My Valdivia Travelogue IV

By Georgia Wyche

So far, the second semester at UACh has been going well even though things are busier than a normal semester.  Things are busier and the classes are more intensive because professors have to cover all of the required course material in a shorter period of time. For this reason, many classes are meeting on more days during the week and on Saturdays. The students are also more overwhelmed with work than during a typical second semester.

Bird's eye view of UACH campus

Normally, the second semester at Chilean universities begins in July and ends in December. As you know, this semester is very different due to the months of striking. The classes began at the beginning of November and will end in March.  Also, many of the classes will have to be taught online in January because many of the students will not be in Valdivia during the months of January and February. The months of December, January and February are summer months and considered the tourist season in Valdivia. During these months, the cabin/apartment rentals and the cost of living increase.  As a result of these changes, many of the students have to leave Valdivia because their leases are finished and they aren’t able to afford the rentals in the summer.

I continue to stay active and busy at UACh.  I’ve been teaching my applied linguistics classes two days a week, holding regular office hours and advising a group of English pedagogy students on their theses. Along with my applied linguistics classes and duties, I’m continuing to teach English conversation classes to honors students and professors at the Virginia Tech Center. The English conversation classes will stop at the end of December and I’ll begin another project for the UACh/Virginia Tech Center.  The new project will consist of creating and teaching a class on scientific/academic presentations to researchers and professors.  I’m looking forward to this new project.

In addition to teaching classes, I’m continuing to strengthen the relationship between UACh and Virginia Tech. For instance, I often encourage my students to consider going abroad and perhaps doing a graduate degree at an American university, such as Virginia Tech.

At the beginning of November, I also had the pleasure of meeting Mr. John H. Rossmeisl, an associate professor in neurology and neurosurgery at the Virginia Tech Veterinary School.  Mr. Rossmeisl was a visiting scholar who traveled to Valdivia to teach a continuing education class on surgery at the UACh Veterinary Hospital.  His classes were very beneficial to the surgeons and the clinicians.  The UACh Veterinary School looks forward to inviting other scholars, like Mr. Rossmeisl, to teach and demonstrate innovative methods for the professional development of their faculty members.