We are lucky to have so many great friends here in Chile. It’s a reflection of how warm and welcoming the people are down here. We’ve spent the last week getting ready for the Rivers of Chile 2011 program to begin, and so many people have been helpful and generous that we can’t start the program without sharing our experiences of the past week with you.
When we arrived in Santiago we knew that our first stop would be Curico, Chile. Our Jean Bierle Scholarship students have all come from this town and these families have been very supportive of what we are trying to do. We wanted to catch up with our alumni and see what they are up to. Rosario, RoC ’08 alumni just took her PSU (the Chilean equivalent of the SAT/ACT, but more elaborate and with higher consequences). She gets her results on January 3rd and will go to school to become a speech therapist/pathologist. She was one of the leaders of her graduating class, and we are so excited to see her take the world by storm. She is completing service projects around Chile before her classes start in late April, including volunteering in a prison for females and mentoring a young group within her church group.
Titi, RoC ‘10 alumni is also waiting for her PSU results (the pressure is on for good scores so she can receive a scholarship to medical school). She is working sports camps for girls this summer and one of her favorite expressions is “girl power.” Love it.
After catching up with alumni, we ventured south to Valdivia on Dec. 23rd, where we spent the night with Alzar School instructor Claudio’s family. They were nice enough to store all of Alzar School’s gear for the last year. We had a fabulous dinner and stayed up late hearing stories and sharing photos. His parents had us try traditional Holiday foods and drinks. The next morning Claudio’s mom, Patricia, took our instructor Jeff into town to see the sea lions at the fish market while Sean and Kristin packed.
Rosario’s family invited us to spend the holiday with their family at their grandparent’s farm. We were honored to be invited and had no idea what was in store for us. First of all, Rosario’s aunts, uncles, and grandparents are just as nice as she is. They welcomed us with open arms into their beautiful home. Rosario’s grandparents live outside of Chillan, on a farm, but not just any farm, an organic fruit farm. What a delicious surprise! Cherries, blueberries, and raspberries were in harvest and we wandered through the trees picking fruit.
Their family opens gifts on the night of the 24th, and does a gift exchange of sorts where they each have one person they need to buy a gift for. There is lots of clapping and kissing as each person delivers their gift and then the recipient thanks them with a hug and a kiss on the check. It was a very gracious and warm way to see the holiday shared.
We are now waiting at the airport for the students to arrive so we can share this amazing place with them. Hurray for travel and hurray for new places, experiences, and cultures.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Llegamos en Chile
We love Chile, and every year that we come down I am instantly reminded why. The countryside is stunning, the people are friendly and welcoming, and we spend time laughing and amused by the simple things.
Instructors Jeff, Kristin and Sean arrived in Chile on Monday, the 20th of December. In a long plane-ride induced haze we rented a truck, loaded up, and drove south. We arrived in Curico, and our first stop was Completitos where Sean had his first of many "barros lucos con palta sin mayonesa." The damage from the earthquake is still quite visible. Roads and bridges are still in repair, temporary housing is apparent within towns. And some of the buildings that appeared on CNN coverage of the event remain in ruins. It is a powerful reminder of the lasting impact an event of that magnitude leaves behind.
We stopped by to visit our first Jean Bierle Scholarship recipient, Rosario, and her family. We had a great time catching up on events since we saw them last in March. Rosario just took her college entrance exams and has her fingers crossed she will be accepted to fonoaudiología school (speech therapy is our best guess). We are sure she passed with flying colors and will be off to Santiago to begin her studies in March.
We spent our first night in the sleepy mountain town of Los Quenes. As we were about to crash after two long days of travel Sean and I realized our first hiccup in what we thought was a brilliant plan. Last year we decided to leave our sleeping bags at a friend's house at the end of our trip, so we don't have to lug them back and forth. The only drawback being that our bags are currently in Valdivia, nowhere near our campsite in Los Quenes. It was a chilly night for Sean and myself, but we survived.
Sean awoke to discover that a flip flop disappeared in the night. We suspected it was one of the town dogs. We made friends with Christian, a seven year old who lives next to the campground. Christian thought about our problem for a minute, and then without a word bolted off. About five minutes later he returned with the shoe. He knew which dog was notorious for steeling shoes and knew where it slept. It was a "welcome back to Chile" moment.
We rafted the Teno yesterday in our tiny 9.5 foot raft. It's a hoot! Super responsive and perfect for 2-3 people. I think our students will love it.
Today we will visit CONIN, the orphanage we help, to see what sort of service projects they are interested in this year. This is one of my favorite parts of our time here. We will run a few errands and get ready to head south to collect our gear before we spend the holidays with Rosario's family. We look forward to the arrival of our students and in the words of whitewater legend Wayne Dickert, some "big booming fun."
Instructors Jeff, Kristin and Sean arrived in Chile on Monday, the 20th of December. In a long plane-ride induced haze we rented a truck, loaded up, and drove south. We arrived in Curico, and our first stop was Completitos where Sean had his first of many "barros lucos con palta sin mayonesa." The damage from the earthquake is still quite visible. Roads and bridges are still in repair, temporary housing is apparent within towns. And some of the buildings that appeared on CNN coverage of the event remain in ruins. It is a powerful reminder of the lasting impact an event of that magnitude leaves behind.
We stopped by to visit our first Jean Bierle Scholarship recipient, Rosario, and her family. We had a great time catching up on events since we saw them last in March. Rosario just took her college entrance exams and has her fingers crossed she will be accepted to fonoaudiología school (speech therapy is our best guess). We are sure she passed with flying colors and will be off to Santiago to begin her studies in March.
We spent our first night in the sleepy mountain town of Los Quenes. As we were about to crash after two long days of travel Sean and I realized our first hiccup in what we thought was a brilliant plan. Last year we decided to leave our sleeping bags at a friend's house at the end of our trip, so we don't have to lug them back and forth. The only drawback being that our bags are currently in Valdivia, nowhere near our campsite in Los Quenes. It was a chilly night for Sean and myself, but we survived.
Sean awoke to discover that a flip flop disappeared in the night. We suspected it was one of the town dogs. We made friends with Christian, a seven year old who lives next to the campground. Christian thought about our problem for a minute, and then without a word bolted off. About five minutes later he returned with the shoe. He knew which dog was notorious for steeling shoes and knew where it slept. It was a "welcome back to Chile" moment.
We rafted the Teno yesterday in our tiny 9.5 foot raft. It's a hoot! Super responsive and perfect for 2-3 people. I think our students will love it.
Today we will visit CONIN, the orphanage we help, to see what sort of service projects they are interested in this year. This is one of my favorite parts of our time here. We will run a few errands and get ready to head south to collect our gear before we spend the holidays with Rosario's family. We look forward to the arrival of our students and in the words of whitewater legend Wayne Dickert, some "big booming fun."
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