids' parents came to watch them do a Christmas play. Here's Dani Grande as Mother Mary:



And Pascual as a wise man. He's obviously thrilled about doing the play.



And a scene from the play:



Then the parents gave the kids some gifts, and we all ate some party food. After their parents left, the kids got to open the gifts that my sister and I brought! My mom sent a bunch, as did Keith Hill. Thanks to both of you! Here's Angelina excited over her gifts:



And Maria de Los Angeles playing with a wand:



Dani Grande showing off one of her presents:



And some of the kids checking out each other's gifts:



To close, Dani Chica and I wish you a very happy holiday!

If anyone wants to send Christmas goodies to the children at my hogar (or me!), you can send packages/presents/love letters to:

Naomi H.S.
Ave. Salvador 2771-B
Ñuñoa
Santiago de Chile

Some things the kids could use (all for kids ages 5-10):

socks and undies
summer clothes
bathing suits
hair ties
hair brushes
baby dolls, esp. with dark complexions
legos, small and large
puzzles
games
plastic animals and dinosaurs

Oh, and don't worry if you sent something to my old address-- the door guys there are setting my mail aside for me.

Muchas gracias!

Today I moved into a new place! I´m living with a Chilean girl for the first little bit, then I´ll be moving into a little apartment next door. For now, I have a great room with lots of closet space (not that I have that much stuff, but it´s nice). The girl I live with, Margarita, is a college student studying social work, so we have a lot to talk about. Also, she wants to learn more English, and I need to learn more Spanish. Nice fit, right?

After a couple weeks (or a month, not sure), I´ll be moving into the apartment next door. It´s not too big-- it´s basically a small bedroom, a bathroom, and a decent-sized kitchen. There´s no real living area, but there is a washing machine!

Now I´m living only about 15 blocks from work, which is a little far to go on foot every day, but perfect for riding a bicycle! I´ll also save on transportation costs, as I won´t have to take the bus to work. This week, I plan to try to find a place to buy a used bike. Wish me luck!

Also, my mom and my sister are coming to visit for a couple weeks! They arrive next Tuesday morning, and I´m super excited! I get to show them my new place and my hogar, and we´re also going to go the beach. ¡Que baccan!

by clicking here.



The article also talks about the riots going on about 15 minutes from my house. Exciting, eh?

Lots of crazy things have been happening. First of all, former Chilean dictator Pinochet died several hours ago in a military hospital a couple blocks from my apartment. People are driving around honking their horns and waving Chilean flags out their car windows. It's nutso. He had a heart attack about a week ago, and people have been protesting and keeping vigils since then. Weird.

Even crazier, we're having problems with our landlord. It turns out he pretty much took complete advantage of us, and now we have to move out tomorrow. He told us this on Friday, and it's a holiday weekend here, so it's a really stressful situation. Also, he's not going to return our deposits. I'm not sure where exactly I'll be living for the next few days/ three months, but I'll keep you updated.

The last week has been super busy because it was orientation week for the new December class of volunteers. We all spent the week helping facilitate tours of the city, English curriculum training, numerous workshops, and social activities as well. There are eight new volunteers, who come from England, the U.S., and Germany. They all seem really nice.

That's all for now! I'm off to look for a place to live.

I met Karin and Naama, who are from Israel, in Argentina and brought them back with me for Thanksgiving:



Our resident couple, Rich and Melissa, looking cute:



My roommate Pam brought back this mini alpaca from Peru when she went to renew her visa:



Notice the "Happy Thanksgiving" sign hanging in the window, courtesy of Melissa:



Look at all the yummy food we made!



Hungry faces smile for the camera:



I missed spending Thanksgiving with my family and the Hobbs family, but my roommates and I did our best to celebrate here in Santiago. Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving, wherever you are!

My first day in Mendoza, some (new) friends and I rented bicycles and toured San Felipe bodega (winery) and vineyards:



This is a thing made of leather that they used to stomp grapes in. The juice came out the spigot near the bottom.



And these are the big barrels they store wine in:



After the bodega, we toured a chocolate factory. Here's me and some friends tasting yummy chocolate liqueurs:



The next day, we hung out at Parque San Martin. This is the entrance:



And the pretty lake at the park:



On Friday, I headed back to Chile. The roads go through the mountains and are super long and winding:



And finally, after a six-hour bus ride, I was home sweet home.

