Puente Alto
It's normally the walk to Aldea that I like the most. For 6 months, I walked five times a week the 15 minute walk from the metro to the home in which I volunteered. The first time I ever did the walk with two older volunteers I remember thinking, where in the world is this place? After having a week of orientation and hearing the stories of some of these children and hearing about the neighborhoods from which they come, I remember walking through Puento Alto looking around and wondering if that was what poverty in Chile looked like.
The houses look to me, like houses. Small houses with little gates out front, some paved roads, some not, usually a broken brick wall or sidewalk. What soon became extremely routine and normal however was the dogs. One by one as I would approach the one street in which the dogs live , I have deemed it quite possibe that those little houses were not Chilean families but rather houses filled with street dogs. Well everyday they come out to say hi so by the time you reach the end of the partially dirt road that has a playground on one end and a brick wall on the other, you are surrounded by at least 10 dogs. They are friendly, they sniff you, sometimes jump excitedly at you, usually just sort of watch you pass, make sure you do no harm on your way. Now 15 months later, they have become a very familiar and reassuring site to see.
The walk there remains to be my favorite, rarely do I remember a time not having my music on in my ears, greeting people with a smile as I pass. Walking by the school as the children are let out and yellow buses and family members stand by. Aldea is located next to two schools, one across the street and one directly next door. Its a very active area and there are always children outside playing, or hanging out.
Yesterday I took Coni for a walk. I was craving a cold drink and since I had no bottle to fill or cup to drink from, I decided to head to the negocio (small store) nearby for a bottle of water. Coni eagerly came with me the promise of some chicle (gum) at the store when we arrived. On the walk there she eagerly filled me in on her week since I last saw her. Since taking a director position with VE GLOBAL in March, I only am able to come to the home once a week. Coni and I walked by the school and heard loud music coming from the parking lot. As most things are in Chile, a gate blocked the entrance, so I asked her to come with me to take a peak. We cracked the gate a glance and watched as young 14 and 15 year old middle schoolers danced salsa in the parking lot after school. Nearby were some teachers who hadn't headed home yet for the day that were watching as well. There was no dance teacher, no dance floor or anything to indicate an organized class was happening.
That's when I remembered how much I loved my job. Not that I forget that often, but at the same time, it's a nice feeling that at least once a week if not more I get that overall wash of a feeling of "yay I am glad to live here and do this." Here in the "poverty" stricken area of Santiago, Chile, I took a nice stroll with an 11 year old girl who hadn't seen her mother in 5 months, who was telling me that if her mother could get enough money this year, that hopefully she would rent a hotel room for Christmas so that she could go visit her. Her mother was currently living either with her boyfriend or on the street. Coni told me very matter of factly, she didn't appear sad or distraught about this information. This information is her reality. So here we were, chatting about her homeless mother, Christmas plans, sweat dripping down our backs, drinking carbonated water and chewing gum, watching a group of children laugh their way through a serious practice of Salsa. You don't need much to be happy in this life I thought. You need to take advantage of what you do have. For today Coni and I had each other to chat with, we had a free show and a 30 cent pack of gum. For today, we were both happy. Reason number 74 I love being a volunteer in Chile.
The houses look to me, like houses. Small houses with little gates out front, some paved roads, some not, usually a broken brick wall or sidewalk. What soon became extremely routine and normal however was the dogs. One by one as I would approach the one street in which the dogs live , I have deemed it quite possibe that those little houses were not Chilean families but rather houses filled with street dogs. Well everyday they come out to say hi so by the time you reach the end of the partially dirt road that has a playground on one end and a brick wall on the other, you are surrounded by at least 10 dogs. They are friendly, they sniff you, sometimes jump excitedly at you, usually just sort of watch you pass, make sure you do no harm on your way. Now 15 months later, they have become a very familiar and reassuring site to see.
The walk there remains to be my favorite, rarely do I remember a time not having my music on in my ears, greeting people with a smile as I pass. Walking by the school as the children are let out and yellow buses and family members stand by. Aldea is located next to two schools, one across the street and one directly next door. Its a very active area and there are always children outside playing, or hanging out.
Yesterday I took Coni for a walk. I was craving a cold drink and since I had no bottle to fill or cup to drink from, I decided to head to the negocio (small store) nearby for a bottle of water. Coni eagerly came with me the promise of some chicle (gum) at the store when we arrived. On the walk there she eagerly filled me in on her week since I last saw her. Since taking a director position with VE GLOBAL in March, I only am able to come to the home once a week. Coni and I walked by the school and heard loud music coming from the parking lot. As most things are in Chile, a gate blocked the entrance, so I asked her to come with me to take a peak. We cracked the gate a glance and watched as young 14 and 15 year old middle schoolers danced salsa in the parking lot after school. Nearby were some teachers who hadn't headed home yet for the day that were watching as well. There was no dance teacher, no dance floor or anything to indicate an organized class was happening.
That's when I remembered how much I loved my job. Not that I forget that often, but at the same time, it's a nice feeling that at least once a week if not more I get that overall wash of a feeling of "yay I am glad to live here and do this." Here in the "poverty" stricken area of Santiago, Chile, I took a nice stroll with an 11 year old girl who hadn't seen her mother in 5 months, who was telling me that if her mother could get enough money this year, that hopefully she would rent a hotel room for Christmas so that she could go visit her. Her mother was currently living either with her boyfriend or on the street. Coni told me very matter of factly, she didn't appear sad or distraught about this information. This information is her reality. So here we were, chatting about her homeless mother, Christmas plans, sweat dripping down our backs, drinking carbonated water and chewing gum, watching a group of children laugh their way through a serious practice of Salsa. You don't need much to be happy in this life I thought. You need to take advantage of what you do have. For today Coni and I had each other to chat with, we had a free show and a 30 cent pack of gum. For today, we were both happy. Reason number 74 I love being a volunteer in Chile.
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