Weekend Recap

After going to Duoc for classes on Friday, where I had 1/18, 2/14, and 15/18 students show up to my three classes, I came went out to dinner with some of my other US English teachers for some pasta. After that, I came home and Marisa, who had dropped her teaching bag off at my house, and I were greeted by the usual suspects, Marie Jose, Rodrigo, Raul, Juan, and Elizabeth. They invited to enjoy a bottle of wine and converse with them. Of course we did. Our pleasant talking led us to the early morning. It was fun to have someone else around who would occasionally get lost in conversation. Then on Saturday I wandered around a little bit, purchases a Chico Trujillo cd, because I really liked them. Chico Trujillo, you will recall is the band we went to see Wednesday night. I also enjoyed the wonderful weather(See previous post). Then Saturday night we all went out for dinner at an all you can eat seafood restaurant. Now I don't necessarily like seafood, but this was pretty good.(Or do I Jay? I can never remember) They had a buffet of cold dishes, and would walk around with hot dishes and put as much as you wanted on your plate.

(Raul and me at dinner)
Once again is was great having Marisa around because as the table was telling jokes, conversing, and singing a little, Marisa and I were at the end of the table, quietly talking, and trying to catch up with the Spanish conversation. When we finally caught up, I realized that everyone was going around and giving a little speech about Elizabeth, or her family. Ha, well imagine a guy who doesn't really know Spanish that well, and normally needs to think each sentence completely through, trying to give a toast, on the spot to him host mom. It probably didn't make sense and I know I ended it by saying, "I love us."

(Everyone trying to drink away their memory of my horrible toast. OR enjoying each other's company. From left to right. Juan, Marie Jose, Me, Elizabeth, Rodrigo with the peace sign, Oliver, Raul, Cata, and Marisa)
Sunday involved taking a bus to Viña del Mar to Steve's house and attending the Everton/Antofagasta soccer game. It was great to say the least. I had no idea what everyone was chanting, but I joined along.

(This is what it looks like under the gigantic flag that gets pulled over the fans in the general admission section after each goal)
We scouted out what colors to wear, so "fit in." I mean, besides being white, and tall, and mullet free, we fit in.

(It might be hard to differentiate us, but Steve, Vinnie and I are the three guys centered in the photo)
After the game Vinnie, Steve and I made some gourmet spaghetti, and then went out to El Journal with a couple other girls from our program.
Since I'm a teacher now, I pick on things that I didn't before, like when one person asks a question others probably have the same question. Since my mom asked me for more updates about teaching, I figured others may be curious. If not, skip ahead to the video clip. Teaching is just like the CIEE guide book said, rewarding, frustrating, time intensive. There are times when I feel my students understand what's going on and are actually enjoying their time in class, and other times I feel like I am the worst teacher in the world. In reality, I probably fall in between the two. My biggest frustration is that my intermediate students are getting tested with standardized tests instead of concentrated materials which means it is really hard to help students who have a weak base succeed. The last quiz had questions that I had to think about, so it's no wonder the average grade for my first two classes is 11/20. It's hard, but hopefully it will get better. My friend Rachel, who I visited in Buenos Aries gave me a link to some of her materials, so hopefully I can get a little more structure to my lessons. Let's hope I can make a few points with my students and get them to understand my language.


(This is where we were standing during the game. Needless to say it was wild. It's close to the way I felt during my first UW-Madison Hockey game)