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...

Not quite so lost in translation

It is probably ironic that despite considering myself as something of a linguist, this is the second experience I have had in my adult life of moving to take up residence in a country in which I do not -or at least on arrival did not at all- speak the local language. Obviously this has added to the spice in both cases though the first time around I was in the process of having babies and had even less time to dedicate to intellectual pursuits. Now that both children are at school and nursery respectively at least for a few hours a day I have no excuse so have made a positive effort to get my head around Spanish which is a challenge and a stimulus. Oddly enough after having been here for a few months my ears were automatically making some kind of fine tuning adjustment and I found myself suddenly understanding a good deal more than I had at the very beginning, though my own stilted efforts were still ungrammatical and graceless. Now that I have officially started a course of lessons it is as if the fog is gently but steadily lifting as things which were previously totally incomprehensible suddenly crystallise into intelligible sound. So that's what they've been saying all this time... if only I'd known before, it would have been so much easier. Chilean Spanish is however notoriously full of slang and with a heavy accent so perhaps it isn't the best place to learn good Spanish. As luck would have it my teacher is Argentinian so speaks far more clearly than most Chileans do anyway, though of course she has promised to teach me "proper" Spanish including local and wider usages. So far I have been amazed to discover that South American Spanish differs greatly from the Spanish spoken in Spain not only in its pronunciation (which was obvious even to me) but also in quite basic and general grammar and usage. I suppose this shouldn't surprise me as British English and American English are two quite different languages but somehow I wasn't expecting it would be the same for Spanish, though if one really thinks about how the language was brought over the Atlantic a few hundred years ago the situation is of course incredibly similar. South American Spanish seems to be a simplified version of its European counterpart: not only have entire sounds disappeared but tone and register have become homogeneous too in order to facilitate communication. For example, the second person plural form of all verbs in all tenses and moods has vanished into thin air and now is interchangeable with the third person plural. Apparently children at school are taught the correct part of the verb which is still in current and correct usage in Spain but which they will never ever need or encounter in South America. Perfectly ordinary and everyday vocabulary in the Spanish spoken in Spain is considered here at best antiquated and at worst at times vulgar or offensive. Thank goodness someone has been kind enough to point this out... As it is the pitying looks I get from other mothers, nannies and the world at large are enough to get me scurrying for my textbooks. At DD1's school the problem is not so serious as the school is officially bilingual thus the teachers at least are supposed to speak English, although in practice DD1 says a lot of communication goes on in Spanish (which is of course a bonus for her to pick up another language). However at DD2's nursery it has been harder to follow what exactly is going on though I must say they have been very patient with both her and myself so far. As far as I can gather she is enjoying the activities on offer once she is there and seems to be able to follow though maybe doesn't say that much... Judging from the diary and timetable DD2 is taking part in maths and computer "lessons" as well as art, language, music and movement but as I said what this actually entails at age 3 is not completely clear...yet. What is interesting is the fact that she needs to take a sponge bag complete with toothbrush, toothpaste, comb and cologne with her every day despite the fact that she doesn't even stay for lunch. When I questioned whether this was really necessary I was told it was to encourage good habits in the children after their mid-morning snack, so I put together a small sponge bag for her as instructed, but minus the cologne which DD2 does not yet possess nor, in my view, need. Now when I pick her up often her hair has been neatly combed and even wetted to tame her unruly curls, and today she was even giving off the not unpleasant scent of something which one of the well-meaning "tias" must have doused her with...

Back to school

After only a week of having returned to the rigours of the school run, I am beginning to understand why Chilean children need such a long summer holiday after all... Getting up and ready in the dark to be at school and in one's classroom by 07.45 is almost inhumane. Luckily DD1 has been so excited to go back to school that she is fairly stoic about having to be woken while dawn has yet to break, though I fear that may not be the case in the middle of winter. Ofsted, if it existed here, would be up in arms about it and many other issues, such as class sizes, cramped classrooms and general levels of chaos. On day one DD1 was one of the few pupils in her class who hadn't been accompanied by both parents, kitted out in their finery, to immortalise photographically the moment of the start of Year 1 (or First Grade as they insist on calling it) of their little darlings. By that afternoon professional photographers lined the street outside the school gates selling the images they had managed to capture in the semi-darkness that morning and were certainly doing a roaring trade. DD1 meanwhile had enjoyed every moment and was (and still is) full of the joys of being in "primero basico". Even the school lunches were a hit with her as watermelon was for pudding on the first day...

DD2 on the other hand has had her first introduction to institutionalised life as she started her "jardin infantil" on Monday. Obviously she had nothing to compare it to which was probably a good thing under the circumstances. She had of course been keen to go and had been talking about her nursery and what a big girl she was, but the reality of being whisked away from me and taken out of sight by strangers who spoke a foreign language was a trifle brusque to say the least. No gentle settling-in period here then: I was allowed to wait in the office for as long as I liked (half an hour) but strictly behind closed doors while being assured every now and then by one of the staff that she was fine and not crying her eyes out... On day two she was reluctant to say goodbye to me but there were no tears at least. Defying the rigid rules I managed to peep in through the window and saw that she was dressed up as Snow White and was somewhat uncertainly holding hands with a little boy while the nursery teacher was energetically leading the children in a dance to celebrate Shrove Tuesday. By Thursday DD2 was actually smiling at nursery and had already produced numerous works of art and indeed had homework to prepare for Monday (attaching her photo to a giant ladybird, painting and colouring)... I breathed a sigh of relief as I realised that despite the drastic methods employed here in Chile, the nursery is well-organised, well-staffed and a stimulating environment which DD2 was clearly enjoying more and more as she got to know it better. Shame she has now come down with a cough but it has been an exhausting and rather overwhelming week for all concerned...