Coimg back...soon.

Greetings all.

I will be returning to this blog soon after straying away to another platform - and not writing much there. More details to follow.

New Blog Site

Greetings dear reader. I have moved this blog to a new site. You can find all my new updates at the new and improved O Brother blog at WordPress. Just click here or in the sidebar. See you over there!

Saint George's Faculty Retreat

Saint George's College spent Thursday night and Friday on the beach in retreat. We had great weather and great attendance. I got to talk to many people that I had not had the opportunity to get to know.

The theme of the retreat was on hope. We looked at how Jesus brings us hope, some theological aspects of hope in the Scripture, the Catechism and Aparecida (the 2007 Latin American Bishops' document), how we bring hope to our students, and how we have experienced hope in our lives.

My favorite activity of the retreat was morning prayer. We gathered on the beach and listened to the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Then, we shared some bread and fish in our small groups and talked about the significance of the symbol for us. 

Here are two pictures.

Another Blog Update

There is a lot happening in my blogging land. I've have had several of these projects in my mind for months but have not had the energy, until lately, to realize these projects due to my transition. It's great to have energy again - and to be writing.

Today, I posted the first entry in my new blog called Minds and Hearts in Action. It is blog about spirituality. This first article is about how I use a 3x5 index card as a prayer aid. Check out the blog and tell me what you think.

Blog Update

Another blog update...

The Daily Mass Reflection blog will now be hosted from WordPress. Please visit the Daily Mass Reflection blog. The link in this post will take you to the new site, as well as the link on the sidebar.

Good Ol' Saint George's

It has really been an adventure teaching here at Saint George's College. This is partly because I am teaching in Spanish. When I arrived in Chile about 6 months ago, my Spanish was very bad. Now, my Spanish is only pretty bad. My goal for year's end is that my Spanish will only be not so bad. 

And then, there is the question of culture. It is a different world here. The school, in its structure and pedagogical practices are different too. I often feel as if I am not sure what is going on around me - and often I am not. Fortunately, there are other teachers at my school from the United Sates who are doing a year of teaching here. We spend a lot of time commiserating with each other. 

One of the things that is different is the political activism in the country and in the school. For instance, recently, students in all parts of Chile have been protesting about the educational system. The students, especially in the universities, are unhappy with the quality of education. The result is that they go on strike and stage protests. Last Wednesday, the students in the high school section all walked out of class and headed to the gym to discuss the issue. This was unauthorized by the administration and 100% organized by the students. Supposedly, tomorrow, most of the students will go on strike and stage some type of protest outside our school or downtown. It is not that our students have problems with our school in particular. They are attempting to be in solidarity with other students in the country. 

Still, I do like it here in Chile and at the school. This has been a very enriching experience. I only wish I had better language ability and cultural understanding at this time so that I could be a more effective teacher. These abilities will come in time. Here are two pictures from Saint George's from this past Friday. The first one is from student council campaigns during the morning break. The second is from the electric car competition from the technology class.

 

Community Night

Good news. The water shortage did not affect our community night! After evening prayer, we had a game of dominos. I've not played this game too much. It's not very popular where I come from. But down here, dominos is king - and serious. Want proof? Just look at the concentration on the faces of Br. Matthew and Luis, one of our temporarily professed seminarians.

After, we had some great sandwiches at a local restaurant. A very relaxing and fun night. This is one of the best things about religious life - community. It's great to simply relax with your brothers. 

Blog Update

And now for some blog news.

You may have noticed that I changed how my page looks. I like it. Tell me what you think.

Also, I have added a couple of features in the sidebar:

1. My Other Blogs: Yes, as if keeping one wasn't enough. But hey, I'm an overachieving, obsessive type. I encourage you to check out my Daily Mass Reflections. I am also going to try to reflect upon the spiritual life in my 3C Spirituality blog. I hope to have the first real post up this weekend.
2. Twitter: You can even check out what I'm up to during the day by following me on Twitter. If you don't know about Twitter, it's pretty interesting. It's been getting a lot of buzz in the business management world. 
3. Links-My Google Reader Page: Also, check out some of the articles I've read that have caught my attention.

I have a couple of more additions in the works, but that's enough for now. Enjoy and thanks for reading.

