Wrapping it up

Soo much has happened in the last few weeks that I haven´t had a chance to blog or post photos! Super brief summary here, and the rest will have to wait for in person/phone re-tellings :) Thanksgiving, both at with the U.S. Embassy and with some Chilean friends, was fantastic. Last weekend I went to a lake 2 hours south of here with Chilean friends and spent the weekend in a cabin. We had a chance to see some ruins from Spanish forts, which are controversial and which many Chileans (particularly Mapuches, the native people who still have a high population) would like to see destroyed. This past weekend was a series of goodbye parties: from various friends, as well as one from some students. As I think most of you know, I fly home next Tuesday!

Since this is my last post, I wanted to go back to the goals I posted before I left to see the "before and after":

Professional Goals-I would like to hone my teaching skills, and be able to present creative, interesting(?) lessons at an appropriate pace to students who don't share my native language, and to learn to incorporate information literacy instruction into a variety of formats and settings (permission granted, of course...but who wouldn't want to learn about information literacy?)

Check. Interesting may be debatable, but I got positive feedback on several lessons, and I managed to include website evaluation and citation skills in all of my courses

-I would like to complete one of several research projects I have prepared
Check. I have gathered data for two studies, with the writing and analysis to be done when I return. I have also learned to navigate the IRB process, so I feel like that is also an accomplishment!

-I would like to improve my Spanish, and gain an understanding/appreciation of Chile
Spanish...ehh. I spoke a lot more English than I expected to. I think it´s still better than it was previously, but that I will always have a lot to learn!

Appreciation of Chile? Absolutely :) Understanding? Not sure that´s completely possible,but again, more so than before.

-I would like to do some kind of work/volunteering within a library and get a better understanding of how their system works (this last one is a high priority)Library internship first semester, re-cataloging and giving instruction on new system for English Department library second semester



Personal Goals-I want to see a llama and a penguin, not necessarily at the same time :-)
Llama: Check.
Penguin: I was in the right area, but the wrong season.

-I would like to be comfortable with public transportation and improve my navigational skills
I did get comfortable with the Santiago metro, the Conce buses and collectivos
I am still inherently directionally confused, but I have gotten a lot better at reading maps and asking for directions

-I want to make friends from around the world
Check: various cities in Chile, Scotland, Switzerland, England, Ireland, Brazil

-I want to visit Punta Arenas--the southernmost city in the world

Check: Staying with one of my closest Chilean friends (but I also learned there are cities further south!)

-I want to be open and accepting of this new culture, and immersed in it--and to be receptive to adventure

Absolutely :)

I´m sure I will still be "processing" this experience in the coming weeks and months...but as of now I am amazed with all that has happened, and stunned by the number of people I now consider close friends. For now, thank you sooo much for sticking with me. I look forward to seeing you all soon :)

Dancing through Life

I expected to learn new things while abroad and wanted to challenge myself to being very open to whatever new possibilities Chile presented.

That said, I NEVER dreamed that I would be dancing so much this year, or enjoy it as much as I do! Up through September, I was stumbling my way through the national dance (la cueca). Even though I never got particularly good, I always enjoyed my cueca experiences. More recently, my Scottish colleague has been offering Scottish dance workshops over the lunch hour, which have also been super fun. And, since one of my opportunities here is to audit classes, I have been auditing Latin American folk dance this semester. Last night we had, as they say here, un show--in other words, a public performance. It featured our class, the flamenco class taught by the same instructor, and a Chilean folk dance/music group that several students formed.

I think this experience was among the highlights (and wow are there a lot of them!) of my experience here. Even though I am still waaay gringa and always stand out, I was still performing something distinctly Latin American with Chileans--and it didn´t matter in the least that I am foreign. In some of the videos and photos, thanks to the stage lights, the giant skirts, and the obscene amount of hair spray I had to use to get my hair in a tomate (bun), I can´t be distinguished from the other dancers.

Dancing, much less dancing in public, puts me out of my comfort zone in a way that even the daily challenges of living abroad do not. While I don`t know how much dancing I will be doing in the future, I am much more receptive to it than I was previously, and have certainly gained a new love for folk dance. I have loved Latin American music (folk, popular, even the cheesy love songs) for quite some time, but being able to dance to this music allows me to look at it and experience it in an entirely different way. I think I have also learned to be more patient: dancing of any sort is not at all natural for me, but, with time and effort and patience, I can eventually do it--and have a lot of fun in the process.

