Gap Students
1) What are their names and ages? Stephanie Aedo (left) and Rayén Pulgar
(2) Why were they chosen? They were chosen by the Headmaster of Wessex and by myself (I interviewed them last summer while in Chile). They had the right attitude and were keen to improve their English. They had had plenty of experience working with children and had a lot of interests that could be useful in Solihull like girls football, hockey, drama and music. Of course their Spanish meant that they would be very helpful at assisting in Spanish lesson and initiating a junior school spanish club (they have done this in Dorridge Junior School where they work on Tuesdays). They will be going to university in Chile in February 2009.
(3) What is the length of their stay - and when will they be returning? They will be volunteering in Solihull School for 4 months (mid Feb to Mid June). They will then go travelling and return at the end of their 6 months (August).
(4) Is this the first time that Wessex students will have stayed at the school so long? Last year 's gap student, Vanessa , stayed for 4 months but only worked for 1 day in the school. This year the girls are staying for 4 months too but will be at Solihull for 3 days a week (M, W, F) and are also assisting in Dorridge Junior School on Tuesdays and Round Oak special school in Warwick on Thursdays. So we are delighted that the Gap programme is expanding both in time at the school and in number of Gap Students. We are also sending another Solihull Student out to Chile in June. Greg Kirby is in the LVI and studying AS Spanish. He wants top continue with this to A level and has been selected to go to Wessex school for 2 months (J, J 2008)
(5) How are they being accommodated? They are staying with Solihull School parents. Stephanie is staying with Greg in Balsall Common and Rayen is staying with Ben Timms in Solihull. Ben is in the UV but has already voiced an interest in being a Gap student in 2009.
(6) What are they doing/how are they contributing? They have a full timetable for the three days they are with us. This involves assisting in all spanish lessons from Year 8 to Year 13, doing JS sports and drama. Stephanie is active in the enrichment programme assisting in Calthorpe special school and Rayen is helping JS girls with football. In Dorridge they assist in JS and the infant school and will establish a spanish club for JS students. At Round Oak they are assisting generally with all aspects of school life and improving their English.
(7) What do they aim to get out of their stay? Independence, friendships, experience, better English, chance to travel.
Julie Brown (Teacher of Geography)
Vanessa Rios (Chilean GAP Student to Solihull School)
My name is Vanessa Rios and I am 18 years old. I come from Chile and I live in a city in the centre of the south of Chile call Concepción. I did my studies in a bilingual British school, The Wessex School.
Last year, I decided I would have a Gap Year in 2007 and go to an English School for a few months then go on to Santiago University to study Business and Commerce. The main reasons for wanting to go to England were because I wanted to improve my English, have new adventures, become more independent, experience a complete different culture comparing to mine: and the most difficult one: learn how to deal with being so far away from home.
For the last 2 years, pupils from Solihull School had been looking after 42-45 students from my school for 4 days on their trip to Europe. That is why I wanted to come to Solihull School. My Headmaster, Mr Terence Martin, told me it was a very good school to go to and that it was very similar to Wessex School.
For several reasons I could only stay for 4 months, but you cannot imagine how many things I have learned and experienced during those 4 months.
I was lucky to be able to live with an amazing family who live in Warwick and they looked after me during my stay. Her name is Julie Brown and she is a Geography Teacher at Solihull School. She has 2 children, the eldest one, Shaun is 12 and Iain is 10. We became really good friends.
To start with, things were really strange for me; it was being like a baby exploring the world, I had so many questions, why this? Why that? But as the time passed, I got used to it.
In my first job I was a volunteer in a Charity Shop in Leamington Spa in which I worked on Fridays. I couldn’t believe that the manager was 72 years old! Almost everyone working there was an older/retired person. I was the youngster!
Then, a month later, I started my real job, which was one day a week in Solihull school as an assistant in the Junior School and the Senior School’s Spanish department. I liked the school although it was much bigger than mine, in fact, I founded it was really easy to get lost. At the beginning, I was nervous because I didn’t have enough experience of how to teach, but, in a way, the same students made things easier for me and after a while I got used to it. I have to say that their Spanish was really good, some of them spoke really fluently.
So I worked all day, from 9:10am to 4:10pm teaching Spanish and doing some displays and a bit of geography from my country.
I also worked as a Spanish assistant at Arden school on Wednesdays, but just 3 hours to a group of 4 people from year 12.
Two months later, Julie found me a completely different job. It was in a Coffee Shop call Café Chai in the town where I lived. So every Saturday I went to work from 11:00am to 1:00pm. I know it wasn’t too much, but it was enough to meet new people and also to practise my English.
With the time, I had made some really good friends, I was more independent and my English had improved a lot. I travelled to Amsterdam with some friends and then I went to Italy on my own for a week. That was something I could never have imagined doing before.
I think my objectives were all done, which I felt really proud of. Now the naïve child has grown up with a very open mind. I think this experience was one of the best of my life. You can’t imagine how many thing I have learned, how many things I did, how many things I lived. Even though I missed my family so much, I have had no regrets at all and would recommend others to take a Gap Year. Wessex School would love to receive more students from Solihull School!
