Everything Bicentenario

The Chilean Bicentennial was quite the celebration. At school, each grade performed a dance from a region of Chile as well as prepared local foods. They set-up stands in the middle of the school and sold their foods and beverages during the show's intermission. There was also a light show in downtown Santiago , but warded by the crowds, my host sister and I opted for a relaxing trip to the mall instead for manicures and Starbucks. I decided on black as a confidence booster and the manicurist's face was priceless. We got a little show of our own though, from a musician with a wind-up box and two boys dancing and playing drums.

I also went to a community celebration with some other program volunteers. It reminded me a lot of a fair. There were food stands everywhere with cotton candy, chocolate covered fruit, popcorn, and of course empanadas. There were shops selling all sorts of things, and also performers dancing typical Chilean dances.

After five days of celebration, we headed back to school where the bicentennial still lingers in the deflating balloons and half-strung streamers. Guess we're not quite ready to leave it behind :)

Makin banana pancakes now...

School

Lessons at school this week went pretty well, some better than others, but that's to be expected. One of the activities had a lot of steps, but I wrote simple directions on the board, explained and demonstrated, and the students were able to understand. It's these small accomplishments that make me happy! I also explained America's favorite pastime, baseball, to three teachers at school this week. Now, many people from home may not think I'm qualified to do such a thing and I would probably one of the last people you would ask, but I was able to answer their questions, complete with demonstrations, and it's qualified as one of my favorite moments here so far.

Weekend Getaway

The organization I came with planned a day downtown for us, and it was so nice to be together with our little family again! We learned to dance cueca, Chile's national dance. It was a lot of fun, but my calves our killing me today! We stayed the night in a beautiful hostel! Our room had a gigantic window that overlooked the hustle and bustle of the city and I had a Miracle on 34th Street flashback.

Family Rule #1: We make dinner together as a family.

We decided to make breakfast for dinner and had quite the feast including banana pancakes, eggs, ham, cheese, vegetables, and fruit salad. Everything was delicious, especially the banana pancakes, which came from a mix that made "18 Chilean pancakes or 8 American pancakes." haha! This morning some of us had to leave right away to go back to our regions and the rest of us walked around downtown for a while. The weather was beautiful today, and has given me hope that spring is actually coming!

Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

One Month Behind Me

School

I've been here a little over a month and I'm starting to feel settled in. I've had all but one of my 18 classes and most of the kids seem excited to be there. I have a workshop with one of the classes where anyone who wants to can come after class. I had the first one last week with 9 students. It was such fun! We played icebreakers like I had done with all the other classes, but with such a low number I was really able to interact with them. Now with almost all the first day of class things out of the way, I am moving on to more content based classes. I'm a little nervous but also excited. I am planning on teaching the 7th-10th graders this week. We'll see how it goes!

Road Trip

I was able to take a road trip to two cities on the ocean, Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. It was fun to see more of Chile and take a road trip through the countryside after being in the city for so long. In Vina del Mar we walked along the coast and then took a horse carriage ride through the city. Vina is a tourist destination and known for its beaches. I would love to go back when it's warmer and take full advantage of them! Valparaiso was full of historic buildings and I loved it! I love seeing old buildings and thinking that the same building I'm looking at was right there hundreds of years ago. We also took a boat tour out into the ocean and learned even more about the history and got to see all the cities from the water. It was so beautiful! It was definitely a successful day!

Spanish

Ahhh! My daily frustration! My Spanish progression is definitely not going as quickly as I thought. It is just so fast. People will talk to me and I won't understand and then Pabla says the same thing slower and clearer and I get it. Overall, I think I am understanding more and some days are better than others, but usually it just makes me tired and frustrated because I want to be able to communicate so bad and my brain just can't do it yet.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. I hope all is well for everyone at home!

On my Own

Today was my first day on my own in the new English classroom. A couple students and I went to set it up in the morning, putting the chairs and desks out and hanging up posters. It was my first time ever setting up my classroom :) I only had one class by myself today...a group of about 20 very well-behaved juniors. I didn't have any problems with them and actually had a lot of fun. We played a game where they were asking questions in English. The last person in the row asked the question to the person in front of him and that person answered and asked the person in front of her and so on until the first team to come to the front and ask me the question won. The really got into the competition and I think the had a good time. I know I still have eight other classes though and am not expecting them to all go this smoothly but I guess it's possible....haha

I've been spending most of my time at school, especially since I was observing my Chilean sister, Pabla's classes and in turn following her 44 hour a week schedule. It was very busy and I am excited to pick up my 25 teaching hours this week and get into my own schedule. We are taking the classes to an English play this Friday and have been practicing the script and songs. Many of the students have really got into the songs in the classroom and I am waiting for what will happen during the theater performance. I think it would be great if the whole place just breaks out in song!

Well, that's all for now. Hope all is going well back in the States! Thank you for your continued prayers.

Jenna

Moved In

I have been with my host family for a week. They are amazing and I couldn't have asked for more wonderful people. This truly was an answer to prayers. I live with a 26 year-old English teacher and her mom. My host sister and I have had a lot of fun hanging out, shopping, doing things sisters do :)

I also went to my school last week. I have yet to get my exact schedule but the school ranges from 7th-12th grade so this is definitely going to be something different than I'm used to. I introduced myself to 8 classes and they were able to ask me questions. The questions ranged from my favorite color to what I thought about immigration in Arizona...impressive....I also got asked if I knew someone famous a lot and the most I could tell them was that I got Cory Monteith's autograph but Glee shows here and a lot of them knew who he was so it carried at least a little weight.

I am adjusting to the cold, mainly because now I'm wearing 5 shirts everyday but hey, ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. My Spanish is not impressiving me. I get very frustrated daily. The people here are know to speak fast and while I know that's not the only factor, I think it does have an influence. The words all blend together and I can't seem to seperate them. Hopefully this will improve! I have come across some very nice people though that will speak very slowly and clearly and with me using my broken Spanish and them using broken English we are able to communicate.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!
Jenna

The First Few Days

The first few days have been filled with a lot of information and getting to know the city. I'm really glad I went with an organization. It's been so helpful! The first couple nights we were in a nice hotel with a heater which I didn't know how much I appreciated until I came to a hostel today without heat. It's 40 outside and feels every bit of inside. I should have brought my winter coat! You think it's cold in winter in Chicago but you can actually get away from it. Here it is cold ALL the time. I'm hoping it passes quickly. Besides the cold, I'm really enjoying the city. The Andes overlook it and are gorgeous! I start the orientation program for the teaching program on Monday and it runs all week. Tommorow is our first free day and I'm not sure what I'll do, but maybe some exploring! Hope all is well with everyone back home!

Thanks for your prayers!
Jenna

I'm here!

I'm finally here! I don't have that much to report. We have only checked in to the hotel, but I just wanted to let everyone know I got in safe and sound!

Thanks for your prayers!

Almost There

It is hard to believe I will be on a plan to Chile at this time tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your support the past couple months and all the encouragement that this will truly be the experience of a lifetime. I will try to post often and let you know what I am up to!