Novedades de la Semana By: Emily LoCoco

Last Sunday morning my family and I drove approximately an hour and a half to see my mother's good friend, Pisty. Pisty travels a lot, so Malila, my mother, rarely gets to see her. The town that Pisty lives in is called Bulnes, Chillan. Her town overlooks a gorgeous scenic view of many hills. Once we arrived at Pisty's house, we sat down for lunch. We ate paella (seafood, rice and chicken), which was delicious. Once we finished lunch, we sat around the living room and played Jenga. Hours passed and it was time for dinner. We celebrated Martin's 23rd birthday at dinner with cake and ice cream.

Bulnes, Chillan

On Monday night, Rocio, Malila, and I cooked pancakes (panqueques). They are similar to pancakes in the U.S, but they are much thinner. You normally spread a type of filling on the inside of the panqueque and roll it up. We used homemade manjar as our filling. 

On Tuesday night, Rocio, Malila, and I went to a restaurant for dinner called Emporio Rometsch. Rocio and I ordered the same meal, which was called croque monsieur. It was a sandwich with chicken and mayo and french fries. The restaurant had an amazing view of Concepcion because the restaurant was on top of a high hill.

A couple of my friends and I went and ate lunch downtown on Wednesday and toured the city after we ate. For lunch, we all shared a meal called chorrillana, which was french fries covered in meat, eggs, and onions. After we had our fun downtown, we went to the University of Concepcion. Here we spoke to students at the university about the differences with teaching between the U.S. and Chile. This has definitely been one of the funnest days so far on this trip!

Downtown Concepcion
Top left: In front of the Cathedral
Top Right: In front of the fountain in the Plaza Independencia

On Thursday, we went to the San Sebastian University. The view and all of the buildings on campus were beautiful. We watched many students perform either a type of dance or play a song using Chilean instruments. We arrived back at Campus Villa around 1 p.m. and we played volleyball: teachers versus students. In the end, the teachers were the champions! (I think they let us win.) We ate at the Deli House after our game to celebrate our win, and I got a meat and cheese empanada. Later in the night, my family and I went to Deli House for dinner. Rocio and I split a pepperoni pizza, which was very good.  

USS (Universidad San Sebastian)

On Friday, we had a presentation at school about seismology, which was quite interesting. After the presentation, we had a couple hours for a break, so of course, we went to the Deli House. My third time in the past two days... After we ate, we went and planted trees with some students and scouts from school. After planting, I went to the mall with my mom and Catey to meet up with my sister. We ate at Johnny Rockets for dinner. Once we got home home from the mall, we went to our neighbor's house to watch the Chile versus Egypt soccer match, and we won!

On Saturday, I went downtown in the morning with my mom and my sister. I bought some gifts for my family and friends. We arrived back home later in the afternoon for lunch, then my father, my sister, and I left around 4 p.m. to go to Caleta Tumbes. This town is right on the coast so many people fish in this area. There are a lot of little shops and restaurants right off the shore. More to come in my next blog! ¡Chao!

Rocio and I in Caleta Tumbes

The breathtaking view in Caleta Tumbes

Settled In By: Allison Bohn

            This week went by really fast. I have finally settled in and gotten into a routine. I can’t believe that I only have one week left. I don’t know where the time has gone.

            Last Saturday my family took me to Lenga, which is a small town on the coast. The water with the mountains in the background was absolutely beautiful. Lenga is known for its restaurants that serve fresh seafood straight from the ocean. I had a type of grilled fish that was excellent!

Beautiful Lenga where we ate delicious fresh fish!

            I am enjoying working in the school and getting the chance to talk with the kids. Some days I work with the art teacher and it is interesting to see the creative projects that the students have to do. A group of sixth graders came and showed my teacher one of their projects, which was a contraption that could pick up a ball. It was made out of wooden sticks and they used syringes connected to tubes. The way the “arm” moved was by pushing water in or out of the tubes using the syringes. It was a very cool project and I was amazed that such young students did it.

Fifth grader's contraption that can pick up a ball. 

            I have also been working in a math class with fifth and sixth grade students. I enjoy working in this class because although I don’t speak Spanish I can still help the students because math is the same everywhere. The only major difference is that when writing numbers where we use a decimal Chileans use a comma and where we use a comma Chileans use a decimal so it takes some getting use to. It is also interesting to see how they divide and multiply versus how we do it in the U.S. It appears that they do a lot more of the process in their head where as in the U.S. most teachers force students to write out every single step.

