Leaving Chile ~ Michaela

June 9, 2017 9:44 pm

I'm pretty sure that I'm currently in the same spot over the Pacific Ocean that I was in nearly four weeks ago, only headed in the opposite direction with a much firmer grasp on my writing utensil.  I have participated, more times than I can count, in experiences that have promised to be life-altering.  Of those, I can count on one hand (with fingers to spare) those that had any notable effect on my day-to-day existence:

1. Ulyanovsk, Russia (Winter 1994 - 1995):  What was supposed to be a two-week exchange program turned into a month-long lesson in flexibility and adaptation.  My visa and passport were stolen, I got frostbite on both of my ankles, and I lived with a student who had an unfathomable love of sardines.  (We once had sardines at all three meals in a single day: sardine-paste sandwiches for breakfast, sardine soup with lunch, and sardines and sardine oil over spaghetti noodles for dinner.)  
   I learned that there are complete strangers willing to translate for you and let you stay at their apartment in Moscow to sort out things with the embassy after your travelling companions have returned to the U.S.  I learned that my ability to speak Russian only seemed to improve with alcohol consumption.  I learned that it is foolish to believe I can out-drink a Russian man on New Year's Eve.  I learned that there is no way to prepare your body for the shock that occurs when the orange marmalade sandwich you bite into at breakfast on New Year's Day is actually a red caviar sandwich.  I learned the balance between having faith that things would work out and taking the necessary action to ensure that they would.  Russia changed me.
2. UNC-Asheville (Summer 2011): Two weeks into an eight-week research program, I solved a 20-year open problem in graph theory.  That solution launched a year-long conference circuit and garnered me face time with several of the most respected mathematicians of the past half-century.  
   In Asheville I learned to surround myself with people who think differently from the way that I do.  I learned to align myself with the people whose skills most complement my own, even if they're not the most popular person in the room.  I learned that, despite being distinctly female, I was fully capable of doing mathematics that was respected by mathematicians who never had to question whether their gender disposed them to mathematical thinking.  I learned the pure bliss that can only come with the realization that you are the first person on the planet to comprehend something that many very intelligent people have been actively trying to understand for years.  I learned that I had an obligation to make sure that people who were convinced they couldn't do math knew that I was wrong when I walked out of my first college algebra class after 15 minutes because I didn't think I had what it took to be successful.  Asheville changed me.
3. Teaching in Chile ((I just realized the mistake I made in using seasons instead of dates in my previous examples.)(May 13 - June 19, 2017)):  You already have a pretty good idea of the things I did in Chile, so let's move right on to the things I learned.  I learned that there is immeasurable value in simplicity.  I learned that whenever I am instinctively opposed to something I encounter for the first time, I need to question the source of my reaction rather than assume justification without intro- and extro-spection.  I learned that barnacle punch becomes distinctly less palatable the closer it gets to room-temperature.  I learned that there is creative power in chaos.  I learned that I have gotten too used to going unchallenged.  I learned that kindergartners are natural teachers, but high schoolers have been by-and-large stripped of that identity.  I learned that extra effort can be a particularly hard sell to those who are most comfortable with the status-quo.  I learned that just because I can't understand how something is successful doesn't mean that it can't be successful.  I have learned that I am uncomfortable with the intersection of economic privilege and social oppression.  I have learned that Google Translate is almost always good enough to help you get a point across.  I have learned that when Google Translate fails, it fails catastrophically.  I have learned that it is possible to pat yourself on the back hard enough to lose perspective on the actual magnitude of your good deeds.  I have learned that you can become so focused on the futility of a situation that you dismiss the impact of a singular good deed.  Chile changed me.  

So now we get back to the question from my first blog entry: How am I feeling?  Surprisingly similar to the way I was feeling this time last month.  I'm excited, and I'm nervous, but I checked an extra bag so that I could stretch my legs under the seat in front of me to avoid potential knee-cap explosions.  I'm excited to bring back my new perspectives on education as I begin to work in earnest on my dissertation.  I'm excited that my son had such a positive experience in Chile that he is already begging to come back again next year.  I am nervous that I won't be able to resist the lure of complacency instead of finding ways to incorporate my Chilean experiences and newfound understandings into my life in the U.S.  I'm nervous that I might be unable to refine and dig deeper into the rough sketches of thoughts and glimpses of understanding that I managed to write about while I was in Chile.  I am nervous that when I step off of this plane I will still be the same person who left the U.S. four weeks ago.  At the beginning of a new day (12:11 am on June 10, 2017, to be exact), though, I'm more excited than I am nervous.

