My travels are finally over, and I have had time to reflect
on my time in Santiago.
Visiting Santiago
was an absolutely wonderful experience, and I am so glad that I took the
opportunity to go work in the Southern Cross School.
My week there went by incredibly fast, but it
was a very rewarding experience, getting to work with Ms. Valeria Zuniga’s
fourth grade students.
I had a nice time
with Ms. Valeria as she taught me how fun a fourth grade classroom can be.
The students were smart, inquisitive, and
absolutely adorable.
Throughout the week
I read the book
Top Secret by John
Gardiner with them, helped them write a letter to the main character of the
book, and helped them work on their English speaking skills.
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Ms. Valerie and I |
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The fourth grade class |
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Reading to the students |
Even in just a short week, I was able to bond with some of
these amazing students, so I was sad to leave them on Friday. They made things better by having a small
little party and creating a card for me.
It was so sweet that I wished I could bring them all back home with me
and teach them here.
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The party on Friday |
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Awesome students |
My host family, Ms. Rossana, Isi, and Joaquin, were great
hosts. One thing that I really liked about my host family was how close knit they were. Every day we had breakfast and dinner together and talked. I felt like part of their family. They showed me some of the city,
the mountains, and helped me learn more about the culture in Santiago. Every day I woke up and looked out of our
balcony and couldn’t believe how beautiful the view of the mountains was in
Santiago.
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The snow covered mountains were gorgeous! |
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Wall by Neruda's house |
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The Palace |
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My host family (Isi, Joaquin, Ms. Rossana, and I) |
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Isi, Ms. Rossana, and I |
Twice during the week, I cooked for everyone. I made jambalaya and dirty rice to show them
a little bit about the South.
My host family and I got along wonderfully, and Isi even
took a day off of school to go with Mae and me to Valparaiso during our extra
week there. Valparaiso was one of the most beautiful cities that I have
ever visited. There was color
everywhere, multicolored buildings and murals all throughout the city. We visited one particular neighborhood that
had a museum, which overlooked the port, and I couldn’t take enough pictures of
the beautiful view.
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Valparaiso |
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Color is everywhere! |
During our stay in Valparaiso, Chile was playing in the
World Cup, so naturally we decided to visit a local restaurant for traditional
Chilean food and watching the game. Chile
won, and the restaurant and city took on a new life. Everyone was in the streets yelling
patriotically and waving the national flag.
It was a great experience, maybe even more electrifying than an LSU win
in Death Valley.
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After the game, everyone was in the streets cheering and showing their pride for Chile! |
Going to Chile was a scary idea to me in many ways at first,
but now that I have experienced five weeks there, I know that it is a great
place to visit and one that I would like to share with my family. I met so many wonderful people during my time
there and became a part of two amazing families. Chile offers so many breathtaking views,
great foods, and things to do that it is impossible to find a moment when there
is not something to be doing.
Working in the schools there was a very rewarding experience
for me, especially as a future teacher.
I learned a lot about teaching to incorporate into my future
classroom. In Chile, students have a
little more freedom to move around than students in the U.S., and I saw how
great that little freedom could be. Not
having to answer questions about throwing trash away was nice. One thing that I never considered when
deciding upon being a teacher was the possibility of being an elementary school
teacher. I never thought that I could
deal with such young groups of kids for that many hours in a row; however, I
absolutely loved my time with the younger kids.
They were enthusiastic about learning, gave thought out answers, and
said some of the darndest things. I became
more open-minded about students and teaching through this experience, and I’m
so thankful to have had it.
Hopefully, I will make it back again one day!