Happy Independence Day, everyone! We had a party last weekend to celebrate. There is still red white and blue all over our apartment and we have American heroes posted all over the walls. My favorite is a picture of Lewis and Clark next to Lois Lane and Clark Kent. We had apple pie, burgers, and hot dogs. Never mind that it was around 40 degrees--who cares?
Chile went on business as usual. We had our closing assembly for the semester on Wednesday and then had time to wrap up grades and the like on Thursday and Friday.
The end of the semester always brings showcases and performances, and I was introduced this week to something called "Acrosport". It involves some dancing, some cheerleader-like moves, and lots of still poses.
It was cool! They had groups perform from every level in high school.
On the 4th of July itself I spent my day organizing preschool and kindergarten work. I ended up with glitter all over myself. And in case you were wondering, P is for Pig, Purple, Pot, and Penguin.
I brought my trombone back from the states and have been playing in the all-teacher band. They named themselves Montes Inc as a play on the founding family, the Montes brothers. It's been a lot of fun. We play some ska, raggae, and a little jazz.
Band rehearsal. Mauricio, a music teacher, Alexis, one of our accountants, who plays drums, and Juan, a religion teacher.
Pablo in the back on guitar, another music teacher, Rody, an English teacher, on bass, and Rodrigo, a Catholic deacon and one of the Montes brothers, on sax.
I'm trying to track down pictures of our performance on the last day, we set up outside during recess. It was a blast!
Last weekend I went back to El Colorado with my host brother Clemente. We had a big storm the week before so the conditions were excellent.
Cleme is a great skier! We explored the whole place and spent a good part of the afternoon in the park. It was a great day.
Another one of my students, Felipe, has a family condo at El Colorado. We found him in the morning. I'm hoping we can ride together again, we had a great time.
The English Team surprised me on Friday with a 4th of July party! I had no idea, I thought we were having a meeting. Thanks guys!
Doughnuts, Reese's, and lots of red white and blue. So very American.
We closed out the semester with a great catered lunch in our auditorium. Last night we went out for drinks to celebrate the beginning of winter vacation and I cleaned up the apartment to prepare for all our guests. Elaine's family is in town and Jon and Barry arrived this morning.
We welcomed Jon and Barry in typical Chilean style with an Asado. I was on the grill today and everything turned out well. We also made pisco sours and lost of pevre and palta.
We invited over some other Americans we met last week for their first asado. It was a great way to kick off break.
Lots of exciting adventures in the next weeks. We head up to Valle Nevado tomorrow, another ski resort close to the city, for two days. After a day to look around Santiago we fly off to Bolivia and onto Peru seeing Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca along the way. Stay tuned!
Hey all! Classes ended yesterday and semester exams started today, so classes have been a mix of intense review and fun end-of-semester stuff. In my preschool class I brought in my trombone and an ABC pop-up book from the states, both pictured here. We had a final class party where I found out that next semester I'll be moving up to Kindergarten. I'm going to miss my kids but look forward to teaching the new group!
This past weekend was a busy one. When Elaine and Laura were travelling over the summer they met Maty, a resident of Buenos Aires who has a travel bug. He brought his brothers to Santiago for a long weekend and we had a great time. Elaine is back in Ireland for her mom's birthday so she missed most of the shenanigans. From left to right are Federico, Maty, and Nicolas. This was Saturday night when Laura and I took them to Tiramisu for pizza.
Fede and Nico had never seen snow before, and none of the brothers had ever skied, so we decided it was a great (awful?) idea to head into the mountains on Sunday.
We had varying degrees of success. Maty and Nico called it quits after a few runs, but Fede, an accomplished skateboarder, stuck with me the whole day.
Here's Maty "resting".
Our star of the day, for sure. Fede had great heelside edge control by the end of the day and was even starting to link heel-to-toe edge changes. I'm certain he'll be snowboarding again soon.
