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Hello for the final time! I want to start my final blog off by thanking everybody that supported me along this life changing journey. While at times the IPDS Chile program has been one of my greatest challenges, it has also been one of my greatest accomplishments. Looking back on this journey, I can’t even believe that I traveled to Chile and stayed with people who that at the time were strangers, but I can now call friends. The IPDS Chile program forced me to grow like very few situations in my life have. However, unlike those other situations, the IPDS Chile program was not a negative experience. While at times it was difficult and I felt overwhelmed, I wouldn't change any of it. I can honestly say that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I don't regret it. I also just wanted to take a few minutes to update everyone on my recent travels to Peru. When everybody else from the program took a flight home to Buffalo, Claire and I continued our travels north to Peru for the ultimate adventure; Machu Picchu! It was so incredible and I highly encourage everybody to visit! Our adventure from Chile to Peru began at 2:30 in the morning for our 6:00 AM flight to LIMA Peru. Following a 4 hour, international flight from Santiago Chile to LIMA Peru, we had to take a 2 hour flight to Cusco. We then had to take a 2 hour taxi from Cusco to Ollantaytambo. We spent 2 days in Ollantaytambo before taking a 2 hour train ride to the small town outside of Machu Picchu called, Aguas Calientes. We spent 2 days there, one of which was a day adventure to Machu Picchu. We then spent the next 3 days doing the same adventure in reverse.
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It has been surprisingly difficult for me to create these blog posts. In the beginning, I thought that the words would just flow naturally due to all of my new experiences. However, the reality of the situation is that I have been very overwhelmed and have been feeling so many emotions that I am finding it difficult to process everything and put everything into words. I have been feeling homesick, tired, happy, sad, excited, and culturally shocked all at the same time. All of these emotions have left me feeling emotionally and physically drained. A few days ago I, along with two other students were given the opportunity to visit a school that was located in a very poverty stricken community. We had to take a subway to get to the school. The subway was the busiest I have ever seen it, and I literally felt like a sardine packed into a can. That experience left me feeling very overwhelmed and during the walk from the subway to the school I thought I had calmed down and got myself together. As soon as we entered the school, we were in the midst of the student's recess and we were standing directly in the middle of their play area. The students were playing soccer using a ball that had been made of plastic bags taped together. During this time I observed some interesting behaviors from the students. I observed students on the ground wrestling one another while adults walked past them. I also observed students climbing a metal grated door that led up to the electrical wires. As as soon as recess was over, we went into the classroom with the students to teach them a lesson. They started playing a video and wanted the children to dance along with it. Everybody was encouraging me to dance along too but I felt as though my mind and body were shutting down. I was more overwhelmed at that moment than I can even describe. I found myself having a breakdown in the girl’s bathroom. Jameelat came in to check on me, which I am very grateful that she did. She went and got Dr. Patti and we were able to talk about the experience. Anybody that knows me knows that I am not comfortable talking about my emotions or feelings. However, sitting in the courtyard of a school in a foreign country just allowed me to speak freely and openly for the first time during this trip. I was amazed that a couple of boys came out of their classes to just come over and talk with us, I didn’t know what they were saying of course, but Dr. Patti was able to understand and communicate with them. I feel as though I gained a lot from that experience. I was able to step back and reflect upon what an amazing opportunity this experience truly has been. Last week, we were given the opportunity to visit a school for students with special needs. The students who attend the school have severe disabilities, and it felt very familiar to me. Students with severe disabilities are the students that inspired me to go into teaching in the first place. So being at that school made me feel so comfortable. Dr. Patti and I were in a classroom that had 5 students who were probably 14-15 years old and all were in wheelchairs. The students were working on making a cake during our visit. The teacher had a large button that plugged into the appliances so that the students were able to operate the appliances with ease on their own from their wheelchairs. I had never seen a button like that before and I loved it. After adding in her ingredients, one of the girls was pushing herself over to wash her hands at a nearby sink. Naturally being teachers, mine and Dr. Patti's first instinct was to help her get to the sink. However, the teacher didn’t even flinch, she told us that she takes a while but she is able to do it on her own. Before we knew it, she was over at the sink washing her hands. This really made me think about how helping too much, too often can actually end up limiting students. During our last few minutes in the classroom, the teacher was adding flour into the bowl. She asked us what the English word for flour was and we told her. She was a bit confused because in her mind she was picturing a flower so we helped clear up the confusion. As we were walking out of the classroom I heard her teaching the students the word for flour. I was just very inspired by the caring, compassionate, understanding manner of the classroom teacher and I give her a lot of credit. Late last week, we were given the opportunity to teach in one more school. Luckily, it was located within walking distance of Universidad Mayor and Ecela. It was a catholic school and I taught in a fourth grade class assisting Claire with her lesson. There were about 25-30 students in the class and they treated us like we were celebrities. They all had a million questions and wanted to talk to us so badly. One little girl even drew me a picture and told me that she loved me. I was struck by the sincereness of all of the students that day.
