En camino (on the way)...

This is an email I sent to my grandparents, but I decided it would work just as well as a blogpost for everyone to read.

Just thought I'd write and give you and update on what's going on down here with me. I just finished up my first semester on Thursday after a long day of final exams on Wednesday. It's been a difficult, but rewarding, semester. There were times when I just wanted to quit and go back to the states, but I know I'm gaining valuable experience here not only with teaching but for any other profession I might decide to pursue in the future. And although I often my doubts about my ability as a teacher, and I know I still have a lot to learn, I have received some good feedback from many of my students (even some of the more difficult ones). I just received this message yesterday from one student who required a bit more attention (it's in Spanish, but I'll translate for you):

Alex!!
Te envio este mail para agradecerte lo buena onda que eres y por haberme ayudado mucho en ingles , espero poder tomar contigo el prox ingles! porque aprendi mucho!!
eres super buen profesor!
Muchas muchas gracias!

Alex!!
I'm sending you this email to thank you for the "good vibe" that you are and for having helped me so much in English, I hope to be able to take my next English course with you! because I learned a lot! You are a "super" good professor! Thank you so so much!

It's funny how a semester's worth of headaches and frustrations can seem entirely worth it after receiving a couple of those. Surely there were students who weren't as happy with me, but I'll take any sign of progress that I can get. Anyway, the semester ended on a high note, and I'm excited to have a fresh start next semester. After a long, well deserved break that is...

Which brings me to today...

Right now I'm in Concepción giving Jen a hand finishing up her semester before we head to Bariloche, Argentina for a couple days, then back to Santiago for our flights to Medellín. Bariloche is a town near the border with Chile on the northern edge of Patagonia. It's really picturesque during anytime of the year. Right now it should be pretty cold, highs in the 30's and lows in the 20's, probably with some snow, but I'm actually looking forward to it. I've been pretty cold for the past month or so, but there's been no snow. I guess I figure that if I'm going to be cold, I might as well see some snow. Also, with lows in the 30's we can expect buildings with heat, which will be a welcome change. Apparently there's some decent and fairly cheap skiing in the area, so we're going to look into that as well. It's kind of a haul, though. I was on an overnight bus last night, and we're taking another one tongiht to get to a town called Osorno by tomorrow morning. From Osorno we cross the border to Bariloche (about 6 hours including crossing the border). Of course we'll have to do the whole thing over again to get back to Santiago for our flight on Friday, but I'm sure it'll be worth it. It feels good just to get out of Valpo for a while. You know me, even though the constant travel can be a bit miserable at times, it's really what I live for.

Our flight to Medellín will be an experience as well. We have two short layovers on the way, one in Lima, Peru and one in Quito, Ecuador. Jen's family is very excited for us to arrive, and it sounds like they'll have a lot set up for us when we get there. I feel really luckey to have the opportunity to stay with them for so long. This isn't an opprotunity that many people can have, and I'm very greatful for their generosity.

I guess that's about all I have for now. I'll send at least one update once I get to Colombia. I'll have my computer with me, and there will also be internet cafes I can go to, so you can expect some sort of communication at some point. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying summer in the northern hemisphere!

Cuídense (take care),

Alex

Pictures!

Some Teaching Photos!

Here I am with my host family, Kathy, Mauricio, and Maria Antonieta.

And here are a few pictures that one of my field directors took while she came for her class observation last week.

Some pictures

Here are a few pictures from the other volunteers that I stole...

Laundry.

I'm officially a resident of Chile!

Actually, I have been for a while, but now I have the ID card to prove it. Photo's kind of blurry, but its' the best I could do with the iSight I'm using on my computer. Not the best ID picture I've ever taken...glasses are crooked and I think I look a little goofy, but oh well. I also blurred out my ID number. Chileans use it for everything, so it's not that big of a secret, but, hey, better safe than sorry. After all the lines and bureaucracy I had to go through to get this, it feels pretty good to finally have it. Makes everything a little more real. Anyway, off to lunch, more to come later.

My Room - Take 1

Hey all-

I moved into my host family's house yesterday, and just took this quick video of the top floor where my room is located. I imagine I'll replace this with one that has me speaking and not as poorly shot. This is sort of test-run I think. Anyway, the first room you see is a little common room, then I head down the hallway towards my room. My family here was even kind enough to put up a welcome sign with balloons! I was excited to see that I have a TV with cable, and a great view from my window of the cerros (hills) and the Congreso Nacional (Their National Congress), which is the last big building you see (looks like a big upside-down U). I'm off to lunch right now, more to come about my new living situation later.