Every three months, I have to leave Chile to renew my visa, so on Monday, I took a bus to Mendoza, Argentina. I had to come alone because I chose to come during the week so I didn't miss much work (the majority of my hours are on the weekends), and most of my fellow volunteers work during the week. Going alone turned out to be a great decision.

After a six-hour bus ride, I made my way to Hostel Campo Base, a youth hostel. I made so many friends at the hostel! The first evening, I hung out with three girls: one from Canada, one from South Africa, and one from Buenos Aires. Then I chatted with a group of Israelis, with whom I ended up hanging out with on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday, we took a bus an hour outside of town, where we rented bicycles to ride around to bodegas (wineries), a delicious lunch (best food I've had in months), and a chocolate factory (!). On Wednesday, we went to Parque San Martin, a huge park in town with a beautiful lake. It was so hot outside that we had to stop and cool off in the shade numerous times, all the while drinking more water than I thought possible! Even after walking around for hours in the heat, I ended up staying up late talking with people from the hostel.

I only met one other American in Mendoza, but I met lots of people from Israel and from France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Ireland, England, and Columbia. I also discovered that: 1) my Spanish is better than I thought, 2) a lot of what I do know is slang useful only in Chile, and 3) Argentinans, for the most part, don't like Chile much. I also found that I am quite defensive of Chile, and even though I've only lived here for three months, it feels like home, and I don't want anyone trashing my country (although, of course, I can complain as much I want). Haha.

Several of my friends from Israel are coming to visit me in Santiago in the next week or so; I can't wait to show off my city! In fact, I brought a friend home with me. She's gonna join us for our (belated) Thanksgiving meal today.

The time has come for me to make introductions...

(drumroll please...)

These are my fabulous kids!

This is Angelina:



Angelina is the youngest. She's five years old and loves to draw, paint, and do all sorts of art. She's quite patient with my Spanish and often asks me to read her stories, without ever grimacing at my terrible language skills.

This is her sister, Maria Jesus:



Maria Jesus is six years old. She's artistic, like her sister, and she also loves music and dancing. The hogar has even arranged for her to take flamenco dancing classes! She participates in our English taller (class) once a week, and she loves to learn and practice English.

Here's Elias:



He's seven years old. When I first started working at the hogar, he and I didn't click, but we're a lot closer now. Elias loves playing with his Erector set, as well as playing futbol (soccer). He also attends our English taller.

This is Elias's six-year-old sister, Dani:



We have two girls named Dani; this is Dani Chica. She likes to play with Barbies and dolls and dance and sing. She also likes to play with my hair, which can be quite a painful game. Haha.

Here's Cynthia and me:



Cynthia's seven years old. She and I play marbles together. I sing "Amazing Grace" to her and her sister at night when I put them to bed, just like my mom used to do for me (thanks Mom!).

Her sister, Dani Grande:



Dani's our oldest at ten years old. She's so much fun! She and I play card games together; I even taught her how to shuffle and do a bridge with the cards! Dani is really patient with my Spanish, and takes the time to speak slowly and explain words I don't understand. She also surprises me often with sweet hugs!

This is Lucio (on the left) with Dani Grande:



Lucio's eight years old. He and I are still getting to know each other. He loves futbol and wreaking havoc with the other boys. He hates having his picture taken, so I was lucky to get this shot.

Here's Lucio's six-year-old sister, Maria de los Angeles:



Maria likes to play tickling games. She also loves to rollerblade with a shoe on one foot and a skate on the other.

I don't have a recent picture of our other child, Pascual, so here's one from the Pleyades website:



Pascual is nine years old and is really shy and quiet. He enjoys painting and drawing.

To give you an idea of what the kids' bedrooms look like, here's one:



My kids are so great! I can't believe I'm already halfway done with this experience. Crazy. Hope all my American friends had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Random pic from orientation week:


Moving into the apartment was hilarious. We live right above a grocery store, so we borrowed shopping carts to move our bags. We were cracking up laughing the whole time. It was so funny!



In our bedroom, taken from my bed:



Me and my roommie, Pam, who's from Scotland:



On the way to the jornada (retreat) we went on a couple weeks ago, it rained and rained. The bus ride there was awful; it seemed to rain just as much inside the bus as outside.



