LSU Teaching in Chile 2019

One Month Back - What I've Learned I’ve been back about a month and have had time to think about what I’ve learned. Mostly, I’ve learned what I’ve taken for granted. Chilean school is extremely different from what I’ve experienced as a student and as a teacher. Classes are louder and encourage more interaction through project-based learning and group work. I also truly liked that the students had recréo three times a day to eat, listen to music, and hang out with their friends. Chilean food is not what I expected. I loved that I had seafood nearly every day. My host family was a bit concerned that I wouldn’t like what I was offered, but I liked all the food I ate in Chile, especially empanadas. I think my family was amused that I took so many pictures of my food, but I do that in the States, too. I also learned that I can survive nearly three weeks with little Starbucks. Nescafé is like hot chocolate if you don’t think about it too much.  I also liked that I had the op...

Before I got to Chile, during the entire trip, and hereafter, I have been filled with opposing emotions. At the moment I am so happy to be home, excited to be around my family and getting to see my friends again. But, at the same time, I am missing my host family and all of the children I worked with in Chile. Once I got home I realized how much I missed the food. Nothing beat coming home to my Maw Maws gumbo and fried catfish.    At the same time, I missing teatime with my family every night and heating up water to put in a bag to keep my feet warm in the cold Chilean autumn. After being back home for a couple weeks and catching up with my family I had time to reconnect with myself and think about all the valuable life lessons that I have learned after being out of the country for the first time.    Two of the most important lessons I learned were: The world is definitely too big for me to have remained in my tiny bubble for so long. I never thou...

On Tuesday, we visited the Parque de Agua Termal near Chillàn. The bus ride was an opportunity to catch up on sleep and catch up with each other, especially our classmates from “little school” or Campus Huertos as it is known in Concepcion. The weather is becoming increasingly colder and after the heavy rains this weekend, I was grateful that the nice weather turned out for our trip. Kudos to Kenny for serving us snacks throughout our bus ride.  The Parque is about 2 hours from Concepcion and up against a snow-covered mountain. Roaming around in my swimsuit in the icy air was the hardest part of this experience. The water was so wonderfully warm, like getting into a hot bath. While we were supposed to move from pool to pool, getting into progressively warmer water, we chose to stay in Piscina 4. Note the steam coming off water. Getting out of the pool was not as traumatic as I originally thought because our bodies were warm. I loved getting visit a place that Chile...

Well...I’m still speechless... This past week has presented many more opportunities that have sparked joy in my life.  The food gets better and better, the hospitality never ceases and the culture continuously amazes me!  I’m surrounded by such an awesome group of individuals who are still guiding me in all aspects of the Chilean life and there’s still another entire week to go. First and foremost, let’s talk about the delicious food.  I actually conversed with a Chilean man named Ricardo Suazo on the flight from Dallas to Santiago. He gave me an entire list of foods I should try before leaving, and surprisingly I’ve already had just about everything on the list.  These foods include empanadas, sopiapilla, cazuela de vacuno, ceviche, calzones rotos and picarones.  Besides main dishes, I’ve eatin’ so much bread while being here.  Being that their bread is absolutely delicious, I can understand why they eat it with every meal. The typical dinner, that seems ...

This last week has been the most fun. I did so many new things and saw so many new places. I cannot thank my host family and CCSP enough for these adventures. Last weekend, I went where the river meets the Pacific Ocean and it was beautiful. The sea will always be my favorite place to be and I am so glad I was able to see two huge water ways come together in such an incredible way. My older siblings also took me out dancing Friday night. There was a band playing live Chilean music and although I could not understand much, I still had such a fun time dancing and meeting new people. My family also brought me to the water fall in Laja. I have never seen a real waterfall before and it was so inspiring. To wind the weekend down, my little sister's class had a BBQ for new students at the school Sunday afternoon. It was great getting to meet more of her friends and of course, eat some more great food. Esta última semana ha sido la más divertida. Hice muchas cosas nuevas y vi muchos luga...

