Back in town

...after a wonderful break in a place which could be described as paradise. It's not exactly the inferno here, DH protested on hearing this. Maybe not, but some form of purgatory perhaps... At least that means there's hope. It's always difficult coming back to the cold after a holiday in the heat but it's even harder in June.

Just wanted to publish an image from the school run at the tail end of autumn in Santiago. This was taken at around midday on DD1's last day of term towards the end of May.

End of first term

Well I was wrong about half term approaching, it is actually the end of the first term at DD1's school this week and of course if one thinks about it three months have passed since the beginning of the school year. So far, so...ok. We haven't been bowled over by the marvels being presented for our daughter's education despite her school being among the most prestigious in Santiago and within the top ten in the whole of Chile according to one proud parent, but maybe our standards are too European. The school itself is fine but exudes an air of not having been updated since the 1980s at the most recent, which includes staff, decor, teaching methods, materials, resources and general atmosphere. One gets the impression performance management has yet to be introduced in any sense of the expression. It is stuffy and formal from Year 1 onwards (incorporating little creative or ludic activity) while also being rather opaque and difficult to penetrate (like many aspects of life in Chile). I often think back nostalgically to my own experience of a standard state primary in the 1970s in the UK and feel perhaps it was further along in methodology and approach than this in many respects but my view may be blurred by time and rose-tinted spectacles. However I can't help thinking DD1 would have enjoyed making tea-cosies and embroidering pin-cushions as well as learning how to read and write at this age, but then I have to remind myself she is acquiring a third language in addition to her two mother-tongues plus is gaining something in world experience which may be of use at some point...

In the meantime DD2 has been busy at her nursery making all sorts of treats for me for mother's day which was a few weeks ago and is stimulated by lots of fun including dressing up and taking part in a recent celebration of an important naval battle in Chilean history. As part of the the latter her "class" has been doing a project on the sea and its creatures for which she and I together had to make a presentation to the class in Spanish all about the reproductive habits of the seal...Luckily a lift-the-flap book in English and a cuddly toy were enough to wow the class teacher and the children so we could bluff our way through the technical details...

Oh, and the central heating has finally been switched on thank goodness so we can now choose to heat up our apartment first thing in the morning or before bath-time at night. Quite a good week then...

Green parrots, stray dogs and starched aprons

Yesterday during a mundane trip to the supermarket to do the weekly bumper shop while gazing upwards at the glorious seasonal colours on offer I happened to spot a bright green parrot flying overhead and diving over a wall. Peeping through the gate on the corner we saw the enclosed courtyard was full of the creatures, all vivid pea-green with bluish wings and tails, a sight one doesn't often see back home while nipping to Tesco... It reminded me of the sense of wonder of being in a new land, an effect which has worn off a lot recently as we become more and more accustomed to our not-so-new surroundings. However two other aspects of everyday life which were apparent at the beginning of our adventure have also become "normal" but may be worth mentioning at this point and these are stray dogs and starched aprons (not together but often in close proximity for their ubiquity). Back in the centre of Santiago stray dogs were almost as numerous as the various street-traders occupying patches of territory outside metro stations or calmly wandering alongside pedestrians as they went about their daily business. At first our reaction was one of extreme vigilance in case of aggression (especially at child-level) but we soon realised the dogs were and are mainly benign animals, previously someone's pet but now turned loose to find their own fortune (or not). There seems to be a mutual tolerance between human and dog which would be encouraging were it not for the hygienic and humanitarian implications plus there is sometimes the odd canine creature who doesn't quite seem to be man's best friend...

As for the starched aprons, these belong to the army of workers in the service industry, otherwise known as "nanas" and usually women employed as domestic helps by the classes who can. What surprised me most was the strict adherence to the uniform, of various colours and cuts but generally checked and buttoned over the shoulder. It has since been explained to me that it is for clarity of position although it does feel a bit Upstairs, Downstairs for the twenty-first century. But that's Chile for you...

Half term in sight

Two months or thereabouts into term and both girls seem happy at school and nursery which is very reassuring news for me. Not sure how much proper learning is going on in either establishment but as long as they come home smiling that's all that matters to me at the moment. Long term is a different story of course as we shall see...

Nursery in Chile first of all had been a completely unknown quantity but we have been mainly pleasantly surprised with the range of activities going on from painting to brass-rubbing, to discussing children's rights to celebrating the day of the Carabiñero and more... DD2 is still slightly ambivalent about nursery: on the one hand she is reluctant to say goodbye to me when I leave her in the morning (which I often suspect has to do with the language barrier) but on the other she knows there are interesting things happening inside which she won't get to do at home so is often tempted by the promise of an autumnal buffet-breakfast or whatever the event may be...

