iquique at night and its dark blue waves of the ocean (miercoles, 29 septiembre)

Today was a series of ups and downs. During the school day, the sun was shining brightly and it was a beautiful day. My students were bratty, and I pretty much had to baby-sit another teacher´s class as well as my own while the other teacher did oral quizzes with the students one at a time. Even the normally well-behaved kids were feeding into the problems and not wanting to work. I actually had to raise my voice in order to get them to quiet down and stop the disruptive behavior. It was really frustrating trying to teach twice as many students as normal, and I was relieved when it was time for my lunch break.

After lunch, the fifth graders had to take a test. I was sent to the library with one girl who had broken her arm and couldn´t write. She was supposed to tell me what to write or how to answer the questions, but every time she said an answer, she would ask me if it was right, or she would ask me to translate it into Spanish. I kept having to repeat that this is a test, and I can´t help her or translate for her.

Once school was out I went on a walk, but by then the sky was turning gray and cloudy. Go figure...it´s a beautiful day while I´m cooped up in school, but as soon as I get out it turns drab and gray. The whole day while in school I kept thinking about all the things I wish I could be doing...taking a walk, going on a run, taking a surf lesson, sitting at a street cafe or the boardwalk sipping on fresh fruit juice while people watching... But no. It wouldn´t have been a big deal if my kids had been well-behaved, or if there were the normal amount of students in the class.

Sometimes I feel like the school switches back and forth between not caring that I´m there at all, and taking advantage of me being there. Like today, I had to sub for another teacher´s class instead of teaching my own. It wasn´t a huge deal, but still, it´s in my contract that I don´t have to sub unless I want to. The whole day I didn´t teach any of my own classes. Yesterday I took a sick day from school (had to go back to the doctor) but when I came back, no one had even noticed I wasn´t there.

On the plus side, when I do teach my own class, I really like the students I have. The kids in my class are very eager to learn English and seem to like practicing their English with me. Sometimes we get a little bit off-topic, but I don´t really mind as long as they are speaking in English.

After school I went home with the intentions of going on a run, but by the time the bus pulled up to my corner, I felt dead tired and had no energy for running, so I curled up with a book and read, and after that I took a siesta for about an hour and a half. When I woke up I felt refreshed and a lot more energized. I met up with Eric to get a few drinks at a place called Papá Gallo, and then walked to the ocean to watch the waves come rolling in. There is definitely a calming, relaxing effect to going to the beach at night. I like how the water and sky are the same shade of dark blue, and you can´t see where the ocean ends and the sky begins, but you see the white foam of these powerful waves crashing on the shore. At night you see less, so you can pay more attention to the song the ocean is singing to you, and you notice the salty sea air more. During the day you can see clearly and have spectacular views of the ocean, but often rush through life not noticing anything relating to the other senses.

Sometimes I feel like I can´t decide whether I like Iquique or not. My host family is really caring and generous, my students are mostly great, and the coast is beautiful. But Iquique is also really dirty and polluted, and the stray dogs are really bothersome. Yesterday night at 3am the dogs in our street were keeping me awake with their shrill, high pitched, yappy barking, going on and on and making it difficult to sleep. I wish I lived closer to the Centro, and that I didn´t have to take a bus or colectivo to get anywhere more interesting. But I love the moonlight filtering in through my balcony window at night, and I love the energy of the ocean after dark.

Sometimes I feel like I rush through life, and I need to slow down and enjoy the small things, live more in the present moment, and be thankful for all the beauty that surrounds us.

Right then, as I sat in the sand by Playa Brava I decided that yes, I do like Iquique. At least for this moment. But yes, Iquique is beautiful and special in its own way, and there were reasons I was sent here. To learn, to change, to grow. And I feel like many of the reasons I don´t know yet, but that´s okay. My journey is far from over.

written by

Sara Florecita on September 29, 2010 from Iquique, Chile

from the travel blog: año de dos inviernos (Chile 2010)

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