Playing in the Sand on a Larger Scale

It was February and Santiago had lost its charm -- it was hot and polluted, classes were few and far between at Linguatec, and I had my expenses budgeted to the last peso. Much like Ace of Base, then, I saw the sign: Daniel Dickens posted a casual offer to teach in Iquique ... but not just in a city in the north ... in a copper mine. I figured it couldn't be worse than these last two months in Santiago had been, so I submitted my application the same day. Within the month, I had packed my bags and was sent up to the first region, some 4 hours from the Peruvian border and 2 hours from the Bolivian line.

Of course, everything happens for a reason, and perhaps I needed to spend a few months in Santiago to figure out that what other people looked forward to -- an undemanding job, lots of drinking -- wasn't what excited me. I loved the sense of purpose that I had in the mine; I was still teaching the verb "to be," but I was at least doing it from 8 am to 9 pm with people who fought every day to provide a better life for their families. My classes became spaces partly dedicated to English instruction, partly therapeutic (for me and for them). I learned a tremendous amount from my students, and I took great inspiration in them, for which I remain deeply appreciative to this day. I had a reason to feel tired each night, and it was a feeling that I had missed during my time in Santiago. My colleagues and I were overworked, underrested, our bodies and brains tired from the altitude and the pace of the job, but I grew to be a part of the mining community. And I loved it. Indeed, I fell deeply in love in many ways. I would sit in the cafeteria at night reading from the Norton Anthology, newly committed to the sense of promise offered by the chance to pursue a graduate degree back in the US. I had worked very hard in university, and I was tired. But in the mine I realized just how lucky I am: I have the opportunity to be tired because I spend my days doing something I love. There are billions of people -- all just as bright and deserving as I am -- who but for the accidents of life will not have the profound types of opportunities that have been created for me.

Ironically, I had more time than I had in Santiago. Rather than teaching six days a week, I taught five, and I was able to go somewhere during every día feriado. I was with one of the most honest and lovely women on the planet, Monica, and we got ourselves into all kinds of fun trouble in the absolutely beautiful north, romping through Iquique, Arica, Antofagasta, Pica, Humberstone, Santa Laura, and the interior. I grew very much by having her in my life. I think of her often and miss her dearly.

And when I returned for my second semester, I shared my time with two equally amazing women: Lenka and Ángela. I think of them often, and fondly, and I consider myself quite lucky to count them as friends to this day.

Overlooking Tongoy, Región IV   Off the Tourist Track   Looking Out from Shore
Tongoy's Principal Beach   Blinded by the Light   Adonde los flacos
Días Patrias   In the Mine   Also In the Mine
Sunset from Vendana al Mar, depto. 605   Sunset from the Apt.   Amunátegui con Segunda
Playa Cavancha   Baquedano with Monica   Calle Baquedano at Night
Plaza Pratt   One of Iquique's Churches   Museo naval de Iquique
Cerca del morro de Arica   One of the City's Ports   This Sign Describes All of My Students
View of Arica   Downtown Antofagasta   Bavarian Church in Arica
El centro de Antofagasta   Fountain in Antofa's Plaza   Cathedral in the Plaza
Antofagasta   I Adore This Building ... Aesthetically Speaking   Antofa's Port
Near the Port   Adonde La Tirana   Downtown Antofagasta


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