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Today is our last day. We are at one of our favorite restaurants, Bavaria, watching the World Cup game between Chile and Brazil. There is so much suspense in the room! Over the last few days, we have been saying our goodbyes to everyone which has been difficult. I am sure we will all be happy to be home, but we met so many wonderful people here. I never like goodbyes, but I am finding it particularly difficult here, perhaps because it isn’t as though I can just come back whenever I feel like it. Here is a picture of some of our colleagues at UMayor. Dr. del Prado and I had some very engaging conversations with colleagues here in Santiago this week, so I am sure there is a lot of work I can do with them in the future – both here and from home. I look forward to building on the relationships and work that has started during this trip. So, I suppose goodbye is not really goodbye after all!
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Today is our last day at our partner school. It is sad to think about saying goodbye. As we walk around the school each day, the students greet us excitedly. Today, one girl greeted me with, “Hola, Miss Ingles!” They all have the brightest smiles and such a wonderful energy. While the students seem to genuinely like all of us, the little ones particularly favor Sam. They are completely drawn to her. She is absolutely magnetic. Every time I see her, she has a great big smile on her face and is surrounded by a group of students looking at her admiringly, holding her hand, and hugging her. It is wonderful to see! As a group, we have discussed how affectionate the students are here, which is a difference from what we are used to at home. I have had the opportunity for a few more impromptu “lessons” with the students. During recess, I have been able to gather a few girls together and engage in English language activities I prepared at home and brought with me. It has been a great experience for me to work with students with a different language background. This picture (which Sam took without me knowing) is of me working with a group of girls. I had just finished reading a story with them. It was a bilingual story that I brought with me. The girls took turns reading each page in Spanish, and I read each page in English. After the story, they were questioning me about where I am from. So, I pulled out photocopies of a U.S. map that I had with me and a bunch of photos I have taken of scenery in my travels around the U.S. I shared each picture and told them what state it was taken in. The girls quickly began to race one another to find the state on the map. All of the pictures were of natural scenes (not cities). So, for each picture, we also taught each other the words for geography terms such as cascada (waterfall), rio (river), and montanas (mountains). As other girls walked by and saw what we were doing, they began to join in and ask if they could have a copy of the map. They would say, “Uno regalo para mi?” (A present for me?) It was so sweet and I ended up giving away all 25 copies of the map. I was surprised at how excited the girls were over receiving a map! Later in the day, the girls put on a show for English day which consisted of poems, songs, and a spelling bee – all in English. You could tell the girls were so proud of the work they put into preparing. During the show, news crews showed up. We weren’t really sure why, but then the Mayor of Santiago and Superintendent of Schools of Santiago arrived for the show (though we didn’t know who they were at first). The mayor was taking a seat right next to me, so she greeted me with the customary kiss on the cheek. I was sure she was important as the girls were all cheering and clapping when she arrived, but I had no idea who she was. I turned around and whispered to a couple girls, “Quien es ella?” (Who is she?) They giggled, obviously surprised that I didn’t know. They told me in Spanish who she was, but I still didn’t understand. So, then I asked, “Muy importante?” and they giggled some more and said, “Si!” It was truly a privilege to be in the audience at the show. This was a great way to wrap up our experience at the school!