Vanessa Rios (Spring/Summer 2007)
Joe Hone (Solihull LVI Student to Wessex School, Chile)
On Sunday morning of the 1st July, as Lewis Hamilton moved into third place in the French Grand Prix, I said my final farewells to my family and set off on my travels. The destination was Chile, a country in a continent I had never before visited, on my first journey as an individual. The Republic of Chile occupies a very long and narrow coastal strip, wedged between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, and encompasses four different climate zones. It is one of the least corrupt countries in the world and has the highest GDP per capita of any South American country. All these factors combined to make it a most appealing destination for my summer vacation, as it was a safe yet highly interesting aperture into Latin America.
Although never having visited the country, I was not totally blind to its history, customs and people. Through the creation of a link by Julie Brown, a current teacher at Solihull School, on several previous occasions I had received exchange pupils from the Wessex School, in Concepción, Chile. Though these guests stayed only a matter of days on each occasion, this time was sufficient to sustain an impression of the Chilean people in my mind: though living on the other side of the world, young people from there were just like myself. Having overcome the stereotype in my mind that I would not fit in or make friends, the idea of the visit was far less daunting, and the idea of having a group of friends awaiting my arrival made me feel far less lonely than I might have done elsewhere. Julie Brown and Mrs. Barrett, head of Modern Foreign Languages, had also arranged various Chile evenings, where a showcase of Chilean popular culture was presented and I had the opportunity to meet other Chilean natives. When these experiences were combined with my own studies of the country for my Spanish AS level oral projects on Pinochet, I could be forgiven for thinking that there was not much more to learn. This proved successful in settling my nerves before the venture and allowing me to assimilate into the Chilean lifestyle far easier than I might have thought possible in the past. However, despite all my previous research, I quickly realised that there was no substitute for the day to day marvels and excitement of exploring the country and its past first hand.
Inevitably, as was the broad focus of the trip, the major hurdle I faced in my assimilation into Chilean life was the language barrier. From the age of twelve when I began studying the Spanish language I have always been passionate about achieving a level of fluency with which I could blend in with native speakers without deficiencies. For me this was a key aspect of the trip and it did not disappoint. From the outset of my trip I had to challenge myself linguistically: after delays at Heathrow, I was forced to run through Barajas Airport in Madrid, only to find that the check-in desk of my connection flight to Chile was shut. Along with other passengers from my initial flight I was told that we were to miss the flight but would be able to take the same journey the following day. Unperturbed by these words, I began conversing with the Spanish airport official and by pushing my AS level vocabulary to the test explained my predicament and was awarded a place upon my flight. Experiences such as this reiterated to me the importance of honing my linguistic abilities and drove me to learn more. However, admittedly the A-level course vocabulary didn’t quite prepare me for my first words with a Chilean: ‘Your entire luggage has been left in Madrid’. However through perseverance and a strong dose of good fortune even this problem was resolved. My first encounters with the Chilean-Spanish dialect were testing, as the dropping of the final syllables and the large amount of slang employed by locals put my skills to the sword, however I already knew at this point that it was only a matter of time before my Spanish would develop and strengthen. This assertion proved to be the case until at the end of my time in Chile I could hold conversations at great lengths of time with natives; those who had been around me for the period conceded ‘I was like a different person’.
Upon arriving in Chile I was immediately shocked, and not just by the minus two degree temperature, having said my goodbyes to British summertime. At a glance one is made aware of the contrasts in the Chilean society. On my first coach journey from the airport I was struck by the variation of lifestyles, and this idea continued throughout my travels in the country. Whereas I had been used to a relatively balanced society, I was now presented with places where people lived in five star luxury hotels, alongside people in shanty towns and with only scrap metal for a home. The diversity was a feature throughout my trip and was what I found most upsetting during my experiences. Upon meeting my host family I was staggered to find that even a working class family had a maid living at the house for the day to day tasks. I soon found out that this was common as it was possible to hire this help at around two pound per day, which incredibly is about the cost of a burger in local restaurants. Without adequate social care, the quantity of beggars in the major cities was staggering, as was the housing situation throughout the country. Nevertheless I was able to partake first hand in the efforts to relax this problem during my time working at The Wessex School. I assisted with the organisation of senior pupils pioneering a charity campaign within the school ‘Techo para Chile’ where members of the sixth form gave up their leisure time to help build houses for the local homeless, in preparation for next winter.
As I touched upon above, within the school community I was afforded a variety of roles. Upon arriving I was introduced to the head of English, Claudio Balboa, who was to be my mentor, and was straight away given my timetable of classes. My duties within the classroom varied with the different age groups: as time progressed I began to teach by myself children up to the age of thirteen, whilst with senior pupils I assisted their examination studies by improving oral work and listening skills. Having fitted into this regime I then began to branch out and tailor my schedule to my own interests, reducing some class time to enable the coaching of the senior rugby team. Even after six weeks at the school, I still couldn’t shake the nervous feeling of being an impostor every time I entered the staff room; perhaps that will never leave me. The experience of working ‘on the other side’ as it were, teaching rather than being taught, gave me an enhanced view of my own education and more respect for the daily jobs that teachers in my own school carry out.
