Adonde fueres haz lo que vieres

This past week the debates finally took place (the date had been changes multiple times due to the earthquake). The event was held Thursday and Friday in the Hotel del Valle in the outskirts of town (far from the tsunami zone, there is still so much fear here related to the earthquake, though it had been twenty plus years since the previous one). Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I met with the students during every possible break and after school, everyone was feeling confident, until Wednesday evening our 'star' got sick. She is fluent. And had participated before, and was going to the one to present the improvised speech at the end. Worth the most points. So we changed our goal from moving on to round two, to having fun. The students got so nervous, and two got extra nervous as they were given speeches Thursday morning to just read. No improve. Another had a panic attack, both days, one before we left on Thursday, but we got picked to present the opposition, so she didn't have to go. The second came after she finished her speech on Friday. The lack of our fourth speaker for days made the students very uneasy and nervous, but in the end they pulled it together and we got sixth (out of ten), which was the final qualifying spot to advance to the next round. They are so happy and I am so proud of them. Compared to the other schools, which presented with full teams and had been practicing for a month, our partial team that practiced for a few days kicked ass. Marisol and I took them out for pizza and ice cream to celebrate, where they felt like champions, even though Santa Maria school was there, Vladimir's school who we debated against that got second, nothing dampened their spirits. We all know (Selene, Vladimir, teachers and students alike) that none of our schools will advance to round three. Arica College always moves to the Zonal Finals, because their school has a debate crew. People write the speeches for the students, who memorize a month ahead, then work tirelessly with the English Deparment and Theater Deparment to prepare their debates. Not exactly what the competition is about, but since everyone's students enjoy it regardless, there is no reason to fuss. I am so proud of my team, on average also the youngest team to present, and am looking forward to working with them over this next month. The second round is at the end of June. Very little time to prepare but, knock on wood, more things couldn't be thrown our way this time around. I hoping to not come in last, they want to beat Vladimir's school. Probably not going to happen.

Day one, the partial team, Juan Jo, Vicente, Alonso, Maria Paz, Javiera

English Opens Doors propoganda placement

Waiting to debate

¨Presenting the debates, day one

Swimsuit model photo session timed perfectly with a high school debate break...distracting?

This weekend was spent relaxing after a week filled with debates and general stressors. We all went out to celebrate Friday evening, laugh at some of the funniest moments (one girl whose school did not porgress did a lot of hair flipping and podium assualting), discuss our schools and families and be glad that for two days, we were going to have a break from it all. Saturday was a beach day and Sunday Irlandra took us all to another beach further from the city. We prepared lunch, and then went to Playa Corazones, about six miles from downtown, where we hiked to caves, took a thousand photos, Irlandra loves taking photos, and then went to another beach to buy empanadas and to enjoy them on yet another beach. It was an incredible day, and the break I needed from my hectic house as well.

Arches and white rocks (they look pretty, but don't be fooled, they are white from bird poop)

One of the caves

Sea lion 'mummy' and seagulls (which were once dying out in Arica and are now a protected species that people adore...far from the way we view seagulls)

Inside a cave, it was so dark people couldn't see us until the flash went off (Irlandra was pointing this out to passerbys)

Sunset shots

Arica is the XV region of Chile (the last aquired, hence the high number, but northermost spot) and name of the beach

This past week has offered even more unique opportunities. Wednesday was a holiday, Naval Glories Day, celebrating the Chilean Navy. This year they focused on commemorating the Battle of Iquique, which they lost terribly. Not exactly one of their naval glories. It is a national holiday, which meant no school. Instead, the center filled with vendors, food carts and absurdly out of place merchants (Smurf balloons anyone?) in anticipation of the parade. The parade, surprisingly enough, turned out to not be a parade. The Navy and Army marched, lined up, and waited. And waited. And waited. The guest of honor was late. In typical Chilean fashion. There was a speech, then they left and the cueca dancers lined up. And waited. And waited. Then waited some more. Then they danced. By this time I had wandered off with Selene to gorge on street food, then went home to change for the beach. Lately everything has been so busy we've hardly had time to take advantage of the beaches, the reason all three of us requested Arica. Warm weather and ocean front views. Remember, it is Fall now and Winter is well on its way. Even though the three of us are all from cold places, we still find that mornings and evenings require an extra layer of clothes, though the afternoons here are just as warm as in the summer. Afterall, Arica is the city of eternal springtime.

