Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family! I miss you all so much and today definitely made me pretty homesick. They don't celebrate Thanksgiving here but I wanted to share my traditions with my family here so I made some turkey breasts and mashed potatoes and home-made bread (my Mapuche mom's recipe!) and a salad. And then we all said grace together and went around and said what we were thankful for. My mom said "quiero dar gracias por mi familia linda incluyendo la Kim. Ella es una persona muy especial y nos apoya mucho y da mucha alegria a nuestra hogar" "I want to give thanks for my beautiful family including Kim. She is a very special person and supports us a lot and brings a lot of happiness in our home." So cute. So it was not quite like being at home, but it was still a very special day. So here is my list of things I am grateful for here in Chile and back home.
Things I am Grateful for in Chile:
- My awesome Santiago family: Macarena, Fabian, Martin y Vicente. They are a great family and treat me like a daughter.
- My amazing Mapuche family: Clorinda, Octavio, Damaris, Jemi, y Pato. They have taught me so many things and their faith and compassion is truly inspiring.
- My incredible Argentina family: Macarena y Fermin (and Rocco). They are an awesome couple and I had so much fun with them.
- The opportunity to be here
- All the amazing people in the program with me and the staff. They have all helped make this experience incredible
- Skype, email, and facebook so I can talk to all the people I love back home.
- Living in a really cool city for 3 months
- Being able to travel to Buenos Aires, Valpo, and Chapod
- The friendliness of Chileans
- Giving kisses on the cheek to say hello
- Eating bread all the time
- Finally knowing my way around the city
- Yogenfruz
- Seeing the Andes mountains every day
- Learning spanish... or rather chilean cause its practically another language. But i love it. Ya po.
- Chilean sounds. These people make so many distinct sounds, and I can't stop immitating them
- Once
- Chilenitos- best desert here
- How it feels like home after only 3 months
Things I'm Thankful for back Home (aka things I miss like crazy)
- My amazing real family: Although I love my families here they are the best
- My wonderful pololo (pololo is chilean for boyfriend): He is the best there is and loves and supports me very much.
- My dogs: Nicky and Moogie
- My friends: I've got the best and I miss them all so much
- My home
- Pizza
- Salad with vegetables and dressing and not just lettuce with lemon
- Sour Patch kids and sweedish fish
- Dad's pasta
- Mom's banana bread
- My bed
- Fires in the fire place
- The fall
- Naps on the couch
- Stonehill
- Living with my friends
- CT and MA
Happy Thanksgiving and Lots of Love!
Kim
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Chillin' in Chile
Hey Everyone!
So although this post is called Chillin' in Chile, that is kind of the opposite of what I'm doing. A more accurate title would be "Workin' my little bum off to write a 30 page paper in Spanish...in Chile" But I thought this title was much more clever and I won't be here that much longer so I had to use it. Actually I will be home in exactly 3 weeks from yesterday. And the program ends in exactly 2 weeks. Its so weird that its so close to being over! I can't believe it. Craziness! And I think I am definitely ready to be home now. With all this work and Thanksgiving tomorrow I am definitely feeling a little homesick. And I'm having trouble not procrastinating but that's nothing new. haha.
But back to working my bum off. Yeah, it's been crazy doing this whole ISP thing but awesome. Two weeks ago I went back to the Special ed school Edmundo de Amisis to observe and do interview there and then all last week I was visiting schools in Temuco. So far I have gone to 4 schools and done tons of interviews. Its really exhausting and nerve-racking to go to the schools but it has definitely been challenging but very interesting. And so far, for the most part I have been impressed with the level of special education inclusion here. There is definitely a lack of economic resources and they could use a lot more teachers, but for the most part I think the attitude of inclusion is there and the teachers are all super compassionate towards there students. They have also been really open to having me in the classrooms and interested in what I'm doing in their school. I was even able to help give lunch to some of the students with more severe problems.
