Thomas’s New Year’s Newsletter December 2009

Feliz Año Nuevo!!! I am ringing in the New Year once again at the end of the world down in Chile and I wanted to take a moment to pause and reconnect friends and family scattered across the globe. I am thankful for the fact that, with the holidays, the hot, summer weather has also arrived to the southern hemisphere. I think that this season, being so different from the cold, holiday weather that I am used to, actually makes it easier to spend away from home and family since I am not constantly reminded of things like egg nog, and snow, and wood stoves. Instead I have clear views of the Andes, weekend trips to the beach, outdoor concerts, and daylight long into the evening; all of which makes spending the holidays so far away from home, a little more bearable. My mom was also able to visit me for several weeks in December so I have had some good reminders of home and I have been able to share with her what I love about my new home in Chile with her. She traveled with my host-mother, who I lived with years ago when I first came to Chile. We also went down to southern Chile for hiking and relaxing mountain views. I was able to take some time to reconnect with her reflect on the past year.

I started out this year settling in to my position with WorldTeach as Chile Field Director. I have spent the past year training, placing, and supporting our 55 in-country volunteer teachers in over 18 different towns throughout Chile. It has been incredibly fulfilling work as I feel like I am able to contribute something to this country that has been so welcoming to me over the years. My work provides me with a unique window through which to view Chilean culture. I have had the opportunity to travel across the country, from the urban neighborhoods of Santiago, all the way down to rural Patagonia and visit our teachers, see their schools, and meet their students, co-teachers, directors, and host families. It has given me such a

broad perspective on some of the problems within the Chilean educational system as well as allowed me to make some interesting comparisons with my own teaching experience in Miami. I have learned that I miss the classroom. I miss working directly with students. It is quite the consolation prize to walk into the classroom of one of my volunteers and seeing them implementing something I taught them, doing it even better than I could. It is also comforting to know that through them, I am impacting the education of over 10,000 students, but I miss the direct student contact.

Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine, June 2009

The family at Mark and Lisa Goodman’s wedding, May 2009

Capoeira headspin, Patagonian landscape, and Valparaiso rooftops

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Thomas’s New Year’s Newsletter December 2009

Outside of my work, I have fallen well into my new santiaguino lifestyle. I live right downtown, two blocks from the main Plaza de Armas, in a lively neighborhood full of bars and restaurants. I spent last summer, running through Parque Forestal each afternoon, training for the Santiago Marathon. My close friend, Hana, traveled all the way down to visit and race. I finished in 3:13 and was happy with my first marathon attempt. So happy, in fact, that I promptly quit running (at least for a while) and dedicated myself almost completely to Capoeira. I have actually developed an obsession of sorts with the sport; a martial art, developed in Brazilian slave culture, that fuses dance and music, with an attack-and-defense sort of sparring, punctuated with flips, handsprings, handstands, and kicks. I have joined an amazing Capoeira group that has become my core group of friends here, as I train almost every day. In December we brought down a Brazilian Capoeira contra-mestre to evaluate us. After my exam, I moved up two belts in one year and I now train with my green and yellow cord hanging proudly around my waist. I am excited to have advanced so much in a relatively short amount of time, but as I travel to Brazil later this month, I am sure I will feel the pressure of expectations. I will be traveling with my Capoeira instructor back to his hometown, along with a few other close friends from the group. I am looking forward to lounging on the beach, practicing Capoeira, and studying Portuguese. I have been listening to the radio each morning in Portuguese to get ready.

After Brazil, I plan to travel to the Sudan to volunteer with the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, training teachers in an effort to rebuild the school system left devastated by 20 years of civil war. Check out the link for more information or to donate to help me cover expenses: http://www.valentinoachakdeng.org/pledgedrive_maffai.php.

While in Africa, I plan to visit my sister in Cairo, Egypt and eventually make it down to visit my friend David in South Africa. After making a promise 4 years ago to go to the World Cup together we finally have tickets! So it should be an exciting year ahead.

I am finishing up my graduate school applications and will hopefully end up somewhere in the Northeast next fall for a masters program. I am looking forward to being state-side for a few years and having the opportunity to reconnect with many of you. In the meantime, I hope this newsletter at least offers a bit of an update. Please know that while I might not keep in touch often, you are part of my support network that keeps me going when miss home. I wish you all a happy new year!

Guanacos in the south Capoeira graduation Dancing the Cueca Patagonian icebergs