English Opens Doors is a government-sponsored education program in Chile that I am volunteering for. My understanding is that it consists of sending English-speaking volunteers, both part- and full-time, to municipal schools in several different cities throughout the country. I got assigned to a school called Centro Comercial Coeducation Mariano La Torre. It is in a community called La Pintana, much further south in Santiago than I had been before going for the first time today. La Pintana is a mostly residential area that is clearly not as affluent as other parts of the city, but the people that I have seen there are really similar to the people everywhere else and I think it's actually kind of charming. It doesn't have the same huge-city feel as the center of Santiago and is much quieter. Plus, the bus drops me off three blocks away from the school so I don't have to walk alone much and there are people out and about around the school anyway.
Mariano La Torre is a little bit different from other high schools - in their last two years, the students choose a "carrera," which is like a major. It's a technical school and they can choose between accounting, international cuisine, childcare, and auto mechanics. The teacher I am working with teaches English across all of the carreras. My first impression of her is fantastic. She is young, friendly, and really great with her students. One of my friends from WI had her first day at a different school ealier this week and was basically thrown into a classroom and expected to manage the class for an hour. Luckily, my teacher told me she knows that she is the teacher and she makes lesson plans, but if there is ever something I want to add to a class she said I should feel free.
The students didn't have regular class today, so my co-teacher gave me a tour of the school and introduced me to a lot of her students. They are mostly 15 to 18-year-old boys, but some girls too. Most of them were really curious about me and were very welcoming, especially the boys, and especially once they figured out I could speak Spanish fairly well. I'll probably be going just on Friday mornings. I was originally planning on going twice a week, but the commute is a pain.
In other, international news, our neighbors to the East made a pretty big decision recently: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8221599.stm
So if you do happen to come to Argentina before December (for whatever reason...) please stop by and visit me!
I may have found a legit soccer league to play in. One of the girls in my class invited me to be on her team. Exciting, huh? Plus it's futbolito, on smaller fields, which is my fave. It sounds like we just have games on Saturdays. Baaaallllin'!
Besides all that, we are suffering through Santiago winter this week with temps in the low twenties... CELCIUS!! Hahaha, also known as 60-75 degrees farenheit. It's a beautiful thing. I think I'll go to a sports bar tonight to sip some soda and watch some Chilean soccer. Love life.
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