Wow, I haven't written to you guys since last year!
I'm guessing/hoping that with the busy-ness of the holidays you didn't even notice?! Either way, here is a little overview to get us up to date: uno). No more school, no more books...!
dos). Celebrate good times, come on!
tres). New year...new me?
cuatro). I'm but a stranger here...heaven is my home!
cinco). Party in the U.S.A!
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It only seemed right that my first "Meet & Greet" post is dedicated to one of the nicest people I have ever met and someone that I see nearly every day. StatsName: Jorge Enrique San Martin Villalobos Born: 15th of December, 1953 Married to: Lidia Children: Marcia & Cynthia Grandchildren: Maxmiliano Pets: Bruno (dog) & Rayita (cat) Occupation
FavoritesFood: asado, pantrucas, pescado (grilling out, dumplings, fish) Drink: navegado, ponche heladito (mulled wine, a nice cold punch) Favorite word in English: seven, because it is perfect Interests/Free TimeSome of Jorge's favorite activities include:
Extra TidbitsSome of that time spent in conversation with friends is collecting stories, pictures, and artifacts from the past, especially that of their beloved town of Longaví...they have even written a book! Every year, for the past 9 years, Jorge and his friends have put together una tertulia {oo-na-ter-too-lee-ah}, an evening where people share these stories, pictures, and artifacts with others in the community. This year I was honored to help Jorge prepare some things for the evening and he gave me permission to share some of the old pictures with all of you! Enjoy! I think I have finally recovered. There was food. So. Much. Food. For many days. Wednesday through Monday. I'm tired all over again just thinking about it all. Here are a few highlights: Wednesday, September 14thWednesday was a big day for our school. The students put together a presentation that represented Chile's history and key cultural icons and also featured dances from different regions of the country. Afterwards everyone got together as the families, students, and school staff shared typical food. Children kept bringing me food. I ate 10 different things. Then the staff had our own little celebration afterwards...with, you guessed it, more food. Thursday, September 15thThursday was Longaví's parade and our school was proud to march. Since the parade was not until 4:30pm, everyone came to school after lunch, around 2:30. You may be wondering what marching in the parade exactly entails? I think one student summed it up the best like this: "We wait for 2 hours and then walk for 2 minutes." Saturday, September 17thOn Saturday I went with Jon & Elise out to el campo {el cahm-po} [the countryside] to share in the festivities of the lovely family of Maria Rosa & Gustavo. What did I learn this weekend? I actually really enjoy oysters and mussels. Especially raw with lemon. #surprised #wow #delish Check out this video that Jon made of our day, including a trip to a beautiful nearby river! Also make sure to check out their blog post for some great pictures from the weekend! Sunday, September 18thSunday we went back to Maria Rosa & Gustavo's house where there was lots more food, family, fun, and cueca! Check out this video summary of another great day! Check out other celebration week related videos Jon has done about Chile's National Dance "The Cueca" and Fiestas Patrias celebrations at his rural Chilean school (which includes dances from all over Chile). You have probably realized by now that you should be subscribing to Jon's vlog on YouTube! Subscribing to his vlog will also bring you great benefits such as: news, joy, happiness, tidbits about our lives in Chile, and random appearances by yours truly. Coming soon to a blog near you...Stay tuned for another update coming to you very soon about an AMAZING hike we took last Saturday. Here's a teaser: Also coming soon, the first installment in a section I'm going to call "Meet & Greet" where I will introduce you to special people in my life here in Chile! Mystery Guest #1 is...a secret.
