12 weeks down, 12 weeks to go. It
is hard to believe that I have been here 3 months already. I left just after
Memorial Day and now, thanks to friends Facebook updates, I remember it is already
Labor Day Weekend. In the last three months I have vastly improved my Spanish,
even started thinking in Spanish after the first month. I have experienced new
foods, people, and an educational system. I have attended baby showers,
birthday parties, visited a newborn baby in the hospital on my birthday, and
seen a traditional cueca dance
competition. I have gone to mass in Spanish. I have been blessed by an aji
pepper. I have traveled many hours in buses, increasing my tolerance for public
transportation. I have been to Temuco more times than I can count, Liquine, Valparaíso,
Vina del Mar, La Serena, Pucón.
My adoptive family has gone above
and beyond to assure my comfort. We have excellent conversations over homemade
bread and café de polvo and we watch
television together every night. Antonia and I play games on my iPad and learn English
at every opportunity. I have my laundry done and dried by the fire. They recently
gave me a new desk and Chilean shabby chic bedding. The school has been very welcoming
and I love talking to the other teachers. I feel like part of a great
community.
There are many things I miss but am
able to deal with. Internet access allows me connect easily with family and
friends. Julietta and Bruno fill the lacking of my favorite (and only) left
handed pup, Toby. Mate (strongly caffeinated Argentinean herbal tea) has
minimized my coffee cravings. The one thing I REALLY could use is a Packer Football Sunday, or even better a trip
to Titletown.
Not
always having the exact words I want to say while participating in
conversations has forced me to slow down my thoughts and listen more closely. I
am very grateful for the opportunities I have already had and look forward to
experiencing even more. My hopes for the next second half of this experience is
to further improve my Spanish , continue to embrace each day rather than yearning
for what is not here, and attempting to learn and teach as much as possible in
the next 12 weeks.
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