The First Snow

This is a picture of the Andes from the street corner. It has been raining here all week. I trudged to school in the rain this morning, only to find that the government had cancelled school for the whole metropolitan area due to flooding. The good news was that by 9:30am the rain had stopped and the air was crystal clear. This is rarely the case in Santiago. Smog is a problem. The rain washed the air. I had never seen the mountains so vividly. This was definitely a great day to be a Santiagueño. I am told that in another couple of weeks, all the mountains will be completely white.

I did take advantage of my trip to school this morning, however. Instead of teaching class, I did some office work and then went to yet one more government office to complete the requirements for my visa permit. All I have to do now is to go back to the office in twelve days to pick up my national identity card. The good news is that as of today I have a RUT number. It's like a Social Security number. Thus, I am legal. When I returned to school, the Director of Human Resources gave me a big hug and photocopied my paper with my number. When she handled it back to me, she said, "Now we can pay you!" I like getting paid.

The only bad thing about the rain is that the city is having water trouble. Santiago has great water. But, with the flooding the city experienced, the sewer system is shot. Thus, we are going to lose water in about 30 minutes. Service will hopefully be restored tomorrow morning. This may hurt my house's plans to go out to dinner tonight. Every Friday night, we have a community activity. Last week, we had hot dogs and then went to the movies. This week, we were planning on a little domino tournament and then to head to a nearby restaurant. But without water, I am not sure the restaurant will be up and running. Here's to hoping the rain didn't rain on our parade. 

Breaking the Silence

Greetings to all my readers. I apologize for the long silence. What happened you asked? The answer is simple - school started.

Yes, the shameless touristing could not go on forever. I had to get down to work. And it has been work. Originally, I was going to teach two classes in theology, in Spanish, of course. Yet, the weekend before school started, the senior level philosophy teacher left the school. I was sitting next to the rector, a Holy Cross priest, at breakfast when he got the call about the situation, and I volunteered on the spot. Thus, I picked up five more classes, two Junior philosophy (logic) and three Senior philosophy (epistemology), in Spanish, of course.

Now, I have made great strides in my Spanish ability, but it is still quite interesting for me and my students at times. Still, we are getting by very well. I am happy to say that we just finished the first grading cycle and my students' grades are really great. My classes are not easy in any language. Students have to do work and demonstrate their understanding. The good news is that I was very satisfied with their level of understanding and their grades reflect this. And while there are the occasional complaints about my accent and/or Spanish ability, what cannot be argued is that the students are learning. 

In other news, I have re-started an old blog - Daily Mass Reflections. I have put a link on the sidebar. Please feel free to visit the blog and add your comments about the mass readings of the day.

I hope to post some pictures from St. George's College this week. I will also a a link to the homepage of school later on too. Until then... 

The Shameless Tourist Visits the Zoo

This past weekend, I headed out again, accompanied by my friend Natalie, to the Buin Zoo. The word Zoo is pronounced with long "o"s, like the word "so". This caused me a bit of problems at the ticket window when I was buying my ticket on the Metro Train to Buin. I kept pronouncing "zoo" as I would in English. Of course, this did not work. Finally, Natalie bailed me out. I have the greatest problem with cognates, words that come from the same root and are similar in Spanish and English. They are tricky because they are very similar looking and the meaning is the same (usually, but not always), but the pronunciation is different.

Anyway, about the Metro Train...I have, I believed, discussed the outstanding metro system in the city. The Metro Train is a lot like the city's metro, but it goes outside the city, as far as an hour and a half away. We caught the train at the Estación Central, which is the old Santiago train station. It is a grand iron and concrete building from which the trains depart. On both sides of the station are shopping centers. It was a busy and exciting place. The Metro Train was very crowded, as we went on a weekend during vacations, and so we stood for the whole trip. But, we arrived in Buin after a short 30 minute ride. It seemed that just about everyone else on the train was heading for the zoo as well, since the train left the Buin Zoo stop rather empty.

The zoo in Buin was well worth the effort. There was plenty of shade and the grounds were well kept. There was a good collection of animals, especially of cats, monkeys and birds. The highlight of the trip was the "Animals in Action" show. The star was Chily Wily, a blind penguin. One lucky child sitting next to me got to feed him a couple of fish. What can I say? My aura not only benefits me, but those around me. Also of note was the seal. They had him do all the seal tricks, playing with the ball, clapping his flippers, barking, the works. A definite crowd pleaser. Three cheers for the Buin Zoo!