Pam and Michelle getting soaked:



Me and my flatmate, Melissa, who's from New York:



And today a huge parade went down our street. It was some kind of social awareness event, and it was huge! Here's a picture from our balcony:



And finally, a happy birthday to my sister Elena, who turned 18 today! Love you, Boo!




I have to get permission to take pictures of the kids at the hogar, but I hope to do so soon. Hope everyone's well where they are!

It's been so long since I've posted! It doesn't feel like it's been long at all-- the time is flying by. This past weekend all the September class volunteers attended a jornada (retreat) in San Jose de Maipo, a town about an hour and half away from Santiago. There were 17 September class volunteers and about 8 other volunteers there. It was pouring down rain when we left Santiago, but it was warm, about 70 degrees. We got on the bus to San Jose, and we continued to get soaked by rain the entire bus ride there. It got colder and colder, and finally we got to San Jose, and it started snowing! Crazy. We stayed in two giant cabanas (cabins) with no heat or hot water. We were snuggled up under tons of clothes and blankets. On Saturday, however, it was beautiful outside! We were surrounded by snow-covered mountains and clear blue skies. The sun came out, and it warmed up a bit. I actually got a sunburn on Saturday!

We did all sorts of activities, including some silly team-building games that were a bit juvenile but fun. We had time to write in our journals and reflect on our experiences so far. We also discussed the challenges that we've faced and talked about ways to improve VE as a whole. All in all, the weekend left me feeling refreshed and invigorated. It sounds silly, but it was just what I needed after a month and a half of living a busy big-city life in a foreign country and foreign culture.

We're trying to begin preparing for December orientation for the new class of volunteers who will arrive the first week of December. Also, on December 5th, we're planning to have a big event in a park in Santiago. Basically, we're hoping to raise awareness about Voluntarios de la Esperanza, so that we can have successful fundraising events in the future.

Last week I brought donations of toothbrushes and children's toothpaste to my hogar, and you should've seen the excitement! The kids couldn't stop talking about it, and I thought Tia Carmen was going to jump up and down clapping, she was so thrilled! My friend Kaori works at Pleyades and at another hogar as well, and next week I'm going to visit that hogar and bring toothbrushes for the children there as well. Thanks so much for helping to make this happen!

I've emailed my address to everyone on my email update list, in case you'd like to send a care package or donations for the hogar. The kids could really use watercolor paints, modeling clay, and Spanish children's books. We also need children's underwear and socks. If you're not on that list and would like my address, just comment with your email address, and I'll send it to you.

Thanks so much!

I've had good days and bad days, but today (and last night) were so good! Last night I spent the night at the hogar (which I will do every Friday from now on). I've been trying to bond with the kids as much as possible, but it's been difficult to play because of my lack of Spanish language skills. The children sometimes get frustrated and give up on playing with me. I've found that it's way easier one-on-one, and the kids are usually really patient with me. They like to teach me new Spanish words, which is great, 'cause I need to learn 'em. One new word I learned is "cuncuna," which means caterpillar. Fabulous, right?

Here's the breakthough: one child, Elias, who's nine, had not bonded with me at all. In fact, he was angry at me for days because I took away a baseball bat that he was using inappropriately one afternoon. But today, I sat beside him while he played with an Erector construction set. I tried to sit back and watch, and eventually I asked if I could look at the pieces. We chatted a bit, and I helped him make a car. I'm not sure what happened, but fifteen minutes later, Elias climbed on my lap and played a clapping game. Then, when it was time for me to leave, he said, "No, you can't leave! You're mine!" and rewarded my patience with lots of hugs. Yay! I'm so excited to finally feel as if he and I have had a positive interaction, especially after days of his being angry at me.

The kids and I play lots of clapping games, where you sing a song and clap together. They know the cutest songs! Kaori, a volunteer from Japan, has taught them a couple Japanese clapping songs as well. And last night, Elias and Pascual started singing "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt. I'm not sure I've ever heard something so funny! With their accents, it comes out more like, "You're shootiful!" and it's so hilarious. They kept having me sing it over and over, and they wanted to know what the words mean in Spanish. Most of the kids know their colors and numbers in English, and it's so freakin' cute to listen to them say English words! Angelina, who's five, counted for me, and the words come out like, "one, toof, threef, fourf". It's so cute!

