Chao for now Chile

Chao for now...

This experience has truly been a once in a lifetime opportunity. I have learnt so much over the past three months, things that I never saw myself doing both in and out of the school environment.

Craighouse has been a truly unforgettable experience, both the staff and the pupils made it so enjoyable for me and welcomed us and our ideas with open arms. I came to Chile and to Craighouse three months ago not really knowing what to expect and I can now say that this experience has opened my eyes to so many new things that I am excited to bring back with me and incorporate into my own teaching. 

Throughout this experience I have learnt so much about myself as the teacher I am and what kind of teacher I now want to be, which I did not expect to change and develop as much as it has. I want my pupils to fall in love with learning and coming to school, not only for their duration with me but for the rest of their school careers, just like I saw during my time in Chile. I enjoyed seeing the pupils have the freedom to learn how they wish and tailor this to their own needs and this is something I would love to see in my classroom back home. Craighouse has taught me that children don't necessarily have to be sat at their desks looking at you in order to learn, some might learn better whilst drawing or writing notes, some might learn better sat on the carpet or stood up. Children should be free to choose the way in which they learn best and teachers should have the patience to allow children the time to discover this.

The school were very focussed on the children's learning experiences and journeys, this resulted in the children doing more concrete activities rather than writing in workbooks and also less marking for teachers (RESULT!).

Teaching at an international school where English is not their first language has made me very aware of what I say, how I say things and the pace I say things at. I often caught myself talking at a very fast pace and then became very aware of this so began to talk much slower. The effects of this were obvious as the children would ask more questions about certain words or phrases, showing that they were listening and trying to make connections. I have also discovered the value of using lots of hand gestures when delivering an input. By making my teaching style a lot more animated I was able to hold the children's attention for much longer and then the children can use these gestures to help with their learning as they can complete the actions along with the words too. Teaching at such a young grade level has been truly amazing. These year 2 aged children were all so eager to learn new things and were also eager to teach me some new Chilean things. Seeing these pupils truly loving school and learning was so refreshing. The environment around them was as much as their responsibility as it was the teachers, they were keen to make it their space and take care of that.

Although in the UK we are very proactive on incorporating ICT and technology into all aspects of the curriculum and the children's learning, however at Craighouse they focused more on anchor charts. Yes this takes the teachers longer to create for their lessons but instead of using a slide show, when the information is on the screen for a small amount of time and then gone, the children are encouraged to the use the environment around them to help them with their own learning journeys. As these children are learning in their second language I understand that it is important to have a lot of visuals in order to help them make connections to what they know in their own language and relate their new found knowledge to this.

During my time in Chile, I had some Spanish lessons at the University. At the start I just thought that this would benefit me for my time living in Chile. However this actually helped me in the classroom, by putting myself in the pupils position of learning in a language it helped me to understand how tough and confusing it can be for the children. This really made me become aware of my teaching and how I could adapt it in order for the children to have an easier experience learning and understanding more English. By finding ways for me to learn and understand complicated Spanish terms I could then incorporate this into my teaching in the classroom to benefit the pupils.

The teaching environment I have been thrown into, has been a completely relaxed one, which is an attitude I want to bring into my teaching.

I have come away from the experience with hopefully making an impact on my class at Craighouse but also I have come away learning a huge amount about the teacher I now want to become and more about the teacher I am. This very special experience has opened my eyes to a different way of teaching things and will continue to have an impact on my teaching career and journey to come.

Over these last three months, as well as teaching, I have had the opportunity to travel Chile and some parts of South America. When discussing the opportunity of teaching a Latin American country for three months, I never thought I would be given the chance to travel and explore as much as I have and I never thought I would love it as much as I have! Being somewhere like I am has taught me so much about what I want to do in the future. Although I am very excited to start my teaching career and have a class of my own and get completely stuck in to teaching, I am also very interested at now working at international schools. These are very different to any schools I have taught at in the UK, this made it very difficult to bring anything that worked in and English school into the international classrooms. Everything needs to become very visual to allow the pupils to make connections, this is a difference that I really liked. This forced me to become creative with my resources and displays, it also encouraged me to use my environment around me to help with my teaching. This is an attitude which I aim to bring back to teaching in the UK.

