28 days later: Intercambio de trabajo

"I'm so impressed! They have kids who are two...three...years old and they're already speaking (Spanish)!"

Home away from home, away from home

We are working at one of the Charlie Brown Sala Cuna and Jardín Infantíl houses in Viña del Mar. Preschools and daycares in the area buy residential houses and convert them. (Actually, there are quite a few businesses in residential areas, which is pretty cool, but it's not always easy to tell if a place is a business or someone's residence). I work in the pre-kinder room with a teacher, two assistants, and about 16 four year olds. When I'm "assisting," it's mostly in Spanish, so I'm not actually that useful. For example, I can't say that it is not okay to tell another child that she's ugly. I can't say that they have to stop throwing their toys across the patio because someone will get hurt. I can help them play with play dough, put puzzles together, do origami projects, etc.  (Oh! I can easily ignore the whining! I don't understand most of it! Usually a hug or a kiss will fix the situation, and if not, they know to go to another tia. That part is AWESOME.)

I have worked with preschoolers for over ten years, but have never worked in an actual preschool. I don't have much to compare, but there are three differences that stand out for me right away.  1) It's okay (expected?) for teachers to hug and kiss the kids in Chile, and 2) the teachers are making all their worksheets (worksheets? for preschoolers??) by hand (that might be unique to this school, though) and 3) books are not part of routine.  More on books later.

"She's from another planet. Here is a picture of her."

It didn't take the kids long to bond with me, and it did not take them long to figure out that I don't speak Spanish very well. When they realized that I'm not playing around, and actually do speak another language, several of the kids asked me (privately) Why do you speak English? What language does your dad speak? The first time one of the kids asked me "why do speak English?" another child answered "because she's from another planet."

This week, when the kids talk about my speaking English, they are starting to say "because she's from another country" or "because she's from the United States." So, at least I'm human this week. Progress!

I don't have a good sense yet of what the directors or the teachers would like to see happen by having native English speakers around, but I can say that at this point, we're creating a positive introduction to a new language.

I hope.