Jennifer & Brant have pretty much summed up the past two days for us. This has truely been an adventure. This being my first time of really enjoying another country and culture beyond just being a tourist. I am proud to say I am taking part of Chile with me (figuratively, it would be illegal to bring it on the plane-plus overhead compartments are small!!). The comrodery I have experienced has been amazing. Both with the other two "gringo's" I have been living with for three weeks and with our Chilean comrades who have been so inviting and patient (due to our lack of Spanish). I know these are people that will be forever remembered and I am proud to call friends. My time here would definitally not have been as enriching if they were not part of it.
Jennifer and Brant have left for Santiago airport and the apartment seems too quite. I will spend the evening, no the night (it doesn't start until 12:00-midnight), at a rock concert. One of our Chilean friends is the lead singer in a band. I will continue my journey in Chile for another week. Hoping to see more of the amazing features of this country and take in all it has to offer.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
My two pesos
We have had a completely rich time here in Chile. I will share a couple of thoughts before signing off and returning the the U.S.
When visiting a K-12 school on Thursday I came across a quote that resonated with me and provides motivation for future language efforts. The quote said "the limits of my language mean the limits of my world", Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian 1889. I think Jen and Nicole would agree that because of our nascent grasp of Spanish we were somewhat limited in the experiences we were able to have. This being said, I feel that we broke through many barriers with the new friendships we made with what I have come to call the "Chilean contingent".
I could not have asked for a more welcoming and accommodating partnership than the one we have had with the research team within the electrochemistry lab at PUCV. They will be missed. Here is a photo of the team
Also noteworthy would be the pleasure it has been working with two consummate professional educators and fearless world travelers (Nicole and Jen). Since this was a pilot program I could only foresee so many things. Nicole and Jen took everything in stride and were critical to making the experience the success it was. Until next time......
When visiting a K-12 school on Thursday I came across a quote that resonated with me and provides motivation for future language efforts. The quote said "the limits of my language mean the limits of my world", Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian 1889. I think Jen and Nicole would agree that because of our nascent grasp of Spanish we were somewhat limited in the experiences we were able to have. This being said, I feel that we broke through many barriers with the new friendships we made with what I have come to call the "Chilean contingent".
I could not have asked for a more welcoming and accommodating partnership than the one we have had with the research team within the electrochemistry lab at PUCV. They will be missed. Here is a photo of the team
Also noteworthy would be the pleasure it has been working with two consummate professional educators and fearless world travelers (Nicole and Jen). Since this was a pilot program I could only foresee so many things. Nicole and Jen took everything in stride and were critical to making the experience the success it was. Until next time......
Last Day in Chile
Today is my last day here in Chile (Brant's too, Nicole is staying for another week). I am looking forward to going home to reconnect with my family and friends, to see my cat, and to sleep in my own bed. However, it is also with great sadness that I am leaving behind a fantastic country and some wonderful new friends.
Nicole and I finished up our research in the lab this week. We then took some time to write up a report about our findings. The report was difficult because it was putting the large mass of information I had gathered in my head over the last few weeks into a coherent form for others to read. I am amazed at how much I learned but also realize that I have some unclear portions of my new knowledge. The report really helped me to put it all together and realize how much we had done. When I get home I plan to look over the literature and some of my notes to put together some more of the pieces. I definitely feel as if my experience in the lab has enriched my understanding of science and the scientific process and I look forward to sharing this with my students in the upcoming school year.
For the last couple of evenings we have all gotten together, both Americans and Chileans. These evenings have been filled with lots of laughter and fun. However, they have also allowed me to learn more from my new friends. I have enjoyed talking about many aspects of life and comparing and contrasting our experiences from different parts of the world. I have been overwhelmed by how giving everyone has been here, particularly of their time. Knowing how I feel that my life is always so busy I wonder if our places were switched if I would be so giving of my own time. It helps to keep things in perspective.
