Week 4 Santiago-By Morgan Walker

Santiago was very different from Concepcion. My first day in Santiago was similar to my first day in Concepcion because it was long, but it was a fun and interesting day. I was slightly nervous about living with a new family but right when I walked out of the airport I heard my name "Morgan". After that it was smooth sailing. Soledad, Martin and Damian met me at the airport. This encounter was very different from Concepcion because the parents and children spoke English.

It was raining when we got in so we went on a tour of the city in the car. Santiago is such a beautiful city, from the architecture with the influence of the spanish to being surrounded by the Andes mountains I never got bored looking at the city.

La Moneda Palace

My bedroom view on a rainy day

School was very different. I was with the third and forth grade classes. The school started at kindergarden and went to 12th grade. This school also had a lunch period because school didn't get out until 4:00pm; it was a long day. I really enjoyed being with third and forth grade that age is so fun. One of my host brothers Martin was in the third grade class. I was with Ms. Josefina and she taught math, English and science to third and forth. Many of the students from the school were from other countries. I met students from Canada, South Korea, and the USA. All classes were taught in English with the exception of Spanish.

It snowed at school Thursday and the kids went crazy because it rarely snows and probably because they knew that school would get out early.

My 3rd grade class trying to catch snow flakes

Friday was a very interesting day because it was the first game Chile played in the World Cup and it was my last day at the school. The third graders made cards and read them to me. I choked up a little, the cards were very touching.

Ms. Josefina's 3rd Grade Class

School let out early but it took us 2hrs to get home because of the traffic. Our bus driver was awesome, I'm not sure if I couldn't have maneuvered that traffic as well as he did. 

That night we got together with Edgardo's (my host father) side of the family and watched the game Chile vs. Australia. It was a great game. Chile won! Im not a big Soccer fan but watching the game with everyone was a lot of fun. That night we ate Chilean BBQ and sweets. I miss the good food!

Saturday came so fast. One week is way to short to see Santiago and really get to know and build relationships with people. My experience in Chile was a great one. I had two wonderful families and two totally different but equally great experiences. I would definitely do this trip again!

My Family with Mike (Sara, Martin, Damian, Soledad and photographer Edgardo)

Chao!