Alexis
It was also amazing to be able so spend another week with my Mapuche family and with Sophie too who is also doing her project in Temuco. I felt like I got even closer with my family and had a blast while I was there. My madre taught me how to make her bread and Sopapillas and Empanadas. And of course Sophie and I had a blast making the sopapillas into the shape of hearts, Chile, and the US. Haha. But I feel like I miss my Mapuche family already. My siblings are so fun and I feel like I now have all these inside jokes with them and I really felt part of their family. Its really sad to leave them but I hope someday they can visit the US. They will always hold a special place in my heart.
My Mapuche Family
Making bread
Its good to be back in Santiago though too. I gave my family the game Pass the Pigs so that is going to be fun to play with them. I also feel super close to my two hermano's here. So its going to be so sad to leave them in two weeks. I can't believe its almost over ah! I have so many mixed feelings about it too. AH.
But in the mean time I'm going to keep truckin' on my ISP paper. I've got 10 pages written so that's definitely a good start.
Peace and Love,
Kimi
So although this post is called Chillin' in Chile, that is kind of the opposite of what I'm doing. A more accurate title would be "Workin' my little bum off to write a 30 page paper in Spanish...in Chile" But I thought this title was much more clever and I won't be here that much longer so I had to use it. Actually I will be home in exactly 3 weeks from yesterday. And the program ends in exactly 2 weeks. Its so weird that its so close to being over! I can't believe it. Craziness! And I think I am definitely ready to be home now. With all this work and Thanksgiving tomorrow I am definitely feeling a little homesick. And I'm having trouble not procrastinating but that's nothing new. haha.
But back to working my bum off. Yeah, it's been crazy doing this whole ISP thing but awesome. Two weeks ago I went back to the Special ed school Edmundo de Amisis to observe and do interview there and then all last week I was visiting schools in Temuco. So far I have gone to 4 schools and done tons of interviews. Its really exhausting and nerve-racking to go to the schools but it has definitely been challenging but very interesting. And so far, for the most part I have been impressed with the level of special education inclusion here. There is definitely a lack of economic resources and they could use a lot more teachers, but for the most part I think the attitude of inclusion is there and the teachers are all super compassionate towards there students. They have also been really open to having me in the classrooms and interested in what I'm doing in their school. I was even able to help give lunch to some of the students with more severe problems.
AlexisIt was also amazing to be able so spend another week with my Mapuche family and with Sophie too who is also doing her project in Temuco. I felt like I got even closer with my family and had a blast while I was there. My madre taught me how to make her bread and Sopapillas and Empanadas. And of course Sophie and I had a blast making the sopapillas into the shape of hearts, Chile, and the US. Haha. But I feel like I miss my Mapuche family already. My siblings are so fun and I feel like I now have all these inside jokes with them and I really felt part of their family. Its really sad to leave them but I hope someday they can visit the US. They will always hold a special place in my heart.
My Mapuche Family
Making breadIts good to be back in Santiago though too. I gave my family the game Pass the Pigs so that is going to be fun to play with them. I also feel super close to my two hermano's here. So its going to be so sad to leave them in two weeks. I can't believe its almost over ah! I have so many mixed feelings about it too. AH.
But in the mean time I'm going to keep truckin' on my ISP paper. I've got 10 pages written so that's definitely a good start.
Peace and Love,
Kimi
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Chapod de nuevo
Hey everyone!
Just wanted to update that I'm in Temuco and Chapod for the next week or so. I'll be living with my Mapuche family who I love so I'm super excited. I'll be working on my ISP in the city and in Chapod the town. I'll try to update if I get to an internet cafe but I don't have internet in my house (or a shower). I hope to learn a whole lot about special education in the next week so it should be interesting.
