Thursday, July 15, 2010

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Petrohue


So I hopped on a bus with the Turismo group at school for a field trip to Petrohue. I have to say I really needed that jump start today. This past week has been a little crazy. Winter vacations begin Friday and nothing has been normal. My classroom is occupied for the week and my host teacher has been grading papers like crazy, so we've been watching a lot of movies and such. I've come home bored and uninvolved searching like crazy for conversations and news from the States, making me all the more homesick. But today, I got involved.

A few things I need to realize while in Chile:
1. My Spanish is not that bad; stop being intimidated by it!
2. I need to speak Spanish more with the students so we can actually get to know each other.
3. I have to get involved more in classes and after school. My efforts need to be stronger.

Today snapped me out of my slump. The weather was absolutely beautiful and splendidly sunny (a RARE RARE occurrence in this rainy part of the country) and I was able to see the volcanoes and mountains. The students were the tour guides and they took a special interest in explaining everything to me, which was awesome! I even made a few jokes in Spanish =) The tour was incredible and so is this country.

I feel excited again to be here, and now I am traveling to Argentina to ski with some old friends. I'm glad to be back to my old self again!!! Thank God for the sun!