I have been incredibly busy! It´s hard to find time to blog, but I would like to update this blog every week to get keep you in the loop. I also realize that time goes by so fast, and I want to remember every detail of my experience here before it all goes away. Writing things down helps my infallible memory. I have already been in Chile for one month! I can´t believe it! And I don´t want to miss a thing!
HEM Debate
Last week, we had a debate competition with the surrounding schools. I want to give a shout out to my students to tell them how proud I am of them! Unlike the topics for the Ministry Debate, which were more personalized (Do you think rap music is a bad influence?), the topics for this debate were tough. It was difficult for me to even think of how to debate them, because you need to know a lot of history, politics, etc.
Do you think Chileans living abroad should be able to vote in national elections?
Do you think that the U.S. should intervene in world affairs?
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| Thanks to Miss Sara, the debate coach, for her hard work! |
Our group made it to the final round and I was so proud of all their hard work! The students from our team were pretty young in comparison to those from the other teams, so they have the chance to come back next year stronger and more prepared. The students got lots of great experience from the competition.
And I was blown away at how well some of the students (ours and other schools´) could debate such complicated topics that would be difficult for any gringo.
Public Speaking
The Ministry of Culture and Education in Chile holds a public speaking contest to encourage students to use their English and to engage in healthy competition. The topic for this year was:
Who is the most influential American of all time?
My students chose Mark Zuckerburg, the inventor of Facebook, of course! Again, I was impressed at how well the students did their speeches and how articulate they were! Public speaking is hard even in our first language; I remember how nervous I was for my mandatory communications class in college. Our regional representative, Carla Fuentes, comments that each year, the students get better and better. She is constantly being impressed by their English!
We moved on to the next round of the competition, so Miss Sara (the other American teacher at the school), the two participating seventh graders, and I are very excited! Some schools seem to take the competitions too seriously, which puts too much pressure on the kids. But I can honestly say that that isn't the case here. We have been having so much fun preparing for public speaking! The kids have really come out of their shell and it`s great to see their personalities.
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| Students from public speaking and spelling bee. Both teams moved on to the semifinals! |
Travel
Last week was chock full of travel! I appreciate how my host family is going to such great lengths to make me feel at home and get to know more of Chile. We first visited Huatacondo, then Pica, and finally Iquique.
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| From L to R: Iquique, Pica, Huatacondo |
In the small town of HUATACONDO, we saw the religious dances for La Asuncion de la Virgen. Catholics believe that this day, Mary left Earth for Heaven. (I`m sure it has an English translation, but since I`m not Catholic, I don`t know!). It was fascinating to see the mixture of indigenous and religious influences in the celebration and the costumes. The costumes were adorned with beads, textiles, and other decorations that demonstrated indigenous roots. For example, many of the costumes looked similar to the native Peruvian wardrobe that many of us are familiar with. (Multi-colored dresses, etc.)
This blend of indigenous and Catholic influences can be seen all throughout Latin America, such as in the Mexican festival of Dia de los Muertos. While historically, the Catholics tried to oust indigenous beliefs, the ceremony in Huatacondo seemed welcoming to both cultures. For example, many indigenous people in South America believe in a deity called the Pacha Mama, or Mother Earth. The priest in the ceremony mentioned, ``Those who believe in the Pacha Mama are blessed by Jesus. They are from the Earth and they are meek.`` The valdiation of the indigenous culture in a Catholic ceremony was refreshing. I think that we could learn a lot from this tolerance and acceptance of different ways of life.
And then, the dancing. People danced into the wee hours of the night, with their own marching band blaring behind them. Then they danced at seven in the morning to get everyone ready for the day`s festivities. When do they sleep?! Certainly not during this week!
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| The aforementioned bear dancer |
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| Fireworks at night |
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| The dragon dancer! |
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| I don´t know what this is. Medusa? |
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| The caporal, my all time favorite dance! The dancers have bells that jingle jangle as they move. |
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| The outside church |
Then we went to PICA, home of oodles of mango and lemon trees. I probably drank my weight in natural mango juice there. We also visited the hot springs, and it was nice to unwind and relax in the warm water. Supposedly there are also dinosour tracks in the town, so they had an exhibition devoted to dinosours. My host sisters looked so tiny next to the gigantic dinosaur statues!
Finally, we went to IQUIQUE, We saw a replica of the ship La Esmeralda. If I have my facts straight, the ship was used in a war against Bolivia and Peru. The countries were fighting for territory, and Bolivia and Peru ganged up against Chile. While Chile won the war (and consequently, the land), they lost the battle and a Pervuain ship actually sunk the Esmeralda. Pratt, the commander of the ship, was killed when he jumped onto the Peruvian ship to try to attack the enemy.
And now?
I admit that I am still getting used to teaching and Chilean culture, even though I feel very much at home here. There are lots of pros about living here: the students are friendly, there is a great sense of community at the school, the pace of life is more relaxed, etc. However, as a gringa, it`s still hard for me to get used to the relaxed pace of life (Sometimes I`m in a go go go mood!), waiting until the last minute to do everything, constantly changing schedules, etc. That`s when you have to hone in your flexibility and just go with the flow. I`m learning to be more flexible, which I think will serve me well as a future teacher or speech pathologist. I love to plan, but you really need that flexibility when your plans fall through.
As for some bad news, my laptop is kaput. I thought that it had a transformer already built into the charger to deal with the voltage difference, but I might have been wrong. With a fried motherboard, there is little hope for salvation. I am very fortunate that the school has lent me a laptop, but it only gets internet in the school. I try not to think about the fact that a new laptop is probably more than my stipend for my entire semester in Chile, because that makes me feel like throwing a mini temper-tantrum. Maybe I can scrap my laptop and sell it for parts...
As for teaching, I am having a great time with the students! I try not to become overwhelmed, because this is still fairly new to me. Sometimes, I struggle with thinking about how to teach a certain concept in a conversational way (How do I make reporting verbs fun?). Sometimes I can`t come up with anything, and other times, I have so many ideas that I don`t know how to filter through them all! I have to remember to keep things simple and to not overthink things, because I have a habit of doing that! There are always going to be challenges. Sometimes I talk too fast and forget to simplify my language, sometimes a class is bouncing off the walls, and sometimes a lesson just bombs. But you learn from it!
Vacations are coming up in my school, so the kids are getting a bit antsy. I am excited to see all of the celebrations for the upcoming Chilean Independence Day! The students have practiced typical Chilean dances such as the caporal, pascuence, and cueca.
I'm off! I sent a giant hug to anyone who is reading this from the U.S.- I miss all of you!