Love,
Kimche (means wise spirit in Mapundungun and my family calls me that now. haha. irony)
Just wanted to update that I'm in Temuco and Chapod for the next week or so. I'll be living with my Mapuche family who I love so I'm super excited. I'll be working on my ISP in the city and in Chapod the town. I'll try to update if I get to an internet cafe but I don't have internet in my house (or a shower). I hope to learn a whole lot about special education in the next week so it should be interesting.
Love,
Kimche (means wise spirit in Mapundungun and my family calls me that now. haha. irony)
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Chau Buenos Aires!
Hola from back home in Santiago!
I had a great finish to my trip to Buenos Aires. We went to a bunch more schools this week too. On Tuesday we went to a technical high school that had a preschool within it because 15% of the students are parents. We also went to an elementary school that is 80% immigrants. Both were very interesting to see. The elementary school had a great Freirean philosophy but the classroom was chaos. I have no idea how the kids learn anything because there was not one point where all the children were seated and not screaming. The teacher could only really help students individually cause whenever she would try to help the whole class, there would be too much talking to hear what was going on. So while the teacher was helping on student the other 30 kids were running around or struggling to do their work. They can to us for help and we helped as much as we could but it was evident that there were a lot of issues for these kids. But one funny/horrifying thing about this classroom was that there was a letter written on a big piece of paper on the wall above the blackboard. The letter read:
Queridos Chicos,
Pedimos disculpas por haber prendido fuego el tacho y haber roto las cortinas.
Les prometemos cuidas mas el aula que campartimos.
-Los Alumnos de 1o 2da
Which means:
Dear Kids,
We ask forgiveness for having set the wastebasket on fire and having broken the curtains.
We promise to take better care of the classroom we share.
-The students of 1st grade room 2
Yup... that about sums it up. I almost died laughing at the thought of first graders setting a trash can on fire and breaking the curtains. I have images of a crazy riot with 6 year olds. How did they get matches first of all? Second of all, where was the teacher when they set fire to the classroom? Its kinda funny and also kinda scary.
We also went to another secondary school in the city and the kids there were super friendly and outgoing it was a lot of fun.
On Thursday evening we had out goodbye dinner with all of the families at a restaurant and the five of us that took the tango class did a dance that our teachers had choreographed. It was a blast and people loved it.
My Argentinian Family
The Tango Dancers
Overall, I had a great experience in Buenos Aires: I struggled a lot with public transportation, danced a lot of tango, stayed up super late, ate a lot of delicious ice cream, had an Argentinian boy fall in love with me (Rocco the dog, don't worry Justin), and saw a lot of the beautiful city. It really was awesome but I found myself super excited to go home to Santiago. On Friday night when I got home from the airport, my family and I all watched Noche en el Museo 2. I fell asleep in my parents bed watching the movie next to my two little brothers who also fell asleep. I guess you could say that I feel comfortable and at home in my house now.
I also can't believe that the Independent Study Project period has started. Its super overwhelming to think about but also really exciting. I will be in Chapod living with my Mapuche family in a week, which I am also excited for. But I am also really missing home and Justin a lot too. Its weird to feel so at home in Santiago, Chapod and in the States and to miss all of them at once. My family has gotten significantly larger since coming to Latin America.
Paz y Amor,
Kim
I had a great finish to my trip to Buenos Aires. We went to a bunch more schools this week too. On Tuesday we went to a technical high school that had a preschool within it because 15% of the students are parents. We also went to an elementary school that is 80% immigrants. Both were very interesting to see. The elementary school had a great Freirean philosophy but the classroom was chaos. I have no idea how the kids learn anything because there was not one point where all the children were seated and not screaming. The teacher could only really help students individually cause whenever she would try to help the whole class, there would be too much talking to hear what was going on. So while the teacher was helping on student the other 30 kids were running around or struggling to do their work. They can to us for help and we helped as much as we could but it was evident that there were a lot of issues for these kids. But one funny/horrifying thing about this classroom was that there was a letter written on a big piece of paper on the wall above the blackboard. The letter read:
Queridos Chicos,
Pedimos disculpas por haber prendido fuego el tacho y haber roto las cortinas.
