Done

I have officially finished teaching here in Chile, and my final week sure ended on a high note. Here's a quick recap.

Class Despedidas - Last week I had one last class with every course and threw the kids a little despedida (goodbye party). We ate, danced, and took lots of pictures, and here are a couple group photos we took:

Some of my 5th graders

Some of my 7th grade boys

Surprise Parties - A couple classes got wind of the fact that I was throwing parties for everyone and decided to turn things around and throw me a surprise party. The picture below shows me with a 6th grade class after I had walked into their room to 45 students screaming "surprise Miss Kelly!!" and tossing confetti in my face. They had printed out pictures of me and taped them up all over the classroom and put together the whole surprise on their own. I of course immediately started crying when I walked in.

End of Year Class Photo - Below is a class photo with one of the graduating 8th grade classes. This is the 8th grade that I've written about before and that most of the teachers can't stand because they're so "unruly." I loved this group and will definitely miss their personalities. Normally the students only take a class photo with their head teacher, but this group asked if they could take one with me as well. This was one of the "loco" photos we took after the official one.

Goodbye Acto - On my final day of teaching the school had a going away assembly for me. Picture recap:

A 5th grader started off the Acto with some amazingly kind words. This is when the tears started flowing.

A group of 6th and 7th graders sang me a song about kindness and friendship.

These very popular 8th graders sang a song in Spanish, but I couldn't tell you what it was about because every girl was screaming at the top of their lungs the whole time.

The Cueca, of course!

This 3rd grader sang a song entirely in English with some killer backup dancers (note the shirts)

These two 8th graders ended the Acto by reading me a letter in English as the translation was projected for everyone. The waterworks really started at this point, in part because I was so touched by what they said but also because I was so darn proud of these two. When I arrived they didn't even know how to ask or answer "What's your name?" in English, and to see them up on stage reciting a letter that I understood completely really struck a chord.

Still sobbing, I was then invited up on stage to receive flowers from the Director.

I then gave the kids a little speech about the importance of hard work and all that good, teacherly advice. Then I told every student that we were going to say the very first word I taught them ("Awesome!") one last time. When I originally taught them this "slang" word I used the motion of putting your fist above your head and pulling it down to demonstrate some of its meaning. I stood up on stage and counted down "3, 2, 1..." and in unison all 400+ students put their fists in the air, pulled them down, and screamed "Awesome!" It was really amazing, and I don't think that explanation does it justice.

The Acto and all the hugs and tearful goodbyes after were extremely emotional. I have never felt so much love from so many people in one place at one time. It was incredible having a room full of hundreds of people applauding and cheering for only me, but I don’t know that I deserved all the love and gifts that I received this past week. I really just came here and did my job, and thanks to certain advantages only afforded to me, the volunteer, I was able to give the students more love and attention than they're used to. Nonetheless, I appreciated everything and was touched so deeply by every single gift or little note or hug or kiss. I will keep and guard those memories forever.

I was talking with a couple Chilean friends the other day about differences between Chile and the U.S., and one difference that really stands out to me is the way foreigners are treated here in Chile. Whenever I had trouble expressing myself or made a fool of myself due to my far from perfect Spanish or my cultural ignorance, Chileans were patient and kind and did their best to help me figure things out and make sure I accomplished what I needed to. Plain and simple, foreigners are just not treated that way in the U.S. My friends told me they thought the difference stemmed from the fact that Americans are still a pretty rare find in Chile, so it's exciting to meet and speak with one. I understand that point and fully embraced that idea in my school (for example, the other day I signed autographs for every 4th grader because, well, they wanted my autograph before I left), but I think the difference also stems from the fact that Chileans really are as kind as everyone says they are. They're warm and helpful and often seem very unaffected by all the challenges they face.

I now begin traveling until February 5th and hope that I can take a bit of that Chilean kindness along with me. This has definitely been a once in a lifetime experience full of unforgettable memories, and I plan on returning to the U.S. more aware of and thankful for all that I have been blessed with and more willing to share my blessings and abilities with those who need them. Plus, thanks to these past 9 months I'll also be returning to the U.S. with some much improved Spanish! THANK YOU to everyone who made this experience a possibility for me. I couldn't have done it without your support, be it financial, emotional, or spiritual. See you soon!!

Nearing the End

If you can believe it, tomorrow begins my last week of school. I have been insanely busy finishing things up at school and in our community groups, going to many a despedida (goodbye party), spending time with my Chilean friends and family, and applying to grad schools on top of it all. Here are some pictures for recap:

Adult English Class - Here some of the guys are watching videos of skits they wrote and acted out in our previous class. Considering the amount of English they knew when we started the class (almost none), their skits were awesome. Tomorrow's our last class... we'll be having a fiesta, of course.

Spanglish Speakers - We had our final meeting this past Saturday. Due to strikes in all our schools as well as at the local university, we had some frustrating meeting cancellations during this past month. Our final meeting, though smaller than normal, was still a lot of fun. We got some secret pen pals started and tried to keep the ball rolling so that this program can continue without our guidance. Hopefully it does!

English Club - This past school year I've had an English Club for my 7th and 8th graders that met every Friday. We played games, did some fun English activities online in the computer lab, and wrote to pen pals in the U.S. We had our last meeting this past Friday and did a review of all we'd learned, and they seriously impressed me with everything they remembered. I'm definitely going to miss this group.