So today was good. I had a few days when I came home feeling pretty defeated, but things are looking up. Just wanted to share some good news. :)

So, I've been here for a month, so I thought I'd reflect on my life here.

On living with five roommates...

I've never lived with this many people before. I think the most roommates I've ever had was three, and I've discovered that six people living in one apartment is truly an adventure. It's especially difficult at mealtimes, because everyone cooks their own food, and the kitchen becomes a traffic jam. Plus, I share a room with two other people, and there's a definite lack of privacy. I never lived in the dorms in college, though, so sharing a room is another experience to add to my life list. I have to say, I value my alone time more than ever.

On working in my hogar...

The kids have gone through abuse-- some physical, some psychological-- and they've all been neglected in one form or another. Most of them are not actually orphans; their parents are still somewhat involved in their lives, and they still have some hope (in theory) that their parents will come take them back home. Unfortunately, this situation leaves many children in limbo, as parents cling to their parental rights by visiting the minimum of times a year (two or three), so the children can't be adopted and instead are left in institutions until they're too old to be adopted.

In short, their life struggles have caused the kids to be cautious in trusting or attaching to others. My job, then, is that much harder-- to bond with the children and give them positive one-on-one attention, to help them build self-confidence and self-esteem, to prepare them for facing the realities of what the world has to offer them. It's really difficult now, but as my Spanish improves and they learn to trust me, I'm certain it will get better.

On eating the food in Chile...

Paltas (avocados) are plentiful and delicious. The mayonnaise is weird and yucky. Peanut butter costs 4500 pesos (nine dollars!) Canned goods are expensive, and everything-- mayo, yogurt, spaghetti sauce, jelly-- is sold in bags that don't reseal. Milk is packaged in cardboard boxes that don't reseal, and it's unrefrigerated until you open it. They love agua con gas (sparkling water) here, and you have to ask especially for agua de la llave (tap water) if you don't want to pay for bottled water at restaurants.

On taking public transportation...

The busses and metro here are very efficient and go anywhere and everywhere. The fare for both is about 75 cents. I wish Fayetteville would get on the ball and start building some sort of public transportation system. On the other hand, I'm used to driving wherever I need to go, so it's really different to walk to a bus stop and wait 5 to 20 minutes for a bus. The metro is super-easy to use, but the busses are more confusing, as you have to tell the driver when you want to stop. If you're new to the city or are unfamiliar with the neighborhood, it can be difficult to know when to push the button. That's where I take advantage of the never-ending patience of locals-- I've learned that most people are quite helpful when you need directions or assistance. Also, never underestimate the importance of a good map.

On missing home...

I've had a couple of homesick moments, but for the most part, so far so good. I brought Barkley, a stuffed dog that I've had since I was little, so I've got something cuddly to snuggle with. I talk to my boyfriend often, and my parents and sister sometimes as well. I really miss my kids from the New School! I can't believe how big they're all going to be when I get back! In a lot of ways, it feels as if those kids are so much easier to bond with, to love, than these kids. And I think that's true, to an extent. But that's why it's all the more important for people to be here to show these children that people care.

This first month has been really busy, so it's gone by pretty quickly. All the volunteers who've been here for several months say that it's surprising how fast the time goes by, that one day you look up and realize you've been here for four, five, six months.

On appreciating my sponsors and supporters...

I don't even know where to start. Thank you so much to all of you who have helped me come this far. It has been so touching to discover that so many people really want to make a difference and be part of something that matters. I only hope that I can achieve what I've set out to do. Sometimes I feel a bit useless, that my Spanish is not good enough, that I'm not helping anyone, that I'm just in the way at my hogar. But I try to keep in mind that I'm here, and that's something. And in a few months, I'll have developed better language skills and bonds with the children. My point, anyway, is THANK YOU so much! I am happy to be here-- even when I'm having a rough time, I'm having a rough time IN CHILE! Yay!

I´ve been so busy since I got here! I can´t believe it´s already been almost a month. Crazy.