How Chileans multiply. 

On Friday, with the help of students from the school, we went and planted some trees. My group consisted of two boys and one girl. They were very eager to plant the trees so it turned out to be a lot of fun!        

My awesome tree planting team!

                         

The Natural Beauty of Chile by Jai Jackson

Amit Ray stated, “Beauty is the purest feeling of the soul. Beauty arises when soul is satisfied.” To see the sunset on the beach in Tome is true beauty. The sound of the waves crashing against the beach, the feel of salty breeze, and the sight of the sun disappearing beneath the horizon is hypnotic. 

Sunset in Tome, Chile 

 The seafood is absolutely amazing in Dichato and it actually is FRESH! No more false claims of fresh seafood muddying the waters. While in the area you could see the fishing vessels returning to port with their hauls. My family (not pictured: Clemente and Rodrigo) and I enjoyed several fresh seafood empanadas and fresh clams. I love the seafood in Louisiana but I may have had a change of heart because of the food, the wine, and the people.

My family has been nothing but amazing since I arrived. We've taken trips all over the area, eaten some of the most amazing food (Papa is an amazing cook), and seen some pretty amazing things. At this point, I'm about a week away from having to leave for Santiago and each day it gets harder and harder. I've grown accustomed to the lifestyle here with my family and I've integrated myself into their routine and familial structure. I'm going to miss my family:(

Fresh Seafood Empanadas in Dischato, Chile

The dogs in the area also enjoy the beauty of the sunset and and feeling of sand between their toes. I think he was waiting for the return of a long lost love.

Crab, Wrenches, and Laughs - Amaris del Carmen Guzmán (Post II)

Oh, the fresh fish experience--- 

Perhaps one of the most awesome experiences thus far in Chile for me was the first time I ever ate a Crab literally from the shell... I've eaten crab meat before but it was already precooked "Red Lobster" or "Fish Daddy's" style and I never knew where the heck this meat came from. Better yet, I was oblivious to what the real texture of a crab felt like and I had forgotten what it looked like as well. Now seriously folks... I was really hoping that after we had picked up the red little guy from Lenga that we were going to do a "crab" boil like we do crawfish out in Louisiana... But of course I was in for the fishy treat of a lifetime! This meant that if I wanted dinner -- I better have somehow figured out how I was going to "get to" this crab meat-- of course I had no clue where the crab meat came from on the actual crab (HAHA). The joke between my Chilean teenage brothers Benjamin and Nico became the battle between me and my little red "cangrejo"... The shell was insanely tough as a rock and so were the huge legs --I'm here thinking "where's is this crab meat...maybe it's in the body somewhere." My Chilean teenage brother Benjamin sees me looking straight into the tiny black eyes of the little red crabby guy and whispers over at me, "Amaris, why are you staring at it? You gotta open it and eat the inside of it"-- I'm here thinking, okay how do I get this guy open? I take another huge stare at the little red guy once again and by now I'm thinking I'm in Anthony Bourdain's "Chile" travel episode. After staring at my crab friend for a long while, I brace myself for a true fresh fish experience!!! I really didn't want to crack him open because I felt as though he was staring back at me telling me to not eat him LOL! At this point you might think I was silly and perhaps hallucinating a bit... But seriously, I'm sensitive to fish here folks and those small tiny black eyes were giving me the stare of "death" (HAHA). Anyhow, so my Chilean pop saw me struggling to "crack open" the little guy and decided to bring over a handy wrench from his tool box. Y'all are probably wondering--or at least I hope haha--what about my appetite 15 minutes after receiving this little guy as an appetizer-- Well, I had no choice but to hand over the job to the Chileans in the house-- fresh fish was their forte and the fresh crab eating experience was getting real! After a few wrench cracking noises out in the backyard, my red crab friend was brought back in pieces. I lifted the top shell and saw the insides. I couldn't help but think "OMG"- oh my gosh!!! This was a huge joke of course because normally folks don't eat the insides (something I didn't know until much later)... But since I didn't know, my Chilean teenage brothers decided to ask me to dig into to a yellowish mushy item oozing out of the crab. I dig my fork in and give it a try and as they are asking how it tastes, I'm wondering whether or not to swallow the apparent crab brains I had just taken an awesome bite of, or swiftly tuck into the side of my teeth until the real crab meat made it's way towards my taste buds. I made the attempt towards the first option and slowly answered, "this is an experience Chicos, for real". They start laughing out loud and reassured me (with laughter of course) that few folks eat the inside of the crab and the "real crab meat" is actually in the legs of the crab. In real text terms I gave them the -________- face. I graciously thanked them for leading me to the brain meat and proceeded then towards the crab leg-- where the actual crab meat became much more familiar.... Finally after adding a hint of lime, I was beyond excited to eat fresh crab--- perhaps the photo below shares a bit more of my experience...

