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! 

"Blood doesn't make a family-- Love does." / Erika Baumann

          Throughout the last three weeks, many Chileans asked me what I thought about the school/community/country and how it compared to what I expected. The reality wasn't too different from what I imagined, no shocking surprises or anything, but at the same time it was better than anything I could have ever dreamed of.  I thought we would spend more time teaching, or at least in the classrooms, and I wish we could have had way more time doing so... But with the excursions and events going on, we spent a good chunk of our time with the families, CCSP teachers, and each other. As a result, I developed many deep relationships with different people, and our little communities bonded beautifully. There was hardly any drama at all among us and I feel like I pretty much got along with everyone, which is crazy to me because three weeks is long enough to drag out the crazy! We all mostly made close buddies and groups who stuck together, but it wasn't cliquey. In general I'd say we were a pretty close-knit family. I though we would all be completely sick of each other by the end of three weeks, but instead I think we were just beginning to open up to and get to know

one another where we could really bond. I love all of you guys so much and miss everyone already! I hope that we stay in touch and continue to develop these long-lasting relationships for years to come, but I've already learned from and been deeply impacted by every single one of you! 💜💛

         
          One of the deepest and most important relationships I've made has been with my host teacher, Cecilia. We have a lot in common and clicked right away. I jumped right into her classroom environment and co-planning like it was nothing because we vibe so well, and I think she trusted and respected me with her students in a special way. I feel like I gained a life-long friend as well as an awesome mentor, and that definitely caught me by surprise. I didn't expect the teachers of CCSP to respect me and take me in the way that they did, but by the last day I truly felt like I was becoming a part of that family, too. They were very much like, "You're one of us," and "You fit in perfectly here," which are the best comments ever for someone who never feels like they fit in (me). I'm usually not very good at making friends, especially since I'm generally introverted, so I NEEDED that. It feels so good to know that I can move to Chile one day and have a support group of colleague-friends to help me not feel alone like I'm in a strange place. 

          The deepest love I developed was of course with my host family to the point where I was dreading coming back to Louisiana and I bawled crying in the Concepción airport for an hour. I missed being in my own house with my boyfriend and my autonomy, to where I was just ready to not be a guest in someone else's house anymore. But I also grew to love our routine and I could have spent years bonding with Moira like sisters and best friends. About halfway through the trip I realized that Moira was really becoming one of my best friends (and I told her), and it was very strange to me because she's 7 years younger than me. But age "ain't nothing but a number,"  Moira is very mature for her age! I've never had the privilege of having a sister, because I have four older brothers, so it was new and strange but I loved every minute of it and I was super bummed that we both got sick the last week and weekend that I was there because I felt like we never got to spend enough time together. We would talk so much while eating or cooking or walking around town and if I wasn't so exhausted at the end of every night we probably could have stayed up all night giggling and bonding, doing stereotypical girl things like  face masks or making bracelets. We have so much in common that it's unbelievable and I KNOW that I have gained a life-long friendship out of this experience with Moira. And while I was definitely closer to Moira than anyone else in the family, I 

also grew to love her parents. Her dad Mauro (Mauricio) is a professor

at Bio Bio University and he's pretty fluent in English, so we got along right away. We like the same music and he was the perfect goofy stereotypical Dad type. Moira's mom Lilian (Liliana) didn't speak a lick of English, but we still grew VERY close to the point where she was telling me that she loved me and I was her second daughter. I'm sort of a loner and very independent so it was hard for me to let her in as a mother figure, but after I adjusted and we figured each other out a bit more we were able to bond somehow. I LOVED being taken care of and worried about by someone and I was surprised by how much Lilian and I have in common despite the fact that we didn't speak the same languages. But by the end of the trip her English was improving tenfold and they all loved watching me learn Spanish. Her brother Diego is super shy, so we didn't bond and paint our fingernails, but he spoke really good English and hedid eventually start telling me hey when we passed one another and we talked a little bit, and he was pretty cool. Just quiet, which is soo different from how I grew up that I'd love to have him as a brother! 😂 Overall I  felt 100% loved by this family and taken in as one of their own. Every day I thought about how blessed I was to be matched with a family that fit me and that I fit into so naturally because I was really worried about that leading up to the trip! I'm still in awe that I have developed a whole new life with a family and community in Chile so quickly, and I'm heartbroken that I had to leave that wonderful country and my new loved ones behind. But I think that they will all be waiting for me with open arms and hearts whenever I return, and I miss them so much that I would definitely travel across the U.S. to meet up with them if they ever come visit the states. It was hard to leave behind people that I had grown to love so deeply (if I didn't have $1000 plane ticket already booked I don't think I would have had it in me to ever leave) without knowing when I will see them again, but it still feels great to know that I have so much love waiting for me in Chile. 