English Poster Competition - Throughout the year my wonderful parents and sister sent me all kinds of fun gifts for my students, ranging from Spanish/English dictionaries to Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus folders and crayons. While I've given a few of them away, I held on to most knowing I wanted to do something big at the end of the year. I decided to have an English Competition in which the students were to make a poster answering the question, "Why is English important to you?" I got 36 submissions of amazing work and couldn't be happier or prouder of my students, and tomorrow I'll announce the winners during the morning assembly. Every single kid wins something, of course. The poster above is the overall winner, and the two below are second and third place.

This upcoming week is going to be bittersweet. I'm very excited to begin traveling and seeing more of South America, but boy am I going to miss my students and Chilean family. My school and host family both welcomed me with open arms into their communities and lives, and their kindness is something I'll keep with me for the rest of my life. After next week I'll write much more about that as well as the rest of my experience... until then I have many a despedida to attend!

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!

Being Asian American in Chile

A few nights ago I was having dinner with my host mom and a bunch of her friends when one of her friends’ husbands started talking about a Japanese man who lives here in Los Angeles. Apparently this man is doing research about the area and has been living here for a little over a year. As the husband and my host mom’s friends talked about this man and all of the “funny” things he does and wears, they continually pulled back the sides of their eyes and made jokes about being Chinese. As I said before, this man is Japanese. But that’s beside the point. I wish I could say that this was an isolated event that shocked me, but unfortunately this is something that I’ve seen over and over again here in Chile.

The Chilean idea of a North American is generally a lighter skinned, blonde haired and blue eyed person. More generally, Chileans tend to picture North Americans as Caucasian. Given American media, I can’t really blame Chileans for having this image, but it has led a fair number of people to question whether or not I am in fact estadounidense, which literally translates to “United Statesian” (South Americans use “American” to describe themselves as well, while estadounidense is used to describe people from the U.S.). Many people have asked me where I’m from since I obviously stand out, and when I respond that I’m from the U.S., more often than not people will ask me, “but where were you born?” When I continue to explain that I was born and raised in the U.S., as were my parents, they’ll press with more questions about where my grandparents are from, wanting to know why I look different than the “United Statesian” they have in their heads. Once they discover that I’m part Chinese, probably 99% of the time they’ll then pull back the corners of their eyes and either try to “speak” in Chinese or just say something along the lines of, “ah, I could tell were Chinese because your eyes are so small!”

While this type of reaction would be considered offensive in the states, Chileans generally respond with laughs of encouragement. I had been warned ahead of time that this would probably occur, yet despite those cautions I still felt extremely uncomfortable the first few times it happened. Cultural diversity is pretty much nonexistent in Chile, aside from the few indigenous groups that still remain. Without exposure to cultural diversity, cultural sensitivity is understandably lacking. People don’t mean to be offensive, they just don’t know any better. I’d say that direct exposure and education are two of the best methods to increase awareness, and what do you know? I’m a Chinese American teacher! During my lesson on family a few weeks back I included a picture of my whole family (grandparents, cousins, etc.). Because I have a mixed Chinese/Caucasian family, I was able to incorporate some talk about cultural sensitivity as a prepared response to students pulling back the corners of their eyes after seeing my family photo (I anticipated this happening, which it did, in every class). We discussed a range of things, from diversity in the U.S. to how my grandparents ended up in California to how my students would feel if someone teased the way they looked. Overall they were really receptive, and in the end what interested them most was just seeing my family and getting to know a little bit more about my life and where I come from.

Issues of race and culture are global concerns, and if anything these uncomfortable encounters have been a much needed reminder for myself that most of the people in this world don’t grow up in populations as diverse as where I was raised (the San Francisco Bay Area). I grew up surrounded by neighbors and classmates of many different ethnicities and backgrounds, and perhaps because of that, one of the characteristics of the U.S. that I value most is its melting-pot quality. I am happy to share that aspect of what it means to be “United Statesian” with my students, colleagues, and friends here in Chile, and I hope that once I’m gone my students will remember that there’s a lot we can learn from people who are different from ourselves. And, of course, I hope they keep with them the new knowledge that we gringos aren't all blondes!

Fiestas Patrias - Week 2

The Fiestas Patrias celebrations came and went a week ago, although the celebrations don’t officially end until the last day of September. I went to three different parades, ate what felt like a thousand empanadas, drank my fair share of chicha (a homemade fermented drink) and ponche (white wine mixed with peaches), and danced the cueca again and again and again. It was wonderful.

The highlight of this second week of festivities was definitely my trip out to the inaugurations of the Ramadas with my host mom’s folklore group. The outskirts of Los Angeles are smattered with small, rural communities known as the campo, or country. During Fiestas Patrias every campo community puts together its own ramada complete with music, food, lots of space for dancing, and palm fronds (ramadas) lining the walls and ceiling. Each year the alcalde, or mayor, goes to five or six different ramadas in the campo communities to cut a ribbon, dance the cueca, drink chicha out of a cacho (a bull horn I think…) and officially inaugurate the Fiestas Patrias celebrations. My host mom’s folklore group, which sings and dances traditional Chilean music, accompanies the mayor on this annual tour to perform and play a cueca while the mayor dances.

Her group has pretty much adopted me as one of their own, and I in turn have become their unofficial photographer, so I got to join them on this adventure around the campos. It was great fun for me to go out to all of these smaller communities and see their different ramada set ups and eat all of the delicious food that they had prepared in honor of the mayor (and which they happily offered to the visiting gringa). The experience again showed Chilean pride and patriotism at its best and kicked off four straight days of celebration, with a bit of rest tossed in. I’m now back in school with only eight more weeks left, if you can believe it! These last two months are gonna fly by, packed with classes, travel, our different community activities, and despedidas, or good-bye parties. Not ready to think about that last one quite yet, though!