I would not change a thing about this experience, myself and my teaching have both changed and developed, ready to head into my final year at University, feeling both positive and confident.

Día a Veintiocho a la Manana Treinta y ocho

School Holidays (Finally!)

Off to the Atacama we go!

Up bright and early to head off to catch our flight to Calama. The transfer picked us up straight form the airport, onto the mini bus already filled with some Spanish speaking strangers, us brits head straight to fill up the back row of seats. And off we set for our journey to San Pedro where we would spend the majority of the next 10 days. Dropped off at our hostel and settled in nicely, then headed straight out into the town to book our trips for the week and explore what San Pedro had to offer. Stumbled across some markets so (of course) we had a look at what the stands were selling. The general tat that we had seen before, but obviously fuelled with excitement we spent our well earned wages on things we do not need. After a long day of travelling we decided to head to the hostel to have some drinks by the fire and then tuck up into bed.

The next day we decided we had all earned a sleep in so did not set an alarm (wahey!). Rolled out of bed when we felt and hung around the hostel all morning to watch the world cup. In the afternoon we decided to explore more of San Pedro so head back into the town centre to partake in even more market shopping! But this time we bought some more things of what we would need during our stay in San Pedro. 

Cycling? In this heat?

Day three was slightly more exciting as we had decided to rent some bikes so we could cycle to a place called "Death Valley"... (not the most inviting name). After a fairly short bike ride towards Death Valley (which was mostly uphill) we were surprised by a sand path that weaved through many sand dunes. Stopping every now and then to explore the sand dunes (and catch our breathe) we found some spectacular views. This was the best way to spend the afternoon. Completely tried us out ready for our early start the next day.

WILD FLAMINGOS!!

The start of the tours we had booked began, so very early start! But all completely worth it as we went to a Flamingo Reserve for breakfast. INCREDIBLE! Absolutely breathtaking!

Next stop on this tour was to visit two sister lagoons located high up in the mountains. These were something that I never expected to see.

An afternoon of lagoons! Prepared with our swimming costumes under our clothes we were very excited to take a dip in a salt lagoon. (Little did we know how flipping cold it was going to be!!) Luckily the weather was sunny and warm so it wasn't too bad. We were advised to float in the salt lagoon, however the salt was so sharp that it was stinging our skin!! Anyways a salt lagoon is one to tick off the bucket list.

We visited a few more lagoons, however these ones were not for swimming (just photoshoots). Our final stop was another lagoon for sunset (including a snack and PISCO!). Seeing the Andes mountains change colour from a grey to a red and orange was beautiful. Perfect way to end our first busy day.

Alright Geyser?

Yet another very early start (4.30am pick-up!!!) to give us enough time to drive to the Geysers for sunrise and of course, breakfast. After a short nap on the coach we hd arrived!! Greeted by the cold we made our way off the bus and into the smelly Geysers. While our guide set up our breakfast we all huddled to keep warm (-10 degrees!!!). After warming up over several cups of hot chocolate we took a walk around the Geysers, watching their cycles and taking many photos. Back onto the bus to warm us up and onto our next stop. 

We stopped off at a tiny village where only 4 people lived. One man was cooking kebabs and after two long journeys we joined the queue. The kebabs happened to be Llama kebabs....and they were amazing! 

The final tour of the day was to the 'Moon Valley'. Completely different day to the morning, very warm and sunny, (luckily we had time after the Geysers to take off all our layers at the Hostel). Walking around the Moon Valley we learnt a lot about the mining that once happened there and got covered in sand. 

To end the day we went to watch the sunset high up above the Moon Valley and then headed back to the Hostel for some well earned rest to ensure we were already for another early start for our journey to Bolivia the following morning. 

Olivia is in Bolivia!!

