Hey all -
So it´s been a couple of rough days here. First off, we got our placements and found out that we´re, for the most part, going to be pretty separated. Bonnie and I are, thankfully, in the same town (Salamanca). It just happens to be about two hours away from everyone else. :( At least public transportation is good here! :) We also found out who we´re teaching (I have two grade schools that I´m bouncing between--unless they agree to switch Bonnie and I {who has high school, which she´s terrified of}) and a little information about our families. Apparently, I have a mom, a dad, and a sister named Maite. Other than that, we´re totally in the dark; this seems to be a common erm... status for those working with the Chilean government. It makes for a good joke, but living it isn´t all that fun.
I honestly can´t complain, though. I´ll get to be teaching in less than 10 days, which is exactly what I want to be doing. I´ll have my own classroom and I´ll be immersed in yet another Spanish-speaking culture. I´ll be constantly learning about myself, the folks around me, and the languages that I speak. :) Yes, it´ll be difficult and challenging and it´ll force me to do things that I wouldn´t normally do. BUT, I´ll change, become better and THAT´S exactly why I´m here. :)
Anyway, I wanted to fill everyone in just a little about what´s been going on. I´ll hopefully be able to post when we get to Salamanca and let you see how pretty (or Wyoming-like) it is. :)
LOVES!!!
Cb.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
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
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
Thursday, July 22, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
YAY backpack!
Hey all!
We went on Monday to get the my backpack and needless to say, I'm WAY more than excited. It's seriously the coolest thing I've had in awhile, that's for sure. It's like Batman's utility belt only cooler. :DThis is the backpack from the front. It's about 18" tall and has more pockets than I know what to do with. But wait! There's more! (Here comes the superhero part!)
Just a few short zips and WHAM! I have TWO backpacks (one slightly smaller than the other! :D
This is cool because I don't have to carry the whole thing around all the time. And now, for the finale (and my second favorite part): the back of the backpack!! :D
What I'm most excited about here is the load-bearingness on the bigger bag. I've been wanting a bag like this for years. :D :D :D :D *MAJOR SQUEENESS!!*
Alright, enough with that. :) I'll post more soon about the actual trip itself (when they've started giving me real answers). :D
¡Te amo!
Cb.
We went on Monday to get the my backpack and needless to say, I'm WAY more than excited. It's seriously the coolest thing I've had in awhile, that's for sure. It's like Batman's utility belt only cooler. :DThis is the backpack from the front. It's about 18" tall and has more pockets than I know what to do with. But wait! There's more! (Here comes the superhero part!)
Just a few short zips and WHAM! I have TWO backpacks (one slightly smaller than the other! :D
This is cool because I don't have to carry the whole thing around all the time. And now, for the finale (and my second favorite part): the back of the backpack!! :D
What I'm most excited about here is the load-bearingness on the bigger bag. I've been wanting a bag like this for years. :D :D :D :D *MAJOR SQUEENESS!!*
Alright, enough with that. :) I'll post more soon about the actual trip itself (when they've started giving me real answers). :D
¡Te amo!
Cb.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The Beginning!
Hey!
So I thought that I should probably get this thing started. I have about four weeks until I leave. :D At this point, I've bought all of the traveling stuff that I need to (i.e. I've paid for the program, bought the plane tickets [that was a nice punch in the face]), etc. etc.). I'm still waiting to hear what area I'll be posted in; then I can pack/do some last minute teacher clothes shopping. :) I've been working on my Spanish (especially the tenses that still give me problems) as well as getting games, teaching ideas, certificates, etc. all together and packed.
I'll post a picture of the new backpack I'm getting (it's, like, the sickest thing ever) as soon as it's here. :)
That's about all from this end. I'll throw more updates your way the closer I get to leaving! :D
¡Te amo!
Cb.
So I thought that I should probably get this thing started. I have about four weeks until I leave. :D At this point, I've bought all of the traveling stuff that I need to (i.e. I've paid for the program, bought the plane tickets [that was a nice punch in the face]), etc. etc.). I'm still waiting to hear what area I'll be posted in; then I can pack/do some last minute teacher clothes shopping. :) I've been working on my Spanish (especially the tenses that still give me problems) as well as getting games, teaching ideas, certificates, etc. all together and packed.
I'll post a picture of the new backpack I'm getting (it's, like, the sickest thing ever) as soon as it's here. :)
That's about all from this end. I'll throw more updates your way the closer I get to leaving! :D
¡Te amo!
Cb.
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