More from Chile!

Hey all!

I know that my last post wasn't nearly enough; unfortunately, I don't think this one will be much better. :( Blame it on the fact that I'm sick (thanks, Santiago Smog). I'll start from the last time I left off and see how far I get. :)
CIEE orientation was fantastic. Claudia took care of us like we were family and we learned A LOT about Santiago, Chile, the people, the schools, and nearly everything else we'll be coming into contact with. It was really nice to have someone here to help us navigate our way around (Santiago has roughly 6 million people). Also, Claudia organized a tour around Santiago with a dude named Sergio. He gave us the lowdown the country's pretty tumultuous history while showing us the sites of Santiago. It was a lot of fun and really, really informative. :) The best part, though, was connecting with the others in our little group. We're super tight and don't go anywhere without at least one other person. Thankfully, we're going to be placed into regions in chunks (three, three, and four), so we'll never truly be alone. :)
On Saturday, we moved to our new "home" for the week, Hostelling International. Let me be the first to say that it was a HUGE transition. We went from apartments to a place with no central heat, a ton of people, and questionable (read that: prison quality) food. We don't really complain, we just get a kick out of it. We also added about 40-some people to our little group which was...interesting to say the least. On Monday, EOD orientation started. It's a little more formal and teacher/lesson oriented, but it's pretty decent. The greatest thing about this program is the fact that EVERYTHING is laid out/already done for us.* I can get more explicit if you want me to, but let it suffice to say that this is as close to being a first ESL job as I could ask for. :)
I'll write more when I can/if I have something to say but for now, I'm going to go get slop and head up to bed. :)

LOVES!
Cb.

*A little background/the reason behind Chile's English policies:
Pinochet (a not-so-nice dictator) was removed from power in 1989. Schooling for high school (8-12th grade) only became mandatory in 2003. A year after that, the Chilean Ministry of Education decided they wanted to increase the amount of students that could effectively communicate in English (which is determined by taking a test created by Cambridge [yes, the university in England]). In order to ensure that all students have the same education, the Ministry mandated that all schools use the same texts and all students are taught in the same way. During our sessions, then, we are being taught the Ministry-approved (man, I sound like I'm straight out of Harry Potter there!) method and the underlying theories behind it. Because ESL education is it's infant stages, they encourage our strict adherence to the structure we are given. We can, of course, play around with what's within the structure. :) Hence, there's quite a bit of structure, but just enough flexibility for me to feel comfortable/to have fun. :D

CHILE!

Hey all!

Sorry I didn't write earlier but it's been super hectic here. I arrived in Chile yesterday and, despite the country's insistence on being laid back, have been running around since. Let me be the first to say that this place is BEAUTIFUL. The Andes are, of course, the best part. Well, so far. I have yet to get to the city where I'll be staying (Coquimbo, for all of you who were wondering), so I have to hedge a little.
We've (by we I mean the 10 other teachers in this CIEE program and I) have been wandering around Santiago with our awesome guide Claudia since yesterday. I honestly prefer the metro (which is SUPER simple) to any of the buses (they're scary). She's been treating us to really great food (Peruvian, cool jazz club food, and tonight: vegetarian) and telling us everything we need to know/answering all of our questions (which is most important). :)
I think that'll be all for today. I'll try to update as frequently as possible but I'm not sure how accessible the internet will be once we move to the new hostel/our homes. :)

Loves to you all! :)
Cb.