It is September in Chile, and that means a few things.
First of all, we survived winter!
Secondly, it means we are three quarters of the way through the year.
Last but not least, fiestas patrias is around the corner!
For those of you that aren’t familiar with it, September 18th is Chile’s national holiday, but the celebration actually stretches out to be between 3 days and a week depending on what day of the week the 18th falls on. This year it’s on a Tuesday, and Monday and Wednesday are also considered holidays. It’s doubtful that many people will go to work on Thursday and Friday, as they will be still celebrating or recovering from pisco-caused hangovers.
So, what has been happening over the past few months?
In July I attended the IATEFL Chile Conference in Santiago. There were some great speakers, and I also had the chance to give a workshop about how to move beyond yes/no questions in the classroom. I met another teacher that is also a professional photographer, and he offered to take some photos for me.
Due to a trip back to the States on the second day of the conference and also being sick I decided to stay in and rest up. It was actually a good decision, and taking the time for myself gave me some peace of mind before the trip.
I had planned to go back to New Jersey for a visit on July 31st, but my dad was in a serious accident and needed me back sooner. He broke his leg while vacationing in Italy with my brother and sister in law, and he was in the hospital there for 3 weeks. He had surgery there and returned to the States, but he still needed more surgery and physical therapy. I was there for 3 weeks, and I spent most of my time visiting him in the hospital and taking care of the house. I managed to see some friends and family, and some students of mine agreed to take Skype classes while I was there. All in all, the time went by quickly. My dad has since returned home from the hospital, but he is still recovering and regaining his strength.
Upon returning to Santiago in mid August, I’ve been doing some networking. Internations organizes some language exchanges, and it has been a nice way of practicing my Spanish and also meeting other professionals that want to practice their English. In addition, I was also invited to an event at a local public school in Ñuñoa. The school was celebrating its 100 year anniversary, and since it’s a technical school they prepared presentations to show what they have been learning in the areas of tourism, electrical engineering, graphic design, and administration. The students spend one week at school learning the subjects relevant to their area, and then they spend the next week actually working in their field. It was impressive to see them making everything from electric fences and security camera systems to shirts, advertising materials, and binding for books. They even had some students studying to be chefs, and so they prepared some typical Venezuelan food. The tourism students are learning how they can use English in tourism, so their presentations were completely in English. In fact, I had a few students that took me around and explained everything in English. It was really impressive. Going to these events reminded me how much I enjoy going out from time to time, getting to know others, and seeing what students are accomplishing with their English.
Other than that, life has been pretty much the same with teaching classes. I’m happy for the warmer weather that makes commuting around the city much easier as well as the lightness and anticipation of 18 that comes with September.
Until next time!