Signs around town

Near my house, and not so near (the slums)

Morro of Arica, with Chile's biggest flag

Parade

Cueca dancers

Vendors, yummiest sopaipillas, fried bread topped with spicy salsa called pebre

Kamila studying, and Martina after a birthday party

Toño decorated my eggs

Thursday we had a meeting with all the schools that are set to participate in this week's debates. There are eleven in total from around the city, and the students and teachers alike are getting nervous. Probably because most of us just started to work hard on it. The meeting was absurdly timed, we clarified the topic (even though the speeches are already written and the students debate Thursday and Friday of this week), went over the rules, basically all things that should've been set up before the last month and a half of practicing. I am looking forward to being apart of this competition, which is a set up a bit differently than a normal debate. Each team will present four students, they have three minutes to present their speech, then the opposing team has three minutes. They are not building off of what the previous team said (though it is implied that the speeches will contradict), the final speakers for each will have ten minutes to prepare a speech that wraps up everything and attacks the opposing teams weak points. Points are given based off a pre-established rubric, the following day the students switch sides (opposing from day one becomes pro day two), at the end of day the teams with the most points advance. Round two at the end of June. The finals in August. My school is set to go against Vladimir's school this round, but we both have the chance to advance as it is based on points.

This weekend was different, Saturday was a 'recuperation day', meaning my school had classes to make up for lost time from an inservice day. Other schools add on extra days at the end of the school year (this is how the States does it, but from the beginning the extra days are counted into our schedule to make sure that we attend school for a set amount of days during the school year). I have the luck of being at a school that makes up for lost time on weekends. And though I was under no obligation to go based on my contract, I was told it would be 'greatly appreciated' if I went. So I had school on Saturday. Such a drag. Saturday evening was spent compensating with chocolate, Netflix and Martina snuggles. That girl has me wrapped around her finger and she knows it. Sunday, Irlanda, Vladimir's host mom, took us to museums for Día del patrimonio cultural, a day that promotes cultural activities and admittance to all cultural centers, such as museums, is free. We to Azapa, like Lluta, Azapa is another agricultural valley, to go to the Museo Arqueológico de San Miguel de Azapa, home to the world's oldest mummies. These mummies were discovered after about 7,000 years of being buried in the Morro of Arica. Here is an article from the National Geographic detailing the mummies, it is a bit long, but well worth the read. Chinchorro Mummies. After the museum, we went to a hummingbird sanctuary, which involved a lot of being lost and asking for directions from people of the side of the street, which meant slamming on the brakes everytime a new person appeared regardless of the cars and 18-wheelers that were right behind us (remember what I said about personal space? That applies to driving, tailgating is just normal driving). The sancuary was an oasis in the middle of the driest desert in the world, and full of the oddest things. There were chickens, horses, goats, sheep, an iguana, rabbits, what looked like an estate sale from someone's grandmother, a witchcraft-type board, sofas everywhere and a washing machine cemetary. The sanctuary was followed by a trip to another museum back in Arica, they were digging to lay the foundation of building a few years back and found a group of mummies, so they made it a museum instead as it is a crime to destroy a mummy here. Selene said her host brother's girlfriend's family found one in their yard when adding-on to the house, and had to wait for it to be removed to continue. After the museum, we met with Selene (who had already seen the mummies) to celebrate her birthday. This week will be incredibly busy, half of my classes are cancelled for school wide testing, but during those times I am meeting the debaters to focus on this week's competition.