Waiting for the last plane from Concepción

I've been in the airport for 5 minutes and I already miss my family. 

      One of the most special parts about this exchange is having the opportunity to share your time with a host family. They stumble through language barriers along side you laugh when you call an avocado (palta) a ball (pelota) or repeat the same part of a word over and over agin so you can try to get it right. They teach you phrases so you won't sound like a tourist so you'll be safe if someone thinks of haggling you. They give you options of things to say just to make sure you wont get lost in translation. 

But most important of all they chose you.

   Months before they could laugh with you, know your sense of humor or discover your shared love of movies about serial killers they chose you to be a member of their family. And then when it's time to go they drive you to the airport and thank you for being apart of their family when you realize you don't have enough words to thank them. Or to tell them how much you'll miss them. The best part about this exchange is knowing that you now have a new home and another family who loves you. 

I am exceptionally grateful that my host family chose me and that the hardworking coordinators for the Teaching in Chile program made sure ever student had a home that helped us grow. 

Until next time Chile.

     

So long, Farewell! x Camille Cassar

            As I reflect on my trip in its entirety, I cant help but to do anything but smile. Prior to coming on this trip, I had so many mixed feelings. What would the people be like? What would the food be like?How the hell will I survive with the small bit of Spanish that I actually do know? What will my family be like? How will I survive without my data? But honestly, after the first few days, all of my questions went out of the window and I decided to just roll with the punches and go with the flow. I most definitely never thought that I would be able to be thrown into a trip with a group of about 24 random people, for three weeks, all with different goals and aspirations. But i can now say, that that group was full of some of the sweetest, brightest, most creative people that I've ever met. I wouldn't have wanted to experience the past three weeks with anybody else.
            Aside from that, the staff at Colegio Concepcion went above and beyond to make sure we were also comfortable, which we were all so grateful for, not to mention their willingness to learn. Outside of school, my family was honestly quite the challenge. Not necessarily in a bad way, just not something that I was used to.Coming from a small family of four, being thrown into a large family of seven called for quite the adjustment on my end. Over the course of the time I was in the Schmidlin household, they made sure that I was comfortable and well taken care of.
            Between visiting the University of Concepcion,, crawling underground for Chiflon Del Diablo, driving hours and hours up the Andes Mountains, visiting a Mason's Lodge, having Chilean barbeque, visiting Chillan, going on a late night nature walk, struggling to piece spanish together, taking a Spanish uber, visiting Penco Beach, the list goes on and on...... I must say that I can not complain at all. Chile was indeed a great place, with great people, and even greater scenery. Everything was absolutely beautiful. I was so grateful and appreciative of all of the things I got to see, people i came across, and places I got the chance to visit. I honestly dont have a favorite memory from the trip, but how could you when you did more cool things in 3 weeks than you have in your 20 years of existence? All in all, I had the experience of a lifetime. Not many people get the opportunity to visit and "study" in another country, but I was blessed enough to have the chance to do so. Until next time!

You say Goodbye, but I say Hello... by Lindsay North

      This one is gonna be tough... Not only because I am writing through blurry eyes as I hide my tear soaked face in the airport... but also because it is a goodbye and I have never been great at those. 

      The thing that I realized is that it doesn't hit you 'til it hits you. and luckily I got to spend my last few days in Chile in a state of denial. But now, something that our professor, Ken, recently said keeps coming to mind. That is that he always has a fear come over him around the time he leaves Chile because he is scared that he will never see these people again.

      Currently, I am having a similar feeling. However, instead of fear I am experiencing a sadness that is forming an empty space inside of me which didn't exist until today. I now know this hole is the new and special place in my heart that is for my host family who was more than I deserved, as well as the smart and amazing teachers I worked under at CCSP. From the moment I got here to the moment I left, before even knowing me and then after actually getting to know me...these people treated me like one of their own. They cared about me and gave me unwavering emotional support that made me feel so welcomed in a country that speaks a different language both verbally and non-verbally. To some people like me who aren't used to it, the constant kisses, hugs, and invasion of personal space from strangers can be overwhelming. But instead, it was one big therapeutic hug that I didn't realize I had been craving.

