I Am With VE Global

By Michael Elias, VE Volunteer, January 2014

I arrived in Santiago after a ten-day trip to Costa Rica and Panamá. I was tan, five pounds lighter than normal, and exhausted. After a red-eye flight from Panamá City, I bussed and walked to Hostal Providencia, eager to find my bed so I could catch up on sleep before VE Global orientation began the next day. I waited impatiently at the front desk as hostal workers sorted out logistics regarding my room. Someone tapped me on the shoulder.

“You’re with VE Global, no?”

It was Giancarlo, my current roommate and someone I will volunteer with at Hogar Posada del Niño, where we will work with underprivileged boys removed from unstable living conditions. We introduced ourselves, and it became clear during the course of our conversation that Giancarlo was charismatic and liked to have fun. It also became clear that he was not going to let me go to bed. We spent the afternoon eating seafood at the famous mercado central, exploring Santiago’s parks, and figuring out the metro system. Despite my fatigue and the scorching heat of the summer sun, I had a great time. This afternoon was in many ways symbolic of my first couple weeks here in Santiago – a period of profound disorientation made enjoyable by great company and the thrill of exploration.

I met the rest of volunteers the next day at orientation, along with the VE Global staff. I was still tired and had a bad cough that had lingered since my time in Central America, but I fed off the energy that emanated from our team. Our class of volunteers comes from five different countries, are of many different ages, and are on many different career tracks. Despite our differences, it seemed that we all shared a similar purpose in coming to Santiago, namely, to change lives and to become better advocates, educators, and people in the process. Also, Santiago is a fun city with great nightlife. I think all the volunteers can attest to that now.

As the second and final week of orientation comes to an end, one question still looms large for our class of volunteers: Have we really only been here for two weeks? Just two weeks, and I have learned that tremors, small earthquakes, are common in Chile, that Chile’s many political parties forge coalitions for elections, and that you are in for a surprise if you enter a cafe with blacked out windows. I have learned Chilean, Mexican, Venezuelan, and German slang, thanks in large part to my roommates and fellow volunteers. I have delved deeper into the study of early childhood development than I ever had before, and received training that will be crucial to my work as a volunteer at Hogar Posada del Nino. In short, it is hard to imagine that one could cram so many emotions, experiences, and completos (basically a hot dog loaded with condiments) into just two weeks.

As a Northern California Native, I am obligated to say hella at least once in this blog post. So to conclude, I am hella excited to begin my work at the Hogar, to learn more about the staff and volunteers at VE Global, to travel throughout Latin America, and to spend the next four months in the beautiful city of Santiago.