Spring Talent Show 2008

Another semester, another Talent Show! This one went much more smoothly, in part because it was so much shorter: the choir class, one singer, one monologue, one poem, and one "special performance" of lip synching by my Scottish colleague and me. Since there were only three acts competing, each of them got a prize, which was fun. Two of the three are my students, so it was fun to watch them show off. I think the students had a good time, and since that´s what this is about, I´m pleased.

Sometimes I really do like teaching

There is NOO better feeling than teaching a class that goes well :) In one of my classes, I have almost complete freedom to teach what I want how I want to--as long as the students are able to meet the course goals for writing and reading and speaking skills, and that I more or less stay within various units.
So, I'm trying to end the semester on a "fun" note. Last week, I had them read an article about teaching spelling to EFL students and the role of spelling in U.S. culture. Today we had a spelling bee and watched clips from the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I really wasn't sure how this would go. Sometimes they humor me when I do "non-traditional" activities, and other times I just get the death look, whining, and resistance. This WORKED! They got into it, and I think they may have even learned something :) I got the words from their compositions over the semester, so it was a good review of their own mistakes, and a chance to discuss commonly confused words. They laughed a lot and cheered for each other. Great class atmosphere, and honestly, an enormous relief that this went well :)

To finish off the term, we are doing an "exchange" with a class from my undergraduate university. One of my favorite Spanish professors from undergrad teaches a Spanish course of a similar level, and we have teamed up on a wiki. Our students have to write to each other (sometimes in Spanish, sometimes in English) on a variety of topics. Again, I am excited about this. Whether or not they will be is still to be determined, but I think it's a great chance for them to practice language skills with students of their own age and similar interests from another country.

I can't believe how the semester is flying: 1 more week of normal class, 1 week of "midterms," and then onto finals and closing. I am so proud of (most of) my students, and have seen tremendous improvement in some of them. One girl in particular hardly spoke at all at the beginning of term. When she did, she didn't make eye contact, she stumbled, and she spoke so quietly no one could hear her. Now, she volunteers every class period, consistently makes eye contact, speaks clearly and louder (still working on volume), and always has something really insightful to add to the discussion. It has just been so rewarding to see such progress. As frustrating as teaching often is (especially teaching in a foreign country), there are sometimes moments that make me wonder why anyone would ever dream of doing anything else.

Day After

Thus far today, I have received 15 hugs and congratulations. News coverage last night, even on the public channels, lasted until 3 in the morning.

I think is a pretty accurate reflection of how Chile feels about the election.

Election Update

I have been surprised at the amount of coverage our election has received here in Chile. On Saturday night, there was an hour long interview with the candidates on the popular program "Sabado Gigante." Last night, there was a 20 minute special on the regional news in which the anchor went to Chicago and interviewed Chileans there about their perspective on the elections. One of the news stations will do a 24 hour coverage today of any and all changes and updates.
All that said, it´s probably good that this is my busiest teaching day because I won´t be able to check updates again until I end at 8:00 tonight and can tune into the news. Chileans, at least as a whole, are very much in favor of Obama--believing he will do more with improving foreign relations. I have met one McCain supporter (well, at least openly McCain supporter) who argues that Obama is too young.
We´ll see what happens, but the excitement and tension is definitely present here too.

Fun Spanish!

As I have mentioned, I am living with a Chilean lawyer, the sister of a colleague. Inga and I talk for at least an hour nearly every night, and she has jokingly started the "one word a day" lesson plan. This started not out of her desire to teach the resident gringa (I don´t think), but because at least once during our chats I have to ask...what? I have tried to limit myself to just once, choosing the most interesting sounding words/expressions to ask about.

Recent highlights:

-¡No seas pa(v)o! Literally, don´t be a turkey: don´t be silly or absent-minded

-dar una yapa: to give someone a bonus or something they don´t deserve

-tomar un harmonil: literally, to drink a bit of harmony, but the essense of take a chill pill (directed at the dog...not at me, for once :)

-hacer una vaca: make a cow! Or, pitch in and collaborate