ELI teacher visits former students in Chile

Instructor Kathy Vodvarka spent five weeks in Chile in September and October 2000, visiting students who attended the Chilean Teacher Training Program at ELI in the fall of 1999 and presenting workshops for local teachers.

Doris Poblete, Sandra Gonzalez, Ruth Reyes, Lucia Paredes and Ingrid Lagos met Vodvarka at Santiago Airport at 7:00 am on September 16, then whisked her off to many events celebrating El Dia de la Patria, the Chilean national holiday. Part of the holiday, which lasts for several days, was spent in Colina, attending a parade and a reception with the mayor, and, of course, dancing and feasting. The rest of the holiday was celebrated in Chillan and Yungay, where another student, Irma Pavez, joined Vodvarka for more parades, receptions, feasting and dancing with Reyes and her family. The feasts featured typical Chilean dishes from various regions: empanadas, arepas, longanizas, pebre and chirimoyas. Vodvarka especially enjoyed watching the national dance, the "cueca," performed in colorful, traditional costumes.

After the holiday festivities, Vodvarka drove south to Puerto Montt, the southernmost

ELI teacher Kathy Vodvarka (back, center) visited a school outside Chillan, Chile in September

point in her trip, with Reyes, Pavez, and Reyes' father and nephew. The Panamerican Highway ends in Puerto Montt, and in September the weather was still quite cold and rainy. There Vodvarka visited Patricia Flores, another teacher from the program, and toured the lake district and the spectacular Osorno volcano. Back in Chillan, she visited several schools, where she met with teachers and administrators. The trip was so well planned by her friends, said Vodvarka, that she was "on the go all the time." The next week in Santa Barbara, Ingrid Lagos and her family gave Vodvarka a birthday fiesta attended by 50 people, including Norma Varas, coordinator of the Chilean Teacher Training Program.

Everywhere she went, Vodvarka was the guest of honor. In Talca, where she gave a workshop on "Using Music and Games in the Classroom" for teacher trainees, a luncheon was held in her honor. In Villarrica, Irma Pavez's students put on a special presentation of music and dancing, and the principal made a speech and presented Vodvarka with a bouquet of flowers. Finally, visiting Sandra Gonzalez in Quiota, Vodvarka toured schools, met the mayor, and gave a workshop in the Hijuelas school district. The workshop, attended by many teachers, the district superintendent, and several principals, was such a success, said Vodvarka, that it lasted an extra hour. Finally, the mayor of Quiota hosted a banquet luncheon for Vodvarka, at which he presented her with a special plaque for work done for the community.

"I will always remember the kindness, generosity and hospitality of the Chilean people," said Vodvarka, "and most especially, the warmth and love of my good friends and their families."