And, don't forget, you can see other pictures I took by clicking on the link to my Picasa photo site on the side bar.

The Shameless Tourist - Returns

O faithful readers, were has the Shameless Tourist been this past week? Has his blog been on vacation with the rest of Chile? Has the Shameless Tourist dropped off the face of the map? Has he piqued your interested only to tease like a coquette? Alas, no. The Shameless Tourist is alive and well and has no other excuse but sheer and utter laziness, bought about by the oppressive heat. But his adventures continue. Read on, dear reader, read on.

Last week, the Shameless tourist, once again accompanied by Natalie, the Holy Cross Associate, ventured forth to see what the city of Santiago has to offer. The plan was to visit museum central of Santiago, Parque Qunita Normal. Some of the best museums in Santiago are inside the walls of the park, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, the National Museum of Natural History, and an interactive science museum for children. Needless to say, I was excited about the prospects of this outing.

Yet, doubts arose in my mind upon arriving at the park. A police officer was sitting at the entrance requesting all who entered the park to sign in with their names and Rut numbers. The Rut number is a Chilean citizen's or legal resident's official identification number. All Chilean citizens and legal residents have a state issued identification card. Thus, the equivalent for my U.S. readers would be that the police officer was asking everyone to sign in with their name and Social Security number. I am in the process of getting a residential visa and do not as of yet have a Rut number. And, I neither have my passport number memorized, nor was I carrying it with me, for a passport number would have worked too. Fortunately, Natalie was prepared an signed in for the both of us. I was suspicious of this practice of signing in at a park. Was big brother really that concerned with the goings on of park people? The police officer said it was for our safety. This of course left me feeling less than safe. After all, giving my name and number would not in any way protect me. It would only aid the police in identifying my body if something untoward happened. What kind of park, I wondered, was I entering?  

The answer: a park without power. Granted, in most parks, the absence of electricity is not a major concern, at least during daylight hours. Yet, when the park is home to some of the supposedly finest museums in Santiago, the absence of power means that the everything is shut down for the day. And thus so it was that Natalie and I endured the 45 minute subway ride and a security check point only to find the museums closed for the day because of an electrical power failure. There was nothing left to do but to take a walk around the park and think of other options for the day. El Parque Quinta Normal is sort of nice. There is lots of trees and, thus, lots of shade, important for an already hot summer's day. Yet, it is also dusty and the building, yes even many of the the museums, have lots of graffiti on them. I offered this as proof that the aforementioned security check point would provide my with little preventive security. The park was also home to several packs of dogs. Fortunately, they were busy entertaining themselves or sleeping and not bothering me.

Leaving Parque Qunita Normal behind, we decided to visit a museum dedicated to President Allende, the famed leftist leader of Chile who was overthrown by General Pinochet. My guide book indicated that the museum was just two blocks away. After a couple of wrong turns and shamelessly bad map reading by your's truly, we finally found the museum site - 30 minutes later. Unfortunately, the museum has recently relocated to another part of the city. This was not to be a day to visit museums. So days are ordained to be as such and one must roll with the punches.

So what is a shameless tourist to do if he cannot visit museums? Why drink, of course. And so it happened that Natalie and I to the La Providencia section of the city to find the famed Phone Box Pub. And find it we did. And more. For behind the pub, in the patio area are several fascinating book, craft and music stores. The store that caught my attention was the music store, which advertised itself as being for "serious music." Usually I avoid such pretension, but I decided to venture in and was greatly rewarded. First, the music collection was outstanding. The store carries a collection of classical, jazz and world music. Over the intercom, the attendant was playing a Chilean jazz artist named Ammy Amorette. I ended up buying the CD and am loving it. The attendant was very friendly and talked with Natalie and I at length about our experiences in Chile and the jazz music scene in Santiago. My guide book had mentioned something about the great live music scene here and in particular something about jazz. The attendant confirmed this and wrote down several websites of jazz clubs and restaurants to visit. Afterwards, I enjoyed a Manhattan at the pub - a truly enjoyable way to end a somewhat disappointing day of tourism.

