Global Issues Day 2010

As you can see, we arrived back in the USA just in time for Global Issues Day 2010. It was a wonderful day with many special guests and performers who contributed to an informative and exciting day. We'd like to send out very special thanks to our student session leaders, our faculty session leaders, our guest alum presenters and all of the members of the community who took time out to come to Ursuline in order to share stories, international experiences and global realities with our school community. In addition to all of guests from the Dallas area, we were honored to have with us Immaculee Ilibagiza, Rwandan author of our summer reading Left to Tell as well as our dear friend, Ms. Kim Bouldin-Jones, foundress of Medical Facility Aid, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the conditions of small community hospitals in Africa. It was an awesome day of learning!!

Farewell Colegio Santa Ursula

In addition to celebrating Ms. Bauer's birthday today at school, we had a full day of meetings, class visits and farewells. Our three students spent the morning accompanying the 8th grade girls on a service project to a local children's hospital (for children who have been removed from their families). They said that the experience was sad but it also made them happy to feed and play with the children because they really felt like their presence was making a small difference in the lives of the children in need.

We ran into our students in the afternoon classes which we were observing. They fit right into their classes and act as though they have been here forever. In fact, when Cami came to class after returning from the service project, she was so focused on getting back to science class and taking out her tablet for the lesson (on kidneys and their function) that she did not even see Ms. Bauer and I sitting in the class. We were smiling and waiving at her and it wasn't until 10 minutes later that she looked around and saw us - our presence startled her since she had no idea that we had been sitting 5 feet away from her the whole time! It was hilarious!

As you can see from the photos, the affection between our students and their Chilean Ursuline sisters is deep (try to find Cami in the sea of new friends which surround her). Later in the day, Sr. Angela, the principal, invited our students to a short meeting to reflect on their experience in Chile. We were especially happy to learn that our students felt proud of themselves for being able to adapt to a new country, new friends and a new language so quickly. They feel confident that they can travel more and experience more cultures in the future. Of course, they can't wait to return to Chile (none of us are eager to leave as you can imagine). The girls were gracious and thankful and they said that the experience was more than an A+! They also said that they could feel the spirit of St. Angela in this school and that the common Ursuline bond links them to this school in a way they never could have imagined before. As she bid the girls farewell, Sr. Angela hugged each one and gave each girl a special cookie made by the Sisters here. The cookies are in the shape of St. Ursula's boat and it was a very special gesture on the part of the Sisters to our students. Our farewell conversation was a lovely way for them to end their school days here in Chile!

Happy Birthday Ms. Bauer!!

Today was Ms. Bauer's birthday and all at Colegio Santa Ursula made it a wonderful day! First, there was a surprise of cake, cookies and general festivity in between two of our morning meetings. Then, throughout the day, as students heard that it was her birthday, they spontaneously broke into the Happy Birthday song - in Spanish, German AND English - Ms. Bauer said that she had never been celebrated in so many languages! For her birthday, Ms. Bauer received a lovely journal, a calendar of the rivers of Chile and a CD of music of the Colegio Santa Ursula choir. But I think the best gift of all was being with dear friends and sharing in so many happy moments - It was a very special birthday!!

Working and Learning at Colegio Santa Ursula

Today we enjoyed another action-packed day at Colegio Santa Ursula while our students were on retreat in Maipu which is about an hour away - Maipu is where the Ursuline Sisters live in a beautiful monastery. There is a second Ursuline school there as well as a farm where the sisters grow much of their food (including the best raspberries in the world). We greeted our students for a few minutes when they returned from retreat and they said that it was "wonderful", that they made a new friend (an exchange student from Germany) and that the monastery in Maipu was the most beautiful place they had ever been. It's worth mentioning that this is the very beginning of Spring here in Chile and all is in bloom. The girls especially loved the colorful flowers and the orange trees that they saw in Maipu - we are hoping to share some of their photos soon!

As you may have guessed, Ms. Bauer and I spent the day in several meetings - with Department Chairs, with the English and History departments and finally with the Technology Department. The English Department here sends a big greeting to the Spanish Department at UA, with whom they have collaborated on several projects - they are excited to work even more closely together in the future! And the Technology Department was thrilled to have the benefit of Ms. Bauer's expertise for the afternoon. We even met the "Kyle the caveman"of Santiago who is named "Roberto" and he was happy to learn that Kyle would understand the many challenges that he faces when it comes to students and their laptops.

