Blogs from Maule, Chile, South America - page 3

On Thursdays, I don't have any classes in the afternoon, so I took a nice long much needed siesta. After that I was ready to prepare dinner for the family and guests. We've been talking about me preparing something, and Francisca suggested I do it on the day we had 2 guests to sample it too. I needed a couple things at the grocery store first though so I gladly spent a little time there. It's seemingly never busy! I did go at a later hour though today and as a result, I ran into several students. One of them was picking up a shift of bagging groceries. The highlight of my trip however was walking down the aisles singing and dancing to my favorite Latino pop star, Juanes, sing over the speakers. I tried to ... read more

Despite being perturbed that I was basically stood up for a meeting with the principal, it was again a pleasure getting to speak with Cristian for that hour. It seems like whenever I have a little downtime, he's always there to chat. He told me that there are two other blondes in town that look exactly like me, but we speak very differently. Apparently they have a very strong American accent that Cristian replicated for me - hilarious. We also talked with a few others about Religion. Apparently religious practice is quite common here. I have been asked on multiple occassions, do you have a religion? And I have been pleasantly surprised when they recognize Metodista. On my way out of school, I ran into Narciso with whom I visited for probably an hour. When they ... read more

I got to participate a little more today - calling roll and doing a short activity with the song L-O-V-E. I don't know how I'm going to learn all of the students' names (there are like 300), but I'll do my best! The activity seemed quite successful as the kids really got into it and of course, they enjoyed me singing to them. I had a great time watching them at the end of class and between classes. They're all a buzz! For one class, they left the room and 3 or 4 were playing their guitars before they got out the door. Then another class, having talked about "extraordinary" during the singing activity called out to me "Miss! You're extraordinary!" Made my day :) The lounge serves as every teacher's desk (I know - just ... read more

I walked to school the couple blocks with Maria Gloria. Upon entering, I began introductions with every faculty in sight. Maria Gloria proceeded to clock in the old fashion way: with a punch card and clock. Beyond that was the office where I spent much of the morning waiting for Sayuri and Narciso to make the trip to Talca. It was a pleasure speaking with Janet, the secretary though. She served me tea and cookies while I waited. Seems like she and everyone else are concerned about obesity here in Chile. She didn't seem to think much of American obesity though which surprised me. Narciso also took some time to show me around the school and while doing so, he explained the earthquake evacuation drill. We practiced it somewhat too. "Walk! Speed! Walk... speed!" he said ... read more

Absolutely amazing! After a week and a half of orientation over which all 50 of us travel bugs became closer than we could have ever imagined, everyone parted ways. I left the hostel with several others- that is Cody, Valeria, Kirby, Justine - around 12:30 today and then took the bus to Talca. Coming into town we could see earthquake destruction and a bit of a rundown appearance. The area has greenery but it's also a bit dusty too. It wasn't quite like driving to Bishops. I exited the bus and soon after I received a greeting, "Emelia?" and Maria Gloria was the first one to find me. Warm and friendly, it was a great first encounter. The Spanish came pretty freely between us, and I was very surprised. Soon after, I met Francisca, my "sister." ... read more