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This weekend, on Saturday, I was able to trek through the Andes Mountains! Everything about this trip is a once in a life time experience, but I am so beyond blessed to be able to feel the enormity and beauty of such a magnificent landmark like the Andes. I was never sure if I should look left or right to see the most beautiful view, but it did not matter where I looked because we were surrounded with the AWEsome snowcapped peeks. As I continued to hike and walk along our trail, I felt smaller and smaller in such a large mountain range that drew such a diverse population to it. The further I tried to look towards the end of the range I was struck with the realization that no matter how far I tried to look I could not possibly see to the end of the peeks. It is hard for the human mind to process the idea of eternity, but being surrounded by the mountains brought me as close to comprehending forever as I could imagine. The trail that was chosen for us was a flat path so it would be easier for us to hike and take in the beautiful views of the mountains and the lake that we were next to. As we were walking we saw kayakers in the lake that were so small they looked like ducks floating in the water because they were so far away. Eventually, we hiked far enough that we were on the shores of that same lake. How does this relate to education you ask? What automatically comes to mind for me is the cliché saying “Everyone has their own mountains to face”. The academic demands that are put on students in current day can feel overwhelming and impossible to comprehend just like it was for me to comprehend the enormity of the Andes mountains or for me yo comprehend Spanish. My job as a future educator is to help students manage the multiple demands of a school day so they do not feel unable to keep up with the pace of the information being shared with them. By having time to process my surroundings and everything I was taking in at the Andes, I was able to maintain a healthy and calm disposition. It is statistically proven that if teachers do not give students a sufficient amount of wait time to comprehend, and then respond to any questions or information, it can lower the willingness students will have to be involved in a classroom. I plan to give my students the sufficient amount of time to process all of the information being shared with them in my classroom and throughout the day. This can cause a trusting relationship to form between teacher and student and therefore, a more productive classroom environment can be created. Here are some photos that make it completely obvious I was overjoyed and overwhelmed with the Andes. P.s. We met a dog and I named him Sammy. They have as many dogs here as we do squirrels. P.p.s. I felt the water and it was not as cold as it looks. Enjoy and God Bless!
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Today was our first day to really travel in the city and experience all it has to offer! We began the day with one of our classes at ECELA from 9-11 am, which is our clase de conversación. We usually have another class after that from 11 am-1 pm, which is our clase de gramática. Instead of taking our second class, we went and visited the Museo de Memoria. This museum is specifically named the Museum of Memory to remember the events of the dictatorship of Pinochet. There are different views of this specific time in Chile between 1973 and 1990. From my experience at the museum, there were many atrocities committed during that time. Of the many emotions I felt while visiting the museum, I recognized that all over the world, people know the feeling of loss. Although that is not an emotion that I wish upon anybody, there is a unifying factor for all countries around the world that results from having been through controversial times. I only took pictures of the outside of the museum out of respect to maintain the dignity of those who lost there lives during the politically and socially divided time. After visiting the museum, we all visited Barrio Lastarria, Museo de Nacional de Bellas Artes, and Cerro Santa Lucia. My favorite part of the entire day was climbing up to the top of Cerro Santa Lucia. We took about a 20 to 30 minute hike to the top of the hill and we were greeted by the breath taking view of the Andes Mountains at sunset. No matter how many pictures I take, there is no image that can capture the state of awe the mountains make you feel. The Creator of our world has a beautiful imagination and tomorrow I will get to climb them. Although today was overwhelmingly amazing, I felt many emotions throughout the day that I have not had time to process until now. Beginning at school with the demands of learning to produce Spanish through immersion, to learning about the hardships of the people of Santiago, to experiencing the overwhelming presence of the Andes Mountains, has been somewhat of an emotional roller coaster of ups and downs. As a teacher, there will be events in my classroom that may cause the same emotional demands of myself or my students. This trip to Santiago is teaching me how to handle the emotional highs and lows we all will experience in life. I hope to be prepared to help my students through the same kind of emotional demand life brings and I hope to create an environment in my classroom where the emotional strain is limited.
Being able to understand what it feels like to be COMPLETELY immersed in another culture and language helps me as a future teacher who will encounter at least some student in my career that do not speak English as their first language. I am the student here is Chile who is trying to live surrounded by another language. I can sympathize and now empathize with my future students and even the students I work with in my field placements through Buffalo State college. Something that is extremely comforting for me as the Spanish student is knowing how patient and kind the Chileans are. As the teacher in the United States, I can help my students feel comfortable with the language learning process instead of forcing them to learn in a specific time frame planned by me.
Not so long ago I remember getting an email from Dr. Patti, Dr. del Prado, and Dr. Schmidt that I was accepted into the IPDS Chile program. In late November to early December of 2016, I had been checking my email constantly knowing I would be getting a message telling me if I was accepted into the program or not. When I received the email I was at a movie theater with a friend. When I read that I was accepted into the program, there were audible sounds too loud for the liking of the other audience members at the movie because I was asked by someone "Would you mind keeping it down a bit?" Those around me, including my friend, were not a fan of my over the top reaction, but there was no way anyone in the world would have been able to stifle my excitement.
Every day, my excitement continues to grow as my countdown dwindles with only 12 days until we leave for Santiago, Chile. There has been lots of preparation leading up to this trip and I am beyond ready to do more than talk about it and begin to experience it. So far, my fellow classmates and I have been able to interact with our pen pals that we were paired with from the Universidad of Mayor through emails, messages, social media, and in person. We have had class sessions every Monday throughout the semester preparing activities to implement in the classroom placements we will have while we are there, learning how to work with students who are English Language Learners, and preparing to travel as ambassadors of Buffalo State College and our country. Although I am beyond excited to be able to have this once in a life time experience, there are other things that I am nervous about as well, mainly speaking in Spanish. As I have been preparing for this trip and have been telling people that I am traveling to Santiago, Chile, the most popular question I have been asked is "Do you know Spanish?" My answer is always "A little. I remember some from when I was in high school." Which is when everyone proceeds to give me a look of "Good luck with that." or some have even said it out loud. I think the most challenging part about this trip for me will be the language barrier I will have with the people around me. I am scared that it may take away from my experiences while I am in Chile. As a future teacher, this situation of a language barrier will give me the opportunity to experience what it is like being in the student's shoes for those who are English Language Learners in the classroom. Throughout my college career, I have had many opportunities to work with children who do not speak English as their first language. This can cause many issues for students who are learning challenging content with minimal knowledge of the language they have to learn it in. While in Chile, the roles will be reversed and I will be the student who will have to have an abundance of patients while being immersed in this new language. As a teacher who plans to become certified to work with English Language Learners, there is no better opportunity to learn exactly what these students feel everyday they walk into their classroom in the United States. The count down continues as I prepare to see my Chilean friends again who we met in January. I am ready to try all of the new foods that were suggested to me, especially the completo! Maybe the next time you hear from me, I will be in Santiago, Chile! God Bless, Catherine Welch |
AuthorI am currently a student at Buffalo State College working towards achieving my undergraduate’s degree in Exceptional Education with a concentration in English. I am extremely passionate about working with children and I believe it is my God given talent to teach. I grew up in the Buffalo Public School system and I dream about teaching in inner city schools with 1st graders. I am currently a teacher's aid at Edukid's Child Care Center in Buffalo and I am very grateful for the experience I am getting working with the children there. In my free time I enjoy playing my clarinet in the Buffalo Niagara Concert Band and dancing, specifically ballet. ArchivesCategories |