In between our many meetings, we took a little walk over to the newly re-decorated Church which is part of the Ursuline campus. Since we were last here, the Church has gone through a 3 stage re-decoration plan (of which 2 stages are complete). A female Chilean artist who lives in Germany was commissioned to sculpt bronze Stations of the Cross for the church in addition to various sculptures for the altar, the pulpit and the tabernacle. She also redesigned the color scheme and used Venetian plaster on the walls. Additionally, a giant round light fixture made of bronze was placed in front of the altar - Andrea, the school Asst. principal, told us that it was all installed three days prior to the earthquake in February and that they were terrified about what might have happened. Thankfully, perhaps miraculously, no damage was done!!! One other interesting detail about the artist is that her husband, also an artist, recently sculpted a statue of Saint Angela for the Vatican.

One last but important highlight of the day was our Skype call back home to UA Dallas. We gathered some English language students and we placed a call back to my Freshman advisory. It was great fun for the girls to see and hear each other! The students, as always, were very interested in details such as the school uniform of the other school. Students in Dallas, you will be amused to know that the girls here don't understand why you wear "bowling shoes" to school. However, they continue to be wild about the plaid skirt. It was also interesting to note that the girls here are having a hard time imagining that it will be cold in January in Dallas (during their summer) when they visit! All in all, it was a great interaction and the students enjoyed talking and laughing together!

More fun and friends at Colegio Santa Ursula

Today was a day when we really felt at home... Ms. Bauer and I began the day with a parent meeting (the parents of the girls coming to Dallas!) and then, after observing classes, we had more meetings with several different academic departments. Our unpopular (NOT) students, attended classes and we encountered them in different places all day long (in math class, at recess, painting in the courtyard, etc.). They are like ducks in water here - If they were in the same uniform, we wouldn't be able to tell them apart from the students here.

Of course, there are some big differences from home. As Anushka keeps reminding us, we do not teach cooking (today the class made brownies and I was rather disappointed not to get one - they were in the oven and the smell wafted over the campus in a beyond fabulous way). Also, we do not have the younger students that they have here (from pre-kindergarden!). We just stare at them, completely fascinated by their cuteness and smallness. While I was walking across the campus, a six year old suddenly popped up in front of me and demanded to know "Why are you here?" I hardly had a chance to answer when Ms. Bauer and I found ourselves surrounded and interrogated by a sixth grade class. They asked a million questions: Who are you? Are you from England? How long are you here? Are the girls in the little squared skirts your kids? Are they staying with you in a hotel? Why do you have to leave? Why don't you speak German? and on and on - It was priceless!

Tomorrow we continue our meeting marathon at the school and our students are going on retreat with one of the classes. Sr. Angela told us that she will personally look after them - they are in for a real treat because Sr. Angela is a character! We can't wait to hear all about their day!

Colegio Santa Ursula

Today we enjoyed our first full day at our sister-school, Colegio Santa Ursula. For me and Ms. Bauer, it was thrilling to be reunited with our old friends, the faculty and administration of the school with whom we have been collaborating for the past three years. Ms. Bauer has been assisting the school with its technology initiative and, as a result, they have the distinction of being the first laptop school in Chile. We had a full day of meeting with department chairs, administrators and the Technology department.

Of course, the very best part of the day was reuniting with our students and hearing what they had to say about their time here thus far. They were bursting with enthusiasm and with all sorts of news of their adventures with their new sisters. I asked them what they have learned about Chile during these last few days and they said that they had no idea about the great geographic diversity of Chile - that you can ski in the morning and be on the beach in the afternoon. They have also experienced the many districts in which Santiago is divided and they had no idea that so many people of German origin live in Chile. Certainly, all are aware of the situation of the trapped miners in the north and now they also know the personal stories of their new friends who experienced the big earthquake in February - it's been quite a lot of listening and discovering as you can imagine!

