Chile - Week 2

Week two of Chile has really been a week of settling in, the adrenaline has worn off, my body has adjusted to the time/weather change (for the most part) and the routine is beginning to feel semi-normal. I'm still taken aback by the Andes, I mean seriously, I don't know how anyone could ever get used to seeing these things. At the school things are going great; I got to sit in on a few different classes this week. I just wanted to really see what all the school had to offer and it turns out I sat in on some pretty amazing classes. One particular class I enjoyed that I never thought I would was World History, which was cool because that's the course I will be reaching next year. We discussed Ancient Greece and the beginning of democracy and a republic. It was really cool to compare and contrast Chile's history to American History, I feel like the kids really got it. Finally, we had "Dia de Ingles" or "English Day" on yesterday. It was awesome. It was basically a school wide competition to see which high school classes could demonstrate their knowledge of English the best. You had students doing skits, students singing, students playing games...they did exceptionally well. I definitely got some tips for teaching my kids vocabulary. What really caught me off guard was the amount of leniency in Chile. These kids were able to use all kinds of props in their skits that just would not fly in America...AT ALL. They used knives and axes (but covered with plastic as if that would make a difference). I thought it was cool but the American teacher part of me was thinking "this isn't even remotely safe." Haha. It all turned out well. Granted, America has a much more violent past than Chile. Guns are not even allowed here. I've never been more convinced that ratifying the Second Amendment is necessary...but I'm not gonna even open up that can of worms so I digress. The kids are great, the school is great, I'm still not sick which seems to be par for the course at this stage of the trip. Life's good. And if just in case you don't believe me, here are some pictures I took on Wednesday...one is was taken from the Costanera Center - the tallest building in Latin America - it's a few feet shorter than the Eiffel Tower, the other is of a building downtown that looked important. I think it's a courthouse, but I'm not sure. Ciao!