Finishing up round two of high school by Madeline LeBlanc

The life of waking up early to catch a bus full of high schoolers and be in one place all day, every day was really easy to forget, and this glimpse back into it has certainly worn me out. I was really grateful to have a bit of time to sleep in this weekend, but then we went into our last week in Chile full swing! My restful weekend included more time at the mall and my first ever manicure. I love how my nails look, but the broke college student in me will certainly be painting my own nails next time. On Sunday, me and my host family met the extended family at a barbecue restaurant that was probably the food highlight of my trip. The barbecue restaurants in Chile bring out platters with hot coals resting under a plate of potatoes covered in a variety of slabs of meat. They place the sizzling plates in the middle of the table and everyone reaches across with their fork for their choice of chicken, steak, or pork. It was incredible. The potatoes sit beneath to catch all of the meat drippings, and I ate quite a few of them.

Piles of meat ft. my host sister Cata and my host mom Pamela

Josefa and I went from lunch to the mall again to watch a band from the school compete in a battle of the bands, or as they said when trying to translate it for me, a "rock fight." Hearing Chileans sing a variety of english music in their accents was wonderful and the band from Colegio Concepcion ended up winning.

On Monday Kate and I went to Carla's university, the Universidad Andrés Bello. We talked to the english education students about LSU, differences in Chile and the US, food, and whatever else they could think of. While we were there, I felt my first ever earthquake! It was a 5.7 with an epicenter about 2 hours away, and being on the third floor of the building, we could feel it really well. The students saw my eyes light up and told me not to worry, assuming that I was scared, to which I promptly yelled, "No! I'm excited! This is my first one!" They all laughed at me a bit and told me it wasn't much of an earthquake for them. They did seem to get a little more worried when it wouldn't stop for a while and told me to follow them if we had to evacuate, but it should be fine. It stopped eventually and we went on with our english discussion.

The next day we drove out through the mountains along dirt roads to a K-6 school that had only 11 students. The area around the school had been ravaged by the recent wildfires, which gave the tree planting we were doing there extra, tangible meaning. It was a lot of fun romping around in the freezing cold with the kids as they ran to kick dirt into the holes, plant the trees, and put up bunny guards. One of the kids I was working with, Sam, spoke excellent english for his age and was an expert stick finder.



It was definitely hard to believe that my time in Chile was coming to an end, especially with how hectic the last days were. We went to another barbecue restaurant with our teachers for an awesome dinner and then had a barbecue the next day at the mason lodge, complete with pisco sours and karaoke. My flight out was that afternoon, so I had to miss out on most of the karaoke and the english song festival. I was really disappointed to miss them, and I know I'll really miss Concepcion and tall of the incredible people I met there when the chaos of travel settles down. The whole trip was such an incredible experience and I'm so grateful to have been able to go.

My awesome host family. I miss y'all already! 

Pass The Mayo

This week has been full of different emotions, and I have yet to completely process them. The emotions ranged from the excitement of our trips to the feeling of being homesick to complete tragedy knowing I would be leaving my Chilean family.

On Sunday, my host family took me the beach.  I never imaged  visiting a family friends camp and spending the day there. I had never seen or touched the Pacific Ocean and this was such a beautiful sight. After visiting the beach, we had a huge Chilean BBQ with steak, sausage, and my favorite Pebre.
 

On Monday, we visited a jail for kids between the ages of 14-18. These kids lived in little group houses and I was assigned to the all girls house. I was nervous at first to meet the girls, but I ended up having an amazing time. We brought cookies, chips, and candy to the houses and ate and talked with them.  We talked about boys, makeup, and hair. The girls were so kind and great to talk with.

