A Let Down You Can Count On

Travel, music, freestyle footbag, zines, books, beer, etc- an Australian living in Santiago de Chile

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Yesterday I went to this event called Edcamp Santiago. It was quite interesting for me to go to, as I had never been to something like it. They called it an “unconference”. So basically anyone who arrives in the morning can say- ok I will do a presentation.

I did my presentation on some ideas I have about sports and language, which is something I want to develop a lot more here in Chile.

During the week I will write some more developed notes on what I presented about, as really I just made it up on the spot. My basic ideas were about using games and sports to learn to count, identify parts of the body, and also that people really identify with their favourite players- as in, they know EVERYTHING about them.

So what I am hoping is that I can build up on that a bit more and power on from there. In my masters, which begins at the end of next month, the next subject is about Practice Led Research. That is something that I still don’t really understand, but these ideas on sport and language are going to form the backbone of my studies, and hopefully that will be acceptable.

I was talking to a footbag pal in Colombia, though I have not actually met him yet, and was telling him about some of my ideas, he was saying, these are really great etc, and I told him, this year I want to change these ideas to more than just up in the air plans, I want to make them reality.

Oh yeah, from next month I am going to be one of the editors on the I Love Chile website. The biggest benefit of that is I will be earning some money. Unfortunately salaries are low in Chile, and the fact is I could earn three times as much back home in Australia on the dole, but I really believe in this project a lot, and I think it has a big future.

The other project I am going to do is this Streets of Santiago project, that’s just a personal kind of mission, and it does kind of fit in with the I Love Chile, but it’s a project I thought of just a couple of days after arriving, and that one is going to be my baby. I bought a domain name for it the other day, though I have not yet prepared my site. I just bought the domain because I was telling a fair few people my ideas and I didn’t want them to steal it.

Also I am going to keep doing my weekly Footbag interview, although I would like it to be more than once per week. So I have started getting in touch with a few more players, and will continue to build up some more throughout the week.

I finished the year (ie on the new years night) in a really negative mindframe, so I have tried lately to just be really positive, and I think it’s going well. Francisca also has a cool project of her own which she is developing.

Speaking of positive things, lunch is ready.

Permalink Currently reading. Unfortunately I have to say this book, designed for primary school children, is a bit above my level. So I am going to go through the book and get translations for all the words I don’t know. I have been too lazy this first month. Not just (but particularly) with my Spanish, but with my whole entire life. When it comes to exercising, helping around the house (there is a maid a couple of days a week so it is easy to get lazy), even looking for jobs. Speaking of jobs, on Friday I will start an internship with I Love Chile, they are an English language media group. The main things they do is have a monthly print newspaper, a regularly updated website and they also have a radio station. I’m not sure if they’ve actually started yet, but they are planning on doing a TV show as well. It’s an unpaid internship, but there is a good chance there will be a paid gig down the line, in 1-2 months. I don’t have my residency sorted yet anyway, so it’s not like I can legally work anyway. I am pretty stoked on this, particularly if it leads to a job, it’s pretty much exactly what I want to do, I am studying a Writing course after all…but their basic idea is to have me as more than a writer- do some editing, some stuff with the webpage, and different promotional things. The part I like is I will get to a whole bunch of things that I maybe wouldn’t know about, or wouldn’t bother going to. Of course it’s too early to be thinking of free things…but I’d really like to see Foo Fighters next year, without paying an extortionate price to see them. I have a few ideas for some little projects to do during my time there- one is a project I was planning to do as a little blog that probably nobody would read- called Streets of Santiago. The basic idea is having pictures of street scenes from all around Santiago, there must be thousands or even close to millions of streets, but many of them are named after different people- so having the background to who those people were and how they affected Chile. I was also liking the idea that town planners may only cross streets with characters who crossed paths in real life… (don’t think they have bothered on that note). I am also thinking about making a series of posts on the website about Chileans in Australia and Australians in Chile. That could be fun to do also. I guess it could be a mix between successful people and “average joes”. Anyway, I have a lot of ideas and I am pretty excited about doing that. If it is looking like leading to a real deal job, maybe I can go to the South American championships after all, but I will have to see closer to the date. You never know…
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I just sent off my first job application, as a Writer-Reporter (English). I’m not so sure I will get it, however, you’ve got to be in it to win it, as they say, and it’s really something I’d like to do.

It is a part time job (20hrs), it would really be a great start, so let’s see how it pans out.