We had a very busy and interesting weekend. I am sure others blogged a great deal about our hiking trip in the mountains on Saturday, but I just wanted to add a great picture of our whole group! While the hiking was quite difficult due to the deep snow, the view was definitely worth it. Yesterday, we had an all day excursion (8:30 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.) to the coast of Chile. We went with a whole bus full of students from ECELA and a couple of wonderful guides. First, we visited Isla Negra. We toured another home of Pablo Neruda which was just as interesting and eccentric as the first home we saw. The sights and sounds of the ocean could be experienced the entire time we toured through the house and property. Here is a photo of the ocean taken from just outside the house. Next, we drove to Valparaiso, and important port city. We took a boat ride during which we could view the city from the ocean. We saw a few lobos de mar (literally, sea wolves… what we call sea lions). They were very sweet and photogenic. We also saw giant cargo ships being loaded and unloaded with a variety of goods. In Valparaiso, we went to lunch at a restaurant. It was fun to sit at a big, long table with all of the friends we’ve made at ECELA from all over the world. We had ceviche, empanadas, fish, chicken, rice, and one of our favorites – papas frites (french fries). We were also served helado (ice cream) for dessert. It was all very delicious, and just what we needed to fuel us for the rest of our busy day. Next, we went to several other places in the city where we were able to get great views of the city, the ocean, and some interesting artwork painted on the sides of the building. Finally, we drove to Vina del Mar, where we were able to walk on the beach and touch the ocean. Even though it was dark by this point, and we could barely see the ocean, it was still wonderful to take in the ocean through sound and smell. After some more helado (I’ve learned the girls in our group love helado), we headed back to Santiago on the bus.
When we returned last night, we were all anxious to get home to get some rest to prepare for our first day of practicum in School #25. We are here in the school now, and so far, it has been very interesting. Dr. del Prado and I were able to talk to several special education teachers about the inclusion program they have just started in the school this year. It was difficult to get a handle on how things are going, as we got the sense the teachers were a little wary of oversharing. We gathered that there have certainly been some difficulties, but overall, the teachers feel they are slowly making progress. Dr. del Prado walked around to check on our teacher candidates in their classrooms. They all stepped right in and began communicating and working with students, which was great to see. Dr. del Prado and I even had the opportunity to work with some students. I had an impromptu lesson with a few 8th grade girls. They taught me some words and concepts through the use of a Spanish newspaper. Then, I had them all stand up and I taught them some English words for actions as we all acted them out. They also taught me the Spanish words for the actions, but they were speaking so fast, it all sounded so similar to me! We left the classroom as the whole school began to congregate in the courtyard. There was singing, dancing, and much excitement for the upcoming Chile futbol game. Dr. del Prado and I are currently sitting in a room with about 10 of the teachers watching the game on a large screen TV. Most of the students are running around the school (as they are allowed much freedom), or watching the game in their classrooms. It is one giant party for the game. I am still surprised at how crazy everyone is over the World Cup! Yesterday, we went to visit Aspaut, a special school primarily for children with autism spectrum disorders. Prior to our visit, I gave the teacher candidates a brief rundown of what I thought they could expect to see, as none of them are exceptional education majors, so they have limited experience with children with disabilities. Today, I answered some questions they had about what they saw. I think it was very eye-opening for them. I found it very interesting to see the ways in which the school provides services for the children. The director of the school even arranged for us to meet with a couple of parents of students with disabilities to hear their perspectives on their children’s education. Above all, I loved being around the children and left smiling inside and out. Later in the day, Dr. del Prado and I met up with some of our colleagues at UMayor. I gave a presentation about special education and teacher preparation in the U.S. One of the faculty members has impressive English language skills, so she translated for me. It was very interesting to hear her turn my thoughts and words into Spanish. I wish I could do that myself; perhaps, one day I will! The faculty seemed very interested and even asked us to come back next week to finish the presentation since some of them had to leave after two hours to teach classes. I am really looking forward to finishing the presentation and engaging in dialogue with them about the similarities and differences between our experiences. Today was our last day of Spanish school, which was muy triste (very sad). Although our classes were challenging and even frustrating at times, we were all learning and developing so much. It would be nice to be able to keep the momentum going, but there is other work to be done here! Next week, we will be spending each day in our PDS School, which will be very exciting. After school today, we grabbed lunch at a Mexican restaurant that we hadn’t tried out yet. The food was delicious, as has been our experience pretty much everywhere we’ve gone. After lunch, we headed to the Museum of Memory and Human Rights which commemorates the tragedies associated with the long-standing dictatorship and crimes against humanity which occurred in Chile – primarily in the 1970s and 1980s. The museum was extremely moving, to say the least. I felt as though the museum did not hold back in letting people know of the injustices and horrific acts which occurred, but yet presented things very tastefully and even artistically. One thing that stood out to me was right in the beginning of the museum. It was a collection of photos in frames posted on the wall in the shape of the map of the world. The photos depicted crimes against humanity which have occurred at different places around the world – which was everywhere. It was a really well-designed and moving exhibit that I felt set the tone for the rest of the experience. It reminded me that while what happened in Chile was absolutely terrible, similar injustices have occurred and continue to occur all over the world. While this certainly dampens the spirit, it is one of those things I think is important to bring to the conscious mind on occasion, lest in our good fortune, we forget the plight of our fellow human beings, and our related responsibilities.
