Emelia May

The trip started in Santiago as we would be flying from there on Sunday evening. We spent a leisurely morning at Tia Raquel’s place until we made our way to the airport. Everything was an absolute breeze since the airport is divided into domestic and international flights and apparently, there aren’t very many domestic flights – at least when you consider how many domestic flights there are within the United States. As we had plenty of time, I did the usual: walk around, buy a cup of coffee, etc. Francisca was taking lots of pictures to commemorate her first time flying. She ended up doing very well! Maria Gloria also did so well flying that I assumed she had flown before, but come to find out, she hadn’t! I was the cause for these two bus-travelling ... read more

My last days of school continue to teach me so much. Some people are never going to appreciate the work I do for them, and they will never respect me as a teacher, but those that do express their gratitude both every day in class when they do their best and at the very end, make everything worthwhile. The love that I have received from so many here at Politecnico surpasses anything I could have asked for. One class of sophomores made a slideshow presentation complete with cute broken English phrases (thank you Google Translate) and photos of the students set to “Everyday it will rain” by Bruno Mars. Of course, they didn’t know what the lyrics meant, but hearing “if you walk away, everyday it’ll rain…” really broke my heart. They and their head teacher ... read more

I’ve been working with the 2nd year class on a self-introduction which ends, “In the future, I hope to ____.” We went over a variety of options for this: occupations and desires for the future, and I asked them to fill in the blank. The next class, when I looked at their notes, many had neglected to fill in the space. First I thought for not paying attention, but the more I asked individuals, “What do you want for your future?” only to be greeted by a blank stare, the more I realized that many of these kids do not have desires for their future. What I thought to be a very basic practical skill lesson uncovered some deeper truths for me. Many of these kids are indeed poor, so I hear. Luckily I cannot tell ... read more

I learned some new vocabulary: Huelga means strike. Early last week I was informed that the biannual negotiations with the administering corporation for the school were happening now. Satisfactory offers were not made and therefore, Thursday began the strike. Everyone showed up, but the teachers did not enter. They stayed outside (luckily in the sunshine) making signs, standing around, and later in the morning, eating breakfast. The cooking teacher made bread dough at home and cooked it over fire at the school. Always bread no matter the occasion! And boy, this hot dense bread with a generous dose of butter was delicious… Besides for the bread, I showed up to get a glimpse of what exactly was going down. I had the opportunity to talk to a bunch of people that I hadn’t talked to before, ... read more

I’m so fortunate to have such a great bunch of friends from school. I am having a ball with Sayuri, her boyfriend Juan, and the rest of the guys: Luis, David, Milton, Gonzalo, Sergio, Cristian, and Narciso. I’ve gotten to go out with them a couple times now, and I always learn a lot. Over some pollo marinera (delicious chicken, sausage, and shellfish cooked together and served in a massive family style casserole dish) we discussed my life’s love story and then the state of Chilean education. I know – intense dinner conversation. I got a little more insight to the brokenness of the educational system… for example, Politecnico has many resources that go unused – 2 smartboards and a handful of laptops for one! They sit in storage for fear of damage. This country has ... read more