Planes, Buses, and a New Home for 3 Weeks! by Kenny Varner

Planes, Buses, and a New Home for 3 Weeks! by Kenny Varner

In just over three weeks we begin our travels to Concepcion Chile for the 3-week LSU College of Education Chile Study Abroad Program.  We have a variety of easy of getting to Chile.  Some of us will go through Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, Houston, Dallas, Colorado, Miami, and Lima Peru.  We all arrive in some form or fashion to the Santiago Airport.  The Santiago Airport is consistently rated among the top airports in South America.

Santiago Airport

From Santiago some of us will travel to Concepcion by airplane flying on the national Carrier of Chile - LAN.  The Concepcion Carriel Sur Airport is also a modern airport.  Quite small with only 4 or 5 gates, the airport is very easy to navigate.  The airport has a beautiful landing pattern that brings you in over the Pacific Ocean. From Santiago to Concepcion is about 45 minutes of flying time.  Others from the group will take a bus from Santiago to Concepcion.  Express buses make the trip in about 5 hours, and non-express buses can take up to 7 hours.  The buses are quite comfortable and offer a range of seat types including beds!  The ride from Santiago to Concepcion is quite beautiful and shows off some of the beautiful Chilean landscape.  The buses will arrive at the Concepcion Bus Station.

LAN Chile Boeing 767 Airplane Coming from Santiago

Concepcion Carriel Sur Airport

Concepcion Bus Depot and Terminal

Whether we arrive by plane or bus, we will be created by our new Chilean families and program directors Ken, Margaret, and Kenny. The beautiful city of Concepcion awaits.  Located on the Pacific Coast to the far west of Chile, and approximately half way down the country, a Chilean winter awaits us.  Chilean winters are known for being quite mild, similar to Portland Oregon or Seattle Washington.

Concepcion Chile's Location on a Map

Concepcion Chile

"Continuing on to Santiago, Chile" by Leah Saal

"Continuing On To Santiago, Chile" Yesterday, I was on my way home from DC when the flight crew announced after the Atlanta leg that, "those continuing on to Santiago, Chile should proceed to gate D44."  In that moment, I realized that I would be reporting to that gate in almost exactly one month, and my excitement grew.  I am excited to "continue on" to learn from our new host families and teachers. Leah Saal

The excitement begins - by Blair Claypoole

As I have just realized we are a little under a month from departure from the United States to Chile! The trip hasn't seemed real to me until I looked at my bank account after paying my fee bill....no turning back now! As I check off items on my to do list the adventure seems to be getting closer. Sleepless nights due to excitement have already begun. I am so excited to meet the family I will be staying with. I can't wait to be completely immersed into an entirely different culture. I can't wait to discover the uniqueness of another place. It's like picking up a good book and getting blissfully lost in it for an entire afternoon, except I'll be there for three weeks! I haven't cracked open my suitcases just yet, but the day is quickly approaching. Packing is going to be strange since I'm leaving the dead of summer and landing in the middle of winter. I am happy to be taking a break from the heat and humidity. The excitement is building, but for now I have to focus on the prep work. See you soon Chile! Blair Claypoole

TJS School

Children at Thomas Jefferson School

T-Minus One Month

T-minus ONE MONTH...  A month from now the 14 candidates from the LSU College of Education along with a student from the University of Lafayette will depart for Concepcion Chile for a 3 week internship with the Thomas Jefferson School (TJS).  TJS is a bilingual immersion school located near the Ocean and Concepcion airport.  This blog will be a real time log of our trip.  Before we depart we will share photos from our pre-departure class.  On our trip the various participants will post stories and pictures about the experience.

In the next weeks look for posts from participants about their pre-departure thoughts.