Quilpué: my new home!!

Today was a very exciting day!! I was able to find out my regional placement and the school I will be teaching at. I depart for Quilpué, Chile on Friday! I still don't know any information about my host family, but Friday they will meet at the terminal! I am very excited for this placement with the Colegio Montesol, my field director Heather has given me great reviews of this school and I cannot wait to meet my students!! Additionally some of the great people I have met are going to be near me, and we are very close to Valparaiso and Viña del Mar which are on the coast of Chile:) News to come!!


On a different note, I have not been able to write since the weekend, but I would really like to dedicate an entry to the amazing experience I was able to have last Saturday. We were lucky enough to have Andres, and his daughter/translator Paola, take us around Santiago for a Human Rights tour.Prior to this trip, I knew so little about the history of Chile and the unbelievable tragedies that occurred during the dictatorship, and fear I am unable to do it justice (but will do my best). Our "tour guide" was Andres, a man who was actually detained and tortured by the secret police during the Pinochet regime from 1973 to 1989. With Andres we went to many different sites of torture and execution of Chileans considered to be a threat to the government...men and women, most in their early 20's but some as young as 16 were taken and detained by the secret police, tortured for information, and some were never found again. The details of these awful events were first hand from Andres, and he lost many friends and colleagues during this time, and was tortured and humiliated for information. It was a very powerful and impressionable day that brought many tears to my eyes and pain to my heart. The suffering of these people, and the fact that there are so many "disappeared" is a very sad part of the history for Chile. I have never met someone so brave, strong and kind. Just looking at his eyes, there was no hate or bitterness, but the acceptance and forgiveness of those who had hurt him. This experience was very important for us to have in understanding the Chilean way of life and attitude.


This week has been really busy and full of a second orientation by Ingles Abres Puertas - We also went out for terramotos (a Chilean drink made of Pineapple ice cream, wine, and brandy a.k.a. an earthquake!) with our Spanish tutor Arnavik, who is a lovely hilarious man:) Tonight is one last asado with some friends who live in Chile, and by friday I depart! Yahoo!


More to come,
lck