I sincerely hope that I am able to make another visit to Chile in the not too distant future. The only thing that gives me some concern is my lack of Spanish. Being here has made me realize how wonderful it would be to know another language.
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to follow our journey. It has been fun sharing.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Pacific Ocean
Just a quick note to let you all know that today we had a very meaningful group experience. The three of us had a dip in the Pacific Ocean just outside of our apartment. The weather reached a tropical 66 degrees F (19 degrees C) today and it was sunny. We decided today must be the day. I will spare everyone the pictures but we must have been a sight to see. To put it lightly, we were the only ones in swimsuits on the beach. Everyone else was in jackets. There was more staring at us than usual. It was a refreshing dip, although the current was rather strong.
Upon later revelation of our adventure into the ocean to our Chilean friends we were met with looks of astonishment. I believe they think we are somewhat crazy.
Long Live Spring Break 2008!
Ok, one quick photo of Brant psyching up to take the plunge.....
Teaching
Although we have been spending most of out time here in the lab doing scientific research, I have been continuing to learn about teaching. As we interact during our research Nicole and I have shared our tricks of the trade and had conversations about our own teaching methods. We have also had some conversations with Chileans in the lab about their teaching philosophies and the reasons why they decided to go into teaching and research. At one point I was using "train tracks" for dimensional analysis and Eduardo asked me to explain this method I use for teaching. He thought he might try it with his own students. It has also been wonderful to watch others interact while working in the lab. While I don't understand what is being said the lab seems to be a very cooperative learning environment.
On Monday we took the opportunity to sit in on a class Eduardo was teaching. This may seem a bit odd in that the class was taught entirely in Spanish. However, it was interesting to me how much I could pick up about the teaching methods used. There were lots of things I saw that I liked. The class only had 6 students: 3 male and 3 female. Although Eduardo taught by writing on the white board he was very good at spending most of the time facing the students. He did most of his lecture without notes. He asked questions and gave adequate wait time for answers.
After class Brant, Nicole, and I were commenting to each other on the lack of technology used in the teaching of the class. I mentioned that some of my colleagues prefer writing on the board as it tends to better engage the students. Later Eduardo mentioned this same topic. He said that during his first year of teaching he used PowerPoint for his lectures but has now gone back to using the white board. It was interesting to see how teachers in classrooms so far removed from our own grapple with the same issues.
I was very thankful that Eduardo was willing to open his classroom to us. We all know there can be a bit of anxiety about others stepping into our worlds. It was a meaningful experience for me.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
La Campana
I am sitting here on the balcony of our apartment on a not rainy day, looking out into the ocean. There are about 15 sea lions playing in the water. This may be due to the (fishing?) boats that are hanging out. I wanted to tell everyone about the adventure we had last Sunday when we went to La Campana. We took a train and a bus to get to this national park that is about half way between Valparaiso and Santiago. It was amazing how
much the scenery changed during our trip from Vina to the park, a total of about 1.5 hours. We went from busy city to beautiful mountainous park land.
The claim to fame for this park is that it contains a mountain that Charles Darwin climbed when he was here in August of 1834. Darwin noted in his journal that the view from this mountain was one of the highlights of his journey.
We did not get a really early start to the day so we could not climb to the top, about a 4 hour trip. The weather also did not overly cooperate and it was a bit drizzly. We decided to take a walk anyway and it was a great experience. We make about a 3 mile loop (not like the 3 mile loop around Lake Nokomis, as half of this trip was up hill!). The
scenery was great.
One thing I noticed was the fantastic foliage around us. This was the first time I had ever seen cacti and broad leaf trees all living in the same area.
After our hike we stopped at a restaurant by the train station to get some dinner. When we walked in the place was hopping - a soccer game was on tv. The popular Chillean Colo Colo team was playing. It was fun to watch a game in a room filled with people so involved. Unfortunately Colo Colo lost the game.
