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July 30th 2010
Hello everyone. I just want to let you all know that I have a TON of experiences and photos to share with you but we, my hermano and I , are having computer issues right now. If I must I will copy the photos and try to upload them from a public computer but for now I am waiting a little longer to see if we can't fix the problem. Coming up: Termas de Chillan, San Pedro de Atacama, and a real sand storm in the driest desert on earth. Hope everyone back home in the states is doing well. Miss you all. ... read more
July 2nd 2010
We took a day trip outside of La Serena in the Elqui Valley and fell in love. The valley is home to some of Chile's most famous Pisco vineyards. Pisco is a liquor distilled from grapes and belongs to the brandy family of beverages. We spent much of the day in Pisco Elqui but also walked to Monte Grande along the highway. Each town is very small but all have a great, arty vibe and are very clean. We had lunch in a little place that serves, of course, Pisco Sour, the drink of Chile, but also other variations with fresh fruit blended with Pisco. I had the papaya sour and we agreed it was amazing. Perhaps the valley was also so great because the sun came out all day Sunday and it got quite warm. ... read more
June 30th 2010
We had a long weekend this past week and headed north to La Serena in the 4th region. The unfortunate weather we had the first 2 days did not keep us from loving the city. It is super clean compared to where we live and the dogs population is somewhat under control. The architecture is very different and with 29 churches in the city there was a lot to see. We stayed with my host teacher's sister, Ximena, and her husband and daughter. They were the best hosts we could have asked for and kept us fed well the whole weekend. They live the Bosque de San Carlos neighborhood outside of La Serena. We arrived on Friday before the Chile/Spain game and found it impossible to get public transportation to their house. After waiting over an ... read more
June 29th 2010
As I write this I am sad to say that Chile and the USA are out of the running for the World Cup. It was fun while it lasted and we basically had an unofficial holiday each day Chile had a game. Each class brought in a TV for the room and watched the game. I watched with my 4 HC group. Grade levels go from 1-8 Basico and then 1-4 Medio. We have three "magnet programs" at our school- Electricity/Electronics, Buisness Administration, and Humanities, which is just like regular high school. I am including pictures of the last game we watched at school and how we celebrated Chile's win. Viva Chile!... read more
June 20th 2010
I can hardly believe I have been living in Chile for 3 months now. That is a quarter of a year! Things have just begun to fall into routine at school and we are almost to winter break. I wonder what exactly I will accomplish in one school year here when I only see each student once a week and oftentimes that one class is canceled because, you know, Chile is in the World Cup and we can't expect the students to be in class while the games are on. :) I am looking forward to the winter vacation as a time to assess where I would like to go with the students in the second semester and to do quite a bit of traveling, which will supply many pictures for this blog. ... read more
June 1st 2010
Two weeks ago I went to Valparaiso for the weekend to celebrate Steve's birthday and enjoy an urban lifestyle. Unfortunately, I wasn't about to enjoy much in the way of food as I had been sick during the week and my stomach is still, 3 weeks later, not normal. We had a wonderful time none- the- less and I was reminded of the fact that I am just not cut out for this small town living thing. :) We were in the areas of El Plan, the lower commercial district, and Cerros Bellavista and Concepcion. The views from everywhere were awesome and murals that cover the walls of the 2 cerros give everystreet character. ... read more
May 28th 2010
Chile recently celebrated it's victory in the War of the Pacific where they basically took land from Boliva and Peru, causing Bolivia to be the land locked country it is today. Boliva is still protesting to get this land back. There were marches all over the country and that included my school. For 5 days leading up to the parade the students practiced marching around the courtyard. This all took place during school hours disrupting all classes, but that is another blog entry. School all over the Puchuncavi community (our "county") came to participate in the march down the main road in Ventanas and the WHOLE town was there to watch it. It was a BIG deal. :) After marching with my students down the street I was greeted with hugs and congratulations for my first ... read more
May 28th 2010
So, my host parents belong to a Folkloric dance group that practices at our house quite often. This has given Jeremy and I a LOT of chances to practice our Cueca and to watch people who really know what they are doing. On a recent rehearsal I was asked to teach the group some other dances, like salsa, meregue and bachata. (On a side note, I NEVER thought I would move to Latin America and have soooo many people ask me to teach them Latin dance. Go figure!!) The night was fun although many people didn't show up because, well, it was raining. The following day we went to the market in Vina del Mar. So fun! Had some of the best ceviche I have ever had from a plastic cup and ate fried fish and ... read more
May 15th 2010
Today it is raining. It was also raining yesterday. Here in Chile when it rains, life stops. Children do not go to school. Buses are less frequent. No one goes anywhere. Jeremy and I were going to make lunch today but Papa is insists we do it another day because we can't possibly go food shopping. . . it's raining! We do have to go to another town for a grocery store but are we supposed to sit in the house all day again?? I guess so. It is good, I guess, because I can update this blog. :) Last Monday was Student's Day at C.E.S.A. It is sort of like a Homecoming week rolled into one day. There were no classes and Jessica (the Chilean English teacher) and I were judges for the multitude of ... read more
May 11th 2010
It is easy to show all things bright and beautiful here in Chile. I am fortunate to travel every weekend almost and see all the awesome sights. But things are not all easy here. Things are not all beautiful either. I work in a very good public school, C.E.S.A., and work with some awesome people but the school system here is in need of serious change. I will start posting my regular days so that you can all see what I do. I walk to school every morning at 7:45. I would like to arrive earlier at school to prepare for my 8 am class but there is no one at school to unlock the classrooms before 7:55 so I arrive with everyone else. I pass pretty much the same dogs everyday. Some days more, some ... read more
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