"Do you have a jacket?" This was the first thing I heard from my family I would be living with for the next 3 weeks. (Okay, it was the second...they said hello first!) Already wearing a long sleeve jean shirt, I thought I was ready for the weather, but I figured I should listen to the people that live here and dug through my carry-on. The cold literally slapped me in the face. I'm being serious; it took my breath from my chest. And I felt my first sense of "my God, Kerri, what did you get yourself into?".
The first days with my family were full of courtesies: "What would you like to do, Kerri?" "I don't really know. What is there to do?" All I knew was that I had to stay awake, as my eyes were begging me to close. I did stay awake and went with my host brother and mom to shopping areas and stores. I'm not sure if they actually needed to buy anything or if they were bringing me places that just so happened to have souvenirs. Either way, the weekend passed and even though I felt the cold, it did not reach my thoughts.
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My host brother, Francesco, at a shopping district with a dog almost his height
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Southern Cross is a different world from education in Louisiana: students of all ages have multiple recess periods, classes stay in one room and teachers move to them...but the differences that upon first glance might be thought to send catastrophe through any of my own classes, show other benefits. The students seem closer to everyone in their respective class. They don't seem about to burst at the seams (as I think I would feel, had I only stayed in one classroom all day, every day). Because of these differences, I was nervous to teach for the first time. I was, after all, a stranger to their world.
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The school courtyard on a 1 degree (C) morning, with the Andes peeking over the roof (see what I did there?)
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As I chose to pair with a grammar teacher, a lot of the learning holds cut and dry answers, but I decided to jump in headfirst and try to understand where they were coming from in terms of learning my native as a second language. During a class outside one day, I pumped them with questions of why they chose the answers they gave. How do we know that this is the correct way to say what we are trying to say? Why DID they put that as the answer? These sorts of questions prompted extended, deeper thinking. There has been no time for actual group work involving their textbook yet (they do group work with supplemental things) so this is something within the class I hope to work on with my co-teacher.
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| Class on the futbol field (picture taken by my co-teacher!) |
With each day, the cold stayed and the heaters stayed as well. My family and I spend time in the house wearing full clothing with jackets and shoes because they do not use central heating. This is normal, however; the classrooms are also this way. (It is the same in S. Korea, but some have ondol flooring, so that shoes are not necessary.) I grew closer with my family of five: Francesco, my host brother, Fernanda, my host mom, Gina, my host grandma, Osvaldo, my host grandpa, and my host great-grandmother. Many people frequent my family's apartment and although the majority of their conversations are held in Spanish, I love staying and trying to pick out at least topics and things. The Chilean version of Spanish is so different from what I've learned. (The "S" sound is optional in certain places, and sometimes it sounds like I'm listening to German!) During "onces," or a late snack that is definitely not held at 11 o'clock, my host grandmother, grandfather, and I send questions back and forth (with the help of Francesco, of course!). I've learned a lot about Arturo Pratt! When we are not sitting and talking together (or, rather, they are talking and I am trying to follow) Francesco plays video games while I watch. I am a temporary big sister. Only being here one week, with their open hearts, this family has already made me feel as if I am not alone in this different country. "What did you get yourself into?" The cold does not seem so cold anymore.
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| The view from their balcony on a wintry morning |
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