I had a great visit last week to Colegio Chile Norte, a government subsidized K-8 school in Arica that serves a lot of at-risk kids from some really difficult family circumstances. Danitza Heredia, the 8th grade EFL teacher, invited me to visit her classes to answer students' questions about life in the U.S. I was overwhelmed by the warmth of the students. The girls in the top photo above flocked to touch me when the photo was taken (Danitza said a lot of them really crave touch and affection). Students call their teachers (and any other adult who comes in) "Tia" (aunt/auntie). This is what kids call their teachers when they're little, and it carries over into the higher grades. I think it's an interesting cultural/familial aspect of school life. So I was "Tia Michelle" to loads of 13-year-olds by the time class was over! The kids' questions were a riot. They wanted to know my favorites Simpsons characters and what my first word was when I was a baby! The photo above made me really happy; I was pleased to see these adolescent boys diving into the reading materials in the school's library.
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