Posted 7:22 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011
[caption id="attachment_8386" align="alignright" width="350" caption="Rachel Slough, teaching and learning librarian at Murphy Library"]
[/caption]Americans and Chileans know more about each other thanks to the two young women who traveled more than 5,000 miles to teach.
UW-La Crosse faculty member Rachel Slough taught English and American culture in Chile from February to December 2008 through the Fulbright Teaching Fellows program. Today Valeria Retamal engages UW-L Spanish students as a teaching assistant though UW-L’s Amity Scholars Program.
The two were surprised to learn of each other’s exchange stories, considering they involve the same schools. Three years ago they were both at the same Catholic university in Concepción, Chile and now both work at UW-La Crosse. When Retamal left Chile to teach Spanish at UW-L in August, many of her friends inquired whether she knew Slough who had been their English teacher.
“I kept wondering who is this ‘Rachel,’” explained Retamal. “Everyone knew Rachel but me.”
They didn’t meet until a UW-L Department of Modern Languages picnic this fall and became fast friends. They had a lot in common besides their time in Concepción. They both have an appreciation for other cultures and knew the challenges of adapting to a new one.
Slough loved Latin dancing and the affectionate, yet funny nicknames Chileans gave to friends and family. Her host family called her “pequeñitita gringita,” which Slough notes does not convey the same affection upon translation to “very little white girl.”
That wasn’t the only funny translation she encountered. During the first dinner with her Chilean host family, the family served sausage. As they sat down to eat, Slough wanted to express she couldn’t eat the sausage because of her allergic reaction to preservatives. Unfortunately, she explained she was allergic to “preservativos,” which translates to condoms.
[caption id="attachment_8388" align="alignleft" width="350" caption="Valeria Retamal, Spanish teaching assistant."]
[/caption]“There was this long moment of silence and then the nine-year-old fell out of his chair laughing,” says Slough.
Retamal hasn’t had that extreme of a language mix up, but UW-L has tested her ability to adapt to new cultures — many of them. She lives with a group of UW-L teaching assistants from France, Spain, Germany and Peru.
Getting to know their customs, language and food has been fun, says Retamal. “It’s difficult to be so far away from your family, but you can meet people here and create your own family in a far away city,” she notes.
Slough agreed. She recalls bonding with her host family nephew as they rode through the streets of Concepción, jamming out to the Backstreet Boys. A Chilean friend asked her to be a bridesmaid in her wedding after knowing her only eight months. And she still talks with her Chilean host family every week.
“I feel like Chile is a second home,” she says.
Slough said teaching abroad made her more receptive to meeting new people and she’s quicker to find common ground with others. She recently invited Retamal to her home for Thanksgiving.
“It felt like it came full circle that I could bring someone into my family,” she explained.
[/caption]Americans and Chileans know more about each other thanks to the two young women who traveled more than 5,000 miles to teach.
UW-La Crosse faculty member Rachel Slough taught English and American culture in Chile from February to December 2008 through the Fulbright Teaching Fellows program. Today Valeria Retamal engages UW-L Spanish students as a teaching assistant though UW-L’s Amity Scholars Program.
The two were surprised to learn of each other’s exchange stories, considering they involve the same schools. Three years ago they were both at the same Catholic university in Concepción, Chile and now both work at UW-La Crosse. When Retamal left Chile to teach Spanish at UW-L in August, many of her friends inquired whether she knew Slough who had been their English teacher.
“I kept wondering who is this ‘Rachel,’” explained Retamal. “Everyone knew Rachel but me.”
They didn’t meet until a UW-L Department of Modern Languages picnic this fall and became fast friends. They had a lot in common besides their time in Concepción. They both have an appreciation for other cultures and knew the challenges of adapting to a new one.
Slough loved Latin dancing and the affectionate, yet funny nicknames Chileans gave to friends and family. Her host family called her “pequeñitita gringita,” which Slough notes does not convey the same affection upon translation to “very little white girl.”
That wasn’t the only funny translation she encountered. During the first dinner with her Chilean host family, the family served sausage. As they sat down to eat, Slough wanted to express she couldn’t eat the sausage because of her allergic reaction to preservatives. Unfortunately, she explained she was allergic to “preservativos,” which translates to condoms.
[caption id="attachment_8388" align="alignleft" width="350" caption="Valeria Retamal, Spanish teaching assistant."][/caption]“There was this long moment of silence and then the nine-year-old fell out of his chair laughing,” says Slough.
Retamal hasn’t had that extreme of a language mix up, but UW-L has tested her ability to adapt to new cultures — many of them. She lives with a group of UW-L teaching assistants from France, Spain, Germany and Peru.
Getting to know their customs, language and food has been fun, says Retamal. “It’s difficult to be so far away from your family, but you can meet people here and create your own family in a far away city,” she notes.
Slough agreed. She recalls bonding with her host family nephew as they rode through the streets of Concepción, jamming out to the Backstreet Boys. A Chilean friend asked her to be a bridesmaid in her wedding after knowing her only eight months. And she still talks with her Chilean host family every week.
“I feel like Chile is a second home,” she says.
Slough said teaching abroad made her more receptive to meeting new people and she’s quicker to find common ground with others. She recently invited Retamal to her home for Thanksgiving.
“It felt like it came full circle that I could bring someone into my family,” she explained.