Hola! Wow our time here in Chile is flying by. It's very hard to believe that today is the half way point of the trip. I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on the trip. This past Sunday, we went to several locations along the coast including; Vina del mar, Isla Negra, and Valparaiso. Isla Negra is where one of Paublo Neruda's house is located on the coast and it was absolutely stunning. We also visited Valparaiso which is a beautiful seaside port and town. Hey! So the past couple of days have been an extreme adjustment for me (well for everybody). Today, I woke up feeling pretty homesick and luckily I was able to speak with my sister. She always gives the most useful advice and was able to remind me that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and not to let it slip away. Spanish class was mucho mejor today. I studied for a good 2 hours last night and my teachers said that they could tell. So slowly I am getting better at this whole living in Chile thing. Today, I was able to work in a classroom today with 6th graders. The students had a project due which was a video of themselves cooking a recipe speaking in English and in Spanish. The videos were absolutely adorable and I was amazed that each student had to turn it in on a USB drive. I also noticed that just like in classrooms back home all of the students have iPhones and fidget spinners, some things never change. The 1 hour bus ride to the school displayed quite a juxtaposition between the beauty of the Andes mountains and the extreme poverty of the area. I can't even put into words the beauty of the Andes, they are simply breathtaking. However, sitting at the base of them is a society whose people live with very little money and don't know any differently. I never expected to be in such a state of culture shock.
Greetings from Santiago! Today is the first time that I have actually have been able to post while in South America. I was having some trouble logging into my blog. But, it was finally resolved, so here I am friends :) The flight was extremely long, I've never sat in one place for so long. It took about 2 hours to get to Atlanta and another 10 hours to get to Santiago, but it was so worth it! I had a lot of trouble sleeping on the plane (as in I got zero sleep). Not sleeping actually turned out to be beneficial, as I was able to watch the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen. As the night sky faded and the sun began to rise, the sky looked like the most gorgeous painting I have ever seen, except it wasn't a painting, it was real. The most beautiful shades of blue and pink softly mixed together above the Andes mountains. I was absolutely awe-struck by the beauty that was appearing in front of me. The first day here was very interesting. After Claire and I met our host family and got settled, we decided to explore a little bit. While we were out walking around, we spotted a stray dog. This absolutely crushed me because anybody that knows me knows how much I love dogs. The dog, who I named Buddy, was the sweetest little pup. I bought him Pringles and an apple hoping that he would eat something. When I went into the store he waited at the door for me. I tried feeding him the apple first and he didn't like it. Then I tried giving him the Pringle and he spit it out and laid his little head down on my shoe. I wish I was able to give Buddy a home, but unfortunately that was not possible :( Tuesday May 23, 2017
This morning, we had our Spanish classes at Ecela. We each have a conversation class and a grammar class. Both are pretty difficult since I have never studied Spanish. However, I am enjoying the process of learning a new language. After class, we all headed over to Universidad Mayor where we all sat in on an English pedagogy class. In my class, we all sat around in a circle and had a bit of a question and answer segment. The students had many questions regarding the education system in the United States. I tried to answer their questions the best that I could. In doing so, I realized that their educational system is very different from what I am used to. For instance, they have very little knowledge and training with students with disabilities. This was a bit shocking to me. I can't even believe that I am leaving for this amazing adventure in only 2 more days!! As I sit at home packing, my dogs seem a little nervous, almost as though they know I am leaving. (They have been getting lots of extra kisses to make up for the next month.)
I am still so nervous, yet excited!! I can't even believe that I have been blessed with such an amazing opportunity. Hi everybody! So this feels a little weird writing about everything related to Chile. I have never had a blog before, at least not for myself. But feel free to check out my fur babies' blog http://liz726886.wixsite.com/minnietours.
As I sit at home watching youtube on my TV, it is hard to imagine that in less than a month, I will be in Chile. I am nervous and excited and can't wait to bring you along for the journey through this blog! |
AuthorHello! My name is Liz and I am a graduate student here at Buffalo State college majoring in special education. I am a certified New York State special education and elementary teacher. ArchivesCategories |