Between the Ribbons of Water and the Mountains of Fire

Alzar School | 07.11.13
Outside of a store in San Fabian, a couple other students and I had a conversation with a local about the karaoke that was going to occur that night in town.
Outside of a store in San Fabian, a couple other students and I had a conversation with a local about the karaoke that was going to occur that night in town.
So far, Chile has proved to be an amazing country. The electric blue waters that cut through the country, flowing down from the mountains, add to the beauty of this place. And along with the volcanoes that loom over the cities, Chile seems surreal. But it isn’t, and we are here paddling those rivers and conversing with the people of the towns.
Coming into this semester, I had never taken a single class of Spanish before, so I have really seen a lot of improvement since I’ve been here. I’ve come to realize that active listening is very important in learning a language, and I see myself forming sentences much easier now. Moreover, the culture down here is different than in the United States, and learning this new culture is both eye opening and beneficial to learning the language.
Also, I have seen myself grow in a leadership aspects as well. Right now I am planning for a weekend in Pucón, which takes a lot of though and experience to do. And from all the LOD experiences we’ve had, I feel very prepared to lead Alzar school on this endeavor this weekend. I am very excited to continue to improve my technical proficiency kayakimf and to continue to lead others down Chile’s beautiful rivers.

-Isaac