Les prometemos cuidas mas el aula que campartimos.
-Los Alumnos de 1o 2da
Which means:
Dear Kids,
We ask forgiveness for having set the wastebasket on fire and having broken the curtains.
We promise to take better care of the classroom we share.
-The students of 1st grade room 2
Yup... that about sums it up. I almost died laughing at the thought of first graders setting a trash can on fire and breaking the curtains. I have images of a crazy riot with 6 year olds. How did they get matches first of all? Second of all, where was the teacher when they set fire to the classroom? Its kinda funny and also kinda scary.
We also went to another secondary school in the city and the kids there were super friendly and outgoing it was a lot of fun.
On Thursday evening we had out goodbye dinner with all of the families at a restaurant and the five of us that took the tango class did a dance that our teachers had choreographed. It was a blast and people loved it.
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
Overall, I had a great experience in Buenos Aires: I struggled a lot with public transportation, danced a lot of tango, stayed up super late, ate a lot of delicious ice cream, had an Argentinian boy fall in love with me (Rocco the dog, don't worry Justin), and saw a lot of the beautiful city. It really was awesome but I found myself super excited to go home to Santiago. On Friday night when I got home from the airport, my family and I all watched Noche en el Museo 2. I fell asleep in my parents bed watching the movie next to my two little brothers who also fell asleep. I guess you could say that I feel comfortable and at home in my house now.
I also can't believe that the Independent Study Project period has started. Its super overwhelming to think about but also really exciting. I will be in Chapod living with my Mapuche family in a week, which I am also excited for. But I am also really missing home and Justin a lot too. Its weird to feel so at home in Santiago, Chapod and in the States and to miss all of them at once. My family has gotten significantly larger since coming to Latin America.
Paz y Amor,
Kim
Monday, November 2, 2009
Buenos Aires, Uraguay and Tango
Hola! Como Andan?
So much has happened in the last week in Buenos Aires. I am having an awesome time and I am exhausted from all the stuff I have done. We've had a bunch of seminars about the education system. It has been really interesting to compare Argentina to what we've learned in Chile. One of the biggest problem here is retention in secondary school. School is mandatory here from 5 years old through secondary school. But secondary school was only made mandatory in 2003 so there are still a lot of people who drop out.We also took a trip to The University de Buenos Aires to learn about Educacion Superior. In all of UBA there are 300,000 students, that's a little bit more than the 2,000 at Stonehill.
We also had the opportunity to talk with Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo. This is a group of women who lost children during the dictatorship. They work to bring justice to their lost children. Every Thursday since the 70s they march around the Plaza de Mayo. This thursday we got to join them to march for their 1661st protest. It is amazing to see these women who are now all in their 90s still fighting for their disapeared children. Their symbol is the white hankerchief that they all wear when the march. On it it says "aparicion con vida de los desaparecidos" which means "Living appearance of the disappeared.
La Marcha
So cute
The hankerchiefs
Me marching with las madres
Also, this week I started taking Tango classes! Tracy's host sister and her boyfriend are tango dancers and so they made a class just for us. We've met 4 times and have our last class on Wednesday. It has been so amazing. We showed up on the first day to the adress they gave us, and we found out that we are dancing on the roof terrace of the appartment building. It was very surreal to be learning the Tango on a beautiful rooftop in Argentina. And they are really good teachers, I feel like I know enough now to be able to improve. Obviously we are not at an amazingly high level but I am definitely able to dance the tango somewhat. Its a lot of fun to learn and is such a cool dance.