On Tuesday, I woke up feeling home sick. I'm not sure why it took me nearly 4 weeks to feel homesick, but it hit me. I was in a drag until we arrived to another city. We visited a school in T_____.  This town was heavily impacted by the forest fires in Chile earlier this year. This school consists of one classroom and teaches kids from grades 0-6 and only had 9 students. Here I met a boy, Mateo. Mateo only spoke Spanish, but somehow we managed to team up and plant a few trees. He called me "Tia" meaning aunt and he was so happy we were visiting their school. After our planting of the trees, I felt back to normal.  It's almost as if my host family knew I was feeling a little homesick because that night we feasted on papa johns pizza, that just the part of North America I was missing, the food. 

On Wednesday, my teacher Carlos took a few others and I on a "field trip."  Notice the word is in quotations because we skipped our classes to travel around Concepcion. Carlos showed us the most beautiful parts of Concepcion. He took us to where the Bio Bio River meets the Pacific Ocean. Here the sand is made from volcanic ash and I have never experienced something so beautiful. After, he took us to 2 other beaches just to admire the beauty of Chile. I was truly thankful for this trip because it was almost as if time had stopped and I was just in a picturesque scene.

 

During the night, we met up with our teachers to have a goodbye dinner. These teachers at this school are by far the best people to have teaching your children. The teachers have huge hearts and function as a big family.  Here we had another BBQ. I had a blast at dinner, even though only half of our table spoke English.  I learned that it doesn't matter the language you speak, there's always a way for communication. Even though most of the teachers I spent my time with did not speak my language, I still had an amazing experience with them and found a new appreciation for different languages. 

On Thursday, it was getting real, this was my last week in Chile. What a day this was. We left school at 11am and had a going away fiesta. Here we played karaoke, learned traditional Chilean dances, and ate tons of red meat. By the end of this feast,

I couldn't even look at food anymore. Around 4pm we headed to school to watch an English song festival. This was so much fun and it was amazing seeing such young people master not only singing but singing in a different language. After, we had a surprise planned for our families. We presented to them a handwritten letter and a photograph of ourselves as a big family. The moment was so surreal and it all hit me that I will soon move away from their home.

 

Friday, the last day of school was basically just me wondering around the school the entire day. I also went on another field trip to a rehabilitation center for children with disabilities. I absolutely fell in love with the center and wanted so badly to work in an environment just like this one, where patients don't pay for their care. 

Now it is time for me to start packing my bags and rolling all my clothes in the hope that my suitcase would be 50 pounds. I feel happy to see my friends and family but also sad because I may not ever see most of the wonderful Chilean people I met again. 

After a weekend full of barbecues and pisco sours, it was time to head to the airport. It really didn't hit me until the security gate opened up and I had to say goodbye. I don't think a goodbye has ever been so hard. How crazy was it that this family had never met me 3 weeks ago and now I was part of their family. I can't wait to see them again and I know I always have a home in Chile. 

Suffice it 2 Say by Daniel Walker

Before I get carried away, I'd like to apologize to my millions of adoring fans and avid readers for not following through on my ~BONUS~ blog post that was promised to arrive around last Wednesday.  You can email customer service if you would like a refund for the hours of time you spent anxiously hitting refresh on your desktop in hopes that another blog from yours truly would appear.  Okay--moving on to the meat and potatoes of this blog post.

I write from a small booth in a restaurant located on the fourth floor of the Santiago airport.  Waitresses in red uniforms bustle about, travelers drink beer and take advantage of the buffet, and sounds of hurried Spanish follow the occasional shatter of dropped glassware.  The environment is certainly interesting, and it's one I won't see for quite a while, but it sure does make writing a reflective blog post much harder of a task than it should be.  Additionally, how am I going to write a blog post that encapsulates everything that I've experienced in the past three weeks (the same three weeks that seem to disguise themselves as a much longer period of time)?  From the time I first touched Chilean soil to the last hour spent with my host family, I've been bombarded with new experiences, revelations, and memories.  Seeing all my colleagues writing blogs about things that they learned and experienced is great but I'm not in a position to do that.  I could spend at least the next ten blog posts dissecting an experience from the trip, and they'd all be longer than my attention span.  What is there to say about three weeks that are wildly different than anything you've ever done?  What is there to say about a short trip abroad that will have a profound impact on the way you live your life from here on out?

