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I have missed Chile every day since we returned to the States just over two weeks ago. The country is so full of life and energy, especially in the city of Santiago. I must be pretty blessed to miss something so deeply, but to also feel so excited to be back home with my family and friends. Both places have my heart. It has been an adjustment getting back into my normal routine at home! Though I was fortunate enough to not have to immediately return to work, adjusting to simply being at home was a challenge in itself for a day or two. The first time driving my car after over three weeks of subways, busses, airplanes, Ubers, etc. felt a little strange – I really had to think about what I was doing! Now that I have settled in back home, I am especially missing the opportunity to freely practice my Spanish in classes at ECELA, around the city and with my host family. I arrived in Chile with a foundation in Spanish, but I must say that my Spanish improved more in those three weeks than it did after three years of Spanish classes in high school and five years of classes prior (eight years total!). I have learned that there is truly no better language practice than direct immersion. When we returned to the States, just like any other adjustment, it was certainly a tricky transition from Spanish back to English! I especially noticed this while in the Atlanta airport on our way back to Buffalo. I found myself naturally using basic Spanish words and expressions while ordering food, having a conversation, etc., even though the other person was clearly speaking English, and we were clearly not in Chile anymore. It took me a couple of days after arriving home to stop using phrases such as: “Permiso” (excuse me), “gracias” (thank you), “sí” (yes), “chau” (bye), “por favor” (please), and a few others. They were just natural responses that I continued to use subconsciously. Two weeks later, I find myself missing the challenge of full conversations in Spanish. My only worry as of now is that I will lose the progress I have made, but hopefully I will find some sort of program or class that will help me to continue to learn more of the language. Or… I’ll return to Chile. :) Each of our experiences were further enhanced by the roles we chose to uphold during our time in Chile (Navigator, Social Butterfly, Mamá, Translator, etc.). I think we all felt a bit more at ease knowing there was someone specific that we could go to for certain questions. Although, I am sure, for example, our Translator does not miss hearing “Bryanna, how do I say…” and “What did this person just say to me?” (Jokes aside, I must note that I am proud of everyone and how far we each came with our Spanish. We all entered at different levels and the all-around growth was so evident.) Looking more closely at my role as the Social Butterfly, I loved reaching out to others studying at ECELA to help initiate connections between our group and people from various parts of the world. Throughout our three weeks, we met people from Australia, England, France, the U.S., and other countries – some of which we became great friends with. I feel that I have returned from this experience as a stronger educator, traveler, Spanish speaker and person all around. I have undoubtedly gained a sense of empathy for what it is like to be a Language Learner in an unfamiliar environment, and I believe that because of this, I will be a better teacher for all of my future students. Chile was unlike anything I have ever experienced. It was enriching, exciting, challenging, draining yet rejuvenating, and filled with discoveries of all kinds. This has been a life-changing experience I will forever hold on to. I leave you all with an enormous “thank you”. Thank you for following me throughout my journey in Chile. Thank you to all who supported me at any point, in any way – our entire cohort, parents, family, professors, scholarship donors, friends… this trip would have been quite difficult without any of you. Thank you, Katie, for being an awesome roommate in Chile, a supportive friend always and an incredible person with whom I can share this journey of becoming an educator. Wishing we had another second to stare at these beautiful mountains: This chapter has come to a close, but stay tuned – I will be off to Italy in January!
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I’m in a bit of disbelief that our time in Chile comes to an end today. The days of our first week passed fairly steadily, but the last two weeks were gone quicker than we could spell e-m-p-a-n-a-d-a-s (which have been delicious, by the way). Before leaving for the airport on the day that we traveled to Chile, I posted about a “mountain of adventure” waiting. I think it’s pretty safe to say that this trip has been packed with adventures – hiking in the Andes, visiting cities surrounding Santiago, teaching English to mostly Spanish-speaking students, finding our way around this busy city and learning more Spanish every minute! I cannot express how grateful I am to have had this truly life-changing experience that I will carry with me forever.
There was not a better way to finish off our time in Chile than a barbeque on a rooftop at Claudio’s last night, overlooking the spectacular night life of Santiago. Friends from our Buffalo State and UMayor groups came together once more to enjoy completos (which I finally tried for the first time!) and some final time with one another. It was difficult to say goodbye, but I know we’ll see them again someday! Though this adventure has concluded, I can now look forward to traveling to Torremaggiore, Italy in January to experience an entirely new education system and culture!
