Hello Miss

After my first week in Loncoche, I’ve complied a list of noteworthy events/observations at school and at home…

1. The teachers at my liceo (the 7^th-12^th grade school where I teach) are all very outgoing and funny. Can’t wait to get to know them better.

2. The school day schedule is bizarre. Some classes last 45 minutes and some last 90 minutes. School starts at 8AM. After every block of 90 minutes, there is a 10-15 minute break. Teachers go to the teachers’ lounge for a coffee break and students hang out in the hallways eating snacks. At 1-2PM, there is a lunch break, so many people go home to eat with their families. The school day ends at 5:10PM.

3. I am a celebrity here because I am the only white person in town.

4. My host mom got food poisoning/an intestinal infection, so she was at home all week and I was working.

5. My host mom has an apron that says “I may be an oldie, but I’m a goodie.” She asked me to translate it for her, and then decided that she no longer liked the apron.

6. On my first day at the school, when students were asking questions, one student asked me about the prevalence of school shootings in the United States. Of all the questions in the world, this is what a 14 year old wanted to know…I was stunned.

7. My host mom asked me about how the terrorist attacks on September 11^th affected our country…I wish I could have expressed myself more clearly, but I think she understood me. Imagine trying to explain something like this in another language to someone who knows almost nothing about your culture.

8. After giving my standard introduction spiel about myself in English, my students introduced themselves simply in English (name, age, where they’re from, what they like…if they knew that much). When I asked one student how old he was, he responded with his phone number.

9. The students and staff love to greet me in English. “Hello Miss.” “Hi Miss Holly.” “Good morning Miss.”

10. The dog at my house is named Whitney. As in Whitney Houston. When I asked why she earned that name, my host mom explained: “We got her the same time that we lost Whitney Houston. Also, she’s black. And precious.”

11. My liceo has a long name, which all the other volunteers in my region laughed about at our regional orientation meeting because I have to learn how to say it. Liceo Bicentenario Padre Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga.

12. My master/head teacher (the English teacher in charge of me at the school) is the best one in my region, without a doubt. She is passionate about the subject and is excited for me to be here. She is persistent and all about getting things done. Can’t wait to work with her!

13. I love my host mom. We get along so perfectly. And I love her laugh. We’ll be chatting and joking and everyone will look at us. She actually reminds me a bit of my cooperative teacher during student teaching, Mrs. Welch. She’s pretty forgetful. Everyone knows her because she has been teaching at the school for 30 years.

14. We eat a lot of bread. My stomach growls obnoxiously all the time. I don’t know if these things are related. The only reason I feel okay with my stomach growling at home is because my host mom’s stomach also growls a lot. So it’s a joke between us…if it’s not mine, it’s hers.

Here’s a link to the news article about all of us English Opens Doors volunteers in my region (Araucanía). It talks about the schools/communities being excited to have us come and teach their children, etc. Basically, we’re famous.