After thinking long and hard over my cold buffet food, I realized that I don't want this "final" blog post to be a seal on a finished letter.  I'll spend the next few months unpacking this experience, trying to soak up as much as I can from what I went through and what I learned.  For now, though, all there is to say is THANK YOU.

Thank you to my friends and family for your support of me stepping out of my comfort zone and study abroad.  Thank you to my teachers at LSU for making this experience a lot more manageable and preparing me for something like this since the day I stepped into the School of Music as a freshman.  Thank you to my host teachers and family for everything that y'all (yes--y'all) did for me while I was in Chile.  This has been an experience that I will never forget and one that I will be talking about for a long time.

This isn't a permanent goodbye.  Thank you.

A distressed princess waits for the day in which she will be reunited with her prince charming (me).

What I Learned In Chile Is...

I’m writing this as I sit in the airport waiting for my flight, and as I am sitting here, I just can’t believe how quickly three weeks went by. I still remember on the first day whenever we arrived in South America, I was just like “Wow. We’re in South America!” That felt like yesterday and I can’t believe that we’re sitting here now waiting for our flight back to North America. I already wrote about the seven things that I will miss about Chile in my last blog post, so for this one I thought I would write about what I have learned/taken from this experience.

Teaching in Chile has given me such a great perspective on teaching and how to overcome challenges that will certainly arise. I think the biggest thing I have taken away from this experience is the Spanish language. Before the trip I couldn’t speak any Spanish, and now I feel comfortable in communicating what I need/want. It’s not perfect and far from the best but it’s something that will definitely help me out in the future. This whole experience has taught me just how easy it is to learn a language. Often times people think that they have to take long courses and study thousands of flashcards for years to come. That stuff helps yes, but I know countless numbers of people who took foreign language in school but can’t speak at all. All you need to do is target commonly used verbs, basic vocabulary, and watch a few grammar videos and you should be good go! Or at least that is what worked for me! Also I think ego has a big part of the whole speaking experience and that people don’t speak because they are scared of being wrong. However, it says more about you if you try to speak the native language than rather expecting them to speak yours. This was why I thought it was so important for me to do some studying in my free time during the evenings. It also helped that I was immersed in the language for three weeks, People respect those who at least try to make a connection and I definitely wanted to be able to communicate without a translator.

It also taught me that it is challenging to teach in another country whenever the language is not your native tongue. This sounds obvious, but it really was eye opening because even in the English classrooms there is lots of Spanish going on. I have been thinking about teaching abroad in a Francophone country for several years now and now after actually doing it (but in Spanish) I see that it can be quite challenging. I think that I am up for the challenge though because although there may be some difficulties, the pros outdo the cons!

Another big thing that I took away from this trip was how differently education systems run. Whenever I was in Europe for a while on a foreign exchange program, I was able to see how the schools in France worked a little bit. Coming here to Chile, I see that they are run quite similarly! A big thing for me that I found different was how the teachers move and the students stay. In my experience with U.S. schools the teachers have their designated classroom and the students go to and from their different classes. This for me seems better because the kids get the opportunity to move around and change up their environment a little bit to better their learning. I also think that the student teacher relationship here is very neat! The teachers and students are very affectionate, as are most of the people too. I think that this sets up children in a loving environment and helps them to be more expressive and work harder in school.

Another big thing I learned is that I want to travel. I’ve always loved going to new places and experiencing new things, but after this trip I determined that I want to try and travel as much as possible in my lifespan and experience as many cultures, food, and people as I possibly can. Life is too short to live it living in the monotonous rut that most people create for themselves. I want to step out of that and live a life full of culture and traveling! Here’s to many more adventures!

The Law of the Harvest by Keyth

I always try to give more than I take and receive in all aspects of life. I find great joy in doing things for other people and have never really been good at receiving help from others. This trip in Chile, I have received far more than I could ever have hope to have given. There have been so many amazing experiences, generosity, learning opportunities, and just love showered upon me. I have been constantly humbled to be surrounded by so many wonderful people. On a trip to a special English school, while talking to the youth, they wouldn't believe me that Chile was my favorite country that I have visited. It really is and it is mostly because of the people I have met. It is kind of ironic that some of these incredible people traveled with me and I would've never known how special they were without this trip. It is a lesson to reach outside my circles and seek out more people even when I am home.