__________________________

__________________________

Cheers to more Chilean Crab Experiences... ☺️

Halfway by James Kuterbach

It's going by so quickly. I cannot believe I am halfway through.

             We ended up having to move out of the house for the week due to rennovations involving the installation of new wooden floors throughout the home. I spent my Wednesday morning bonding with my host family in moving furniture. We then went to our hotel, the Hotel el Dorado in which we would stay the next four days in the middle of downtown Concepción.

In downtown Concepcion

            The city was fantastic with a lot of events going on each night. Francisco took me to a four hour Beethoven concert performed by the University of Concepcion music students. They were outstanding with each of the pieces. It was great reminiscing of the days that I was a part of a symphony performing the very pieces that they were playing.

The University of Concepcion music students

          I indulged in typical tourist behavior while meandering through the city each day by making sure I have a picture of everything and sampling different foods as much as possible. Their churros are ridiculously tastey compared to the pathetic attempts we make back in the States. I got to celebrate my birthday in the city. My family gave me a new jacket that I absolutely love.

Francisco and I outside the Cathedral of Concepcion

Upon my strolls through downtown, I came across some Carabineros who are the national policy of Chile. You can see them frequently patrolling the streets and many are párked in centralized locations with their vans to assist the public when needed.

A Carabinero posing for a picture outside of his van

               On Friday there was a surprise for the students at my school, the Collegio de Concepcion San Pedro in which candies with words of encouragement that were attached to were thrown down to the students along with balloons. The students had a great time catching, reading, and eating the candies that fell from the sky.

Students gathered outside for the surprise

Balloons and candy being thrown from the school to the students

        I was invited to attend two Universities to talk to professors and students regarding student teacher training and teacher pedogogical views and practices. The first was with the University of Concepcion in which we broke off into our respective fields. I was obviously with the elementary education group in which we discussed with instructors, principals, and professors in Chile about differences between LSU's teacher training program compared to theirs. Our translators assisted tremendously in being there to allow us to communicate between the groups.

Students (and driver) from the University San Sebastian performing traditional Chilean music

        My second trip was to the University San Sebastian in which two english majors, two music doctoral\master students and I attended to talk to a class of english majors and their professor. One of the students in the english, Amanda, is doing her student teaching at the school we are at and introduced us to her fellow classmates. We had a great discussion revolving student teacher training and teacher expectations, hopes, and dreams. After this, we were given the opportunity to experience some traditional Chilean music and dance. Some of the students joined in to add a little bit of Louisiana spice in the mix.

                               

      Today I taught a math lesson over exponents to 8th graders. It was a lot of fun, but also challenging due to the language barrier. Luckily when you start working on the math, it does not matter between english and spanish. It went a lot better than I expected it would, all while having a lot of fun doing it. My translator Barbara was a lot of help at certain times regarding student questions and clarifying anything. I don't know what I would do without her.

My math teacher, Gina and I during our coffee break

       The school is structured in a way that every hour and a half or so there is a small 10-20 minute break where all of the teachers go into the break room and enjoy some hot coffee or tea. It allows for a lot of bonding between teachers and some delicious coffee to be consumed. Overall it has been an amazing week and I am certainly looking forward to this week!

Traveling and My First Week in Chile by Valerie Thornton

In one word travelling to Chile was a grueling experience, especially for someone who was travelling for her first time ever in an airplane.  I left the New Orleans airport on the afternoon of May 16th with my longtime friend Mae Condalary. 

New Orleans Airport

We arrived in Miami with a layover until late that night, so we went to a Cuban influenced restaurant called KuVa.  It tasty, beautiful, and had a pretty view!  Finally it was time for us to catch our flight, but we learned that our flight was delayed due to mechanical errors.  For a first time flyer, this way scary.  I wondered whether or not I should get on the plane when they announced it was ready.  We waited for what seemed like forever while the crew worked to get the plane ready.  We learned that we wouldn't be able to fly until the next morning, so we finally left the airport at 4:00 A.M. for a local hotel. 

