Greetings from Quillota, Chile.
This past week was eventful in that we did a few different things at school because it was the last week that the Chilean seniors had class.
This is because in Chile, before you can enter college you have to take a test called the PAES (don't ask me what it stands for I have no idea) and your score determines which colleges you can go to and which careers you can have. They only administer the exam twice a year, and one of those two times is during the second week of December. Therefore, all of the Chilean seniors get out of school a little early than the rest of us in order to prepare.
Now that we've gotten the explanation out of the way, let's just into some of the ceremonies/events that we did this week.
On Thursday we went to an assembly where all of the Chilean seniors got paired up with the youngest group of students in my school. I believe they were kindergartners but they could have been younger, I'm not sure. Each kindergartner had made some kind of gift for their designated senior, and after singing a few songs the gift was bestowed upon the graduating student as kind of a way to remember where they came from was my understanding.
After that, becuase this whole month is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, each pair of students was given a white carnation and then they walked in line to present the carnation to a statue of Mary. Not entirely sure what that represented but it was very sweet to watch the oldest students in the school walk hand and hand with the youngest ones before they embark into the world.
In addition to the assembly, we also had a big celebration in the patio with a drum ensemble, ballons, and paper airplanes that we made with encouraging messages on them. We threw the balloons and paper airplanes off the balconies to celebrate the students one last time. It was honestly a really sweet ritual and it's something that I think Salem would benefit from emulating.
In the U.S., I feel like seniors are so ready to be done with high school and go on to college. Obviously that's a generalization, but I feel like we are often told that college is such a great experience and it allows you to get out into the world, be independent, and thrive in a different way than you did in high school.
Here in Chile, the sentiment is very different and I believe it is because they place a little less emphasis on independence.
The end of Chilean high school is devastating for a lot of kids. It means you won't be seeing your friends as much anymore and because school is such a central part of the community that makes up your life, it's a big deal to walk away.
Obviously school is a very central part of our lives in rural NY too, but I feel like we also have community on a larger scale than just school because everyone knows everyone in our small town. Upon graduation, you have to go out and find your own purpose, which is very appealing to us hyper independent Americans, but something that really terrifies the majority of Chilean students. At least that is my impression. Obviously there are outliers in both situations.
This week my class also hosted an event called "Acto Civico" or Civic Action which basically is just an assembly where we lead everyone in some special prayers and this time around we played a sweet video for the students who are graduating (are you picking up the memo that we celebrate them a lot?). I got to introduce the Chilean national anthem, which was a very low pressure job but I took it seriously. I even got to wear my official school uniform which I always think looks pretty snazzy.
When the weekend rolled around, I learned that Claudia had signed me up to help with an event that was happening in the school stadium called "Maristas Family Day" which involved each class having a different food booth to raise money for school events.
In Salem this obviously wouldn't be a very large event but because in Chile there are four classes for each grade, you'll have to belive me when I say there was a LOT of people.
I got dropped off around 11am with a dish of pevre (pev-ray) which is essentially Chilean salsa that we put on choripan (I explained this is another blog post, but basically that is just a mini sausage in a bun).
There were lots of Chilean moms there, all related to kids in my class, setting things up. I offered to help many times but they were adamant that I didn't need to do anything. This felt very counterintuitive to me because my mom would have had me elbow deep in whatever project she could think of, (shoutout to the lovely Amy Maxwell for teaching me worth ethic starting at a young age) but I didn't want to be in the way so I backed off.
I walked around with my friends a lot after that, tried food from a bunch of different stands (it was all delicious in case you were wondering) and listened to the variety of local bands play.
For most of the day I hung out with my friend Antonia and it actually turns out that two of her uncles and her aunt went on their own Rotary exchanges in Minnesota, Texas, and Pennsylvania which was super fun to talk about. I love how it gave me an immediate connection with them and later Antonia sent me photos of her uncle's blazer with all of his pins because he was so excited to share with me. It honestly made my day.
I feel like I need to just add that I've been trying to write this blog post for three days now but I keep falling asleep typing, so thanks for being patient.
A few updates about this week because now it is Wednesday.
On Monday we had a big ceremony in order to change out the leaders of the Chilean marching band/ "los abanderados" which are essentially the designated people to march in parades which doesn't sound like anything super crazy but here it is a really big responsibility and an even bigger honor. I'm glad I got to watch so I could at least understand better.
Also part of the ceremony was the this thing that they do for all the Chilean seniors where they do roll call one last time, but all of the members of the class respond with silly things or do a skit that represents what that person is known for. It was really fun to watch and the who shebang included lots of confetti and spray string and just general shenanigans. It makes me sad to think that I won't be here next year to do the same with my class. I would love to at least send them a video or something.
Today I had an economics presentation that went alright. Definately not my best work, but I'm trying to give myself some grace because it's honestly really hard to present about a new topic in a different language.
I also had music practice today and learned that we may or may not have 2 presentations coming up where we are going to play for the community. I've been jamming away on the tambourine and the bongo drums, but I also got roped into singing the chorus in one of the songs as a little surprise. Stay tuned to see how that goes.
I've also had my last theater rehearsal today, with the offical play being on Wednesday of next week. I'm excited and nervous, but wish me luck.
This girl needs to go to bed before she falls asleep for the third time, but I am always sending well wishes back home. Stay warm out there and happy early Thanksgiving <3
Much love always,
Anna