Tomorrow, we have our excursion to the mountains. We have all been really looking forward to this. While trekking in the Andes, I will be sure to spend some time reflecting on how grateful I am to be here. Today was another busy day with 4 hours of Spanish school, a visit to our partner school, and a late lunch at a restaurant at which we were able to view the second Chile World Cup game. Chile won the game, which was very exciting for the people here, and interesting for us to see. We are learning more and more how important the Copa del Mundo is here in Chile. All day long, we hear the people chanting “Chi…Chi…Chi…le…le…le…Viva Chile!” We have learned to join in the excitement!
Although the game was very exciting, I think we would all agree the highlight of the day was meeting the teachers and children at our partner school. Next week, we will be spending every day at the school which will be great. The teachers and the principal were all so welcoming, and the children at the school seemed happy to meet us. I was excited to learn that the school is just starting to include students with disabilities, and is interested in learning how to best meet their needs. I am looking forward to meeting with the teachers and the person leading their “special education” program next week to talk about this. Tonight, at 11:00, the students are going to a club for a party with other students from our Spanish school. It should be a great time for them to interact with the friends they’ve made from all over the world! We will see if Dr. del Prado and I decide to join them! Today we started week two at our Spanish school. We all had new teachers, which was an adjustment, especially since everyone knows I really favored our one teacher from last week – Javier. He was an excellent teacher in so many ways… he had a very warm way about him, he was able to get across a lot of information to us in spite of our limited language ability, and he even danced La Cueca (traditional Chilean dance) when we asked him to show us. Our new teachers are also great, though. We all keep trying our best, but it is definitely difficult – more for some of us, than others. :) After class, we had lunch at one of our favorite places, Café Colombia. I had a giant salad with big chunks of palta (avocado). I love avocado and they eat it so much here in Chile, so that has been great. One thing I do miss a ton from home is pasta. I eat a lot of pasta, but have only had it once here at a restaurant and it wasn’t like home. Oh well, my Chilean “mom” does cook me a wonderful meal each night. Here was my dinner tonight…. It was a broth with chicken, a large chunk of potato, a large chunk of pumpkin, and a chunk of corn on the cob. I also had a big bowl of broccoli because my Chilean mom knows I love vegetables. It was a very delicious meal! Anyways, after lunch today, we went to Santa Lucia. It was another hill that we were able to climb to see a magnificent view of the mountains. We also went to a nearby market and did some more shopping. The best part was that the weather was absolutely beautiful! The sun was shining and we were all surprised at how warm it was. This evening, we met up at one of our other favorite restaurants, Bavaria. We asked if they would put the U.S. World Cup game on the television, but they said no. Apparently, they aren’t into all futbol games… just Chile games!