I do have to say that our wonderful students are quite a sensation at the school and they are very popular as you can imagine. Their plaid "Scottish" skirts are the envy of the students here (the Ursuline sisters noted that they have a very respectable skirt legnth - Yeah UA !!). The girls attended classes today and Anushka was particularly excited about cooking class where today's topic was "cake." Needless to say, I was so sorry to have missed that class since we were discussing technology integration! Indeed, each UA student is fitting in beautifully (two have already said that they would love to go to school here ). I was particularly amused by Cami who rode a horse for the first time over the weekend (we don't have those in Texas - haha) and is so confused because she is being hosted by triplets -- she loves them but can't tell them apart!

As you can see by the photos, the Ursuline sisters are a warm and loving presence in this school. The sisters are originally from Germany so German language and culture have a major role in the school. The co-principal of the school is Sister Angela (pictured showing Anushka a map of the German Ursulines) and Mother Paula (pictured opening a note from Ms. Elizabeth Bourgeois) is the leader of the Ursuline Community. There are at least 4 sisters working in the school and it is a great joy to see them interacting so closely and lovingly with the students.

Tomorrow will be another big day at the school!! Buenas Noches!

Pablo Neruda & Student Updates

Today we took time to visit the Santiago home (and now museum) of the beloved Nobel prize-winning Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda. Pablo Neruda had a dramatic and passionate life which he lived to the fullest. Here in Chile, three of his homes are now museums and we visited "La Chascona", the home which he shared here in Santiago with his third wife, Matilde. The home is unique in that it has multiple levels, secret passageways and is modeled after a ship. Even though I have studied Neruda in depth over the years, I learned a lot about him today and I was also reminded of many details of his fascinating life. For example, I was reminded that he was friends with Diego Rivera and Pablo Picasso and that he greatly admired Walt Whitman and Edgar Allan Poe. And I learned that he loved Eastern European and African art but he never actually visited Africa. My favorite part of the day was spent recalling so many of Neruda's poems and reflecting on the life of this complicated, accomplished and clever artist - Hopefully we will have an opportunity to visit another one of his houses because visiting the home gives us tremendous insight into the artist, his passions and his life.

After our poetic morning and a stop at another Bicentennial celebration (a military parade in the park), we came back to the hotel and checked in on our student delegates. I can report that each is well and is representing UA very well. It seems that Anushka has spent a day at the beach this weekend (seeing it only - it's too cold to swim) and today her host family went to Mass and celebrated the birthday of one of her host sisters. An interesting side note - Anushka's host mom is also a teacher at Colegio Santa Ursula! As for Tessa, she has also had a weekend full of activity - She and her host family joined Anushka and her host family for a Bicentennial Celebration at a local park and cultural center on Friday and tonight Tessa was out at the big Bicentennial light-show at the Government Palace downtown. As for Cami, she has been in the Andes all weekend at a country home. She has been running, biking and even folk dancing (we can applaud her for attempting to learn the National Dance of Chile). Today she attended Mass and enjoyed a cookout with her host family.

Tomorrow will be a big day for our students because they will move to their second host families - the families who are hosting them during the school days. The Bicentennial weekend has come to an end and it is time to prepare for the week at school. While we have all enjoyed the weekend, we are very eager to visit the Ursuline school and to continue to build our relationship with Colegio Santa Ursula!

The Chilean Bicentennial

Today was the Chilean Bicentennial! Viva Chile!! We spent this historical day in Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, two beautiful coastal cities about an hour and a half west of Santiago on the Pacific Coast. The entire country is in a patriotic mood and Chilean flags are everywhere we look - on every building, on cars, on the Navy ships in the bay and, of course, waiving in hands, etc. Please note that these flags are Chilean and are NOT Texas flags! At close examination, you will notice that the blue area with the one star only goes halfway down the flag unlike the Texas flag where the blue area goes all the way to the bottom - Yes, there has been some confusion.

CNN en español reported today that Chile is particularly unified right now as the whole country has been gripped by the story of the trapped miners in the north of Chile. Additionally, the country has been working intensely to come back from February's massive earthquake. There are still many signs of the damage - closed buildings, streets under construction and even a cracked bust of Pablo Neruda in the Viña del Mar park. Despite the many challenges that Chile is facing, the pride in the country is palpable and the people have welcomed us with open arms to their national celebration.

Feliz Bicentenario Amigos Chilenos!!

