I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this on my blog or only in skype conversations but through my program I am interning/volunteering at a nonprofit in Valparaíso. It’s called Teletón and it is a nonprofit for children with disabilities (con discapacidades). Basically, I go there once a week for a few hours and work in the recrear (to entertain) area where I get to play with the kids and their siblings while they wait for therapy and other appointments. If you know me at all you know that I absolutely love kids and this is the perfect place for me to be working! Some of the kids ask me about the U.S. and others just laugh at my accent or my inability to understand them. Also it’s interesting to talk to their parents about Chile and Teletón.
In addition to going to Teletón once a week, I also have an internship class where I read articles and such about disabilities and discrimination and integration of people with disabilities and write essays. And all these readings are in Spanish! Sometimes its very difficult to understand medical journals in Spanish because let’s be real, I wouldn’t completely understand them in English either. But it’s definitely a challenge that I welcome with open arms! I don’t read about one specific type of disability, I’m learning about physical, mental and psychological disabilities and how they affect people in Chile. Which is fascinating to learn about because it is very different from the United States in this area.
Unfortunately I’m not allowed to take pictures inside Teletón but if you speak Spanish (or have a lot of time to google translate everything) you can find them on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/teletonchile) and Twitter @Teleton!
In other news I’m going camping again with my mountain sports class this weekend and have tentative plans to go to Mendoza, Argentina the weekend after! I also just finished midterms, yay!
Besitos,
Gaby
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