Jon and Barry, two high school friends, are joining us here in July for our adventures in Bolivia and Peru. We're spending a couple days at Valle Nevado beforehand to get some Summer ski runs in. I've been a little worried about what kind of conditions we'd have to offer them, but after Sunday I'm not concerned. It snowed the entire time we were there and dropped just over a foot in all. This was lots of fun for me--maybe not so fun for the Argentines. Learning in powder is a lot of work. After all this snow, I'm excited for a great season of riding!
Last day for the students: Next Wednesday the 3rd
Last day for us: Friday the 5th
Up in the mountains Sunday/Monday
Fly to Bolivia Wednesday the 10th!
Stay tuned...
Hey everyone! Happy Father's Day!
Last Sunday I went snowboarding at El Colorado. I never really understood when the Chileans said "subo a la nieve" because it translates to "I go up to the snow" but now I get it. There is no snow anywhere except in the mountains, so you're literally going to the snow--the only snow. This is a little different compared to riding in the states where it snows at the base of the mountains as well. Everyone here has to watch the websites for the resorts to know whether they're open or not because you certainly wouldn't know by looking around the city.
As you can see, they're still lacking some snow. But they pushed enough of it onto the marked runs to make it worth while and I was actually impressed with the quality of the snow. It's dry, like you'd find it in Utah.
There are three resorts right next to each other and there is a bus that goes up every day from a ski shop close to my apartment. Super convenient. Now I'm just hoping for more snow!
There are wild dogs all over Santiago, but I did not expect to find them roaming the ski runs. I saw at least 5 just trotting around like they own the place.
Near the top of this picture, dead center, you can see what looks like a little jump. There was an exposed section of rock that was perfect for hopping over and doing little spins. This run was definitely my favorite of the day and occupied much of my morning.
See that shadowy place over there? Those are not clouds. That's Santiago. The smog layers over it like a blanket. Gross.
It was actually nice to be up there by myself, but I met a lot of people interested in riding with me. I think it's rare they meet a gringo who's here for more than just a vacation. I'm looking forward to a long winter of riding!
My host family invited me up to Chicureo for Father's Day. I haven't been back up since my trip to the states and it's been nice to see them all again. That box is full of American candy. Flo and Amelia were especially excited.
We spent today at Juan Pablo's parents' house just a short drive away. Here is the patriarch Manuel. He is a very kind-hearted gentleman who bred several successful businesses from nothing. It's always a treat to see him.
This family is a riot. Manuel's oldest is also named Manuel. I met him when we went to Santo Domingo back in the Spring. He's a big fan of American music and every movie ever made. Everyone in the Barrios clan has an infectious laugh. What a character. Check out the tattoos on his arms.
Next in line is my host dad Juan Pablo. Everyone in the Barrios family has done such a great job making me feel included, but this guy is the one that agreed to take me in last October. Thanks for everything, and a very happy Father's Day!
The baby of the family is Claudia, and in honor of Father's Day, this is her husband Jose Antonio. They live right down the street from Juan Pablo and Lore so I've seen their kids a lot. They have younger kids and they're adorable.
Today was so much fun. It reminded me of the Father's Days we used to have at the farm when all of the Maders would get together. We passed the afternoon in this little cabin they have in their back yard eating, talking, and laughing--lots of laughing. It was great!
I'm spending tonight up in Chicureo getting ready for our last full week of classes. This year is flying. Global tests start the 26th and vacation starts on July 5th!
And of course the happiest of Father's Days to the best dad in the world! Dad, thanks for everything you've given me and our family. For teaching me everything from how to ride a bike to how to water ski, how to respect people, and how to be a great man. I will be lucky if I turn out to be half the man you are.
They're running a "Santiago in 100 words" campaign in the metro stations. Citizens write their city stories with the chance of being published. In our station today was a story about a father and son walking to a park and stopping in a bar to have a drink together. We are defined by our experiences with our parents, and I am so very proud to be my father's son. Thanks for everything dad, I love you!