Well, it’s time to get to my Spanish homework! Chao. Today, the rest of the group is horseback riding, but I stayed back to catch up on a little work and rest. I am working on two presentations – one that the students will give to students at UMayor to describe student life at Buffalo State and the other that Dr. del Prado and I will give to faculty at UMayor to describe teacher preparation in special education in the U.S. and at Buffalo State. I am excited to see how our presentations are received this week, as well as to discuss the similarities and differences between our two education systems. Yesterday, we went shopping at Los Dominicos – a very interesting artisan center. You can check it out here. http://www.culturallascondes.cl/home/centro-artesanal-los-dominicos-%E2%80%93-las-condes.html View of the mountains outside Los Dominicos We also visited the President’s House, La Moneda, and a museum attached to it. We learned that the President, Michelle Bachelet, works at La Moneda, but does not live there. We were only permitted to go inside a courtyard (not the actual house), but it was very interesting. We are getting pretty good at riding the metro and getting around the city! My Spanish is slowly improving, which is very exciting and makes me want to study more when I return home. The other night, my Chilean mother and I spent over two and a half hours talking (in Spanish) – just the two of us. We covered many interesting and heavy topics, including religion, politics, family relationships, adoption, gay rights, etc. It was so interesting to hear her perspective on issues as an older Chilean woman. While we used a lot of gesturing, and occasionally resorted to the Spanish-English dictionary, I felt pretty proud that I was able to understand so much of the conversation and communicate with her. I also felt humbled that she was willing to share so much with me. She has been very gracious in welcoming me into her home, as has her perro (dog), Llaema – who has become my best buddy. Here is a picture of Llaema sporting a Chilean flag sweater. Even the dogs dress up to cheer on their futbol team! Overall, I am not a huge dog fan, although I have a very large dog at home that I love to pieces. But, all the dogs in Chile steal my heart for some reason. They just seem to have a very kind and loving demeanor. In Santiago, there are many dogs that live in the streets. The people of the city all pitch in to care for them – feed them, keep them warm, and even provide travelling veterinary care. Here are a few of them that have made me smile. Dr. del Prado and I have discussed on many occasions how impressed we are with all three of the students we are travelling with here. Danielle, Amber, and Sam all bring different strengths and experiences to the table, and each has been using those strengths to further develop while here in Chile. It is truly impressive to watch these three young ladies navigate this experience – the good and the bad – always with a smile on their faces! If you are a family member, friend, or former professor of one of these students, please feel very proud!
Last night, Dr. del Prado and I went out to dinner with professors from UMayor. The food was muy rico (delicious), and I tried my first pisco sour, which is a common, tasty adult beverage in Chile. The company was best of all. The professors were all so kind and welcoming. It was very interesting to discuss education (and for me, special education, in particular) in Chile. I am looking forward to interacting further and learning more.
Today was a cold and rainy day, though otherwise, the weather has been very nice since we have been here. In spite of the rain, we had another great day. We attended our Spanish classes at ECELA in the morning, went out to a delicious lunch, and then joined other students at ECELA to view the opening of the World Cup. There were several Brazilian students there, and they were very energetic as they cheered on their team. Tomorrow, Chile will be playing and we hear everyone will be crazy over the game. It will be interesting to see. I have been really enjoying the experience of becoming a language learner…. with all of the challenges that come along with that. I find myself drawing many parallels between the experiences of language learners and the experiences of students with disabilities. I will share some deeper reflection on that topic when I have a little downtime this weekend (I hope!). I have been getting very little sleep here, so I better sign off for now. Much more awaits us tomorrow! We have been in Chile for several days now and have completed two days of classes at our Spanish school, ECELA. So far, the experience has exceeded my expectations, particularly in terms of learning opportunities. We are constantly learning new words in Spanish (muchas palabras!), pedagogical tools/techniques, elements of Chilean culture/geography/education system, and more!
I have been very impressed with the students from Buffalo State. All three ladies have been so positive, flexible, and hardworking. It is exciting to see them soaking it all up! Personally, I faced quite a challenge Monday night when I found myself lost in the streets of Santiago at almost midnight with no phone or money (as we hadn’t gotten those yet), and VERY limited language. While I was calm and unusually ok with the situation, I did need help. Luckily, a very generous man who only spoke Spanish helped me out. When he realized I was VERY far away from where I am staying and trying to walk there with a heavy backpack, I think he thought I was a little crazy. I tried to tell him I didn’t have money to take the metro or a phone to call for help. I just wanted directions so I could keep walking, but he put me on a bus, told the driver where to have me get off, and paid for it for me! If that is any indication of the Chilean people, then they are truly wonderful! :) I hope to have more time to blog soon! |