Today is March 22 which means I have been in Chile for over a month now. It's amazing how fast time flew but also how slowly it is progressing. Update time!
As many of you know, there was an 8.8 earthquake in Chile at the end of February. Luckily, I was in Mendoza, Argentina when it happened. My friend Beto and I woke up at 3:45 am to movement. Our conversation went something like this:
Beto: "Jessie?"
Me: "Is your bed moving?"
Beto: "Yeah. Is yours?"
Me: "Yeah."
Beto: "I think we're having an earthquake."
Me: "Should we get up?"
Beto: "Nawwwww."
We're both from California and clearly haven't learned anything from all the years of earthquake preparedness we underwent in school. Earthquake fail.
The next morning, we awoke to see the horrific images from Chile on our hostel's big screen TV. It took everything I had not to cry. However, once the news said the earthquake was an 8.8 centered off the coast of Cobquecura, I almost threw up. San Nicolas is 90 minutes from Cobquecura. Then the images of Concepcion appeared. Was my family okay? My friends? I immediately insisted we go to a calling center to try and reach our friends and families.
Of course, all phone lines to Chile were jammed and phones in our region were down. I was such a mess. Beto and I had planned to have a fun-filled weekend before he left for his 2 month journey and I started teaching again, but all I wanted to do was hop on the next bus back to Santiago. Beto insisted we go on the bike wine tour, to take my mind off of things.
Once we got back from the tour (which was fun but since I AM Jessie, I was preoccupied all day and therefore didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. Plus, we were with a bunch of gringos. We all know how much I hate spending time with gringos while traveling) we headed to the bus terminal to change our tickets. I changed my ticket to return the following morning at 9am.
I returned to Santiago at about 7pm. Jorge (the family's cousin who I met at the asado) picked me up and let me stay at his house with his mom and sisters. Luckily, they had heard through other family members that my family was okay. I was so relieved. But still, the images were horrific so I had no idea if my town was still standing. And I still couldn't get through to my friends in the south.
As communication slowly started to come back, I was able to talk to some of my students. Most of my students that I talked to were in Chillan had so had not seen San Nicolas. All the information they had about the town they heard on the radio. So for three days I thought the bridge into my town had collapsed as did my school. And when I went to the bus terminal, they had suspended all services to Chillan. Plus, the Monday after the earthquake, the Ministry of Education sent out an e-mail saying they were suspending the English Open Doors Program. This sent me into a panic. The last thing I wanted to do was leave Chile. I did not want to go home to the United States. Kirby, Tim, and Dara all received hysterical phone calls from me haha. My friends in Santiago recommended I go on the job hunt. So I did. I sent out my resume to a few places, and within a day, I heard back from a group called the Homework Club.
I went to the interview the next day and was pretty much offered the job on the spot. He loved that I had experience with Chilean public schools and REAL Chilean students. He said, "We turn down 90% of applicants. But tomorrow, I am going to e-mail you offering you a position." This was so incredibly exciting, I have always wanted to live in Santiago! But I still felt really sad. I wanted nothing more than to be with my host family and my students. I love my school so much despite all its flaws.
Later that afternoon, I finally got through to my host family. They said the school was fine and that the bridge was damaged but functioning. School was scheduled to start in a few weeks and they couldn't wait for me to come back. I told my host mom that if I come back, it would be without the support of the Ministry of Education meaning I wouldn't get paid and they wouldn't get paid. I told her I don't have a lot of money, but I would want to contribute what I could. She laughed and said, "Jessie, don't worry about money. We'll be fine." I knew I had to go back, with or without the Ministry. The next day, when I was offered the job at the Homework Club, I had to turn it down. He responded almost immediately and said, "I admire your decision to return to your town. When you come back to Santiago in July, the offer still stands."
A few days later, I booked a ticket to Chillan. A few companies had started services to Chillan, but you had to show up the day of to purchase your ticket. I didn't want to do this, and thank god this old guy from Pullman Jr. heard me inquiring at Linea Azul. As I walked away, he approached me saying, "Quieres ir a Chillan? Ven conmigo." I followed him and within a minute, had purchased a ticket to Chillan.
I left at noon on the Saturday one week after the earthquake. Normally, the journey from Santiago to Chillan is 5 hours, 4 if the conductor drives too fast. On this trip, it took 8 hours. The road was so severely damaged, that for most of the trip, northbound and southbound traffic were both driving on the northbound part of the highway. I saw collapsed bridges and towns. The damage was unbelievable.
My bus got into Chillan at about 8pm. I had prearranged to stay at my friend Rebeca's house in Chillan because I knew the bus schedule to San Nicolas was going to be a mess. Rebeca and her brother picked me up and told me that Chillan was on a 9pm curfew. We got to her house and spent 30 minutes walking around Chillan Viejo. In the 1930s there had been an 8.3 earthquake that hit Chillan. Chillan Viejo is the neighborhood a little south of Chillan and is all that remains of Chillan after that earthquake. This 2010 earthquake did a pretty good job of destroying what remained of Chillan Viejo. It was heartbreaking. Rebeca's house luckily is sort of okay. The upstairs to her house lost one whole wall and almost collapsed, but in general, her house is going to be okay. A lot of houses around her neighborhood aren't so lucky.
I spent the next week in San Nicolas and I am happy to report that for the most part my town is fine! My school is standing with minor damages and my host family's house is also okay (lost their beer collection but they are okay with that haha). There is some damage to the church and Jess' and my favorite internet cafe was recently demolished, but compared to many other towns, I am so incredibly lucky. One day, I went to Cobquecura with Gonzalo (my favorite former student) and the Red Cross. Cobquecura is a complete disaster zone. About 95% of the houses collapsed. The entire town was just a giant pile of rubble. It was hard to stomach. I also went to Quirihue (a town 45 minutes from San Nicolas; between San Nicolas and the ocean). I could not believe that just 45 minutes from where I live was Quirihue, also almost completely damaged. Quirihue too was like a giant pile of rubble. To this day it is still so upsetting and shocking. And the fact that San Nicolas is alright, I am so grateful.
Teaching update: Due to the earthquake and a series of diagnostic tests my students have to take, I am currently in Santiago and will be in Santiago until Sunday. I cannot start teaching until March 29th, so I came up to Santiago to help with the WorldTeach orientation. This Saturday is the panel in which the volunteers will ask me questions about my experience. I'm really excited. Then, we're all going to go out and continue the conversation over drinks. This was one of my favorite moments of orientation, so I'm excited to be on the other side. But I am DYING to get back in the classroom. I can't wait to start teaching!
Also, in case you were wondering, techo is Spanish for roof. :)
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