Hello family and friends. No pictures today but a quick recap of the past few days.
Day 1/Sunday- Arrived to Antofagasta after a 20hr bus ride. I met my family for the first time and I am very pleased. I live with Señora Racquel and Señor Evan and they have 3 children, ranging from 3-15 yrs old. Their home is situation in the southern part of the city about less than a 10 minute walk to the ocean and supermarket. I can vaguely see the ocean from the porch.
Day 1 Meal- Beef, Bread with sides of Avocadoes, Avocado Salad, Lettuce, Cucumber and Avocado salad, and sliced radishes. For dinner, which is a small meal, we had sandwiches. Those consist of cheese, salami, avocado on a hoagie type of bread with sides of olives and leftovers from the lunch. We gathered around the dinner table and watched the futbol (soccer) game of Chile vs Peru. Chile won!
Day 2/Monday- First day of school! There was a school assembly going on in the morning so they decided to present me infront of the entire school at that time. I was given a very warm welcome from the principal and everyone in the audience applauded. Then I spent the next several hours with both of the English teachers that I will be working with. I spent time observing the students and learning my way around the school.
Day 2 Meal- Lunch was a sort of corn and meat pot pie. Dinner was sandwiches (which i am a fan of) much like the night before with the addition of a pickled medley of cauliflower, onions, pickles, and carrots. Desert was a small chocolate pastry.
Day 3/Tuesday- Second day of school and the children and so sweet. I have already received a couple handmade cards and several sweets. What is touching is that these children do not have much to begin with so their gifts, as small as they may be, are big gifts. The school, situation far from where I live is in a very poor area where drugs, alcohol, and prostituton are prevalent. The school environment is much more warm than in America. The teachers hug and kiss each student and I probably get 100 or so kisses each day from children, whether I am just walking down the hall or they are in a class I am observing. There are significant discipline problems becaus of the poor family lives that these children face, so that will be a challenge in my near future.
Well, I need to be going. All the volunteers in my city have a meeting at 7pm.
Ciao,
Christine
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