I have so much to catch everyone up on! So far, my experience in Chile has been amazing. My host family is wonderful--I have a host-mom, host-dad, and host-sister, Sofia, who is in the 3rd grade at Thomas Jefferson. The first few days I was here the family took me around to different areas of Concepcion.
One of the most memorable places I visited was the fish market in Talcahuano, which was incredible! In my head I was picturing a local neighborhood seafood market, which is what I am accustomed to, being from New Orleans. Well, it was nothing like that. We parked the car and the second I stepped foot onto the pavement a huge whiff of fish hit my nose. As we made our way down the sidewalk towards the market there were handfuls of people selling HUGE crabs, freshly baked bread, jewelry, caramel popcorn, sausage, meats, fresh produce, etc. ... not to mention the sea-lions playing in the water nearby. When we finally made it into the market, it was a long and narrow open-air room. There were about 10 different stands set up with all sorts of fish freshly caught that day. In addition to fish, they had seaweed, oysters, shrimp, crabs, sea urchin (which I tried!), and mussels, that were straight out of the water. Being from the south, seafood is a huge part of my life. I LOVED seeing all the varieties in fish that Talcahuano had to offer. My host-dad, his brother, Sofia and I picked out some enormous crab claws, shrimp, sea urchin, and a white-flaky fish to bring home. The second we got home the family started preparing all the seafood for a grand almuerzo (lunch). So far, it has been my favorite meal!
This past weekend my host-family took me to their farm in Linares, North-East of Concepcion (about a 2 hour car ride). It is a small town with vast expanses of farm land. We pulled into the property Friday evening and were greeted by their 3 dogs. Two of the dogs were enormous, they looked like miniature horses! The other dog was a small Jack-Russell Terrier looking type. That night was pretty quiet since it was dark when we arrived. The next morning we woke up and went on a walk around the property. At the farm they primarily harvest blueberries, but they also grow an assortment of apples, apricots, figs, hazelnuts, and a few other fruits. It isn't blueberry season right now but all the bushes were a bright red color which was extremely pretty against the beautiful blue sky we had that day. I took lots of pictures of the dogs and the farm, but unfortunately I am having troubles uploading my pictures to the blog.
School is wonderful! My host-teacher, Miss. Maria Elena Hernandez is amazing, and I have really enjoyed my time with her so far and learning all that she has to offer about Science and American History. This is the first year Thomas Jefferson is implementing American History into their Social Studies curriculum. My host-teacher teaches science to 1st and 2nd, and Social Studies to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Currently, most of the Social Studies classes are learning about the Pilgrims, the 13 colonies, and the American Revolution. This class was perfect for me to be placed in because my concentration during undergraduate at LSU was American History. I love Miss. Maria Elena's lessons and all of her creative activities she has the students working on. Being in Social Studies is making me think about getting my Social Studies add-on certificate so that I can teach more grades!
I wish I could upload all the wonderful pictures I have taken so far, but hopefully next time I blog I will have found a way!
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