Whirlwind

The past few weeks have absolutely flown. I honestly don't know where the time went. School has been going great as we bring the year to an end. And not only have I been busy with classes and students during regular hours, but I feel like we've been together on weekends too!

A couple weeks ago the school put on it's annual Folkloric Gala where each grade level dressed up and danced native dances from Chile and other countries all over the world. I was so impressed at what the students had learned and perfected in the past few months and blown away by the day. Children from pre-kinder all the way through 12th grade dressed up in hand-made costumes and performed choreographed dances, including tango, the cha-cha, a Spanish dance, a Mapuche dance, and of course cueca (Chile's national dance). My little brother was part of the Spanish dance with 9th grade and Camila danced four different dances. Not only did she perform tango and cueca choro, but also helped 11th grade with the cha-cha and finished with the father/daughter, mother/son cueca finale. It's a tradition for all of the Seniors to dance cueca at the end and celebrate their last gala. I was in charge of taking pictures the entire day, and at one point I looked back at Eva watching her daughter and hubby dancing with tears in her eyes. It was so cute and brought back memories when I was graduating from high school. I love how Colegio San Marcos has this tradition, and even after it's 50+ years of existence, still puts on the gala every year. It's very special for the modern students to still be learning traditional dances, especially those of their country. People kept asking me if we have a traditional dance in the States, and I was a little embarrassed to admit I didn't think we had one, or at least I didn't know what it was. Does square-dancing count??

This past week has been full of fun and parties it seems. On Wednesday night, the entire family went to watch Chile vs. Ecuador. Camila and I both bought fake soccer jerseys, and we all got to watch Chile beat Ecuador 1-0. The Saturday night before, Chile qualified for the World Cup after beating Colombia. So even though this game didn't technically count towards the World Cup, it was still very exciting experiencing a professional soccer game in South America. I wish soccer was more popular in the U.S.! It's so much more exciting than baseball and it's played all over the world! What's wrong with us??

Then on Thursday we started celebrations for Día del Profesor (Teachers' Day). There was a party at school that evening, and then classes were cancelled on Friday. Instead, the teachers got together for mass in the morning, had breakfast and took a bus outside of the city to the countryside. We went to a breath-taking lake and joined the other teachers in our network with EducaUC for lunch and relaxation. If that wasn't enough, Saturday was the Paseo de la Familia (Family Picnic). So Saturday morning we packed our picnic baskets and headed towards the mountains for a full-day picnic with the entire school and families. It was a wonderful day being outside and sharing food and laughs with everyone connected to Colegio San Marcos.

This week is the anniversary of the school's opening, so we only have a day and a half of classes before the entire school breaks out into games and competitions. I have no idea what to expect, but I'm excited! I think teachers are as thrilled with having no class as students...or maybe it's just me :)

Most of you probably know, but for those that don't, I'm heading to the States for a VERY short trip on Wednesday because Jessica and Bryan are getting married!! I feel very honored that I get to be part of their special day. I arrive two nights before the wedding and leave the night after, so this means I won't have time to see most of you...but just think, I'll be home in less than two months!!

Aaah, I can't believe this year is already coming to an end. I have to admit I have mixed feelings about it because even though I'm so excited to finally see all of you and get home, these last eight months have been incredible. I'm going to miss my students, Chilean family(ies), co-workers and friends so very much!! I about lost it this past week when a few of my students asked if I'd be back next year and I saw their faces when I said no...