Back to it....

It's been a few days since my last update so now's the time to catch you up on what's been going on this week. On Monday I stayed home and hung out with my family in the morning and met up with my group in the afternoon for a visit to a school for young people who have had difficulty finishing high school, for adults who want to finish high school and for deaf people. It was very interesting to exchange ideas with the teachers and principals and talk about ways that we can support one another. The school is privately owned but gets money from the government. The people who work there are some of the warmest and friendliest people I have ever met.

On Tuesday, after visiting one of the municipalities within Santiago and hearing about how the local government works, we headed up the curviest road I've ever been on to visit a school on the side of the Andes mountains. It was a very small school (only 56 students) with integrated classes that serves the ski village of Farellones. The school only goes to the 8th grade and from there children have to go to Santiago for high school (down the curvy road one hour!). They are working to build a high school very soon so this doesn't have to happen. Probably one of the coolest things about the school is that in winter they have 2 afternoons a week on the slopes! Many of the students end up being ski professionals because they start skiing when they are only 3 years old!
After our adventure in the mountains, we came down to have a bbq at a Rotarian's house. We had a blast and ate some delicious steaks. That night we went to a Rotary (Lo Barnachea-El Golf) with a wonderful group of people at an adorable restaurant with awesome food. Great day!

On Wednesday, we spent the morning at the University of Chile learning about how the higher education system works here and then it was off to the Santiago Rotary Club for our biggest presentation yet. The space was beautiful and the people were very friendly. Our presentation went OK but I definitely thought it could have been better. After speaking with my group and other Rotarians it seems that the best solution is to keep this thing short and simple. In the afternoon on Wednesday we went to visit the Palacio de la Moneda where the president works. It was a neat building and our guide told us lots of interesting facts. The president (who is a divorced, agnostic woman in a very Catholic country) was there swearing in some new ambassadors so it was quite the spectacle with red carpets, a military band and lots of press. After our visit we returned to the place where we had our Rotary meeting to sit down and chat before returning home for the evening. Today we are headed to San Bernardo to a Rotary meeting there (40 minutes from Santiago) and to possibly visit a vineyard. I'm looking forward to another great day!