One last breakfast with Katie prepared by our lovely host mom; one last walk around Providencia; one last look at the mountains. Off to the airport very soon… See you all soon! Muchas Gracias, Chile. Te extrañaré. While in Chile, there have been many occasions in which we have had the opportunity to meet with administrators, other educators and teacher candidates to discuss the field of education. As I have discussed in previous posts, the conversation often involves the comparison of the United States’ and Chile’s education systems. We have made some excellent connections, discoveries and observations while in these meetings, as well as observing and teaching in classrooms in Santiago.
Yesterday, our group delivered our final presentation to students and faculty at Universidad Mayor, in which we summarized student grade levels, teacher certification and education programs in the United States. We also discussed and demonstrated the use of interactive read alouds and interactive white boards – two tools we use heavily in the U.S. and have brought with us to Chile. This presentation was well-received, and it was wonderful to share information and have a discussion regarding education in the United States one final time. Aside from the nitty-gritty details of each of these discussions, I’d like to take a step back and appreciate how extraordinary it has been as a group of future educators to be in Chile discussing education with others that share the same passions. I feel that this is a rare opportunity for many teacher candidates all over the world – to explore and first-hand experience education structures in other parts of the world while sharing their own. This has been a surreal experience, and I know that I will carry this with me for the entirety of my career. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to each and every individual in the universities and schools of Chile who have contributed to my growth and learning as an educator. I will be forever grateful for this experience. Approaching the end of our second full weekend here in Chile means we have entered our third and final week - extremely surreal! The past few days have been well spent, including another school experience, horseback riding through the Andes Mountains, and cultural learning experience of Santiago! On Friday, our group visited Colegio Universitario Ingles, a private school for students in Pre-K through 12th grade (In Chile, "high school" is not "9th grade, 10th, etc., it is "first year" "second year" of secondary school). We were divided into pairs, and Katie and I were placed in a 6th grade classroom for an hour. We prepared an activity ahead of time, which we were very excited to have the opportunity to implement. We used Carmen Lomas Garza's book Family Pictures to teach about family in English. We wanted to further practice students' vocabulary of mother, father, cousins, grandparents, aunt, uncle, etc. The students wrote about their families, including memories they have with different family members, which is reflective of the story (a young girl shares memories of her family through photos). To wrap up the lesson, we played a "bonus" vocabulary game with small white boards. Katie and I chose some tricky words from the text, drew a symbol for each word (e.g. constellations, laundry, etc.). We verbally reviewed these bonus vocabulary words by repeating the word aloud and asking the students to draw the corresponding symbol on their white boards. This showed us, as the teachers, that the students were able to make the connection in English and express the definition through a quick sketch. The students were well-engaged throughout the duration of the lesson. We were unsure of how many students to expect, as we have seen nearly 40 in a single classroom, and have heard the numbers can reach up to 60 in Chile. However, this private school seemingly makes attempts to restrict the class sizes to smaller numbers. We were with 23 students in the 6th grade classroom. I thought that the students responded very well to our planned activities, and it was appropriate for their age level. Katie and I had to adapt it upon learning we'd be in 6th grade, as most of our planned activities are geared toward younger kiddos. The students spoke fantastic English! One young girl in particular recently spent a few months studying English in Ohio, which she was excited to share with us after learning we're from the United States. Overall, I was impressed with the students' enthusiasm, participation and questions! They had many questions for us at the close of the lesson, mostly related to our lives in the U.S. We spent the remainder of the time observing their math lesson. I have my very last field placement this evening at Republica de Haiti. Saturday was our "Free Day", and everyone was welcome to spend it any way they like - rest, walk around Santiago, go shopping, plan a group activity, etc. Six of us chose to do an activity through ECELA, which sent us horseback riding through the Andes Mountains! Though there was a lot of smog in the distance while overlooking the mountains, the view was just beautiful. We rode for about an hour and a half up the mountain, where we stopped for a delicious BBQ complete with mini pork hot dogs, steak and chicken wings - REAL chicken wings - and grilled vegetables. The wings were so tasty, as they were not fried or processed. They were grilled with a special sauce and tasted great. That's definitely going to be something I miss about Chile - the minimally processed food that is consumed. Many foods are fresh or cooked in a healthier way than most foods in the States. After a couple of hours of enjoying the beautiful weather, great food and company, we made our way back down the mountain. I am so pleased with our decision to spend our free day this way! It was a relaxing, fun afternoon! Our days have been filled with exploration of the city of Santiago and its surrounding areas, discovering all that it has to offer. On Sunday, however, we explored Santiago in more of a cultural respect to the city. We saw La Moneda Palace (the house of the President) and visited Museo Chileno de Arte, which displays pre-Columbian artworks and artifacts from Central and South America. It was interesting