It's hard to believe it's June! That means we've been in Chile almost 9 months, in the program almost a year, and we're nearing the middle of the school year. Time flies!
Last Saturday I went to the Festival de Voz (Voice Festival) between the three Diacono schools. They had a great backup band and we had maybe a dozen students participate. They did a great job!
Highlights came from Nora Jones, Bruno Mars, a slew of Chilean bands, and some numbers performed entirely by the student bands. San Nicolas did Sweet Child of Mine, it was great. Good job kids!
Since the school year is off-set here, the TV seasons are off too. I've been looking for some summer shows, so when I was home I started watching Breaking Bad. I'm hooked. I'm all caught up, just waiting for the last episodes of the series to come out starting in August. If you haven't seen it, it's a captivating storyline about a high school chemistry teacher turned meth cook. Dexter starts end of this month too!
School has been pretty uneventful. They call final exams "global tests" and they start the 26th. Then it's just a week and a half to winter break.
This is a pretty typical pronunciation lesson. The kids love singing American pop music and one day I was tired of hearing "Demons in the Sky" by Rihanna. I mean, "shine bright like a demon"? Come on, kids, you can do better than that.
One of the English teachers had her appendix out the day before I got back from the states and this past week another English teacher was sick so I've been taking a lot of extra classes, especially with young kids. I've been enjoying it, the little ones are fun. Plus it gives me an opportunity to get rid of all the extra Easter-themed coloring sheets we have.
I've mentioned before that Chilean schools run on a system that keeps the same students in the same room all the time. They call them "cursos" (courses) and I've been responsible for Cata's while she recovers from her appendectomy. The kids are a riot. I'm glad I don't teach 6th graders all the time, but 2 weeks with them was fun.
After all the rain we had the air was clearer than I've ever seen it. We had one day driving home where we could see all the mountains very clearly. It's so exciting to see snow! I'm heading up to the mountains tomorrow for the first runs of the season. I'm very excited, my board is waxed and ready to go. Watch for pictures!
May's bulletin board: Horoscopes. The 7th graders are learning future tense so this was a fun project. Nice job, kids!
I put this together Friday the 17th and shortly thereafter boarded a plane bound for the USA. Anyone that reads this blog probably knows that I surprised my mom and sister in South Bend for Josie's graduation. It was great!
I tapped my mom on the shoulder and asked if the seat next to her was open. At first (after looking right at me) she said yes and started to move. Then she looked again and realized it was me.
Dad was in on it so he was the photographer.
It was a special moment. I love you mom!
This was all happening at Josie's Political Science recognition ceremony so she was down on the floor with her fellow graduates. When she crossed the stage I met her on the other side. Another special moment.
Congrats, Josie! I'm so proud of you and I'm glad I got to share this with you.
Marisa, my ND friend who now works in the admissions department, helped me plan all the logistics. Thanks Reese! I couldn't have pulled this off without you.
Graduation speaker: Cardinal Timothy Dolan. He did a great job talking about Mary, Notre Dame, Our Mother, and her connection to the campus.
On Sunday evening I went with the parents to stay near Chicago where we have a few relatives. It was great to see the Moebius/Bartels clan. This is Brittany, my second cousin once removed (yup).
The new thing this year in coasters is making woodies with inversions. We were driving right past one in the Dells so we stopped to take some pictures. It's still under construction but I look forward to riding it someday!
Lamentably I didn't document the rest of the week so well. It was full of friends and family, lots of good food and good memories. I also renewed my driver's license, got my Bolivian visa, and got an International Driver's Permit. Mom took lots of pictures so if I can get my hands on those I'll share!
Back to the grind this week. 6 full weeks of teaching until winter break!
Hey everyone! Last week was fun. 2 days of class then I went on Octavo Aventura with the 8th graders. Class on Monday and Tuesday was pretty lax so I played musical chairs with my 7th graders. Whoever is out has to conjugate an irregular verb. Good stuff.