The group from LSU has been such an inspiration to me. We were constantly told that we were the best group ever and I feel so blessed to have been a part of this group. It is not hard for me to understand why so many people thought this was the best group ever, because every day I was impressed by each of these participants. We had to prepare these teacher seminars for the Chilean teachers and the ideas for these seminars were all innovative and timely. Each day I felt like I wasn't pulling my weight, not because I wasn't working hard and doing my best, but because I was surrounded by giants. A couple people commented on how much I have achieved in my life and although I have done a few things, I have been around longer than most of these participants. Their potential and ability far surpasses mine and I will be a greater person forever for my associations with them. 

                           

I have grown fond of all the LSU peeps and love each of them, but because we were selected as the Science representatives, I spent the most time with these two girls. I have grown to love them like my own sisters and I know they will both be incredible scientists! As, I begin my trip to Easter Island, it feels like something is missing not having their curious natures along. We took some extra adventures at the beginning of the trip, which at the time I was grateful not to have to explore alone. Having them along was so inspiring to me, everywhere we went their scientific minds were evident and I knew that I would never be half as brilliant as them. I will be a better scientist because of the time I spent with them. 

                            

There are so many spectacular teachers at this Chilean school we worked with and each of them influenced me to varying degrees but I was specifically paired with two teachers at the Chilean school. One of them was an amazing science teacher, Javier. When I was a kid, I thought I didn't like science. It took me until later in life to realize that I really enjoy science. If I would've had a teacher like Javier, I am positive I would have found this passion earlier in life. He truly cared for each of his students and knew them. He made his lessons exciting and interesting. Every day he was so welcoming to me and I wish I had more time with him. My short time with him will make me a much more effective teacher and a mentor throughout my life. 

The other teacher I was paired with was Carlos, a Physical Education teacher. P.E. has always been my favorite subject, so I needed little help to enjoy this class, but he was the best P.E. teacher ever. Even though he spoke almost zero English, we hit it off from the start (sports is a universal language) and I found myself looking forward to the my time in his class. I learned Chilean dodgeball and handball, and helped Haley teach them kickball. I am really considering life as a P.E. teacher after the Coast Guard because of my time spent in Chile! Carlos even took four of us on a special outing to a really neat museum and some of his favorite beaches. This selfie next to a Tsunami sign might be my favorite picture from the entire trip (there was some discussion about how insensitive this picture might be, but I was adamant we needed to take it) because it really captures our personalities! 

Another amazing teacher, Maca, took Haley and I got to go to Teleton, which is a facility to help kids who have musculoskeletal disorders. This facility is run completely from donations and volunteers and 70% of the recipients live below the poverty level in Chile. The staff was phenomenal and I learned so much from the way they interacted with people. They cared for each of their patients to a level I have never witnessed and I will strive to show this level of interest in the lives of the people I interact with forever. We even got interviewed for the Teleton website so check it out if you feel so inclined! 

                

My Chilean family was the best (I know other people said this, but I'm right)! They were the best family for me, no one could've come close to having as much as an impact on me as they did. I gained a new family. Their friends took me and treated me like one of the family as well. Even their (our) friends kept talking about how we all needed to visit each other in the future and I hope this happens. Marco and Patricia treated me like their own son (my eyes are a little watery as I think of their influence) and each day with them was very special to me. Stefano and Dylan will forever by like brothers to me and  I look forward to the time we get to hang out again! I tried to clean up after myself and make food, but despite my best efforts, they were far more of a blessing in my life than I was in theirs. They told me about how they will always think of me when Despacito comes on and hear my voice singing along to the few words I knew! They also said that they will never hear "me gusta" without thinking of me. As we drove today, we played the song multiple times and they always looked at me for the parts I knew and smiled big when I chimed in. That song will always fill me with great memories of these lovely people, my Chilean Family! 

Last but not least, I have to recognize the wonderful people who made this program possible. Kenny, Ken, Lindsay and Carla. Each of them put so much effort into this program and if we truly are the best group ever, it is only because we are a reflection of their leadership. Each day I looked forward to their notes to my journal entries! They made sure each of us had all the tools we needed to be successful and I am extremely grateful to be associated with them. 

It is very apparent that I have reaped far more than I have sown with my experiences in Chile. I will try to incorporate all these experiences into my life so that I might be capable of sowing more in the future!