Santiago, Chile

Santiago, Chile was great and now Rocky and I are headed to Lima, Peru. I met a lot of nice teachers and English Department Directors at schools all over the city. I showed them pictures of St. Stanislaus and told them about the ESL Camp that we're starting next year, and they were very impressed. They're going to spread the word to parents.

I also met with two people in government who were interested in the ESL Camp. First, I met with the U.S. Ambassador to Chile, Mr. Paul Simons, at his beautiful house in Santiago. I was there with a delegation of business leaders from Mississippi and all over the world. Ambassador Simons talked to us about trade relations between the U.S. and Chile. He specifically mentioned his two main issues that he wants to work on while Ambassador. First, he is trying to increase business between renewable energy companies in the U.S. and Chile. Second, he wants more English taught in Chilean schools and to encourage more Chilean students to study in the U.S. I spoke with a person on his staff who will keep me in touch with the embassy's efforts to promote ESL Camps like ours.

The other government official that I met with was Carmen Oria, who works in Chile's Ministry of Education. She is in charge of a program called "Programa Inglés Abre Puertas" or "English Opens Doors Program." It's a fairly new initiative in which the Chilean government is requiring all public schools in the country to teach English beginning in 5th grade. This week in Chile, Ms. Oria is promoting English education with events such as debate competitions, radio programs and a festival all in English. She liked hearing about the St. Stanislaus ESL Camp and thinks that she can help us promote the program in Chile!

Between these meetings, I was able to go on a couple of excursions, and the pictures below are from those trips. I went to a vineyard on Sunday called Viña Mar and ate an amazing lunch. During my last full day here, Rocky and I walked around a sculpture park on a cool, sunny day with the snow-capped Andes in the background.

That's all from Santiago, Chile. Now, I'm off to Lima, Peru where I'm told the food is amazing! Can't wait!