And so begins our 3-Week Journey in Chile - by Alexandra Lee

Week 1

During the first days, the weather was at the top of everyone's mind, from student to visiting teacher. I checked the forecast before I arrived yet managed to feel like I was missing some key layers needed for 30-40 degree weather. Some teachers bought scarves and socks at the nearby Mall Sport and Lider, others slept with their layers. Don't skip out on the essentials when packing light.

Classrooms use space heaters fueled by a tank of gas and students tend to congregate around them when it's just too cold. The picture below doesn't show the space heater, but check out this 9th grade math class. The room is home to this group of students for the entire year. Instead of students rotating to teachers' classrooms, teachers rotate to students' classrooms.

The Southern Cross, welcoming Geaux Global

Street dogs are everywhere and they seem well-fed, too. My host mom told me that sometimes people of the area (where the dogs wander) collect money or food to feed these dogs. Some even wear clothes. Below is a photo of our Wednesday field trip to the city center. We watched the changing of the guard ceremony and two street dogs were really excited about it.

This dog wanted to be part of the ceremony, running from one group to the next.