Soul-Searchin' Down South

It's been two weeks since my last post and I feel like so much has happened emotionally, with friends, with regards to work, and in developing my niche in Santiago. I had my first bout of homesickness about a week ago and it was a beauty. I was expecting to feel this way at some point, but the way it finally manifested was completely strange! It was a Sunday night and it had been an awesome day. The weather was great, I met up with a former student from McMinnville who was an exchange student from Chile and we had a coffee and worked on her math homework. But when I got home that night I had the overwhelming desire to share my exceptional day with my family....in-person and with lots of hugs.....but couldn't. As I was bawling in my apartment I felt really stupid, like I should be strong enough to not feel this way, but Karina was great about reminding me that this has been a huge life change and it's completely reasonable to feel nervous/sad/unsure about being so far away from the people that I love.

After my emotions settled down a bit, I started to think logically about how my time in Chile is progressing and I came to the conclusion that something has to change with my research. I have been trying my hardest to view what I'm doing at the research center through an optimistic lens, but realize now that this mindset is actually preventing me from reaching my goals. I came to Chile with the goal of working with middle school and high school-aged students to try and discover how teachers can reduce the gender stereotypes that exist in math classes. But really, I am no closer to that goal than when I first arrived. I think that unfortunately, the research team is extremely preoccupied with their new project and have little time to help me with my own investigation. It may sound selfish, but I feel like I gave up a lot to come to Chile and I want this experience to be worth it! It doesn't do me any good to work partial hours on a project that doesn't interest me when I could be home teaching in my own math classroom. So, that being said, the search for a new professor has begun. My plan is to send out some e-mails this week to potential advisers and see who has an interest in working with me. I promise to keep you all posted on what happens, but I think it's still going to take a little bit to make the switch.

Whew! Now that I've told you all of the heavy stuff I can finally tell you about all of the amazing things that have been happening in the rest of life. I'm continuing to love my new apartment and Karina is like the big sister I never had. We talk just about every night...about school, our favorite words in English and Spanish, Chilean politics, and life in general. The other night we looked at the clock and realized we had talked until 1:30 in the morning! She's starting making a list of all of the Chilean foods that I have to try before I leave so we're planning on eating at a different restaurant every month to fit them all in. I'm also planning on cooking some classic American dishes for Karina to try before she heads to the States.

The last bit of exciting news I have to share involves the Disco Mary Adventure Race that I participated in this past weekend. We found out about the race from a group of Americans living in Chile who organized the race and decided to form a team and have a go at it. The race included 6 teams (all Americans hahaha) and was a giant scavenger hunt through Santiago. There were about eight events total, but these were my favorites:

-We had to run to a park and "baptize" two of your team members in an algae-infested pond while members of the Chilean police were yelling that the pond was off-limits! Luckily the race coordinator was there and explained to the carabineros that it was for a competition and asked kindly that they not arrest us. :)
-Two team members had to ride bikes (mine was a heavy cruiser) to the top of the big hill in the city and take a picture with the statue of the Virgin Mary. This was quite possibly the most difficult bike ride of my entire life and at times I was going so slow around some of the corners that I actually thought I was just going to fall over from lack of momentum. Plus it didn't help that I was wearing a silly costume (see pictures below) and was getting quite irritated by the number of laughs that the Chileans were throwing our way.....as if climbing 2700 ft. on a slow bike is an easy task.
-The last main event was a photo scavenger hunt that the whole team had to participate in. We had to find statues, write down the address of famous restaurants, and even give a random Chilean bunny ears while taking a picture. People were definitely amused to see so many gringos running through the streets.


Needless to say it was awesome, but very tiring. We didn't win, but had an excellent time and were given food and a drink as part of our entrance fee. Here are some pictures of our all-star team:

Half of Team Fulbright!

Instead of team numbers we each had an element from the periodic table.

NERDS!

After we finally made it to the top of the hill.

I realize that this is a really long post and I hope that some of you chose to just skim through it....because the truth is this blog is just as much therapy for me as it is informative for you and I don't expect you all to read (with interest) about my personal struggles here. I miss you all, but realize what a great impact you have had on shaping my life! I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart as I continue to find my purpose here.

Love, Krista