English Summer Town

What a great start to our summer - having the opportunity to spend a week with one hundred Chilean teachers of English and the six other US Fulbright exchange teachers in the beautiful setting at Colinas de Cuncumen: http://www.cuncumen.cl/ccm/index2.htm. English Summer Town, sponsored by the Chilean Ministry of Education, Inglés Abre Puertas, and Fulbright in Chile, was a huge success. The Chilean teachers really seemed to enjoy the presentations and the opportunity to network and practice their English with others, and we loved meeting so many incredible teachers from all over the country, from Arica in the north all the way to Punta Arenas in the south.

I had a lot of help with my presentation; Sarah operated the computer for the powerpoint on U.S. holiday traditions, and Roxy handed out packets to the teachers and helped them with the various activities we did each morning. One afternoon the whole family helped to present a fun workshop: "Let's Dance: American Square Dance and Popular Line Dance." Anyone who knows Bill and I very well knows we aren't very good dancers. So how did we end up teaching a dance workshop? I had heard that at English Summer Town (EST) last year, the Chileans had such a great time during a dance workshop that was given by Kay Forysth, a Fulbrighter that year (and a good dancer, I might add!) However, this year no one had volunteered to teach any dance. When I heard this I wondered aloud, what traditional dance do we have in the U.S? Here in Chile everyone, young and old, take great delight in the Cueca dance. Another Fulbright teacher, Pam Hammond, answered, "we have square dancing." At the mere mention of this, my mind promenaded back to fifth-grade where I had learned to square dance in gym class. This was the best thing about all my years in elementary school. Even better than the map game, which always had me wild with excitement whenever
we'd play. Yes, square dancing was the best. Like my friend Karen Fishman said, recalling her 5th-grade Virginia Reel experience, "it's like a tribal thing." The next thing I knew, my mouth was working faster than my brain, and I had just volunteered to teach square dance at EST, nevermind that I hadn't done it for some forty years! Fortunately, it was just like riding a bike, and we were all swingin' our partners and do-sa-doing in no time. Bill told me I missed my calling, I should have been a square dance caller! Roxy and Sarah did an awesome job demonstrating the Electric Slide and the Casper Cha Cha Slide, and the Chilean teachers also loved the Hokey Pokey and the YMCA.

We had a really good week, swimming, singing, dancing, hanging out in the cabins late at night, and enjoying the great food at Las Colinas de Cuncumen. To see more photos from English Summer Town, visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/bdoody61/EST

To view a version of the Cueca dance as performed by some of the Chilean teachers and our gringo friend Dan (a.k.a. Don Quijote), visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/bdoody61/CuecaAtEST

All the World's a School

Everyone has been asking us about how the homeschooling has been going. Well, it's been going pretty well although it is not without its challenges. Usually the girls are very self-motivated and get a lot of studying done, checking each subject off their list daily. Getting through the 3 "Rs" has been easy. Fortunately, I shipped twelve boxes of books here, including all their school books from home. The girls are reading as never before; at the rate they are going they will have read every book I sent, twice! Roxy is almost done with the Chronicles of Narnia series and she has also found that she loves the books of Julia Alvarez. Sarah has read dozens of Pony Pals books and has also discovered a new favorite author, Pam Munoz Ryan. She has enjoyed two books by her, Becoming Naomi Leon and Riding Freedom and is starting Esperanza Rising next. It's also been easy doing lots of writing. Besides books reports, they have been busy writing in their journals and each has published their own blog, too (see the links to their blogs at the top of the page, left). We have many math books here, and the girls have been hard at work on those. There are always plenty of real-life experiences where math is needed. They have been doing a lot of cooking, doubling recipes and often needing to convert our measurements to metric.

Science was a bit of a challenge at first, but Roxy got a chemistry kit so she can work on some experiments to compliment her science workbook. Also, we have met an incredible biologist and ornithologist here, Paola, and gone on several bird-watching excursions with her. The pictures on the link below are from a trip to a wetlands bird sanctuary near San Antonio and another to Cajón del Maipo where we saw some spectacular condors flying along the cliffs and also visited an animal rescue and rehabilitation center, el Centro de Rehabilitación de Fauna Silvestre, where we had an incredible tour with Loreto. The work they do at this center was truly amazing.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bdoody61/ExcursionsWithPaola02
http://picasaweb.google.com/bdoody61/ExcursionesConPaola

We are in a great place to study social studies, history and geography. When General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte died in Santiago on December 10, 2006, it renewed a debate that has polarized this country for decades. Roxy and Sarah learned about the golpe de estado on September 11, 1973, and the years of dictatorship that followed in Chile. They are proud to be living in a country where, on January 15, 2006, the people elected Michelle Bachelet, the first woman president of Chile. Just a couple of weeks after the girls arrived in Santiago, we went and saw a documentary, in Spanish, about the new president, La hija del General. They have become expert map readers and can easily navigate their way around this big city, taking the buses and subway. We are also learning a lot about the geography of this long, thin country, which is as varied as you will find anywhere on earth. We hope to explore Chile this summer from north to south, traveling from the driest desert on the planet to the beautiful, lush lakes district, always with the majestic Andes mountains as our backdrop to the east, and the Pacific Ocean less than 180 km to the west.

And, muy importante, our Spanish lessons. The girls are lucky to have the best Spanish teacher in all of Chile giving them private lessons at home each evening. In addition, we have very quickly gone from a family who watched no television back home to a family who cannot miss a single episode of our favorite nightly teleserie, Floribella. Although we are starting to get a little impatient for Flor to finally wake up and realize that Fede is a complete loser! Click here for a sample Spanish grammar lesson and another of a cultural lesson:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bdoody61/FUNNYCLIPS/photo#5014874638396284882

Happy New Year 2007!