Tango with Matias, my teacher, on the roof
The teachers
So I am kind of in love with the tango and my abuela here said that one thing I need to do is go to a professional tango show. So on Saturday night, Sophie and I went to Taconeando, a tango show/restaurant. It was a really cute small little place with only really two rows of tables so we had a really great view. The show was a mix of instrumental and vocal tango music and dancers. They were all amazingly talented. The coolest part though was at the end of the show, the dancers came out into the audience to get partners. I said no at first but he kept insisting so I got to go up on stage and dance the tango! It was crazy but really fun. I even felt like I a little bit knew what I was doing. haha. The pictures are not so great cuz we were moving all around but o well, at least I have proof.
My favorite tango couple- also I do not yet dance the tango like this, my tango is a little more tame haha
Me onstage!
After the tango show we went out to Plaza Serano and met up with a bunch of people. We stayed out until 4am which is way past my bedtime but Argentinians stay out super late. It was a lot of fun.
Also, on Saturday before I went to the tango show, a group of five of us went to Uruguay...like the country. It was crazy going to a different country for the day but it is only an hour away by bus so it was a great day trip. We took a tour around the little town of Colonia and then had lunch at a farm. At this farm is also the largest collection of pencils in the world. There are 8,500 pencils. Haha it was really funny to be be in another country to see the largest pencil collection in the world. The town was adorable and very quaint. I had a blast and it was totally worth the trip. And I counted and Uruguay is now the 9th country I've been to. Cool!
This is a street that legend says if you walk down, up, and back down thinking about someone, you will end up with that person. So of course we all had to do it!
So on Sunday, I stayed in the country and met up with some people to go to the Ferias- the artisan market places. I bought a really cute dress and some gifts for people. The shopping in Buenos Aires is really good in general. I bought a really cute pair of leather sandals for about $20.
Today, we turned in our proposals for our ISP and I met with Roberto and my idea has been approved. Which is very excited but also very scary cause I actually have to do it now. My topic is Comparing Inclusive Education for Students with Special needs in Temuco, rural Temuco and Santiago. I think it is going be very challenging to go to all the schools I want to but also really interesting to see what I learn. For those of you who don't know, ISP stands for Independent Study Project. After this week we have four weeks on our own to research, interview, and observe the topic of our choice. I'm excited to do special education cause not many people have researched that and I think there is a lot to research about it. So after our meetings this morning we went to a former concentration camp suring the time of the dictatorship. It was really crazy to see the things that the people went through. They were kept in boxes the size of a coffin with sacks over their heads. They could only use the bathroom once a day and were not allowed to speak to one another. They were given numbers instead of their names and they could be called any day to be tortured. Many were brought in a plane and dumped into the ocean. Its unbelievable that stuff like that went on not that long ago. One of the saddest things I think is that if a woman was pregnant in the camp, she would have her baby and then after a couple days the baby would be taken away and given to another family. There were 500 babies total taken away and today, with the children now in their 30s, only about 100 know their true identity as the child of a detenido-desparecido.
This week we have a lot more school visits. We had once last week at a school for people who had left school for a year or more and were coming back to finish their schooling. We're going to two tomorrow and one is a school for pregnant women and mothers. Its going to be super interesting to talk to the girls there. I can't believe there are only a few more days left in Buenos Aires and then we start our ISP. Its going by so fast!
Besitos, Kim
So much has happened in the last week in Buenos Aires. I am having an awesome time and I am exhausted from all the stuff I have done. We've had a bunch of seminars about the education system. It has been really interesting to compare Argentina to what we've learned in Chile. One of the biggest problem here is retention in secondary school. School is mandatory here from 5 years old through secondary school. But secondary school was only made mandatory in 2003 so there are still a lot of people who drop out.We also took a trip to The University de Buenos Aires to learn about Educacion Superior. In all of UBA there are 300,000 students, that's a little bit more than the 2,000 at Stonehill.
We also had the opportunity to talk with Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo. This is a group of women who lost children during the dictatorship. They work to bring justice to their lost children. Every Thursday since the 70s they march around the Plaza de Mayo. This thursday we got to join them to march for their 1661st protest. It is amazing to see these women who are now all in their 90s still fighting for their disapeared children. Their symbol is the white hankerchief that they all wear when the march. On it it says "aparicion con vida de los desaparecidos" which means "Living appearance of the disappeared.