     Growing up and becoming an adult in your early 20's can be tough, confusing, and lonely no matter how many people are around you. This is what I had become used to before this trip, and at first I fought my loss of autonomy upon arriving here. But what I didn't know is that getting in touch with who I was as a child is now helping me reconnect with who I am becoming as an adult.

     Therefore, this is an open thank you letter to all of my new friends and family that I gained during this trip. Thank you for accepting me, making me feel like I belonged, and most of all for loving me. I will forever laugh, cry, and smile at the memories we have made here, and I will always feel the lingering impressions of the "see you later" hugs we had at the end of these 3 weeks. I look forward to one day feeling that hug again :) But until then... Hasta luego, Chile! see you soon!!

This post has been brought to you by Espresso...

What every sleep deprived, sad girl needs to get her through a day of goodbyes and flights back to the U.S.

U.S. Bound

Well, like I said, my last week in Chile flew by. I cannot believe my time here has ended. When I was deciding if I should take the trip or not, I remember thinking, "It's only 3 weeks. I can do anything for 3 weeks." Really, 3 three weeks was not enough. Yes, I was ready to be home and sleep in my own bed, but I feel like I should still be there. I always thought being in a different country would feel weird, but it didn't. I felt like I was at home or just in a different state. It was hard to actually think that I was really on a different continent so far away from Louisiana. There is so much more in Chile that I would love to go back and experience one day. The landscape there is incredibly beautiful. Everywhere I looked there was something new that I hadn't seen before. In the last week I visited an adolescent detention center to talk with the kids there (Chile has a strange criminal system, ask me about it one day), planted trees in Talcamavida, experienced a Chilean BBQ cookout, traveled to Talcahuano to buy fish and see the sea lions, went to the Lagoon, and saw where the river meets the ocean.

The LSU group at the Chillan Thermal pools. I talked about visiting
here in my last blog, but this is a great picture. I had to share it!

My host family was wonderful. They are the true definition of "family". I am so thankful that I got to meet them and spend my time in Chile with them. They were more than welcoming, and I cannot thank them enough. 

Left to right: Gala (4, dog), Pablo (19), Mr. Lohen, Me, Ivania (14), Ian (24), and Ms. Carolina

On Tuesday, the LSU group and a class from our school traveled to a tiny (seriously) village called Talcamavida to plant trees with the Coastal Roots program at the local school there. It took us nearly 2 hours to get there. Many of the roads were narrow, hilly, and made of dirt. Every now and then, we would see a house, but there were very few. We were all a little skeptical of where we were and where we were going. I felt like I was on a TV show that travels to unknown places in the world. But, we made it safely to our destination! The school was one room with 11 students total in grades 1st - 6th. Just imagine the school in Little House on the Prairie. It was amazing to see the classroom setup and learn about how their school worked. Chile has recently suffered from forest fires in February and March (remember this is summertime). All of the forest around the school was burned. We planted around 100 trees to help rebuild the environment here. 

On Wednesday, I taught a lesson on Louisiana Blue Dogs to Professor Müller's 7th grade art class. I gave a little back ground info about where the Blue Dog came from and how it became so popular in Louisiana. The students had to then create their own Blue Dog and include things that had meaning

Professor Müller

and purpose to them in the painting. All of the students were very interested and excited to learn about a new culture. The student's paintings will not be finished until after I leave, so be on the lookout for pictures of their work! They were free to put whatever they wanted on their dog.

This student's Blue Dog included a ballerina costume and slippers. 

Professor Müller painted his own Blue Dog.
The dog is wearing a jersey of the Chile
National Football (soccer) Team, a crown to
represent the championship they won in 2015, and includes mountains to symbolize the landscape in Chile. 

The rest of this post will mainly consist of pictures! I have so many and want to share them with you! It is hard to talk about every single one, but I will give a brief description of most of them!

On the way home form the tiny village, we stopped on the side of the road to
take pictures of the river. It was very foggy that day. 

I finally got to see the sea lions! They were actually not as cute as I hope. They were very fat and seemed not to be in a good mood. The one pictured here was definitely the macho man. He posed for the picture!