We rang in the new year with tens of thousands of Chileans downtown on Alameda Street, which had been closed off to traffic to accomodate all the revelers who had gathered to watch the spectacular fireworks. I wasn't sure we were going to get Bill out of the apartment; once he learned the Bears' game against the Packers was on ESPN, I didn't think we'd be able to budge him from the couch. But I guess me standing in front of the television during key plays and telling Bill the Bears were going to get creamed by Green Bay helped motivate him to get up and out of the apartment.

The scene downtown was wild and the crowd was great. We counted down the old year in Spanish and then joined everyone with a "Feliz Año Nuevo!" as the Entel Tower exploded with a dazzling fireworks display. We were covered with confetti and champagne and hugs and kisses from everyone, Bill even got a big abrazo from one of the carabineros!

What a perfect good-bye to an awesome year that has brought us so many new friends and incredible experiences and lots of invaluable time together as a family. We look forward to the adventures ahead in 2007 and wish all of you a great year of excitement and discovery, health and happiness, and much love and peace!

Click for more pictures from New Year's Eve: http://picasaweb.google.com/bdoody61/2006_12_31NEWYEARSEVE

'Tis the Season

Celebrating the holidays with new friends in Chile has been great. We certainly miss our friends and family back home, but this holiday season has been more peaceful since we skipped the whole shopping madness scene.

Our Thanksgiving was actually three different awesome meals, very similar to our Thanksgiving dinners at home, though conspicuously absent were the sweet potatoes. Bill and I enjoyed a lunch given by the U.S. Embassy. I felt a little guilty about leaving the girls back at the apartment with their Subway sandwiches, since children weren't invited, but they were thrilled because it was the first time they were able to babysit Amelie (the adorable baby of fellow Fulbright teachers John and Melinda). Besides a delicious meal, we also enjoyed meeting several other Americans now living in Chile and some Chileans who would soon be leaving to study in the U.S.

After the lunch, Bill, John and Melinda went back to the apartment while I returned to my school because the Director had asked me to stop by, they had something for me. It was a roasting pan holding a big, stuffed, cooked turkey. Opting for a taxi instead of my usual bus ride home from school, I delivered the turkey to the thrilled astonishment of everyone at the apartment. Everyone but Bill and Sarah, the vegetarians, who would have been far happier with a sweet potato casserole. I called up a couple of Chilean friends to invite them over, and Melinda and I went to the supermarket to buy everything we would need to make our second Thanksgiving meal! Though we ended up eating quite late, this dinner turned out great and, again, the only thing missing were the sweet potatoes.

The third Thanksgiving dinner was an incredible meal cooked by Melinda, chef extraordinaire, in her tiny, little kitchen on her teeny, weeny stove and enjoyed by about twenty-five people in the beautiful, spacious San Bernardo home of Cecilia and Pedro, "the suegros". Click below to see more photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/bdoody61/ThanksgivingWithTheSuegros

Cecilia and Pedro and their children Camila and Felipe graciously opened their home to us again on Christmas Eve so that we could enjoy the holiday Chilean-style, where the party was still going strong at 4:30 a.m!
http://picasaweb.google.com/bdoody61/ChristmasInChile02

Much to be thankful for

It's a good thing we're going to be spending a whole year here in Chile. The first couple of months had gone by rather slowly; I came alone to start teaching and to look for a place for us to live before Bill and the girls joined me just in time for the Fiestas Patrias, the Chilean Independence Day celebrations in mid-September. But now that I've been here over four months and we're pretty well settled in, the weeks are starting to fly by. The upcoming holiday season is proving to be quite an adjustment. Our body clocks are being thrown off by the arrival of spring while watching the Christmas trees going up right alongside the palm trees. And we're all feeling the need to connect with family and friends back home in the spirit of love and togetherness that comes with the celebrations at this time of the year. So this seems like a good time to pause, reflect, give thanks, and finally get this blog rolling.

Bill's Thanks,

I give thanks:

for all of our family and friends back home. You are all in my heart and continue to show me that love knows no boundries of time or space.

for all of our new friends in Chile. You prove that no matter where we are on this earth we all come from the same source.

for this precious time spent with my three girls. Now is eternity.

for the mountains that surround us.

for this beautiful weather in Santiago.

for our church back home. I feel like you all are watching over us and protecting us. YOU are angels.

And for all those who continue to teach me that as long as I am willing to listen, I will be granted the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Roxy's Thanks,
I am very thankful for:

Food

My House
The Opportunity to Come to Chile

My Loving Family

My Friends

A Bed to Sleep In

A Good School

An Awesome Church at Home

Reeses Peanut Butter Cup
Licorice

Root Beer (which I haven't been able to find Chile!)

Sarah's Thank's

I am thankful for:

my mom, dad and sister, Roxy. I am also thankful for my best friend, Mandy and all my other great friends. I am thankful for my big, beautiful house in Des Plaines. I am very thankful for Nana, Aunt Margie, Grandma Sandy, and all of my aunts, uncles and cousins. I am thankful for my mom and dad's jobs which give us money so we can buy food, water and a house. I am very thankful for our wonderful church, Unity Northwest, where no matter who you are, we are all family. I am thankful for God because She is watching over me and everyone else, too.

And Sue says, I am thankful for the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program and Niles North High School who have given me this incredible opportunity to live my dream, spending this year in Chile, where every day brings new surprises! And I am thankful for my loving family, who have been so supportive through this big move. I am so fortunate to have such great friends and colleagues back home, some of whom are coming to visit us here. I am also thankful for the new friendships that I've made here in Chile. And I want to mention a special thanks to Reverend Patti and our wonderful family at Unity Northwest who, in these past couple of years, have helped me to remember that God is everywhere!