Most of my week consists of your average daily activities: Wake up. Go to work. Ask students to please "Sit down", "Use nicer words", and "Put your cell phone away." Buy food. Prepare food. Eat food. Wash dishes. Hang with friends. Pay bills. Watch a movie. Read a book. Click the little blue Facebook thumb. Walk with dogs. Pick-up dog doo-doo. Cuddle with dogs. Do laundry. Sleep. However, sometimes there are some shining and exciting moments such as: Camping in the mountains. Going to the ocean for a day. Getting up close and personal with penguins. Surprise mail from the states hanging in my tree or laying in a corner half-eaten by my puppy. Getting the 'family rate' on wine and a private tasting even after showing up after-hours. Friends and family coming to visit. Picking up hitchhikers. (Wait...Mom, have I told you about that yet?) Well, this blog entry, unfortunately for you, is neither shining nor exciting...but it does give you a few little tidbits to answer the classic question "What's going on in your life?" #disappointedbutwarmChimney sweeps do NOT perform choreographed routines on neighborhood rooftops. I shouldn't be too surprised though...it isn't the first time a musical deceived me about the realities of life. Despite the obvious disappointment, he did a wonderful job and now I am enjoying a nice toasty house on chilly fall evenings. Speaking of fall...here is what it is looking like near Linares these days. #icantreadthatWhat exciting things have I done in my free time recently? Practice my Chilean penmanship. While the Spanish and English alphabets are nearly the same, neither good ol' Zaner-Bloser nor D' Nealian cursive do much good when working with young students... At fist I assumed I could avoid any misunderstanding by just printing my letters...but my third graders quickly helped me realize that was a very wrong assumption to have made! One can only hear "Miss, what letter is that?" a few hundred times before going crazy. After the second class of the year, one of the third grade teachers suggested that I write in cursive because here in Chile they start learning cursive right away in first grade. Ok, no problem! Then, about two days later, I realized that my cursive was also causing problems...yeah, one of those "Michelle Tanner Moments." Another teacher gave me a copy of the handwriting chart and I started practicing! Look especially at the upper case "i", because that's how I used to make my upper case"t"...talk about confusing. The capital "g" and "t" have been the hardest for me to get used to...but hopefully it will soon be second nature! At first I found the lower case "p" a bit annoying, but it certainly has grown on me and now I am rather fond of not closing it off. Once while I was practicing another teacher saw me and gave me an extra copy he had of a handwriting book. #awesome #itsthelittlethings #iwantallofthebooks #patienceisavirtueAnd last, but certainly not least...this is what the taxi line looks like when you go grocery shopping late on Saturday morning...
School has been in session for about a month now. This year I am blessed to still be able to work as a teacher's assistant in the community of Longaví. Last semester I was working with the English teachers at the high school in town and this year I am working at the elementary school. The official name of the school is "Escuela Juan de la Cruz Dominguez Gonzalez". However the school is also fondly known as "La Unificada" which means "The Unified" because just a few decades ago the school was divided into a girls' school and a boys' school. The school hosts about 450 students from 1st grade--8th grade. Each level is divided into 2 classes "A" and "B", with each class having between 25-35 students. The English department is fortunate enough to have its own classroom available to work in! See that man there on the right? That is Jorge San Martin Villalobos. He is 62 years old, knows everything that there is to know about Longaví, likes a nap after lunch, and is THE kindest person in the ENTIRE world (I'm not even exaggerating). Oh, yeah, and I get to teach with him. #blessed Here is a quick tour of the English classroom: The textbooks we use: The English taught here in Chile is decidedly British. *giggles* The building is in a "W" shape and has 2 floors. Here are a few photos of the school & yard: Correcting. Wherever there is teaching, there will always be correcting to do. How would you feel if you got back a paper and it looked like this: You might feel pretty terrible...but here in Chile, those marks are cause for rejoicing! Every question is marked in some way whether it is correct or incorrect. To leave a test or paper blank is a great way to cause confusion for a Chilean student. Correct answers receive a check mark and incorrect answers an X. The grading system in Chile is numbered from 1,0 to 7,0 (not A B C D F). Anywhere from 6,0 to 6,9 is within the A range and a 4,0 is the lowest passing grade. If you're really curious, click HERE to see the equivalencies. My schedule this year allows me the time to work with students from 3rd-8th grades. There are some distinct changes going from working in a high school to an elementary school and both have their charms. For example, just walking past the younger grades I can't help but feel like a rock star: "¡Tía!" (Aunty!) "¡Miss Jennifer!" "Teacher!" "¡Miss, te quiero!" (I love you!) "Hello!" "¿Por qué es usted tan alta?" (Why are you so tall?) "¿Cuándo nos toca con usted?" (When do we have class?) All of this accompanied by hugs, kisses, high-fives, and 'secret' handshakes. Oh, and of course, love notes and drawings: They say pictures are worth a thousand words...and if that's true, well then congratulations because you just read over 24,000 words! Thank you for taking the time to get to know a bit more about the blessings of my life in the southern hemisphere and if you have any questions, just have your people call my people...or leave a comment below.
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