UA Delegation Arrives in Chile

This morning, our 2010 UA Chile Delegation arrived in the beautiful mountainous city of Santiago. As you may recall, this delegation was scheduled to travel to our sister school in Chile last March but the trip was cancelled due to the massive earthquake that Chile suffered. Things are much better now and it seemed the right time to finally make this exchange a reality - especially as Chile is celebrating its bicentennial this weekend!

I am happy to report that we have arrived safely and without incident in Chile. Our three student delegates, Tessa, Cami and Anushka are with their host families this evening and were already forming friendships during our first few minutes at the airport. We can give credit to Cami for introducing Silly Bands to Chile (in the shape of Texas). Also, UA Dallas, you will appreciate knowing that the girls here "have nothing" like your Ursuline sweatshirts. In fact, they immediately expressed great admiration at the Ursuline sweatshirt worn by Tessa.

Mrs. Bauer and I are eagerly awaiting news of the student adventures. In honor of the Bicentennial, the whole country is on vacation this week (including most workers so all stores and most restaurants are closed). The students are accompanying their host families to the beach and to the mountains and were all speaking Spanish when we last saw them this morning.

As for our teacher adventures, we were met this afternoon by our old friend, Ramon Reyes, German teacher and technology guru at Colegio Santa Ursula. We took a drive north of the city to the beautiful town of San Felipe. Along the way, we saw the area where Santa Teresa, the first Chilean saint, lived in the 19th century. We spent a wonderful evening with Ramon's family at a beautiful, lush lodge with breath-taking views of the Andes and all of the agricultural abundance that makes Chile so fabulous. Along the way, we saw crops of peaches, cherries, avocados and more - and, of course, the vineyards that are so famous in Chile. We also saw the processing plants of several very familiar companies like Dole and Del Monte. It was great to see some of the countryside for the first time! (We've been here before but didn't see much beyond the school so this experience is really special). As we drove back into Santiago this evening, we could see the Bicentennial fireworks in the horizon - fantastic!

Tomorrow we retrace the steps of the famous poet, Pablo Neruda, in Valparaiso!

Buenas Noches desde Santiago!

YLC Closing Ceremony - Sept 15

We'd like to extend our Congratulations to our UA YLC (Young Leaders' Conference) 2010 team as well as to Mrs. Escamilla. This confident group of young debaters represented Ursuline beautifully this past summer in Austin at the annual YLC competition which is part of the National Hispanic Institute. All members of the team are part of the current Sophomore class and were coached by older UA students. In addition to their moderator, Mrs. Escamilla, the team was also assisted and cheered on by Ms. Young, Ms. Houston, Mrs. Cochran and Ms. Ferguson. As you can imagine, results were magnificent and everyone gathered together this past week in the KIVA to celebrate the accomplishments of the team. Now it's time to look ahead to next year's YLC team and we encourage all current freshmen to take advantage of this leadership opportunity - You can't imagine what it will do for your confidence and public-speaking ability! Freshmen, be sure to see Mrs. Escamilla for more information on how you can join YLC 2011!

From Mao to Mozart

Our students may not know that we UA adults have a Global Book and Movie Club which provides opportunities for us to gather and reflect on wonderful works of film and literature. The club kicked off the year with a festive 2 part event. The first part was an after-school viewing of the 1980 Academy Award winning docudrama, From Mao to Mozart. The second part was a lunch-time viewing of Musical Encounters.

From Mao to Mozart was filmed in 1979 when virtuoso Isaac Stern traveled to China after receiving an unprecedented Chinese government invitation to tour the country. Musical Encounters is a short film which documents Stern's return to China, twenty years later. We at UA were fortunate that our own UA virtuosa, Ms. Jane Chambers, was kind enough to provide a short introduction to the films and to Isaac Stern's extraordinary life.

Thanks to all that attended our first event and "snaps!" to the Math department for attending with such great enthusiasm!

Applications for Hosting and Travel Now Available

As you can see, applications are now available in the Global Village for upcoming travel and hosting opportunities. Students, if you are interested in hosting a student from our sister school in Brazil this October or, if you are interested in joining our delegation traveling to our sister school in Brazil this November, we encourage you to come by the Global Village for an application this week! All applications are due back by September 13th. Remember, the only way to be selected for these awesome opportunities is to apply!!!

By the way, we are especially in need of host families for our young male Ursuline students (yes, boys). So, students, if you have a teenage brother living at home, we strongly encourage you to apply to host. Thank you!