First week at school

Wow! Is it Thursday already?

Things are going great! I was definately a bit nervous on my first day. First we had a staff meeting, at which time I was asked to stand up and say a few things. Everyone was very kind. Then I found out later that I would be introduced to the whole school during their Monday meeting, for lack of a better word. The school has an open courtyard area where all the students line up for Monday announcements. There are about 1,200 students, so to be introduced to all of them at once was a bit scarey, nerving. Some of the students introduced me, telling the other students in Spanish what they were asking me, then asking me in English, then translating it back to them. We practiced a few times before hand, so the students knew what I would say. :) They finished by presenting me with a Chilean flag.

Since then, I have been introducing myself to the students, or classes, I will be working with. It is funny, I kind of feel like a movie star at times, which is wierd to me. I will be walking from one building to the next and students will come up and say hi. I say hi back and they giggle and run off. Or they will wave and I will wave back and they will respond with the same giggling routine. My first day I was swarmed by a group of students and they were talk, talk, talk, talk...I wasn´t sure what else to say. One of the other volunteers from a nearby town happened to be in the area for something and stopped by my school (nice to see a familiar face!) . I asked her if she was experiencing the same thing and she said, yes.

I really like this school I am working at. It is called Instituto Politecnico Santa Cruz. I really like it because students get a general education for the first two years. Then, they pick a profession: accounting, secretary, electrician, tourism, clothes designer...again, very practical. I think I have mentioned this before. Some students travel for many miles to get here, a commute that could be 30 minutes each way. Some students, as I found out yesterday, board here.

Anyway...everyone is very nice. I am trying so hard to remember teacher´s names, but they are all so different to me. I would like to remember student´s names too, but, again, they are different. But, everyone is so nice! The students are so nice. We went to a museum for the tourism class yesterday. As we were touring, the students would look at me with that, Do you understand, Jami, look. If I didn´t get it, they would give me a recap. They would also make sure I could see. Very nice.

The other two teachers I will be working with are men, older men. The classes are for accounting and secretary students. Oh, and one general education level. The one teacher, Ceasar, has my introduce myself to the class in English...then he will turn around and say, ok, now say it all in Spanish. The students like it when I have to turn around and say it in Spanish. They like to laugh at my Gringa accent. But, Ceasar commented yesterday that my Spanish was already improving...so, it is good to practice. Plus, the students see I can´t speak Spanish very well, hopefully encouraging them to speak english for me.

Too, to help me with my Spanish, Ana, the English teacher and my host mom, arranged for me to sit in on a class as a student. So, I am taking a history class. I get a partner to help me understand and learn. Ana is also wanting me to sit in on a Spanish grammar class.

Ana is great. Being an English language teacher and learner, she knows what a person needs to do to learn the language. She knows my goal is to learn more Spanish and speak better. So, she and her husband made sure I had cable in my room so I can watch Chilean t.v., to better tune my ear. She is making sure I get in on these classes as a student. Also, she makes me feel at home by introducing me to people. She is very good. She, Francisco, and Felipe, are wonderful. I am comfortable living here. There isn´t any wierdness or anything like that. They have a very comforatble home, a very cute home. I am very fortunate.

There are some things to get used to...like late nights. They eat dinner at 9 pm. And that dinner is just a snack and tea. The big meal is lunch, at which time we have a glass of wine. You gotta love a culture that takes a nice long lunch and enjoys a glass of wine while doing so.

Alright...I better be going. I have a later start this morning, but I have to walk to school. Ana gives me a ride in the morning and then a ride home for lunch. Then, I walk to school in the afternoon. School is about a 20-30 minute walk. I have been switching up my route every time, sometimes because I have been looking around and getting a little lost, so I really don´t have a good gauge as to how long it really takes me yet. All I know is that I enjoy the walk. It warms me up so the school doesn´t seem so cold.

Ha...Ana warned me the first day...remember Jami, you are in South America. Schools don´t have heat and you need to bring your own toilet paper. :)

Ciao!
jami