As mentioned above during my time I began to coach the Wessex School’s senior rugby team, alongside the head of Physical Education, Pedro Caseres. This was of particular enjoyment to me, not just because it was the ideal pre-season training for the Solihull School season, but also because it was a chance to bond with people through a medium where conversation or nationality was of little importance. To quote the clichéd expression, it proved to be a universal language, and enabled me to relax from the constant pressures of communication. I began these coaching sessions alongside Señor Caseres, but eventually took to personally teaching after-school training. As well as this I also was an integral member of ‘The Old Saxons’, a local club, formed of the old boys of the Wessex School. Playing every Saturday, and training twice a week, this gave me a great opportunity to stay in shape, and create friendships with fellow men of similar age and interest. The team enjoyed an unbeaten period during my time and although the standard of Chilean rugby was not quite a rival to that of local rugby in England, the level of enjoyment taken from it was no less diminished. This also afforded me the once in a lifetime experience of having a rugby game stopped because a horse invaded the pitch: both bizarre and an honest reflection of the rural lifestyle in which I lived in Concepción.
One thing that particularly unnerved me about the trip was the leaving behind of my particularly healthy social life. I feared lest I would not be able to socialise and interact with average members of the public, rather than simply those from the school community, who all had a basic grasp of the English language. However I quickly learned that through my friendships formed via the rugby, my fears were unfounded. I regularly partook in barbeques, parties and rugby social outings into the local night life. These were fantastic chances to familiarise myself with a broad cross-section of society and further expand my Spanish skills beyond my usual comfort zones. Despite having now returned for some time I still remain in contact with many close friends from this period, whose friendship has proven a valuable asset in my studies and as a reminder that a language is not merely for the classroom.
It is also worth commenting on my domestic situation for the majority of the stay. As part of the Wessex School-organised program, I was appointed a host family with whom I would stay for the duration of my time in Concepción, the Yañez Hinijosa family. It was difficult at times to adjust to becoming a new member of a family, adapt to the different family values of an alien culture and to merely interact on days when I was tired or homesick. However this was all part of the challenge I had undertaken, and would like to think that the pairing was a great success. It also enabled me to view at first hand the domestic life of a working class family which was almost poles apart from my own situation at home. The father was a fisherman who would spend periods of weeks away from the home, whilst the mother was a house wife. This highlighted the Pinochet cultural idea of a society where men are the providers for the family, and women the caretakers of the home and children. I could also view the creation of the ‘machismo’ element of the Latin American society in the upbringing of the children in the family, as the son was given freedom to do what he desired, whilst the daughter was shielded and taught the essentials of keeping a good home.
Finally, though I have predominantly focused on my time in Concepción, where for the most part I stayed, I did spend a large amount of time travelling around the country. Though I had an affinity for this city - as it was where my friends were and where I was most familiar with – it had long been my objective to see more of what Chile had to offer than just its second city. With this in mind various excursions were planned and the time off arranged with the school to enable this travel. The first destination travelled to was the mountains on the outskirts of Chillán, several hours away. I was able to snowboard for the first time and also take in the rugged scenery of this mountainous country. Another frequent journey I made was the seven hour coach trip to Santiago, a city which was a particular favourite of mine. In such a foreign place I found it comforting to be surrounded by the hustle and bustle of a major city and strangely enough occasionally enjoyed the familiarity of seeing chains such as McDonalds, KFC or Subway, which allowed me to feel at home.
My other favourite places in Chile were undoubtedly the seaside cities of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar. The hidden charm of Valparaiso, with its labyrinth of streets and cobblestone alleyways, is undisputed; wandering through the city one finds a different marvel at every turn. However, even here the poverty is evident, with many beautiful buildings falling into disrepair. In contrast ‘Viña’, as it is called by locals, boasts tourist friendly attractions and stunning coastlines. My only disappointment was that I did not have sufficient time off from the school to be able to travel to the far South of the country into the Antarctic territory, however due to the huge length of the country this was too great a journey to make within my limited time off. At the beginning of my journey I was nervous at the prospect of a trip from Birmingham to Heathrow and yet ended up making expeditions at a whim spanning day long journeys to remote aspects of a foreign country.
The Chile trip I had during the summer holidays of 2007 was an unforgettable experience and one which dramatically changed me personally. My Spanish language skills have been greatly enhanced through the process of immersion and was a great chance to expose myself to the South American culture, which gave me a greater valuation of the things usually taken for granted. The process of learning to be self-reliant and self-sufficient caused me to mature and learn valuable life experiences. The entire journey was a phenomenal success and one that will remain with me forever.
Joe Hone - Summer 2007