We asked our Chile volunteers to describe the communities in which they live and schools in which they teach. We hope these samples will give you a picture of life as a WorldTeach volunteer in Chile, but please keep in mind as you read these that every site is unique. Your experience will be what you make of it!
Community
Valparaíso is an urban, coastal city, with a population of 320,000. It is a significant tourist destination with at least two universities. Viña del Mar is a 15-minute ride away and Santiago is roughly a 70 minute bus ride away.
Host School
At the host school there are about 85 teachers, including 7 English teachers. There are 1,800 students from grade primero to cuarto medio. Nearly 500 students are primeros and ages range from 14 to 18. For all ages, the English proficiency level is extremely low. There are 25 to 35 classrooms in total, and each classroom has a very large whiteboard. Digital projectors and speakers are available for use, but there is no printer for general teacher use. The sub-director has an office printer that I use.
Teaching Assignment My busiest day has 4 classes; my lightest day has 1 class plus English workshop. The students have English twice a week for 90 minutes, so the way we worked it out is that I take each half of the class once a week for 60 minutes, because 90 minutes is just too long.
Vacations do not come too often; we get the occasional Chilean holiday, plus the two-week winter vacation in July.
The level of my classes is Low Basic. Some of the kids have had 4 years of English, but their ability to use what they've learned is equivalent to the kids who haven't learned anything. That is, they may know a bunch of words, but can't produce or understand a sentence, nor do anything like introduce themselves. There are exceptions, but those amount to 2-4 students in a 45-student class, and even their level will be very low.
My co-teacher is Marcela Gonzalez Flores. We don't coordinate the material we teach, but other than that we talk at least briefly every day. She's pretty good about telling me stuff I need to know.
Living Arrangements I live in a blended family. My host parents are in their mid-50s and late 40s and my host mom's grandmother and host dad's son (age 13) live with us full-time. My host mom's two sons (age 11 and 17) come for weekends or weeks.
Another WorldTeach volunteer and I each have our own rooms, right next to each other, with our own bathroom and reliable, truly hot water. Our end of the house is a bit chilly.
My school is at the bottom of the hill, about a 10-minute ride on public transit. Other parts of town can be an additional 5-15 minutes away, but generally anything I want to get to, I can get to in 20-30 minutes from the house.
Language Issues My level of Spanish when I arrived was pretty high; I learned it well in school, and lived in Mexico for 3 months at one point. 4 and a half months after my arrival in Santiago, 3 and a half months after arrival at placement, I'm doing quite well overall. My frustrations have to do with being away from my supportive routines at home, rather than with cultural friction.
Greatest Challenges
My greatest challenge has been being unable to practice aikido, the martial art I've been doing for the past 7 years. I keep exploring opportunities for it, and I keep getting shut down. It's important in helping me feel mentally balanced, so it's been hard to live without it (enough so that I'll go 2.5 hours on a Saturday morning to go train in Santiago, with some regularity).
Greatest Rewards
My greatest rewards are the relationships I have with the students. They're great, great kids, and we've all worked really hard to understand each other and create a working classroom environment with boundaries and expectations very different from what they're used to. We clearly like each other, and they understand that the discipline stuff that I do is for keeping an orderly classroom, and is nothing personal about them.
WorldTeach History I'm the first WorldTeach volunteer in my site, and the first volunteer, period. They seem pretty happy with me, though.
Catapilco is a rural location with 2,000 to 2,500 people in El Pueblo and 500 people in Hacienda. The Andes Mountains are visible from the town and the weather is dry, arid, generally clear, sunny and warm.In town there is one small supermarket and many small house/fruit stand combinations. By my house there are two fruit stands. By bus or car it is twenty minutes to Maitencillo or to La Ligua. A little further, one hour and 30 minutes by bus, is Viña del Mar/ Valparaíso.Most common occupations for locals are farming, ranching, and landscaping.
Host school:
I have two schools, in Catapilco there are 9 teachers total with 1 English Teacher. In Hacienda there are 8 teachers total with 1 English Teacher.In Catapilco I teach about 300 kids, grades 1-8, at the beginner/intermediate level. In Hacienda I teach 100 kids who are beginners in grades 4-6.There are 8 classrooms in Catapilco and 5 classrooms in Hacienda.Both Catapilco and Hacienda have white boards, chalk boards, books, textbooks, computers with internet, cd players, LCD player/screen, and markers.
Teaching Assignment:
Daily Schedule
Monday: 8-5 pm (Catapilco)
Tuesday: Off.
Wednesday: Off.
Thursday: 8-630 pm (Catapilco)
Friday: 830-1pm (Hacienda)
The first semester started in April and went until the first week of July. Official vacation consists of Winter Break and 2 weeks in July. Second Semester begins in the last week of July and goes until the end of November. My Co-teacher is Marcelo Luciano Fernandez. At Catapilco, we co-teach grades 1-4 and we split grades 5-8. At Hacienda we co-teach all three grades, 4-6.
Living Arrangements:
My host family is a couple, both in their 50´s, and we live in Hacienda. There is also one dog and one cat. They live in Hacienda.My home is a modest house, built by my host father. It has 6 rooms: three bedrooms, one living room, kitchen, and bathroom. We have a big backyard, shared with the mother of my host dad, who lives next door. In our backyard we have 10 sheep and 6 roosters, at night neighborhood dogs come to play with our dog. Next door there are two horses. In another lot they have 12 cows and two horses. In the shower there is minimal to no hot water, ¨tepid¨ would be the best way to describe it. In the sinks, however, there is hot water. My host father is a landscaper and my host mother is a housemom, who has her own flower business. We have papaya, avocado, fig, and membrillo plants. They grow their own artichoke, lettuce, and tomatoes. Living in Hacienda, I am 15 steps from the school (where I teach on Fridays); it is located directly in front of my house. To Catapilco, it is a 20-30 minute walk, or 5 minute drive.
Language issues:
When I arrived my Spanish skills were advanced. Over the past months I have learned much more, especially the way the Chileans speak Spanish.
Greatest Challenges:
1. Arranging solid lesson plans.
2. Classroom management, especially controlling noise and invigorating their attention span.
Greatest Rewards:
1. Seeing my students produce what I have taught them.
2. Gaining actual teaching experience, alone, on my own.
3. Chile´s culture in the form of literature, music, dance, clothing, food, history, and people.
4. Chile´s coastline, trees, and rivers.
