Today at my school we celebrated the Chilean Independence Day, locally known as the Fiestas Patrias. At the elementary school, we played traditional Chilean games such as el trompo, palo encebado and emboque and danced the national dance "cueca", a lot. At the high school the kids presented some of the regional dances including dances from the Great North and Easter Island. After the festivities concluded we got together in the courtyard so we could cook tasty parilladas (grilled food). Parilladas include anything from hot dogs and sausages to big juicy steaks. How do Chileans celebrate their independence? By eating food, a lot. ... read more

Being from the Northern Hemisphere you always think of August as the hottest month of the year. Of course, here in Patagonia it's reversed. On Thursday, August 26 it started to snow and didn't stop until almost 48 hours later. By Saturday morning the snow had stopped, the clouds were gone, making it a beautiful day. You could see all the mountains around the city covered in snow. Patagonia truly is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I couldn't resist the temptation and went outside with my host brothers and spent the entire day playing in the snow, something I've never done coming from an island in the Caribbean. We made snow angels, had snow ball fights and build castles. I felt like a 5 year old going through my first snow experience. ... read more

Today's entry is all about Chilean culture. This entry is long overdue, has been brewing in my head for weeks, and might not be as thourough as I want it to be. I'll try my best. Chileans are interesting people. Twenty years after the dicatorship ended you can still see and feel the scars the regime left on society. Poeple still don't talk about it; not openly. You have to wait until they trust you and decide what events from the past time they want to share. If you do get a chance to talk with someone, you'll hear from people that are 100% thankful of all the reforms that that government brought and others who suffered during it and still feel deep pain from those days. I believe that because of the fact that Chileans ... read more

This week is my school's anniversary, which means that there's a lot of activities happening every day. During every recess, the school hosts some kind of competition where grades get points and the winner earns the ultimate prize (which I still don't know what it is). So far I've seen sports, dance and games competitions among other crazy things. So you can believe me when I say that there is absolutely no focus this week from my kids, especially from the little ones. Every time they get into the classroom they can stop talking about the previous competition and by the time we have them all settled down, it's time for the next competition and they start to get nervious and anxious. This has caused some chaos for other teachers but I've just learned to go ... read more

Although one day after anticipated, I finally started working at Colegio Antoine de Saint-Exuperty. This first week is meant for me to observe all of my classes so that I can better asses the level of English of my students and my co-teacher's teaching style. Starting next week, I'll take the most talented students in each class and offer them more advanced and helpful lessons. These will hopefully improve their English which will ultimately open doors for them. The main problem is that school dynamics in Chile are really differently than in the United States and Puerto Rico. Kids have absolutely no discipline and or motivation. It will be a challenge. Today, I met almost all of the faculty and observed two of my classes, an eleventh grade and a twelve grade. I'll also be teaching ... read more