to see the large collection of artifacts from several different time periods in and around Chile. This was followed by a delicious lunch at Donde Agusto, a seafood restaurant in Mercado Central (the Central Market) in Santiago. Margarita (de Universidad Mayor) volunteers to teach Spanish at Centro de Servicio Migrante, a place that offers assistance to adult Haitian refugees in the learning of the Spanish language. The classes take place every Sunday for two hours – offering various different levels. Our Buffalo State group had the opportunity to sit in on these classes as language learning students, allowing us to take a step away from our teacher mindsets. Initially, sitting in this class as the students filed in, I admit that I was moderately out of my comfort zone. The majority of the students did not speak any English – only Creole, French and Spanish. When the class began, I was able to participate in the whole-group activities they were doing to practice vocabulary. I began to get more comfortable, however still had to rely on my Spanish to communicate with anyone other than my (Buffalo State) classmates that were in the same class. Similarly, we later on divided into groups to complete some additional practice with sentence structure in the Spanish language. We, as visitors, only helped with these exercises, which I think the other students enjoyed. The language barrier during this, however, was certainly not nonexistent. If they did not understand something in Spanish, it was difficult for me to effectively explain it, as they spoke minimal English, and I do not know any Creole or French. I resorted mostly to using my Spanish as best as I could, as well as drawing pictures to get my point across. Though I was only a student in this class, I was able to understand my place in this class from the view of an educator. My initial discomfort was a strong representation of how some students feel when walking into a new class composed of students and teachers who do not speak their language. I’ve been able to gain more of an appreciation for how refugee students feel, no matter what country they have moved to. Imagine moving to an entirely different country, going to an unfamiliar school, walking into a classroom in which you can communicate with very few or no people, and feeling like you stand out because you don’t look “the same” as the other students. It must be terrifying, and I was able to have a glimpse of this in their shoes last night. I am thankful for this experience, and I feel that it has further helped me grow as a global educator. Later in the evening, a few of us went out with Universidad Mayor friends to the mall, where we had dinner and easily the best crepes I’ve ever had. I ordered a strawberry and Nutella crepe, and it was mouth-watering. This week will be filled with last minute “must-see’s” in Santiago before leaving on Saturday. I cannot believe we are in our last week in Chile!
Until next time, Christine Portions of the last two days have been spent observing and interacting with students in two more schools: Colegio Benjamín Claro Vealasco and Colegio Diferencial Amapolas. Both are public schools, however Colegio Diferencial Amapolas is more exclusively for students with special needs, specifically physical disabilities. Colegio Benjamín Claro is a regular education school that has a focus on inclusion – including students with disabilities in the general education classrooms. We were able to share that though New York (and likely the majority of the U.S.) pushes for inclusion in the classroom, we abide by the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) that is appropriate for each child and their needs. Similarly, Colegio Benjamín’s structure allows students with special needs access to the educational curriculum. There are several types of needs accommodated within this school, including: Auditory Processing Disorder, Speech Impediments, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Autism Spectrum Disorder and Learning Disabilities. The classes range from 30 to 45 students, which is certainly much larger than we are accustomed to the in the U.S., which we have learned is a typical number in Chile. Special Education (Educación Diferencial) majors of Universidad Mayor are often placed in Colegio Benjamín for various practicums and final practicums (which, in the U.S., we refer to as student teaching). These students have the opportunity to co-teach with the regular education classroom teacher as the Special Education teacher. They adapt the lessons, tests, instructions and materials to meet the needs of students with special needs, as well as diversify strategies. This UMayor student is the Special Education teacher, rather than solely being used as an aide or assistant. They work alongside the teacher to plan and modify materials as needed. This is certainly an adjustment for the classroom teachers, as they are not used to working in the same classroom with another teacher. From my understanding, there is even occasionally some resistance from teachers to co-teach. It seems that they are working to adapt, but it is generally a positive outcome. Today, we visited Colegio Diferencial Amapolas, and though I wasn’t sure what to expect, I left with a certain feeling of peace and happiness. Just for some background, this is a public school in Santiago that focuses on students with physical challenges, and some with severe intellectual disabilities. It is open to the surrounding community first, and then extends to children who are of a further distance. The main goal of this school is to teach these children to become more independent in their movement, as well as enhance their communication. Colegio Diferencial Amapolas has had a struggle to obtain effective and practical materials, however have come a great distance in the past several years. There is now a sensory room (that includes a water bed, etc.), and many of the classrooms have Smart Boards – Colegio Diferencial Amapolas is one of the only public schools in Santiago with this technology. In order to receive this funding, the school had to work to prove that Smart Boards are an effective tool for students. In addition to this wonderful apparatus, there is a system to ensure all