Chile Week 1 - Harli Lockhart

Honestly, I was a little nervous about this trip. Going to a foreign country where I do not speak the native language with people I have never met before was a little unsettling. This first week, though, has been incredible. This past weekend, we celebrated Isabella's fifteenth birthday with a small house party and Mother's Day with a nice lunch at a Peruvian restaurant. I had Pisco Sour for the first time and WOW! It is no joke! My family has been so welcoming from the moment they picked me up at the airport. They also have not cooked a bad meal yet!

Sinceramente, estaba un poco nervioso por este viaje. Ir a un país extranjero donde no hablo el idioma nativo con gente que nunca antes había conocido fue un poco inquietante. Esta primera semana, sin embargo, ha sido increíble. Este fin de semana pasado, celebramos el decimoquinto cumpleaños de Isabella con una pequeña fiesta en casa y el Día de la Madre con un buen almuerzo en un restaurante peruano. Tuve Pisco Sour por primera vez y ¡GUAU! ¡No es broma! Mi familia ha sido muy acogedora desde el momento en que me recogieron en el aeropuerto. ¡Tampoco han cocinado una mala comida todavía!
Once school started, I felt a lot more comfortable. Although I knew education would be a lot different here than in the United States, helping children learn is where I am most at ease. I am with two teachers. The first, Ms. Fabiola, a second, third, and fourth grade english teacher, has been so sweet and helpful every day. She has made the transition from Louisiana schools to Concepcion schools so easy. I thoroughly enjoy her class and was very excited that she trusted me to teach alone the second day. I used an interactive game online to help the kids with their vocabulary terms. They seemed to really enjoy it. My other teacher, Ms. Waleska, is the special education teacher for third and fourth grades. I had so many questions for her, specifically, regarding special education in Chile. She gave such interesting and thoughtful answers. I am eager to take back some of what I have learned from her to the U.S.

Una vez que comenzó la escuela, me sentí mucho más cómodo. Aunque sabía que la educación sería muy diferente aquí que en los Estados Unidos, ayudar a los niños a aprender es donde me siento más cómodo. Estoy con dos profesores. La primera, la Sra. Fabiola, maestra de inglés de segundo, tercer y cuarto grado, ha sido muy amable y servicial todos los días. Ella ha hecho la transición de las escuelas de Louisiana a las escuelas de Concepción tan fácil. Disfruto mucho de su clase y estaba muy emocionada de que ella confiara en mí para enseñar solo el segundo día. Utilicé un juego interactivo en línea para ayudar a los niños con sus términos de vocabulario. Parecían disfrutarlo realmente. Mi otra maestra, la Sra. Waleska, es la maestra de educación especial para los grados tercero y cuarto. Tenía muchas preguntas para ella, específicamente, con respecto a la educación especial en Chile. Ella dio respuestas tan interesantes y reflexivas. Estoy ansioso por recuperar algo de lo que he aprendido de ella a los EE. UU.
This first week has also contained our first tourism trip. We went to Chilfon de Diablo, the only under water coal mine in the world. It is under the Pacific Ocean and it was incredible. I have never done anything like that before and there was so much rich history behind the mine that was so interesting to learn about. We also looked at a mock village of where miners would live, which was so cool. There was even a shop/bar where they would buy food and wine and such. We also went through Parque Isidora Cousino, and it was absolutely beautiful. Seeing the Pacific Ocean from the park was my favorite part of the day.

Esta primera semana también ha contenido nuestro primer viaje de turismo. Fuimos a Chilfon de Diablo, la única mina de carbón subterránea en el mundo. Está bajo el Océano Pacífico y fue increíble. Nunca había hecho algo así antes y había tanta historia detrás de la mina que era muy interesante de aprender. También observamos un pueblo simulado donde vivirían los mineros, que era genial. Incluso había una tienda / bar donde comprarían comida y vino y tal. También pasamos por el Parque Isidora Cousino, y fue absolutamente hermoso. Ver el Océano Pacífico desde el parque fue mi parte favorita del día.
This trip has already surpassed my expectations. I am so excited to see what the next two weeks have in store!

Este viaje ya ha superado mis expectativas. ¡Estoy tan emocionada de ver lo que las próximas dos semanas tienen en la tienda!

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