The Thomas Jefferson School

I was to get up and be ready so that Pancho and I could be dropped off at school at around 8 am. I was the first one ready and I went downstairs to find the table all set for breakfast so I was afraid to eat without the rest of the family. I waited for a while and down came Ivan who said, “What are waiting for?” So I ate with him while the rest of the family got ready for the day. We all rode to school together and arrived at 7:59, just like Pancho had said. I was greeted at the front door by Mr. Casey, an administrator at the Thomas Jefferson School who also happens to be from Ohio. He took me to a room in the back of the school where the others were waiting. I found that my family situation was quite good compared to others, not that I thought it was at all bad, and we were all suffering from a little bit of homesickness. While I felt bad for the others it made me feel good to know that I was not the only one.

We took a quick tour of the school with Mr. Casey. The school was quite amazing and to hear the background story made it even more amazing. Mr. Greg built the school from the ground up. He bought the land after an early retirement from the OSU med school and his first year only had something like 16 students. Now, 17 years later he has bought 5 more acres to expand on his school. We were shown everything that we needed to know from the restrooms to the computer labs. We got to peek in on an art lesson that was going very well and then we were served cake and coffee with all the teachers and administrators that we would be working with for then next 4 weeks. Given the fact that this is and English immersion school I was surprised how little English some of them spoke.

We were next introduced to the teachers we would be placed with.  I would be with a 5th and 6th grade math teacher, Mrs. Mylene.  At first I was very nervous about working in the classroom, but once I got into the classroom I remembered that this was my arena.  As soon as I was introduced to the class I was helping and working with the students, and it was comforting.  I was nervous and a little homesick on my way into the classroom and as soon as I set foot in the classroom all that was forgotten.  The rest of the school day went well.

After school Pancho had baseball practice.  This is something that is common almost everyday.  Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Pancho has some sort of practice after school.  On these days I have to find something to do until practice is over so that we can all ride home together.  The mother even stays at school until practice is over because we live pretty far away from the school.  Today I walked to the mall with Dr. Fresch and then walked around by myself to kill some time.  The mall is very big and quite amazing.  It makes a lot of the malls in Ohio look blah.  When I was done there I walked back to the school to watch Pancho’s practice until it was over.  I was pleasantly surprised to see another one of the gringos (thats what they call us north Americans) doing the same thing I was doing, waiting for a practice to be over.  We sat down and talked for quite a while and I think it helped ease us both a little.

When Pancho’s practice was over we went to the cafeteria to meet his mother and then we went home.  They informed me that I would be home alone with the Nanny because both the mother and father had a meeting and Pancho had to go to a friends house to work on a school project.  This was fine with me but it meant that I would have to work with the Nanny, Marta, to get some dinner.  This was quite the challenge, because she speaks about as much English as I do Spanish, but we managed and I had some leftovers from the night before.

I spent the rest of the evening talking with Aimee, my parents and siblings and a couple of friends.  It was nice to hear their voices and see their smiling faces (Skype video calls).  I miss them all very much but I am beginning to adjust and it is not quite so hard to be so far away.

Home Far Away From Home

Today was a big day, today was the day that we would be meeting our families for the first time.

The day started off ok considering I got up and ready on time. The hotel prepared breakfast for us early so that we could have something to eat before our short plane ride from Santiago to Concepcion. We had a minor hold up when one of the buses was running on what we were told was Chile time. This simply means that the people in Chile are very laid back and kind of that the we’ll get there when we get there mentality. This is great and all and in fact I tend to be operating on Chile time almost always, but when there is a plane to catch Chile time simply means late. The good news was, the pilot of the plane was also on Chile time so everything worked out just fine.

When the plane landed we literally had just enough time to grab our bags before we were all swept away by our families. For me this was the first time that I had any form of communication with my family. I was unable to before hand talk to them so I hardly even knew their name. After fearing the worst though, I was presently surprised to see that my family had a 13 year old 8th grader that is quite good at speaking English. This really helped because it made it so communication was not impossible like I had expected. The father can also speak a little English which also helps. The mother and the maid on the other hand speak no English.

We took my bags out to the truck and got all packed up. The Father, Ivan, decided that we needed to go on a tour of the city. While it was neat to see it was difficult because nothing was open and I was spending most of my time trying to communicate. There were a couple of things that I did remember from our quick tour: 1. the dogs in Chile are like squirrels in Ohio, 2. When they return home from the states they know they are home from the sight of graffiti, trash and stray dogs, and 3. The university is not a safe part of town. After the tour we headed home.

The house that I will be staying at for the remainder of my stay here in Chile is quite nice. It is a lot smaller than houses in the US but it is nice. Some things that are different at the fact that their family room is a family room, meaning this is were you sit with the family and talk, no TV in this room. The Dinning area is in the same room as the family room but it is clearly separated from the family room. Next is the kitchen, very very small. Off the kitchen is the maid’s room and bathroom. Yes, we have a live in maid. Upstairs is where the bedrooms are and there is a large open area where the computer and the only TV in the house is. I was luck to find that the family not only had a computer with the internet, they also had a wireless network so my laptop would come in handy. The family had also set up a bedroom and a bathroom just for me. This was also very nice because I have my own little area.

The family and I then sat down and attempted to discuss any ground rules and get to know each other. They told me that I was free to do anything I would like the only thing that they ask is that I let them know what I am doing. They were happy to help me with any transportation with in reason and the even said that if I would like to have any friends over that would be fine as well. They then told me that I would be able to go with them to Chiloe this coming weekend for Easter. Chiloe is an island off of southern Chile, and it is also a 12 hour drive from Concepcion. I have been told that this is well worth the drive and to absolutely take the trip. It is supposedly very very beautiful and I may be able to see penguins in the wild. I think I will give it a shot.

Lunch was at 2:00 pm. This is the typical time for lunch in Chile, and whoever told me that Chileans didn’t eat as much as Americans needs a good kick in the face. I don’t remember the last time I saw so much food for just 4 people. They also really like their Vino (Wine). They told us that it was considered insulting to refuse food or drink, but there was no way I was keeping up with Ivan. He never let my glass become empty. As soon as lunch was over the mother started cooking dinner, and informed me that dinner was at 8 or 9 (Chile time). We were going to go to church at around 5 but we all took naps instead, and woke up just in time for a quick walk to the park before dinner. More food! I was still full from lunch and it was not sitting to well and they were ready to eat again. They also understood that Dinner was the big meal in America so they served me twice as much food. I was about to burst. Coffee and Tea and then it was off to bed.

The hardest part about the trip to this point is talking to Aimee and My Family. It just makes me miss home.