KuVa-Beautiful and fantastic food!

We finally arrived in Santiago late Saturday, and we had to negotiate with a very helpful Chilean airport employee about hotel accomedations due to trouble with our flight contracts.  One of the very first things that I noticed when we got to Chile was that everyone is very helpful.  The man was able to get us a hotel room; however, that night I had a small mental breakdown because I had a room by myself, and I had no way to communicate with anyone.  It was the first time I felt really alone and all by myself.  I got over myself and prepared for yet another day of travel.  

I loved being among the clouds!

I was finally getting excited.  Reality was finally starting to set in:  I was in Chile, ready to meet my family and teach!  When we finally got to the baggage claim in Concepcion, the first thing I saw was my smiling host mom, Margarita, and sister, Fernanda, waving at me.  A wave of relief washed over me!  I had made it to Concepcion in one piece, and my host family was eager to see me!

Fernanda, Mom Margarita, and Me

That first evening in my new home, the nana, Barbara, prepared a fantastic dinner of pork roast and salad for the family.  Most of the rest of the week was spent getting acquainted with our host families, the school, the city, and the teachers and the students we are working with.  All of the people are fantastic.  Everyone smiles and says hello without fail.  And if you need help with anything, they are more than willing to assist you as best as they can.  That has held true from the moment I stepped off of the plane in Santiago with nowhere to stay for a night. 

Welcome party thrown by one of my classes :) 

Lovely students

Wednesday was a national holiday in Chile, so my host family took that opportunity to introduce me to the two local lagoons, the city, and a neighboring city called, Talcahuana.  Everything was beautiful!  I find myself continuously wanting to snap pictures to remember every single moment. 

Barbara, Fernanda, Nicolas, and me at the larger lagoon

The beautiful Talcahuana port

This journey has been one of many firsts—leaving my family for an extended period of time, flying in an airplane, trying a medium cooked steak, and taking every opportunity that comes my way.  I hope the trip continues to present these opportunities for firsts, and I can’t wait to see what else is in store!

Kelvin Jones: Greetings from the Top of the World....

View from the side of the house, when the sky is clear you can see the Andes mountains, this picture does not do the view justice though

This past weekend I had the opportunity to relax in the amazing hills and mountains of Quillan, Chile, about 75 kilometers outside of Concepcion in the country. As you can see from the pictures below that the scenery was simply amazing! While here we BBQ-d every night, watched the Soccer finals with Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid, and watch the Game 3 of the Miami Heat basketball game.... Again all in Español. I also played a little soccer while here.... Let's just say I am a bit out of shape, lol.

Pool in the back yard... Clearly by my attire, I was not swimming

"This is how we do it"

Another shot of the yard in the country... Simple amazing!

I even had a chance to eat at a German influenced restaurant and had a soup made of chicken broth with an egg inside (simply delicious). While there the restaurant is known for making a lot of foods in house and we had this ice cream that was very good. I'm not a big sweets person but I'd go back for that ice cream.

Ice Cream... Swirl

Don't remember the name of this but it was finger lickin' good

It was hard to say goodbye to this 2nd home, but it just gives me more of a reason to come back to visit with my wife in the summer months. Another reason this house was so great was the family dog that stays there named 'Quinn' in English. Anyone that knows me knows that I am not too fond of animals (just ask my wife), but this dog has totally changed my perspective. She was such a sweetheart! I have to get one now (dang Chile for making me like dogs, lol).

I'm going to miss this beautiful pet.... Such a sweetheart

Back in the regular life of working at the school (which is why I am here right), things have been going much better. I guess it just took a while to get into the flow of things but I believe Colin and I are started to find our groove. We have been asked to perform in numerous occasions with the students and started being fully integrated with the class instruction of the students. On Wednesday I am playing with 4 different groups during the music program and will play on 3 more occasions for the big English Song Festival on June 5th (I know, we are a big deal here, lol). One thing I am totally getting used to is the homemade pizza begin made by my Chilean 'mom' here. She reminds me soooooooooooo much of my actual mom back in the states that its not even funny. She has a heart of gold and I am so lucky to be in here company and house while here!

My Chilean Mom and myself

Homemade Pizza baby!

Cutting up again with some colleagues.... #Chao!