students are being cared for based on their current needs. Students’ wheelchairs each have a ribbon, whose colors represent if they are allowed to be moved or not by an adult. Red indicates no help; white, help sometimes; green, help all of the time. This, again, promotes independence. If a student can move themselves in their wheelchair, they are given the opportunity to do so. Additionally, there are several therapies available to students: Music Therapy, Speech Therapy, Kinesiology, and various workshops (such as dancing/music classes). We each had the opportunity to observe in classrooms, and my experience was so wonderful. Dr. Schmidt and I were in a classroom that would be considered a 6:1:1 in the United States. There were six students, ranging from three to seven years old, all with multiple disabilities, under the care of one teacher and one aide. Many of them were in wheelchairs and others had special support chairs. We entered the classroom during their daily routine, in which the teacher goes through basic everyday activities (eating, brushing your teeth, etc.). She went down the line of students and handed each student a bowl one by one, in order for them to each feel and connect eating to a bowl. She included sensory materials in this routine, such as blowing bubbles and swaying ribbons across their hands and laps. This was followed by an activity, which focused on animals and prepositions (on top of, next to, under, etc.). The energy of this teacher was incredible – fun, engaged, patient and genuinely kind-hearted in her teaching. The classroom was so bright, colorful, warm and welcoming. I could feel the happiness and positive energy radiating from each of the students – one in particular did not stop smiling! I loved to watch how naturally this activity flowed, as it was so clear that this teacher promotes a positive, patient learning environment. Working with several students with multiple disabilities cannot be an easy task, but this teacher did a beautiful job in the time I was able to observe. It is even more impressive that she was not told ahead of time we were coming, so it is safe to say that if this is a consistent environment, the students are in great hands. I enjoyed my time observing in this classroom, which was followed by a debriefing as a whole group with administration about special education between the U.S. and Chile, as well as an opportunity to ask any questions we had. Of course our excursion in the Andes, trip to Valparaíso and Viña del Mar, time in ECELA and all other experiences have been wonderful, but I must say that I have noticed myself feeling the most genuinely warm and joyful while actually in the classrooms. Each time, I am further convinced that I have made the right decision in choosing education as my career path. There is no telling where or what setting or type of classroom I will end up in, but I am able to enjoy this wonderful process of becoming something I enjoy. I am confident in saying that there is absolutely no other career that would leave me feeling this sincerely content. It is even better that I have the opportunity to be in Chile, experiencing the field of education, specifically exceptional education, in a different setting than the United States. I feel so purely enriched. I feel as if I blinked and our second week is already almost over! We have another field placement tomorrow at Colegio Universitario Inglés, and Katie and I will hopefully be able to implement one of our instructional activities, as we will be together in a 6th grade classroom. On Saturday, our group is going horseback riding in the Andes Mountains! Hasta la próxima vez, Christine Our second week here in Chile has commenced! Yesterday was a bit lighter in terms of afternoon activities and events, so I was able to take advantage of some rest time. I do love that our schedule is filled with a variety of excursions, school experiences, field placements, classes, etc., but it can definitely be a bit tiring! Last night, however, Nico (amigo de Universidad Mayor) walked with Katie, Renee and me around Barrio Italia – a neighborhood in Santiago with approximately a 7-block radius. It’s not very large, but the blocks are filled with adorable cafés, shops and restaurants. Our destination was El Oasis, which is a ministry in Santiago that welcomes all college-aged Spanish speakers who want to improve their English. From my understanding, it’s Christian-based, but welcomes everyone. Nico wanted to show us because it’s lead by students from the United States who studied abroad in Chile and returned to live here for a longer amount of time. They dedicate their time to plan engaging and enriching events with free food and fun! Renee, Katie and I were able to stay and participate in some of their English learning games, which gave us a great perspective as teachers. The topic for the night was the conditional tense (“If”, “would”…), and the members were asked to complete sentences (in English) in the conditional tense. For example, we were asked to add to the sentence: “If I woke up one morning as Beyonce, I would…” Some of the answers the Chileans came up with were hysterical! It was a ton of fun to be involved in their event, and as an English speaker, I enjoyed helping to perfect their responses. In addition, I appreciated their patience in helping us with our Spanish as well. It was a great night! I am hoping there will be room in our schedule next Monday evening to return. Not only am I being exposed to the language everywhere I turn, we are continuing to get a glimpse into the education system. We met with professors from the Education department at Universidad Mayor today, which turned into an incredibly rich conversation. We discussed teachers’ certifications, special education systems, teachers’ pay scales and different education programs/degrees offered in both the U.S. and Chile. I find it interesting that it is extremely competitive to obtain a job in private schools in Chile, while public schools are more preferred in the United States. In other words, teachers in Chile earn a much higher salary in private schools than in public schools. In contrast, teachers in the U.S., specifically New York, who work in the public schools have the opportunity to