Last Monday was Independence Day, and the kids at the hogar have been out of school on vacation the entire past week. Unfortunately, that means that they´ve been hanging out at the house with little to do, so they´ve been bored and acting out. It´s been quite frustrating for me because the tias aften leave me alone with the kids, and my Spanish skills just aren´t good enough to keep nine children safe when they want to do dangerous things like climb on wooden sawhorses while wearing roller skates. I´m hoping that things´ll improve once the kids are settled back into a normal routine. They return to school on Monday, so I´m hoping that will help.

That´s all for now. Mostly, we´ve just been going to a lot of meetings and working a lot. I´ll add more pictures soon (I think I say that every time though). :)

Here's me with two other volunteers, Michelle and Christi:



This statue is located in Plaza de Armas, which is a really cool plaza downtown:



Some street art:



A fountain downtown:



A lot of their trees here look like giant pineapples, but these don't:



That's all for now. Enjoy!

Here are some pictures from the hostel where I stayed last week. Here's what the dorm rooms look like:



And the kitchen was fabulous:



Also, there was plenty of room to relax:



More pictures to come soon...

That's right, a bunch of the new volunteers found a furnished apartment in Providencia, which is in downtown Santiago. It has two big bedrooms, one tiny (closet-size) bedroom, and three bathrooms, each with a shower(!). There are six girls living here, and I'm sharing a room with two. It's a bit of a tight fit, but two of the girls are returning home in December, and we'll probably let only one person move in at that point. Anyway, we moved in last Sunday, and it's great to have a home!

I began work yesterday. Well, sort of. Really I just went in and talked with the volunteer director about my schedule and what's expected of me. My Spanish is not so good, especially because the Chilean accent is really difficult to understand. Chilenos basically leave off the last syllable of every word, and they don't say their "s"'s either. Thus, "mas o menos," which means "more or less," becomes "maomeo". Anyway, it's going to take time for me to learn the language. Luckily, I'm totally immersing myself here, so in a few months I hope to have gained some good language skills.

Tomorrow I have to go to work in the morning, when there's only one child there. The Chilean education system is not the best and is poorly funded, so most children go to school for only half the day. At my hogar, the older kids go in the morning, and the younger kids go in the afternoon. There are only nine children there, and there's only one younger than six years old. I'll be hanging out and entertaining her all morning on Thursdays.

My institution utilizes about 20 Chilean volunteers and four full-time tias (literally "aunts," which is what they call the teachers/caregivers). The tias do all the cooking and cleaning also. Usually only one volunteer works at a time. They have only two volunteers from Voluntarios de la Esperanza, me and Kaori, who's from Japan. She's been here for six months now and plans to stay for six more. She and I are going to do an English taller (workshop/class, pronounced "tie-yare") once a week with the kids at Pleyades. Writing an English curriculum is one of VE's projects, so we're gonna be the guinea pigs to try out the curriculum.

Things are going well, even though I'm really struggling with my Spanish. I'll improve though. It's just gonna take time.

This week has been super busy! I am still staying at La Casa Roja, at least until Sunday. Several of the other volunteers and I are looking for an apartment to share; we found a really cool one, but we'd have to buy all the furniture and everything, so we're not sure we're going to take it.

I met all the volunteers when they arrived on Saturday. There are 17 of us, in addition to about 15 volunteers who are already here. It's mostly girls, but there are six or seven guys as well. Almost everyone's from the U.S., with Japan, Scotland, England, Venezuela, Germany, France, Canada, and, of course, Chile, also represented. Most of us are in our mid-twenties; our baby (he loves it when we say that!) is 18, and our oldest volunteer is all of 61 years old!

We've been walking around the city all week, doing scavenger hunts, visiting orphanages, and listening to lectures on Chilean current affairs. Of course, along the way we're getting to know each other a little bit. Everyone is really nice, and it's been fun chatting with them.

Let's see... The culture here... The Chilenos are friendly and patient, for the most part. Everyone's been really helpful when we've needed directions or anything. We get a lot of stares because there aren't many tourists in Chile. I think it's curiosity more than anything else, although we do get our share of catcalls. The food's not especially good, but it's cheap if you go to the right places. And the avocados are delicious! Me encanta palta.

I start at my hogar (orphanage) on Tuesday. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm excited!

I've been trying to upload pictures, but I can't get it to work. I'll keep trying.

More later...