My post from last year's Octavo Aventura trip had a lot of details so I'm going to be brief here. It's a spiritual retreat that involves lots of outdoor team building challenges. There is also a lot of singing and dancing which started before we left the school.
The retreat takes place at a YMCA camp on Guayapolis Beach. It's a beautiful place, but it was a little cold this time around.
They split the two classes into 5 tribes named after the tribes of Israel. This year I was in charge of Levi. We had a great time!
My presentation was on the love of God. I recruited 6 members of our high school leadership team to perform a skit to Lifehouse's song called Everything. It was great. If you haven't seen the skit, check it out here.
Partly because the winter is starting, partly because I want to look older, but mostly because I want to sleep an extra 10 minutes in the morning, the beard is back. All the members of the Pastoral Staff at San Nicolás have beards too so I fit right in. Here I am with my bunk mate for the 2 nights at the Beach, Profe Juan.
I want to throw in a shout out to two awesome women in my family. To my mom Mary Jo, a very happy Mother's Day! You're amazing, thank you for everything you've done for me.
And to my sister Josie, who graduates from Notre Dame this coming Sunday. I'm so proud of you, you're going to do such great things out in the world! Give her blog some love.
I wish I could give both of you a hug! Know that I'm thinking of you down here in Chile. Love you both!
Lots of plans in the works for upcoming travel. Snowboarding, Bolivia, Lake Titicaca, Peru, and Machu Picchu are all in the mix! Stay tuned for more.
Hey everyone! The last week was both eventful and normal at the same time. On Saturday, literally within an hour after my last post, I got a call that our apartment was flooding. I ran over and we quickly started mopping, vacuuming, anything we could do to get the water out.
This offers a nice opportunity to show you around my apartment. This is the living room, which was filled with about a 1/2 inch of water.
Here's our dining table which served as a refuge for random stuff around the apartment. The circuit breaker tripped and they shut our water off quickly so there was not a lot of damage, just some buckling in the floor (which will probably have to be replaced).
The kitchen had the most water but thanks to the tile floor there was no damage. Thanks to everyone that helped clean up! We had probably 15 people over at various times to get all the water out. Many hands made light work, it only took about an hour.
The culprit was the washing machine (through the door at the back of this picture). The hose normally drains into a sink, but we had a plumber over in the morning responding to (ironically enough) a water problem in the apartment below us. He left the hose out of the sink, and I later did a load of wash. When the washer drained, it just went all over the floor. Oops.
May 1st is known as Día del Trabajador (day of the worker) in Chile and everything shuts down for the day. It was a Wednesday which made the week a little interesting. I remember having a Wednesday off by itself in 7th grade but haven't had one since. It was a nice way to break up the week. We slept in then went to see Iron Man 3 (theatres and a few restaurants are all you can find open). It was good, lots of action, not a lot of plot.
In the evening we all finished our final papers for our Notre Dame online class which brought this semester to a close. Woohoo! Our summer class will start soon.
Last night we were invited to another asado by one of Elaine's coworkers. It was great, it's always fun to meet more Chileans! We had lots of great food and a great time.
Carolina, on the left, works at St. George in the first unit with Elaine. She helped us out a couple weeks ago with a Chilean-only discount on a TV we bought for the apartment. Thanks Caro!
Laura and I went to lunch today at a great bar/restaurant that has everything. It was a combination of a belated birthday meal I'd promised her and a chance to plan our July travel to Machu Picchu. Plans are coming together nicely--we'll be joined by two of my friends from the states. It will be a good time!
The place has a music theme, I thought the vinyl menu was pretty cool.
No birthday meal is complete without dessert. I ordered a traditional Chilean dessert made with manjar ("Chilean" for dulce de leche (Spanish for caramel) ). Laura just ordered vanilla ice cream but it came with this fantastic raspberry chocolate sauce. Good call, Laura.
Today has been delightfully lazy. This week we have Octavo Aventura which was in October last year. I'm excited, it's always nice to know the students in a spiritual context outside of class. Watch for a post soon!