Well, that's last week. I also had adventures today. But I will save these details for later. Suffice to say, I had more success with my plans. Just wait, dear reader, just wait.

The Shameless Tourist - Wine Tasting

I had another grand Saturday getting to know Santiago. Today's adventure was wine tasting. The goal was to hit two vineyards/wineries within Santiago. I did take pictures, but unfortunately my memory card appears to be corrupted. This means no more pictures with my posts, until, that is, I get a new card.

But on with the description. Once again, I was accompanied in my adventures by Natalie. First on the agenda was the Cousiño-Marcul vineyard. It is located in the southeastern part of Santiago, just three metro stops (and a little walking) from my house. You can see the vineyard from the highway. I had heard that the walk from the Quilen metro stop was only 20 minutes. Thus, Natalie and I decided that we would walk - you know, take advantage of the nice morning air. We got off the metro at 10:15, so we had plenty of time to make it to the 11am tour, right? Long story short...it was a long, long walk. We finally got to the vineyard (after almost killing a dog startling it totally by accident onto a busy street and walking up to a taxi to ask for directions and possibly a ride, only to find the taxi driver, shall we say, already "engaged" with a female "fare") at 11:10 - yes, it was a really long walk. 

Ahh, but it was worth every step. The tour had just started in the old barrel fermenting room. Nearly forty people were participating in the tour. Most were from Chile, but there was a sizable group from Brazil, as well as a contingent from Peru and the US. The old vats were huge, wooden barrels, made from a local wood. The winery stopped using the wooden vats for the maturation process about ten years ago as it started to modernize. We then moved into a newer section of the winery, were metal vats are used for the whites and the initial mastication for the reds. The reds are then moved to wooden barrels for a period of time, depending on the quality desired. We also paid a visit to the vineyard's museum and the cellar. 

Also, two wines were offered for sampling. The first was a Sauvignon Gris. It was pinkish in color, but it was made clear that it was not a rosé, since the color was purely from the juice and not from any of the skin or seeds of the grapes. The Gris was flat out awesome - the nose had lots of floral tones and mellon and the mellon dominated the palate. It was refreshing and crisp, prefect for an already sweltering summer day. And it was a bargain at just over three dollars a bottle. I walked away with one and I plan to drink it sometime soon with some grilled fish and mango salsa. The tour group had a choice for their second wine, either the Reserved Cabernet Sauvignon or the Reserved Merlot. Both of these reserved wines were the winery's second tier. Cousiño-Marcul also has higher tiered reds, pure Cabernet and Merlot varietals and Bordeaux style blends. Natalie chose the Merlot and I chose the Cab, allowing us to taste both! Both reds were still a bit young. The Merlot was not herbaceous and carried a lot of plum. It was strong, possible too strong. The Cab really did not open up and had nothing on the back end. Both reds had great structure. Maybe after a bit more time in the bottle they would be good. Thus, I ended up not buying any reds - this time. Unfortunately, the wine store did not offer the possibility of further tastings. Thus, one has to buy blind. I am interested in their blends and will probably investigate these in the future. What I did buy, besides the Gris, was a bottle of the Antiguas Reservas Chardonnay and a bottle of their late harvest Riesling. The tour guide assured me that both were excellent. 

After the long walk to the winery, Natalie and I hailed a cab back to the metro station and went back to my house to drop off our things - after all, we had another winery to visit. For lunch, we went to a corner schoperia ("schops" is what Chileans call draft beer, a word that betrays the German influence on the country) for a beer and to try the pizza. Good stuff.

The next winery on the agenda was the Santa Carolina winery, located in the south-central part of Santiago. Supposedly one of the oldest vineyards and wineries in Chile, the vineyards are no longer in the city. They are now in other parts of Chile and send the grapes to the winery in Santiago for processing. Neither Natalie or I had been to this part of Santiago before. So, we were a bit surprised when we got off the metro and found ourselves in a rather industrial and deserted (it was Saturday afternoon) part of town. The guide book said the winery was two blocks from the metro station. Long story short...after an hour of walking around the neighborhood in the over 90 degree heat and after consulting three people, we did find the winery...closed. The visit to this winery will have to wait for another day. Yet, it was a great day of shamelessly touring this wonderful city of Santiago.