I can't believe it's week 3!  I'm sure most people in my position have said this. I'm already starting to get nostalgic now that I realize how much time is limited.  My family has been so kind and loving that I wish I could really give them as much as they have given me.  I know that I will treasure the memories I have made with them.  And I'm thankful for the many pictures they have taken that will hold some of these memories. Week 3 has been eventful to say the least.  I was able to go to downtown Concepcion for the first time.  I remember being surprised at how big the center city was.   The shops were endless and there were many people out and about for a Monday.  I guess I didn't realize how urban it truly was. On Tuesday, I was able to visit both the markets in Chillán and the termas de Chillan (hot springs).  Both were lovely experiences.  I had never been in natural hot springs in my life until now.  The heat surp...

This is a little late so it is more like week two plus a few days in Chile! The past week and a half has flown by! The second week of classes at CCSP went pretty well. I dreaded teaching my first class on Thursday of last week. It was in the back of my mind the whole week. Kelly's yoga and mindfulness session definitely helped me clear my head a little bit and I woke up Thursday calm and ready to teach no matter what happened. I taught 6th graders about the United States Revolutionary war. It was definitely interesting because a lot of the class did not speak English very well. I had a few students volunteer to be my translators and the hour and a half class went a lot quicker than I thought it would! I enjoyed teaching the kids very much! It seemed to be a fun experience for all of us and I am looking forward to the two remaining classes I have with 7th graders. Life at home has been great as well! The family and I are definitely way better at communicating than the first night....

Week 2 of Chile was equally as enjoyable as the first. I was able to meet the youngest daughter of the family, who had been away internationally competing in gymnastics.  She is so sweet and nice.  I was also able to watch some videos of her competing in gymnastics and she is very good!  After seeing some of the bruises from training and competing, I really gained another level of respect for gymnasts.  They work really really hard. I also had the privilege of giving presentations to classes this week.  I enjoyed this very much because it allowed me to be very hands on and interact with many different students.  One presentation I gave was about US.  I broke it down into 3 sections. Casual ways of giving greetings and farewells.  I even had the students verbally say the greetings out loud as if they were speaking with their friend.  For ex: "What's up?" "How's it going?" "See you later" "Peace out" I spoke examples of ty...

At this point in the trip I think I have been kissed on the cheek at least 30 times a day and have drank more coffee in a week than I have ever in a year. But, most importantly, I’ve said the word WOW so many times that I’ve lost count. It’s impossible to not be amazed by a lifestyle so drastically different from your own. We get so use to things being one way that we never think it could possibly be another. Multiple times, I’ve found myself thinking ‘This is the strangest thing ever...why in the world would anyone ever do it this way?’    But, over the past week multiple reality “check ins” with myself.    I’ve had to realize that I’m no longer in my own little “world”.    I chose to come to someone else’s, and I have to make sacrifices in order to obtain the unique cultural experience that this trip has to offer. So far, this other part of the world that I’m presently standing on has not only given me amazing adventures, but it’s given me multiple unexp...

This past Sunday, my family and I along with our host, Raul, Paolina, and Sofia, voyaged to Shangri-la, a hiking area north of Chillàn where I spent two days of the long weekend. I should start by saying that I am not a hiker, but was willing to take on the challenge. Now that I have had a few days to reflect on my adventure, I share them with you now. We began our hike by crossing a gated area, which was a bit concerning, but I joined the stream of people squeezing past the gate posts, some with bicycles. Gratefully, we hiked on flat land for the first 20 minutes of our adventure, for which I was thankful, as it has been a minute since I have worked out. The colors of fall exploded around me. I must have been a curiosity taking pictures of random trees and bushes, but we don’t have autumns like this in Louisiana.  As we progressed on the hiking path, Sofia and I representing the back of the back krewe, we began climbing, which was a challenge. Part o...

The first weekend in Chile offered a welcome experience in Chilean culture that lies outside of the school and the house. Also, it was very nice to be able to sleep in, waking up on high school time is having its way with me. Saturday night I was able to enjoy a taste of the Concepcion nightlife with some members of my host family. I felt much more cultured than I actually am while comparing and contrasting the political and social environments of Chile and the United States sitting outside of a restaurant in Concepcion Saturday night. The next three days of the holiday-gifted long weekend were filled with family and relaxation. Sunday comprised of a birthday barbeque in which much of the family congregated at my host family’s house. The food was delicious and the people incredibly pleasant. Each person I meet in this family is nicer than the one before. The family is very close and they couldn’t help remind me of my family back in Louisiana. Monday involved a ...