DD1 by contrast absolutely adores her school and often longs to go back if it happens to be a bank holiday weekend. This is of course a very good sign though I think it is a general school environment she hankers after and not just this school in particular. Despite or perhaps due to having attended educational establishments in four different countries already at the tender age of 6, she is quite incredibly adaptable and adjusts easily and quickly to a new environment. She has made friends and seems to enjoy whatever is on offer be it PE, PSHE or learning to play the recorder. However the formal teaching and learning are yet to be evaluated in any meaningful way though I am keeping a watchful eye over this. So far progress seems to be slow though one has to remember English is being taught as a foreign language to Chilean children while Spanish is of course the mother-tongue, which essentially means DD1 finds the former pitched too low while the latter too high for her specific needs which are of course diametrically opposed to those of her classmates... It's not an easy situation but we are trying our best.

First snow on Good Friday

Well Easter has come and gone, having crept up on us this year clothed in autumnal veils thus not recognisable for its usual symbolism of new life, rebirth and renewal. Quite the opposite in fact as autumn progresses with glorious colourful displays but sharply decreasing temperatures. There had been the familiar chocolate frenzy going on in our supermarket for what seemed like a long time yet on Good Friday it was still difficult to find the ones we wanted. It was a grey rainy day which initially swathed the mountains in thick cloud, later revealing a breathtakingly vivid scene of fresh snow on the summits.

School and nursery were closed for two and one extra day(s) respectively, giving us a long weekend of three days to enjoy. We took the opportunity to make some preparations for winter, putting up curtains and throwing down rugs as well as investing in additional duvets for the cold nights. As is always the case in countries blessed with long, blazing summers the winter is generally harder to bear, especially at the beginning when one is not yet allowed to switch on or use central heating... Thankfully when the sun does come out (which is most days) the temperatures rise to 20 degrees and beyond, thus one has to be prepared to wrap up in the morning but strip off at least a layer or three later, or pay the price for being too warm...

A tale of two (or three) cities?

Famous last words... On Sunday autumn arrived overnight in Santiago complete with plummeting temperatures, grey skies, rain and leaves everywhere. This might sound strange but it actually made quite a welcome change after the constant blinding and often very hot sunshine for what seemed like an incredibly long summer. In some ways it is reassuring to witness the passing of the seasons and the fact that this happens even in Chile too is something of a relief. It almost seems as if a circle has closed since our arrival here last September, when we left behind the beginning of autumn back in Europe and suddenly landed in a parallel universe where spring was still in its infancy. Not only were we culturally shipwrecked but even our environmental signposts disappeared as we fought our way through a thick and confusing mist which has gradually cleared to show us a brave new image of the world.

Nearly seven months on since our move and we have adjusted not just once but twice, due to having spent three and a half months in temporary accommodation and the same again now in our more permanent home. It is as if we have lived in two quite different cities in this time: in the beginning in the centre we were situated in a half-decaying concrete jungle right in the middle of very busy and colourful street life, including a multitude of shops and road vendors many of whom we came to know well during the course of daily life. There weren't many green spaces and the sheer volume of human and vehicular traffic was often overwhelming, as was the noise level and air pollution. Now here in the elevated eastern part of the sprawling city there is still plenty of construction but newer and better maintained, complemented and offset by plenty of foliage in the form of parks, flowering bushes and trees not to mention sweeping vistas of the Andes which one only occasionally glimpsed from the centre. Even though traffic and noise can be irksome here too at times on the whole it is much quieter and exudes an air of being cared for, often to the point of exaggeration. Every morning manicured lawns are generously watered and leaves are now painstakingly swept up as they fall. The children can only ever find one conker or two as the rest have been cleared away by zealous gardeners, maids and park attendants. People are often dressed more elegantly though there is still quite a mix in looks and styles while downtown it was more as if the twenty-first century hadn't yet arrived. The difference is stark and almost Dickensian, with the workers confined to their ghettoes while the wealthy live like lords... Having said that I am told that where we live is only very middle-class and that in fact there exists an upper echelon even further away from the hoi polloi with bigger, newer houses and gardens with higher gates and better views of the mountains. Oh, and cleaner air, more modern shopping malls and more exclusive clubs and schools for their children. I'm not sure if this is supposed to make me feel better or worse...

Seasons in the sun

The clocks have gone forward in the northern hemisphere to herald the arrival of spring as happens regularly at this time of year of course. However here on the other side of the world we are still waiting to put our clocks back for autumn thus are in theory even further behind than the usual six months. This is due to a universally accepted governmental directive in Chile to prolong daylight saving time thereby taking positive if somewhat unusual steps to combat an energy crisis, which in turn has been caused by a lack of rain to drive the country's hydroelectric power. Thus we find ourselves in the perhaps enviable position of enjoying an even longer "summer" with long light evenings though the flip side is that most of us have to get up and ready in the dark in the mornings. Clocks usually go back here in the second week of March and forward in the middle of October, conversely mirroring daylight saving measures which are adopted back in Europe. However due to the energy crisis this year we shall be putting our clocks back in the first week of May and forward again in August apparently, which gives us a winter of four months' duration. In addition to the continuation of summer time, climatic conditions have also been milder than is normal for this time of year with temperatures hitting 30 degrees Celsius even today in the afternoon. And the sun shines practically every day, which is the main reason to be glad one lives in Chile at the moment as far as I'm concerned...