And so it begins! - by Kenny Varner

What an exciting time for us here at the LSU Teaching in Chile program.  Months of planning, organizing, and dreaming come together in the next few days as the participants begin to arrive.  We came down several days early so that we could get organized and ready for the group. 

Before getting into the work we had the chance to visit Volcano Osorno and Torres del Paine, two treasures in the Chilean landscape.

Torres del Paine - So, looks like a postcard but taken with iPhone -- sun and no wind created calm on this lake.  

Torres del Paine - Cascading river and mountain

Volcano Osorno -- Literally in the clouds..it was warm below

Here in Concepcion we have been hard at work with our colleagues at Colegio Concepcion and the University of Concepcion in preparing for the arrival.  We met with teachers, administrators, professors, and visited both of the Pk-12 schools campus sites.  Our partners are very motivated by the collaboration and have invested a lot of time, love, and energy into this project.  We know that this year will bring some new adventures and lots of new friendships.  We are taking a new approach based on the schools desire to have participation by as many teachers as possible.  Our students will spend two days a week with one teacher, two days a week with another, and on Fridays we will have a number of events planned (visiting with University partners, planting trees in the community with students, and participating in other community service opportunities.  All these opportunities put us in closer union with the people of Concepcion and further the cultural exchange aspects of this program.  For our three repeating students (Jordan, Maddie, and Gabby) the experiences this year will be distinct from what they experienced on their first trip to Chile.

Last night we also met with the host families as a group.  We are BLESSED with incredible host families.  The families asked great questions and we could see the genuine enthusiasm in their eyes and their great anticipation for the arrival of the gringos (in Chile gringo refers to people from the US; in Chile gringo is an affectionate word unlike in other parts of the world.  Today at 1:50 our first participant arrives.  Saturday about 2/3 of the group arrives on 3 different flights.  On Sunday the last 1/3 of the group arrives in two different flights (these are the folks who are graduating today from LSU and we are really proud of their accomplishments).  We wish all of our participants safe and speedy travels to the bottom of the world :)