English Week and More Travel

A couple weeks ago Chile celebrated English Week in schools and universities across the country. My co-teacher and I put together a school-wide assembly that included listening to the U.S. National Anthem, poetry, skits, dancing, and seeing some of my pictures from the states. It was lots of fun to share my culture with both my students and colleagues, and the collective ooooohs and aaaaaahs at hearing fellow students speak only in English or at seeing my pictures from LA and New York were great. Here are some pics:

One of my fifth grade students reciting a poem entirely in English

Some 7th and 8th graders dancing to Michael Jackson's "Beat It"

I presented pictures from NYC, Los Angeles, Alaska, Utah, and the Bay Area. Favorite pictures included the Statue of Liberty, the Hollywood sign, and my Brooklyn street blanketed in snow.

We took advantage of a three day weekend last week by going to a town called Pucón about four hours south of L.A. Pucón is known for its adventure sports and beautiful scenery, and despite some cold, rainy weather we took full advantage of all the fun there is to do down there.

Jake and I in front of Lake Villarrica, right near our cabin. We all ended up jumping in that freezing lake later...

We went white water rafting down the Trancura river. It was so cold but so worth it!

We zip lined through the forests and back and forth over the river. FUN.

Walked up to the big statue of Jesus overlooking Pucón and Lake Villarrica. On a clear day you can also see the snow covered Villarica Volcano, too.

It was a really fantastic weekend, and I think all of us wished it could have been just a few days longer. We had to get back, though, since only five more weeks of teaching remain. My colleagues have already chosen the date and place for my despedida, or goodbye party, and it sounds like it’s going to be quite the event. They’ve even started buying the alcohol for it! I’m not quite ready to imagine a week without hundreds of kisses on the cheek and screams of “hello Miss Kelly!!” from across the patio, though, so I plan on doing my best to cherish these last weeks!