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My experiences thus far have been an amazing exchange among a few cultures: my Caribbean-Dominican Heritage, my 'NorteAmericana' heritage, and the rich heritage of Chileans. I bring the bilingual or what my fellow LSU tigers call "translator" dynamics to the table with my everyday interactions. Nonetheless, my experiences differ. Coffee has certainly been a good start for me, considering its the mandatory drink for each family meal here. My dear friend ☕️ Nescafe has certainly begun great conversations on Chilean history, politics, food, culture, and economy. My Chilean pop has shared super interesting and insightful thoughts on Chile and I can't begin to share the amazing hospitality I have received thus far here with my host family. I am especially blessed with Sra. Denny and my awesome teenage brothers Benjamin and Nico who happen to make hilarious faces when I switch from Spanish to English to ensure they are learning English at all times possible. I am indebted to their hospitality including the food, comfy bed, and of course the Nescafe! ☕️
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Touring Colegio de Concepcion (High School) this morning/afternoon opened my eyes to an obvious reality, seismic activity in Concepcion. One of the English Teachers asked us to look ahead at a screen nearby the front entrance of the school. At first, I looked at the much larger flat screen and noticed slightly later that he was referring to the smaller screen that sort of looked like an ER heart monitor for patients. He went on to explain that the school has the screen as a visual for possible seismic activity in the area. In the case that an earthquake happens, we are directed to stay put unless the "lines" rise on the monitor. If the nescafe ☕️ didn't wake me up from earlier, this screen monitoring seismic activity certainly did. I wasn't aware of earthquakes in the region and much less the recent one that happened in this area. Walking home this afternoon, I learned of a nearby local condo that was impacted and cracked in several areas leaving apartments much more vacant then before. After measuring the size of the building and our proximity from it--I had hoped then to clink my glass of wine and say "salud" literally as I did several nights ago Chilean style... 🍷😏...
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☕️ Nescafe over conversations of seismic activities in Concepcion made its way up up to the third floor at the high school this afternoon. Taking a tour around the school, I noticed the masonic symbol on the outside. Familiar with similar symbols back in the states, I was curious as to some of the school's foundational principles. Pursuing a Ph.D. in Higher Education coupled with my passion for history led me to consider how these Masonic principles served the school. It was certainly refreshing to hear the President of the Masonic Education Corp. speak about its mission to educate communities like those of Concepcion. Meeting the History teacher this afternoon was also exciting--one of much more interest as his discussions were centered on economies of Africa and Chile. I walked into awesome conversations about world geography, history, and economy--education I wish I had received many many moons ago. Given my 2 graduate degrees in Border Studies and Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies, I'm excited to share great discussions in the course on history of the region. I am also super excited to co-teach along side my fellow history teachers and hope to contribute several interesting perspectives to the classroom these next several weeks...
Til the next few days of Masonic education, ☕️ Nescafe, and Chilenismos...
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