The Shameless Tourist - Adventures in Santiago

Today, I spent the day doing shameless tourist activities. Yes, I had my camera out for all to see. Yes, I was consulting maps. Yes, I had fun. And how else am I to get to know this wonderful city of Santiago without doing shameless tourist things? No more apologies. I can't wait for the next installment of my touristic adventures. But more about today...

One this my first day of shameless tourism, I was joined by Natalie, a Holy Cross Associate, who is in her last month and a half here in Santiago. She has been her for nearly two years and still has a sizable list of things to do and see before she leaves. The goal of the day was twofold. I wanted to go to the Book Fair in Parque Forestal and she wanted to go the Cementerio General. So off we went.

First, we got off at the Banquedano metro stop and walked through Parque Balmaceda to Parque Forestal. Both parks run adjacent to Río Mapocho, which runs through the north side of the city. Parque Balmaceda has huge dirt walking/biking paths. It is not a green as some of the other parks, like Parque Forestal, and it is a bit dusty, but it does seem to be a great place for a bit of exercise. Parque Forestal is quite green and surprisingly tranquil for being in the middle of the city. 

As Natalie and I were looking for the Book Fair (all I had read was that it was in the park somewhere), we came upon El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (The National Museum of Fine Arts). It is a beautiful building and we had to take a closer look. This closer look ended up in us going inside. Admission was only $600 (Ch pesos), just over a $1.25 (USD). The building was equally impressive on the inside with an opaque roof held in place by an iron lattice, letting in natural light into the principal display floor below. The featured exhibit, Lost In Nature, was a series of photographs and models of architectural projects in Norway. The houses and offices buildings  that were featured were designed so as to take advantage of their surrounding natural contexts. I was impressed by the innovative designs. I will definitely visit the museum again. It is beautiful place and the admission is inexpensive.

The Book Fair turned out to be right behind the museum. Books are very expensive in Santiago. The good news was that there were a lot of really amazing deals at the fair. I bought three books, all in Spanish, which should keep me busy for sometime to come.

After all that activity, both Natalie and I were hungry. We added fire to our hunger flames by eating a churro (fried doughnut stick) filled with manjar (reduced condensed milk goodness - a Chilean staple). Both Natalie and I had been wanting to visit and eat at the famed Mercado Central - the huge downtown fish market. We were close, so off we went. The market was incredible. The structure was antique, made of stone and the same iron lattice, opaque roofing as the Bellas Atres museum down the street. Restaurants fill the central part of the market and stalls of fresh fish, along with fruits and some meats are along the periphery. 

Looking through the fish stalls, I did find what I was looking for - pico rocos, large, live barnacles. They look like rocks with little critters sticking their heads out from time to time. I knew that I was going to have to try one for lunch. And I did, along with a sizzling plate of rich scallops in a parmesan and oil mixture. The pico rocos were prepared like mussels, stemmed in a broth and then smashed a bit for easy eating of the critters inside the rock. Natalie had a flavorful sautéed sea bass. We did eat at one of the tourist traps in the center of the market to take full advantage of the atmosphere. Next time I will try on of the cheaper restaurant in the depths of the market, which are better priced. Yet the food, atmosphere and company were excellent. El Mercado Central is a must see - must eat at place in Santiago. I will be a regular.

To walk off our lunch, Natalie and I stoled down 21 de Mayo to the Plaza de Armas, which was full of people enjoying the last Saturday before the start of vacations, and on down El Paseo Estado to La Iglesia de San Francisco. It is the oldest surviving colonial building in Santiago and a beautiful example of a Franciscan mission church. 

The last stop on our shameless tourist adventure was to another got-to-see Santiago site, the general cemetery. It is huge - a city unto itself of family tombs and mausoleums. We found the monument dedicated to the disappeared and politically executed during the 1973 golpe and dictatorship of Pinochet. The wall is quite large and gives the sense of the lives lost during this time of Chile's history.

I have posted a few of the pictures I took today in this blog. For more pictures, look on my Picasa site, which can be accessed from the side bar menu.  

Coffee With The Scriptures

I started another blog yesterday. It is called Coffee With The Scriptures. The idea is to share my points of reflection regarding the daily Scripture readings from Mass with others. These are rough and unpolished thoughts, but maybe they will be of some use to others who are trying to enter into prayer with the Scriptures.