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
Also, this week I started taking Tango classes! Tracy's host sister and her boyfriend are tango dancers and so they made a class just for us. We've met 4 times and have our last class on Wednesday. It has been so amazing. We showed up on the first day to the adress they gave us, and we found out that we are dancing on the roof terrace of the appartment building. It was very surreal to be learning the Tango on a beautiful rooftop in Argentina. And they are really good teachers, I feel like I know enough now to be able to improve. Obviously we are not at an amazingly high level but I am definitely able to dance the tango somewhat. Its a lot of fun to learn and is such a cool dance.
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
So I am kind of in love with the tango and my abuela here said that one thing I need to do is go to a professional tango show. So on Saturday night, Sophie and I went to Taconeando, a tango show/restaurant. It was a really cute small little place with only really two rows of tables so we had a really great view. The show was a mix of instrumental and vocal tango music and dancers. They were all amazingly talented. The coolest part though was at the end of the show, the dancers came out into the audience to get partners. I said no at first but he kept insisting so I got to go up on stage and dance the tango! It was crazy but really fun. I even felt like I a little bit knew what I was doing. haha. The pictures are not so great cuz we were moving all around but o well, at least I have proof.
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
Me onstage!
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
After the tango show we went out to Plaza Serano and met up with a bunch of people. We stayed out until 4am which is way past my bedtime but Argentinians stay out super late. It was a lot of fun.
Also, on Saturday before I went to the tango show, a group of five of us went to Uruguay...like the country. It was crazy going to a different country for the day but it is only an hour away by bus so it was a great day trip. We took a tour around the little town of Colonia and then had lunch at a farm. At this farm is also the largest collection of pencils in the world. There are 8,500 pencils. Haha it was really funny to be be in another country to see the largest pencil collection in the world. The town was adorable and very quaint. I had a blast and it was totally worth the trip. And I counted and Uruguay is now the 9th country I've been to. Cool!
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
 |
| From Buenos Aires |
So on Sunday, I stayed in the country and met up with some people to go to the Ferias- the artisan market places. I bought a really cute dress and some gifts for people. The shopping in Buenos Aires is really good in general. I bought a really cute pair of leather sandals for about $20.
Today, we turned in our proposals for our ISP and I met with Roberto and my idea has been approved. Which is very excited but also very scary cause I actually have to do it now. My topic is Comparing Inclusive Education for Students with Special needs in Temuco, rural Temuco and Santiago. I think it is going be very challenging to go to all the schools I want to but also really interesting to see what I learn. For those of you who don't know, ISP stands for Independent Study Project. After this week we have four weeks on our own to research, interview, and observe the topic of our choice. I'm excited to do special education cause not many people have researched that and I think there is a lot to research about it. So after our meetings this morning we went to a former concentration camp suring the time of the dictatorship. It was really crazy to see the things that the people went through. They were kept in boxes the size of a coffin with sacks over their heads. They could only use the bathroom once a day and were not allowed to speak to one another. They were given numbers instead of their names and they could be called any day to be tortured. Many were brought in a plane and dumped into the ocean. Its unbelievable that stuff like that went on not that long ago. One of the saddest things I think is that if a woman was pregnant in the camp, she would have her baby and then after a couple days the baby would be taken away and given to another family. There were 500 babies total taken away and today, with the children now in their 30s, only about 100 know their true identity as the child of a detenido-desparecido.
This week we have a lot more school visits. We had once last week at a school for people who had left school for a year or more and were coming back to finish their schooling. We're going to two tomorrow and one is a school for pregnant women and mothers. Its going to be super interesting to talk to the girls there. I can't believe there are only a few more days left in Buenos Aires and then we start our ISP. Its going by so fast!
Besitos, Kim
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