Early start and onto another mini bus but this time to head out of Chile and into Bolivia for a few days. To kick start our Bolivia adventure we met our driver, put all our bags on the roof of the 4X4, piled on into the car and swiftly left for our first stop. 

Our first stop were the Ice Lagoons. Now the first one...you could literally walk on (frozen) water. Was slightly sketchy as you could here the ice beneath you making some funny noises. However the second Lagoon was not frozen but a bright blue colour and absolutely stunning!

Next stop, more Geysers. I didn't think it was possible but these Geysers were more smelly than the last ones! 

After lunch at the hostel we climbed up to 4990m to visit another flamingo lagoon. As we got out of the car we were greeted by snow! Something I never expected to see on this trip was a pink coloured lagoon, filled with flamingos, in the snow! 

Now we heard that Bolivia was going to be cold from many people we had met in the Hostel, but none of us expected it to be THAT cold! None of us had prepared for the snow. Layered up with our sleeping bags and multiple layers of blankets and many layers of clothes we all tucked in ready for a cold nights sleep. 

Snow in the Desert?!

It had snowed most of the night, and out of the window that morning all we could see was white. But no snow would stop us! Is driving in snow really that different to driving in sand? Off we set, no road in sight just driving wherever. Up a small hill one car couldn't make it so all the cars stopped to help it up. After a while of driving we were finally out of the snow! We stopped at a a stone park. Huge boulders surrounded us (it was like a natural play park for adults) we could climb up everything. 

Back into the car and off to see some more flamingos in another lagoon. (I don't think I will ever get tired of looking at Flamingos). 

Next stop, LUNCH! We had stopped in this place called 'Rock Valley' Everything around us was dried magma from a Volcano Eruption. Truly amazing.

We had a quick lunch out of the back of the 4X4 and then swiftly moved on to our next stop. Now this one was like something out of The Lion King. We walked out across this giant bit of rock sticking out high above a valley. 

Final stop before we head to where we would be staying for the night was the rail track. The rail track was in the middle of no where and was still a working rail track so of course what so we do? Sit on the line to take photos....

This next hostel was something truly amazing. Everything was made out of salt! (Literally EVERYTHING!) The walls, the tables, the benches, the beds, even the floor was covered in salt. Now not believing what we were seeing, what did we all do? Of course, lick the walls to see if they tasted salty, and yeah they did! This was the first time since arriving in Bolivia that we could have a shower (not that it made much difference  as we would all still be wearing the same clothes, it was so cold that we all wore everything we had!)

Sunrise at the Salt flats 

Final very early start, leaving at 5am to ensure we could make it to the Salt Flats for sunrise. After a nap in the car I opened my eyes and for miles I could see nothing but flat ground, this meant we had arrived at the salt flats. However we kept driving...and driving...and driving. Until we met this island in the middle of the flats....Cactus Island. This lump of rock was just covered in cacti and off we went climbing up it to reach the top before sunrise. And OH MY, the view was truly special! 

After breakfast at the bottom of Cactus Island we set off to take the classic perspective photos on the Salt Flats. We spent so long laughing and joking around, we had so much taking these and we got so many!!

After a very long stop we drove off on the Salt Flats for what seemed ages until we eventually reached a building made entirely out of salt in the middle of no where! This was the Salt Hotel. We also came across the Bolivia sign so took the opportunity to pose for some photos in front of it. 

The next stop was the train cemetery, now this is something that I had seen online and was very excited to go and see. Just like the Stone Park, it was another giant playground for adults as we climbed on and in all the trains to take photos. 

Finally we stopped for lunch and this was our first access to Wifi or signal we had had in the last few days. After eating some good food and reaching out to those back home to send over some photos we sent back off but this time to explore Uyuni alone after saying goodbye to our driver. 

After meeting our new driver for our drive back to the boarder we headed to the hostel for dinner and out final nights sleep in Bolivia.

Bye Bye Bolivia and Bye Bye San Pedro

Today was the day we would leave Bolivia and head back to San Pedro for two more days before heading back to Santiago and back to work.

A truly amazing trip with unforgettable memories!

