Santiago in Summer (Winter, Actually ...) by Mae Condalary

This is my final post for this blog - now that the Chile study abroad trip is over and I'm back home, I find myself missing so much about South America: watching soccer matches, exploring a new culture, and speaking Spanish.  Since leaving Santiago, I've been busy traveling to Argentina, being sick (thanks, food poisoning diet!), and then heading back to vacation in the States.  Needless to say, I feel like I took some of these pictures years ago, and the nostalgia I feel for Chile is alive and well.

Let me start with some highlights from my week in Santiago.  To begin, I got to meet with an amazing family - Pamela, Alfredo, Agustin, Santiago, Catalina, and Eva (the family dog) made me feel like a family friend staying for an extended visit the entire time I was there.  I shared a room with Cata, my Santiago sister, who also became my own personal profesora de español for the week.  

Cata with her guitar

Agustin and Eva

During the week, Pamela, my host mom, took me to Los Dominicos, an old church with a little puebla in the back that doubles as a Chilean artesian craft fair.  We had a great time eating completos and window shopping that day.

Monument in front of Los Dominicos.  See the Spanish-influenced
architecture in the background?

Chilean woodcarver in his element, aka his workshop.
He was a pleasure to speak with!

Sweets stand in Los Dominicos.  He offered traditional Chilean
treats - see those hanging lollipops?

 This last week really flew by - I felt as though I needed three to really get acquainted with Santiago.  I had such a blast exchanging culture, cheering for la roja, and learning Spanish tenses I didn't even know existed before I came.  Oh, and being terrified every time Alfredo scaled the forty-five degree hill that was the driveway in reverse (aka la montaña rusa).

My family, posing with Louisiana Tabasco sauce, haha.
From right: Alfredo, Cata, Agustin, Pamela, Santi

And I haven't even started to describe my new school experience at Southern Cross for this week!   This week I got to experience teaching English at the elementary school level with a great group of fourth graders and their teacher, Miss Gabriela.  I couldn't have asked for a better class and mentor - as a secondary education major, I never thought I'd get to work with students who were actually excited for me to read a book aloud in goofy voices.  I also got to teach the class about hurricanes, Louisiana, English spelling (which is harder than you'd imagine) and how to annunciate the "th" sound in English.

In return, they taught me a ton of Spanish words and threw me the greatest going-away party I think I've ever had, complete with lemon pie, singing, dancing, presentations, and presents!  It was awesome - I tear up a little thinking about it, but I know the class is in good hands with Miss Gabriela.  If you're reading, Miss Gabriela, thank you for allowing me into your classroom for such an amazing experience.

One day, we got off of school early because it snowed outside.
My folks back home in Louisiana couldn't believe it.

Me with the best fourth-grade class in Chile
(for real, they are).

Overall, I'm so glad to have had the chance to study abroad in Chile.  The experience ignited my passion for foreign language - I'm already trying to figure out how to get a Spanish teaching certification - and showed me what it's like to travel outside of my comfort zone.  The risk of leaving the familiar is worth the reward of gaining new knowledge and becoming more conscious of the global community everyone is a part of.  I definitely plan to go back someday, perhaps as an English teacher with my family in tow.  Time will tell.

¡Viva Chile!

Great Times in Santiago by Valerie Thornton

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. 

Ms. Valerie and I

The fourth grade class

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.  

The party on Friday

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. 

The snow covered mountains were gorgeous!

Wall by Neruda's house 

The Palace

My host family (Isi, Joaquin, Ms. Rossana, and I) 

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. 

Valparaiso

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. 

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!