Libros

Here are the books I've got lined up to read.

Books are expensive here, so I bought the fattest Harry Potter I could find - all 638 pages. *gulp*. I'm 120 pages in and really enjoying it. I have to be a bit thoughtful about where I read it though as not everyone thinks it's good Christian reading.

The English title of this book is Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot- and Cold-Climate Cultures. The SIM Director here asked me to read it. Its 'self-congratulatory' North American style got me offside at the start, but it turned out to be a fantastic book for helping me identify some of the subtle but pervasive cultural differences between Chile and Australia.

This is a very popular and very Chilean comic series, first published in 1949. I haven't started reading it yet, but I figure that the day on which I can understand the jokes - and find them funny - will be a turning point for my Spanish.

I went to the Catholic bookshop in town and asked the kindly lady there for the most popular Bible. I'm not so interested in reading the Bible itself, which I assume (correctly?) is a good translation (aside from the inclusion of the Apocrapha of course). What I am keen to read are the interpretative comments at the foot of the text. It's pretty rare for Catholics to read their Bibles, but, if they do, these comments will probably be all they read.

I'm keen to find a book that goes through basic theology in an accessible way. Maybe this will be it??

I suspect that the works of Chilean poet, Nicanor Parra, are a bit beyond me, but Emy told me that I had to read it so I'll give it a go. Poetry is very much wrapped up in the Chilean identity :).

Emy's niece lent me her old history books. I've already read quite a bit about Chilean history but I'm pumped to see what kids get taught at school.

Mi rutina

One of things that I've asked people to pray for is that I might discover a physically and spiritually healthy weekly routine. And, thanks to God, I'm well on my way. Each weekday morning, I start my working day reading the Bible (in Spanish!) and praying (in English ;) ). Monday is 'English Day', when I think through issues of theology and life, read and write blog posts, and answer more lengthy emails. I spend the other weekday mornings studying Spanish in a formal way, investigating and revising the use of difficult grammar or having private lessons. On Tuesday afternoons, I meet a younger Australian friend for lunch and discipleship, and in the evening I go along to a course that one of the missionaries at my church is running on the story of the whole Bible. Wednesday afternoons are my time for running errands and catching a movie (dubbed if it's actions or for kids; subtitled if not). Thursday afternoons I meet with the Director of SIM Chile, and that evening, for the next few weeks at least, I go along to 'Club Preguntas'. I'm hoping that Friday lunchtimes will be a regular time for discipleship and practising Spanish (and English) with a friend from church. Friday evening is home group. And Saturday's my rest day, which I spend at home, sleeping in, reading English novels, painting my nails, watching DVDs, reading the paper, and anything else I happen to feel like. Sunday's church and usually a bit of naughty answering English emails in the afternoon (there's too much English for Monday alone!). And then once a month on a Friday morning all the SIM missionaries get together to pray, and on a Saturday afternoon it's the grupo de mujeres. I'm happy with my routine - lots of opportunity to learn Spanish and get to know the people of my church, but also enough time to keep up with folks back home and do some things I love. ¡Eso!

Esperanza

Speaking of earthquakes, some Brasilian scientists have been saying that Chile was due for a big one last night or some time around now. I have to say I've been a bit scared about this, though I've been trying to trust God. Then at church yesterday morning, Juan Esteban said the most helpful thing. He reminded us that Romans 8 speaks of creation "groaning", and that this is just what we see at times of natural disaster. But it's not a hopeless groaning - this pain is like "the pains of childbirth", anticipating a joyous end when "the sons of God will be revealed", and creation "brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God". He urged us to find hope in this if we are woken up horribly in the middle of the night.

Los evangélicos

This weekend's paper, El Mercurio, included an extended article about the rise of evangelical churches in the wealthiest suburbs of Santiago. It was a fair article, presenting the history and facts and quoting from pastors and members, sometimes at length. It was, however, a little hard to work out just how significant this rise is, as it only quoted statistics about individual denominations or about evangelicals across all social strata. It did say that one of the churches featured has about 40 members and the other 150.