Experiments
During our stay here in Chile, our research has expanded beyond the walls of the electrochemistry lab. We have constantly been conducting both quantitative and qualitiative research. The phrase "It will be an experiment!" has made its way into our daily lives. Our quantitative research has been measured by our success of achieving (or at least getting close to) our goal. Some examples include, but are not limited to:
1. Riding the bus-We have successfully completed every bus ride to the appropriate destination. But, today is another day that includes TWO more attempts, so who knows?!?!
2.Oven/Stove & Cooking in General- It took a couple of days (and calls to the front desk and the property owner) for us to figure out how to start the range and the oven. Even after that, we are still conducting further experiments on how to keep the oven lit and NOT burn what we are cooking. We have yet to have overall success, and morale is running low as far as the oven goes.
3-Shopping-We have conducted many experiments as far as shopping. We have learned that all produce and fresh bread must be marked prior to getting to the cash register (there is someone that just sits in the department and puts a barcode on the items for you). Yes, it was a lesson learned quickly. Also, shopping at the open markets has been quite a learning experience. We have learned that there is more than one type of avacado here and they do not all necessarily have the same taste or texture. We are sticking to hass avacados from here on out.
4- Purchasing tickets for the tour buses for the correct destination and time is one experiment that has gone extremely well, considering the language barrier. Included, navigating our train experience to La Campana, which required the purchase of a special card, was a success.
5- The Laundry Mat- We are pretty sure that the sweet woman there feels bad for Brant, since he is always with two women who are laughing at him (which we are laughing because of the language barrier, yet Brant still tries-with little success). We have been using the services of the lavanderia since our first experiment of using the washing machine (which we have only found to have a HOT cycle and it takes 4 hours to run with an additional 36+ hours to air dry the items-depending on the temperature during the day).
Our qualitiative research was unexpected to each of us. It is focused on the amount of interest Chilean people have on us. We get many glances and long stares. Jennifer and I are becoming accustomed to random "cat calls", honking of horns, flashing of headlights, and wistles while we take our daily walks/runs. From our understanding, this is normal in Chile. It is going to take some getting used to when I return to my quite neighborhood in South Dakota and just hear the lawn mowers & dogs barking.
1. Riding the bus-We have successfully completed every bus ride to the appropriate destination. But, today is another day that includes TWO more attempts, so who knows?!?!
2.Oven/Stove & Cooking in General- It took a couple of days (and calls to the front desk and the property owner) for us to figure out how to start the range and the oven. Even after that, we are still conducting further experiments on how to keep the oven lit and NOT burn what we are cooking. We have yet to have overall success, and morale is running low as far as the oven goes.
3-Shopping-We have conducted many experiments as far as shopping. We have learned that all produce and fresh bread must be marked prior to getting to the cash register (there is someone that just sits in the department and puts a barcode on the items for you). Yes, it was a lesson learned quickly. Also, shopping at the open markets has been quite a learning experience. We have learned that there is more than one type of avacado here and they do not all necessarily have the same taste or texture. We are sticking to hass avacados from here on out.
4- Purchasing tickets for the tour buses for the correct destination and time is one experiment that has gone extremely well, considering the language barrier. Included, navigating our train experience to La Campana, which required the purchase of a special card, was a success.
5- The Laundry Mat- We are pretty sure that the sweet woman there feels bad for Brant, since he is always with two women who are laughing at him (which we are laughing because of the language barrier, yet Brant still tries-with little success). We have been using the services of the lavanderia since our first experiment of using the washing machine (which we have only found to have a HOT cycle and it takes 4 hours to run with an additional 36+ hours to air dry the items-depending on the temperature during the day).
Our qualitiative research was unexpected to each of us. It is focused on the amount of interest Chilean people have on us. We get many glances and long stares. Jennifer and I are becoming accustomed to random "cat calls", honking of horns, flashing of headlights, and wistles while we take our daily walks/runs. From our understanding, this is normal in Chile. It is going to take some getting used to when I return to my quite neighborhood in South Dakota and just hear the lawn mowers & dogs barking.
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