Día Veintidós y Veintitres

Bring on the weekend!

This weekend we had decided to make no official plans and see where the weekend would take us (other than watching the England football game on Saturday morning). On Friday we decided to go to this party with some University students. Was a very strange evening, our flat ended up getting locked out so had to share the sofa bed in the other flat (albeit, not a very long sleep). Woke up bright and early on Saturday to ensure we could make it to the football on time, we were still locked out so off we went in last nights attire. At the pub we had booked a table for all of us plus some extras from the school, this made for an amazing atmosphere. The pub filled up with rather excited England fans very quickly. After a rather exciting and positive game we decided to stay at the pub for a long time after, and chat with other teachers from the school.

We all ended up trekking home at different times, and with all the excitement of the day we had planned to go back out and meet everyone again. However, we all got rather tired after a late night followed by a day of day drinking so crashed out after a takeaway.

The next day consisted of a day in the sunshine shopping in our new found favourite market, Santa Lucia. After spending far too much (on things we don't particularly need) we decided we were all far too tired to be wondering around in the heat so headed home for some rest. Concluding our fun filled weekend with chilling in the flats playing stupid car games.

Time to get back into the mind set for back to school. 

Día Dieciocho a Veintiuno

Week two at Craighouse

Beginning to feel a lot more settled and at home both at Craighouse school and in Santiago. After a very eventful weekend we were keen and ready to get back to work. As we had just come back from a long weekend the children were all bonkers! This made getting any work done a real challenge. However as this was the day of the England football match I was excused from my afternoon lessons to go to the dining hall to watch the game on the projector. 5 Brits surrounded by students that just so happened to be Columbia supporters made for a real atmosphere!

The next two days that followed were like any regular school day with no surprises. However these next few days were when I began to teach to my new class. I started with Maths on the Thursday, simple word problems and learning mental maths tricks to help the pupils. Later on Thursday the rain started to pour...Now at home we are used to this on the regular, however, in Chile it only rains 10 days out of the year! So when it rains the Chileans deal with it much how us Brits deal with snow...with mad panic. We went home not knowing whether we would be able to make it to school in the morning!

Friday comes and we make it to school without having to swim through any puddles. This weather also brought the students crazy and mad sides back out, so made for a very interesting day! Today was one of my students last day at Craighouse. So she arrived in non school uniform and all the other children had brought some sort of food or drink for us to have a party! But after all the fun and games came the teaching and learning (not quite as fun). I got to teach a readers workshop today which went soo well, all the children were engaged and then continued to use their new found skills throughout the day! RESULT! 

Another enjoyable, and successful week at Craighouse. Lets see what this weekend has in store for us!

Día Diecisiete

Dogs, dinner and a bumpy bus

Today did not go as planned to say the least... As we didn't have any school we had aimed to have a lovely day outside, hiking in a National park about an hour out of Santiago. We got an Uber to what we thought was the entrance to the hiking trail...it was closed. (Turns out Chileans don't do bank holidays like the brits). We decided to walk further up the road to see if there was another entrance. Having made some new friends of the dog variety we made quite the impact to this tiny village we walked through. These dogs set off every single dog along this what seemed to be a never ending road. I have never heard such noise in my life, about 30 dogs all shouting at each other across the road and some even jumping over the fences to attack our new 'friends'. With all this we could not find another way into the park so decided to turn around and walk back to the restaurant we had previously passed. 

This restaurant was in the strangest building (looked like something out of a pixie or elf themed movie). We explored the grounds a learnt a lot about this building and found some very interesting sculptures and models sitting around. 

After sitting around for what seemed like forever the restaurant finally opened and we piled on in not knowing what kind of food we would be delving into. After exploring the grounds for quite some time we sat down ready to order. This food was amazing! After what had been a very interesting morning we definitely deserved some good grub. 

To get home we decided to try and catch a bus. Not knowing where the bus was going we hopped on and hoped for the best. We ended up in a bus station somewhere in Santiago, so we could easily find a metro station and make our way home for a chilled evening before starting school tomorrow.