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Spanish school is getting better everyday I am learning so many things. I am getting more and more confident every day. Yes, I do have the trouble of pronouncing certain words. Those ones tend to be the long words and the one with the rr. For some reason I cannot roll my r's. I haven't been able to in high school and don't think I will be able to know. The teachers are so patient and really do want you to use your Spanish as much as possible if not always. Even if you make a mistake and I do a lot of the times the are very patient and will give me the correct pronunciation or word. This is very helpful because my affective filter is low in class. This means I am able to learn more in class. Also, if class is getting a little to tense the teacher makes the class fun by playing a game or telling a joke. On Wednesday we went to Los Dominicos. Here there was a beautiful church as well as many artist shops. These shops had things made from leather, wood, and metal. They were absolutely gorgeous and they were all made by hand. It is just so amazing at all the wonderful places there truly are here. On Thursday our original plans had to change so we had a rest day. Thanks to Natalie and her amazing pen pal Christine I was able to go to a park. It was called Parque Bicentenario. It was breath taking. Basically it was a park rig next to the municipal building. However, this park had walking and biking paths. It had ponds with different animals. There were birds, swans, pidgeons, and flamingos. I was so surprised! However the dormant volcano was in the background. I was so in love with the view. It was truly magnificent, however because of the pollution it was not has clear as it would normally be. Still, I was like a little kid looking at this huge volcano. It shows how beautiful the Earth can be and just how small we are compared to other things around us. I love the geography here. This is the one view from today. Today we went to Sainta Lucia. It was gorgeous it reminded me of a princess castle on top of a hill. The park was built on a hill that used to be rocks in the middle of the city. Then one governor decide to put these beautiful place there. On this hill was fountains, a castle, and a tower. It was almost like you were in another world. Seeing moments like this truly takes your breath away. When I was on the tower it felt like you could see the whol city. You could see mountains on the east and the west.
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Well I'm a couple of days into the trip. I am amazed at how much I do remember from high school. I have learned that I am much better at classroom Spanish than I am real life Spanish . This is such an amazing experience! However, I did NOT sleep on the plane. I was super tired on Sunday but once I got some rest I was fine. This is one of the Spanish classrooms at Escuela our Spanish school. Well it is at least one of the classrooms. At the school there are other groups from the United States as well as other people for South America. We take two classes a day one is for conversation and the other one is for grammar. Personally, I feel like I am much better at grammar than I am at conversations. Here is all the girls that went on the trip from Buffalo State. This was in the beginning in the school day. Everyone was so happy and even after our classes everyone was still happy. We were not all together in our classes in the morning we took a placement test to decide where are levels of Spanish are. The strangest part is waking up in the morning and everything isn't where it normally would be. For example, my straightener would normally be on my one dresser and my makeup and mirror is next to my bed. Even thought I unpacked everything and tried organizing it, still it is no where near how it is at home. I am much more organized here than I am at home. On Monday after school we went to a tea. It was hosted by Universidad de Mayor by our Chilean friends. It was wonderful to see all of our old friends we haven't seen since February and to make new friends. After the tea we went to a BBQ at Escuela. It was great the food was absolutely amazing. There I was really trying to practice my Spanish. I actually had a conversation about football in Spanish. I was very proud of myself. Today we had Spanish school again. After Spanish school we went and hike to San Cristobal. It was amazing. The view was really cool to see. Unfortunately we could not see the Andes because of all this smog. Personally, for me I feel like I am figuring out who I am. Not only am I growing as a person but as a learner. I don't not have my family and friends from home to rely on. Yes, I do have the other girls here and they are amazing, but it's a different feeling. You realize how you act in different situations and how it is when it is super crowded. I have realized I truly do like living in a small town and knowing everyone. It is a peace of mind that just comes with it. Yes, Santiago is safe but for a small town girl like me you can feel lost in this big city. I cannot wait to see what other adventures we will have over the next two weeks.
It is the day I leave to go to Chile. Today my events consisted of going to some stores and getting some last minute things for the trip and breakfast with the parents. However, I am not done yet! It is really starting to hit me like I am really going to Chile today. This is the motto I am going to keep in my head throughout this whole trip. It is so weird to think that graduation was exactly a week from today. My life is really starting to be an "adult" life. This summer my mission is to have the best summer and concentrate on myself in order to become the best person I can be. A lot of my good qualities that I have, have been taught to me by my parents. My parents have taught me to be caring, try my best, and be hard working. My wonderful family,well at least part of them. Missing is my older and younger brother. But, my family has been there to help me succeed and try my best.
I cannot believe in less than 24 hours I will be in Chile it is so surreal. All of the unknown fears I am questioning. Example, I will I be? Am I going to be able to understand the language? How frustrated will I be while trying to learn the language? All of these questions I will be able to answer in three weeks and that is crazy. Well its time to go pack for this crazy trip I am so glad that I am apart of!! So, this is my first ever blog post so here it goes! It is 13 days until we go to Chile. I am super excited, but also nervous at the same time. I have never been away from home for more then 5 days and now I am about to go away for 3 weeks. It's crazy! I am a person who likes to stay in my comfort bubble and my goal for the year was to do different activities and experiences in which they push myself outside of my comfort bubble. This experience is one of those events.
This experience will be life changing. I am hoping to learn more about myself. I am hoping it will help me to become a better teacher, student, and life long learner. There are so many aspects of the trip I am excited for the: geography, culture, food, meeting new friends, and the experience in itself. Last Monday, during class we were assigned different jobs for the trip. I will be the class's Navigator. My job is helping the group find their way around the city. I will map out the ways to get to different activities, this can be either with walking or public transportation. I feel like I will be great at this job because I have a strong sense a direction. I actually get it from both my mom and my dad. I also am very good at following directions once I am given them either from another person or in written form. 13 days from now I will be in Chile!!!! |