climb their pay scale and join the Retirement System. Teachers in private schools remain at a constant salary (as far as I know). In addition, from my understanding, many schools in Chile end a bit later in the evening, and some parents have the opportunity to choose a school for their child based on their work schedule. In the U.S., the school days are generally consistently between 7 or 8 AM through 2 or 3 PM. Some students in Chile are in school until 6 or 7 in the evening! If a parent works later, they may prefer their child attends a school with a later dismissal. We have a field placement tomorrow at Colegio Benjamin Claro, a Special Needs Centre. This school is a public school which has already begun to adopt the inclusion method, so I am interested in finding out what this looks like in Chile. More on this later. Buenos Noches! We awoke bright and early on Saturday to begin what was about to be an unforgettable weekend. We drove a few hours up into the Andes Mountains before stepping out to continue hiking with a purely spectacular view. I could not physically produce any words to describe how extraordinary our surroundings were. I wanted to take photos at every turn, but I realized very quickly that pictures do these beautiful mountains zero justice. I had to remind myself several times, "I'm actually hiking in the Andes Mountains. The Andes. In Chile." I spent a lot of time assimilating the enormity and processing where I was actually standing. It felt so wonderful to breathe in the fresh, pure air at our several-thousand-feet altitude. We walked about seven miles altogether but I could have gone another twenty with the view we had (despite how tired I may have been). We could not have had a more beautiful day for our excursion: sunny; not a cloud in the sky; 65 degrees... It was a perfect day. We stopped on our way back home for empanadas, and I chose an empanada con jamón (ham), tomate (tomato) y queso (cheese). It tasted even better after our long day of hiking! Today (Sunday) included a trip to Valparaíso and Vina del Mar – the coast of the Pacific Ocean! We had a delicious (large) lunch at a restaurant by the water. They served shells with chopped fish and crab and empanadas for our appetizers, and I chose fish for my entrée. So yummy! Our evening ended with walking down to the beach to enjoy the shores of the Pacific Ocean. A handful of us (myself included) had never seen the Pacific, so it was awesome to be able to put our feet in the water. It's currently fall in Chile right now, so even though it's not swimming weather, we were still able to stand on the shores and allow the water to engulf our feet and the sand around us. We were at the beach at sunset, giving us yet another beautiful view. Not only was the weather perfect in the Andes, it continued throughout the weekend. This has undoubtedly been a weekend to remember. Looking forward to entering our second week in Chile! After a weekend of excursions, we are back to classes at ECELA in the morning. Buenos noches! Please enjoy a slideshow of photos from this weekend below. :) Our days have been filled with adventure, enlightenment, new experiences, delicious food and breathtaking views! Our time in the schools has been incredible. Both Wednesday and Thursday, we visited Colegio Maestra Elsa Santibañez, located south of Santiago. Schools in Chile allow students free time every couple of hours – complete free time. The children are able to run around in the courtyard, play games (tag, sports, etc.), have fun with one another and take a break from sitting in their classroom all day. We arrived at the school on Wednesday during their afternoon recess, which was perfect timing! We walked through the courtyard, which was filled with students of all ages, after being welcomed in by teachers and administration. The children were thrilled to have some visitors, especially from the United States! We were swarmed by dozens of students, who were trying their hardest to speak to us in English. They were excited to find out that we do speak a little Spanish, too! They gave us hugs, asked us endless questions, posed with us for photos and just loved that we came all the way from New York to visit them. My heart was overflowing. We popped into a Kindergarten classroom for a few minutes before heading to the 7th grade classroom, where five of us spent the afternoon with 32 students. The teacher provided some time for us to do a lesson with the students, and Rachel jumped right in with hers! The four of us supported her thoughtful and successful lesson – the students loved it, especially the postcard activity. We observed for the remainder of the time, and we were lucky enough to be in their classroom for their English lesson. They planned an imaginary party to practice their English (describe who they would invite, what food would be there, what time, etc.). It was wonderful to use some of my Spanish to help them with their English! We returned again yesterday (Thursday), and I was able to visit a 4th grade classroom. I was also lucky enough to use one of my own lessons! I demonstrated an interactive read aloud for the teacher, to which the students responded very well. The read aloud was followed by a whole-class game (Memory). The book was about counting, so I laminated cards with numbers and number words for the students to match up. I gave the book and the cards to the teacher following my lesson, in hopes that she will be able to use them in her classroom in the future. Many educators in Chile are concerned with the lack of materials they have to use in their classrooms, especially books, so I was happy to give these to her. I enjoyed simultaneously observing her as well during our time in her classroom. She utilized song to engage the students, which is very useful in teaching. Though this would be functional anywhere in the world, teachers in Chile, for example, may rely on activities such as singing due to their lack of physical materials. This class has a daily routine of introducing the date & weather, as well as practicing days of the week and emotions – all in English! The students seemed to enjoy this time, and it is great practice for their English. I will definitely incorporate song into my teaching in the future.