As I write in my header, I sit down with the readings and a cup of coffee every morning. I usually spend somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour meditating on the Scriptures, seeking to apply them to my life, and listening for God's words to me. One of the first things I do after I read the Scripture passages, and after a moment of silence, is to write down a key phrase from the passage and a couple of points of reflection. These will be the things that I will use later in my prayer session. The advantage of writing these points on a note card is that I can carry these points around with me through out the day, giving me opportunities for recollection and continued reflection.

If you would like to see the new blog, click on the link on the sidebar.

My Schedule

I have recovered from the mission trip. I was very tired on Monday when we got back and Tuesday. Thankfully, I got my energy back on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, I started meeting with the people I will be working with this year. First, I met with the chair of the theology department. She had a very pleasant surprise for me. I will be teaching two classes by myself this year! I knew that I was going to get into a classroom this year, but I thought that it was going to be a team teaching situation - which wouldn't have been a bad thing at all. In fact, I would have welcomed such a thing. After all, I am still working on my Spanish fluency. And I had a very good experience team teaching at my previous school. Yet, I get to fly solo! Evidently, they think that my Spanish is good enough and that I can make positive contributions in the classroom. The department chair is hoping that I can help reform the department. She thinks that the faculty needs to be inspired and that new methods of instruction needs to be introduced into the department. Evidently, theology is the least favorite subject of the students. The good news is that I have had success of making this subject interesting and fun - or at least provocative. I am going to use the lessons I learned at my previous school and build off that success. I had really good system in place, especially with the Junior level, that I will try to improve upon here. Fortunately, the subjects that we as a class will be covering in the 10th and 11th grades (I have one section of each) are very practical and "hands on" concepts. 

I have only two classes because they did not want to overwhelm me in my first year, especially with the Spanish. Thus, the rest of the time, I will be working with the elaborate campus ministry team. I met with the directors of campus ministry on Thursday. They have an impressive list of activities throughout the year, including a day of reflection with a different section every week. That's right, a school retreat every week! Besides the retreat work, I will be doing retreats and other projects with alumni, helping with the confirmation program, working with two groups of students doing projects at Fundamor, our orphanage (more about that later), helping coordinate student reflection groups, and lending a general hand in a billion other things. For my contribution, I will be pushing for a busy person's retreat during the year. In all, I am projecting that I will be serving at St. George's for about 45 hours a week. Not bad.

Today, I had a meeting with the directors at Fundamor. I will also be working with the orphans/abandoned children. The center is right behind our house here in Santiago. The children do not live at the center, but in house around the neighborhood. There are four house in Santiago with 50 or so children in the various house. Each house has three women or tías who take care of the children. The professional staff are housed at the center, where the children come for programs, tutoring and recreation. There are also other house outside of Santiago. My mission is to accompany two houses in the small town of Talagante, an hour and a half outside of Santiago. I will go there, by bus, on Wednesdays after I am done teaching at St. George's at noon and return to the house around 10pm. I will also spend the whole day Saturday in Talagante. I will divide my time between the two houses. I'll visit one on Wednesday and the other on Saturday. The next week will be the reverse. This will require a lot of traveling - but it will be worth it to be a positive role model and presence for the kids. 

Also, as mentioned, I will accompany two groups of St. George's students in their projects at Fundamor. On Mondays, a group comes and puts on workshops for the kids, such as computers, art and music. On Fridays, another group comes and does one-on-one tutoring. On Thursday mornings, I won't go into the school until midday. Instead, I will spend the morning visiting the house in Santiago. The children will be at school. This will be my time to minister to the tías. They are a hard working group and need (read starving for) pastoral care. I will go and visit with them and pray with them. In all, I am projecting about 20 hours a week with Fundamor (not counting travel time to and from Talagante).  

I am quite pleased with this schedule. I feel that I have sufficient projects and challenges. I love variety and I love challenges. I cannot wait for the programs to begin. In the next few weeks, I will start in ernest with Fundamor. The school year doesn't start until March. Thus, I have time to plan my classes, prepare the retreat at the beginning of March for an alumni group that is helping out with confirmation and to relax and enjoy Santiago. This is the time of vacations. From what I hear, Santiago, a bustling and vibrant town, is dead in February since everyone is away. Thus, I am told I will have good luck exploring the city without traffic and full subways. All the museums are open (except on Mondays) and there is a lot of free entertainment in the city at night. My plan is to explore Santiago and have some fun this summer! 