While there were a couple of things that troubled me, in general the people interviewed spoke of the heart of our faith - "el Evangelico de Jesucristo". One pastor explained the love that God has for the rich, just as he does for the poor, and reported that many people who come along to his church said it was the first time they learned about the Gospel ("dicen que por primera vez saben del Evangelio"). Another lady testified that she had been taught to read the Bible and that, through the Gospel, she was able to have a relationship with God ("Ellos me enseñaron a leer la Biblia y que a través del Evangelio, más que de una religión, se podía entablar una relación con Dios.").

This article was much different from the usual perception of evangelicals as "backward people with little intelligence", as one of the article's interviewees put it ("como personas retrógradas ya hasta poco inteligentes"). This sort of thing is probably best typified by this video that I saw on a local news channel in a restaurant one day soon after the last tremor. The people start dancing wildly as the earthquake hits, perhaps thinking that it was the Spirit of God moving in their church. As you will see, this isn't the original version.

Retiro 2012

Iglesia Cristo Redentor had our church camp the other Saturday. Such a good day. I was super-impressed by the richness and relevance of the teaching, which was all about life founded on the Gospel (la vida que surge del evangelio) (1 Corinthians 15:1-2). We learned about the distortions that can creep in after we become believers, in which we come to rely on rules or religion or in which we excuse our sin rather than relying on and living like Christ out of sheer gratitude for what he has done.

It was great getting to know the people on my table a little better. A non-Christian lady who had come along was sitting next to me and I even got to show her how to find things in the Bible, and, hopefully, make her feel comfortable. As well as the teaching, we sang together, played fútbol (Juan Esteban pretended not to hear when it was time for lunch to end), played silly games where we had to pretend to be different animals, and took a big, group photo (that's me towards the bottom on the right). (There are lots of other photos here.)

Los 80

Moving here, one of the things I found disheartening was the thought that, try as I might, I'd never truely understand the culture because I hadn't grown up with it. I had no idea what it would have been to be a kid of the 80s in Chile. But God likes to bless his people in creative ways, so when I got here I found out about the wonderful TV show, Los 80 ("ochenta"). Let me share a couple of clips with you.

This first one starts with actual 80s footage, which is fun. You'll get the idea of what's going on at the start without needing to understand Spanish. Be sure to notice the Catholic influence and the mountains of Santiago as Martín starts his race. Now, look down at the next one.



This clip is a bit later in the same episode. It shows Juan on the first day of his new job when his friend Exequiel happens to pass by. I chose it because it's a good example of how Chileans greet one another. See if you can notice the warm enthusiasm of the drawn out vowels and sing-song intonation.

Feliz día de la mama / 2

For Mothers' Day we headed over the back fence to Felipe's parents' place, joined by Emy's mum, aunty and teenage niece, Felipe's brother and sister and her family. After feasting, we sat around the table or on couches, singing along to karaoke, playing cards, taking photos, flicking through magazines, with Samy passed out on the couch in the middle of it all and the other kids running around outside.

Feliz día de la mama / 1

I can't understand much of this video, and you probably can't either, but it's still a bit funny.

Alta tensión

¿Quién Quiere ser Millonario? Alta Tensión (Who Wants to be a Millionaire) is perfect TV viewing for me right now, with its short, predictable comments and written questions. The format is the same as the Australian version (why tamper with a winner?), but there are a couple of cultural differences. Contestants are always asked if they are married or single and if they have kids, and they happily answer. The lady tonight even spoke tearfully about being separated from her partner who is preventing her from seeing their two kids. This would never happen in Australia. The other difference is that, if the contestants don't know the answer, they don't deliberate or troll through what they do know in the hope of landing on it. Nope, they just take a punt, going with whatever answer appealed to them in the moment. This doesn't usually work... not that I'm suggesting the Australian approach does either.

Hospitality

One of the things I love about Chile is the hospitality of their womenfolk. As far as I can tell, each Saturday and Sunday, most women spend a long time carefully preparing lunch for their immediate or extended family, presenting everything cheerfully and attractively. The meal is eaten slowly, with lots of chatting during and at the end. Often, but not always, during the meal the women will be quietly bustling around making sure everyone has enough to drink and dispatching with the washing up. Of course it can all get ugly if the men never lend a hand, the women never get to rest, and if it's done out of a self-pitying matyrdom. But done well, it's a lovely thing.