Cariñosamente,
Christine
Empanadas, empanadas, empanadas – so many empanadas! We had two welcome lunches yesterday – one at ECELA, and another immediately after at Universidad Mayor. Guess what both schools served? Empanadas! The ones at ECELA were filled with meat, beans, egg, olives and cheese. I then had an empanada at UMayor with queso y tomate – it tasted a bit like pizza! After two huge empanadas, I was as stuffed as the empanadas were, but I couldn’t help but try them both. Our host mom, Maria (“Pachi”), is also wonderful. She cooks us breakfast each morning and dinner on the nights that we are home, and the presentation is always adorable! She sets up a table for two by the kitchen window, so Katie and I drink our coffee and enjoy our breakfast overlooking Santiago. Their terrace is also beautiful, and we plan to have breakfast out there soon on a warmer morning – it overlooks the Andes! Due to our host mom speaking minimal English and Katie and I speaking limited Spanish, it’s been another awesome challenge telling her all about our experiences here and learning more about each other. She sat with us at dinner tonight and despite the language barrier, we were teaching each other about irregulars in English and Spanish and laughing about silly things. I’m glad she likes to sit and chat with us, even though it is just as much as a challenge for her! Liz and I visited an English Pedagogy class today at Universidad Mayor, which consisted of students studying to become English teachers. The professor and the students were very interested in learning more about Special Education and wanted any advice we could give them when it comes to teaching students with special needs. We learned that teachers in Chile are given limited strategies to best accommodate these students (or even none at all). In an already chaotic environment (with an upwards of 40-60 students), adding a student (or multiple students) with specific needs to a classroom can cause a teacher to only focus on the students that are less demanding. This seems to be a fairly common situation in Chile, unfortunately. I am looking forward to learning more about these environments while teaching and observing.
We have our first field placement in a school tomorrow, and I’ll be going with Katie to Colegio Maestra Elsa Santibanez to observe and hopefully teach one of our pre-prepared lessons, which will contribute to our research. My only worry is not knowing the students’ level of Spanish ahead of time and whether or not they will be able to understand our interactive read aloud lesson. We will have to modify as we go, but that’s part of the learning experience! Chau for now! I am still adjusting to the fact that we have flown nine hours to an entirely different continent, hovering an entirely different ocean, using an entirely different language. In case you’re wondering, I’m actually just going to completely block out the sleepless flight for most of us that departed from Atlanta last night at 10:30 PM and landed in Santiago at 7:30 AM this morning. It's safe to say it wasn’t my best night of sleep. Katie and I have a warm and welcoming host family, which consists of only a mom and a son, who speak very minimal English. We are up for the challenge of learning to communicate more and more with them as these three weeks continue! We spent most of today unpacking, settling in and getting lunch with our Buffalo State group. Tomorrow is our first day at ECELA, our Spanish class, and I am looking forward to beginning to build on my Spanish foundation (which has very much crumbled over the past few years from lack of use, unfortunately). We’ll be meeting people from various areas of the world, and as the Social Butterfly, it’ll be my job to reach out to them and introduce our group… I can’t wait to find out who we’ll meet! I'm also excited to see our Universidad Mayor friends!!
Thankful to have gotten here safely, thankful for our group of girls (plus Justin, of course), and thankful for all of the support I have been given in preparation for this experience. So thankful. |
Bienvenidos!
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