Back From Chiloe

I had a great time on the mission trip with the St. George's students. We just got back this morning at around 11:30. When I wrote last, we were in Queilen, a small town east of Castro on the coast of the Gran Isla. The communities we went to were part of the parish of Queilen. Two of our groups served on a smaller island off the coast of the main island. The other two groups went to two different communities along the coast. I was on the main island and served at a little town called Aituy, about 8km away from Queilen. The place was breath-taking and the people were equally warm and inviting. It is easy to fall in love with Chiloe.

Our group was fortunate enough to stay at the rural primary school in the community. We had a spectacular view. I will post two pictures below. But I do encourage all readers to look at the pictures on my Picasa gallery - picasaweb.google.com/brothermattmckenna. There is also a link on the sidebar of the blog.

Since basically the whole community is Catholic, our mission consisted of putting on special programs for the children and the youth of the community, as well as organizing prayer services, Mass and communion services. Parish in Queilen has only one priest and he serves over twenty communities on the main island and on other smaller islands, some of which are only passable during the summer summer months. Thus, the missions serves the communities by making the church a bit more present to them.

Below are two pictures. The first is a picture from the steps of the school, looking out to the sea and the mountains on the other side of the channel. The second is of two fellow missionaries, Nacha and Damien, and the cow that also wanted to be included.

Chiloe

Greetings from Chiloe. We left St. George's at 7:45pm last night and have just arrived at our destination. More details on that latter. The landscape was really impressive. I got to see the volcano that erupted the other dayat around 6:30 this morning. It was still smoking. The other highlight was the sea loin swimming off the coast as wee took the boat from the mainland to Chiloe. The land is vibrant green farmland with water all around. I will try to post pictures later, assuming that the little town I am going to has an internet cafe. We are staying in the large town tonight (yes, I admit, I'm not quite sure were I am - I was shown were we are on a map, but there were no names of towns on it).

Off to the missions!

I'm off again on another adventure. This time I'm going to accompany the students of St. George's College on their annual mission trip to Chiloe, in the south of Chile. I have seen pictures and it looks like an incredibly beautiful place with an unique culture.

As a result, I will be away from my computer and the possibility of posting for 2 weeks. I'll post pictures, stories and updates when I get back.

By the way, please pray for the people of Kenya and our Holy Cross community there. We have received reports of people being killed and houses burning in the parishes and neighborhoods were we live and serve. Amid this, three seminarians are about to be ordained in the next couple of days. Please pray for everyone's safety and a speedy resolution to the crisis.

Happy New Year!

I spent the New Year at the beach house in El Quisco. The house is right on the beach. I could feel the force of the waves. After waving goodbye to the sun setting into the Pacific Ocean, I had dinner with a couple of other community members who wer ewith me. We celebrated the change from 2007 to 2008 by walking down to the public beach in El Quisco. Thousands of people were out, filling the beach and sea walls. The New Year was brought in with a huge fireworks display over the ocean. Not a bad way to kick off the year, huh?

Renewal of Vows

The meetings concluded with the renewal of vows of the temporarily professed members of the District of Chile: Marcelo, Luis and Rodrigo. All three are seminarians. For this, we went to our retreat center in El Quisco. Fr. Mike DeLaney, CSC, the District Superior celebrated the Mass and received the vows of the three men. Here are some pictures of the event.

December on the Beach

I just returned from the community retreat and meetings. We stayed at the diocesan retreat house in Punta de Tralca, down the coast from Valparíso. It was a lovely place. The first three days were for retreat. Various members of the district led the community in times of reflection. The theme was persons in the life of Christ. The last two and a half days were spent going over district business. Yes, into every life a little business must fall. But this is not to say that I did not have fun. I full took advantage of the beach time - cold but beautiful water. And I had a chance to make the very short trip to the next town over, Isla Negra, to visit Pablo Neruda's favorite house. A friend took pictures. Once I get them, I will post them. Here is a picture of the beach at Punta de Tracla.