 

Lauren, Kassie, Carla and I at the farewell teacher dinner. Apparently, I look like a real Chilean. I was mistaken for one several times. It was fine with me! haha

Tuna anyone? This was at the fish market in Talcahuano. This city was flooded by a tsunami caused by the devastating earthquake in 2010. Speaking of, I felt 2 earthquakes while I was there! The biggest was a 5.8, but they don't care about ones under 6.5 there. It was super weird and cool!

These are 2 of my favorite pictures from the Lagoon behind the school. The trees were beautiful!

The next 5 pictures were from my favorite part of the whole trip. This is where the river meets the ocean. There was a storm approaching, so the waves were huge! It was truly like what you see in movies.

Look for the tallest rock! Thats were I climbed to take the next picture! 

Standing on the edge of a cliff with the ocean below!

Well, this wraps up my time in Chile. I will never forget all of the wonderful people that I met and the places that I saw. I am more than thankful that I got to experience this wonderful place. I will truly miss everyone and everything. Ciao! 

P.S. If I kiss you on the cheek when saying goodbye, don't think I'm weird! It's a habit now!

Just for laughs, I thought I should include this picture for everyone to see.  I definitely wasn't  happy  at 4 a.m. Monday morning when we arrived in Miami. It looks like a mugshot. Haha! Sorry for the scare U.S. Customs!

Chile CliffsNotes -Kate A

Who wants to play ‘Where in Chile is Kate Abbott?’ Hint: a safe bet at any given time is the Santiago Airport. Here I sit awaiting my overnight flight to Dallas, and then New Orleans. I knew from the start these three weeks would fly by, but I feel like my mind hasn't quite caught up to my body yet. I'll call it "trip-lash". I will attempt to summarize some thoughts from my time in Concepcion, but it feels awfully like trying to explain a movie using only a few pixels. 

*Insert metaphors about journeys and reflection here*

Colegio Concepcion San Pedro, the high school we taught in, is a private school system run by Free Masons. Masons aren't unique to Chile, but for me they comprise an altogether unfamiliar, fascinating, and secretive organization. They have an affinity for not-so-subtle symbolism, and many of these symbols are prominently displayed on school grounds. Excuse the appropriation, but I took the liberty of applying my own interpretations to a few of these symbols. If they catch on, maybe I'll become the founder of a very specific secret society. Hazing rituals may include but are not limited to: chugging a liter of Nescafe and publicly dancing the Cueca without pisco-derived courage.

1: Compass- Through most of my life, the center of my compass was firmly stuck in Connecticut. All I saw of the world was filtered through the lens of a Yankee, and all I understood was in relation to my home center. I’ve since tried to loosen this mental compass and place down more centers to circle around, in an attempt to understand just a little bit more of the world. The longer I spend in a place, the more I'm able to understand the perspectives of the people who live there. My centers include Connecticut, Florida, Washington state, Louisiana, and now, Chile.

2: Rocks- Outside of the Colegio, there is a natural, wonky-shaped rock on one side of the driveway, and a perfectly carved cube of a rock on the other. They are meant to represent the children that enter the school unshaped and raw, to eventually graduate as educated and square little specimens. I happen to like the natural rock better. I maintain an expanding rock collection at home that my bookcase graciously supports, each rock hand-picked for it's unique and beautiful natural form. Though I've learned this lesson before, it's a good reminder that there are many shapes a life can take, but we're all still rocks. 

3: Checkerboard- On a particular tour of a particular Masonic Lodge, we entered a room with a checkerboard-tiled floor. Every footstep touched both white and black tiles, representing the good and bad in every experience. These contrasts are useful for knowing, really feeling, the range of possibilities. The air in Chillan felt colder after dipping into the volcanic-heated thermal pools. The sunshine was brighter after slinking through coal mines under the sea. Bread tastes better when you’re hungry, right? In many ways, everyday life here is no different than life in the US. All the amenities, available food, human personalities, and weather are familiar to me. Teenagers incessantly snapchat each other filtered selfies and pictures of Bieber no matter the hemisphere. Teachers rightfully complain about the pay:work ratio, and breathe tiny, inaudible sighs of relief when the class bell rings. There is a comfort in these commonalities that overrides any feelings of foreign awkwardness I felt.

The Teaching in Chile program was certainly different than I expected, mostly better, and I suspect I learned what I was meant to learn from it. When I figure out what that is I'll let you know. 

See ya when I see ya Chile!