Author: matt.kelemen

by Dylan Kelemen

This summer, we did a bunch of things as a family. But, the biggest thing we did was traveling down to the south of Chile for a week and visiting new places and beautiful landmarks known all around the world. The first landmark we visited was called the Ventisquero Colgante. It is a huge glacier in the mountains forming a v-shape and is as blue as the lake below it. Also, coming off to the left side of the glacier there is a beautiful waterfall which feeds into the lake below. There are 2 vistas of the Ventisquero, one, a – minute walk up to the lake where you can also go take a boat up to the waterfall and the other a 90-minute hike up into the forest. This glacier in preserved in a national park with enormous trees and other wild/plant life.

The second landmark we visited was called the Rio Futaleufú, a river known worldwide for its great water activities and gorgeous landscape. My dad and I got to spend a day rafting down part of the river and learning about the valley and town as well as the river itself. This river is a common destination for professional kayakers and rafters to train in the off season, but also for tourists to drop in for a day of fun hardcore activity. With many adventures and surprises, we enjoyed a day in one of the most remote and beautiful places in the world.

Finally, the last landmark we visited was Parque Pumalin, which covers land bought up by Doug Tompkins (owner of North Face) and given back to the Chilean government with a deal to preserve the land. We spent one night camping in Parque Pumalin on a windy Lago Negro with views of the breathtaking mountains of many different shapes and sizes.

In all, this world has many amazing places and I feel privileged to be able to visit and experience a few of these incredible landmarks during our time down in the South of Chile.

Dear Family & Friends,

It’s hard to imagine that we actually spent the first half of 2015 in San Francisco. Such is life in a new place that you tend to forget what happened before. Time slows down. New experiences, even quotidian ones, demand our attention. Now trumps before.

But we did indeed ring in the new year in San Francisco, just the four of us. And time did indeed march on in the first half of the year. Dylan turned 12, led a family Passover seder, tried out track as a new sport (and ran a 71-second 400!), finished his first year of middle school, and continued his inexorable and impressive improvement as a footballer. Adela served as principal for a day at Buena Vista Horace Mann, showed off new skills as a flautist, and continued to grow as a singer with the SF Girls Chorus and capoerista with Abada. Matt ran a personal-best half-marathon,  continued traveling to Hartford, St. Louis, and Dover to help districts and states improve school leadership, and especially enjoyed celebrating big brother Mark’s 50th birthday with an all-family extravaganza in New York. Jeannette beat a path to Southern California to help districts there get more equitable outcomes for students, skied on every bit of snow that the Sierras could muster, and flew east with Adela to celebrate Nanette’s retirement with family and friends.

Then we moved to Santiago, Chile, and each of us has plenty to say about that…

Adela: My life in Chile has been adventure-packed. I have done traveling, performances, school projects, and much more. I have experienced change, excitement and adventure. My family is also not the average family. We visit exotic places and learn new languages. But the whole time, we’ve cared for each other and we haven’t give up on each other. That’s what family is for. I will never forget that.

As most people know, we moved to Chile this year. It was a huge change for me and it had an impact on my life. Meeting new people, trying new foods, and going to new places was amazing. Now, don’t get me wrong. I do miss some things about the United States. But, I cried myself a river, built myself a bridge, and got over it. JK. I miss my friends, my family, and some of my childhood. But  . . . I have learned to move on and invite the new. I am in contact with my friends (especially Delilah and Marta), and my family comes to visit us. I have learned that change is important.

Talking about change, my dream has changed. Last year I said my dream was to be a marine biologist and a geologist. Now, it’s to be a movie director. Why, you might ask, did I decide this? People who know me know I love to read. I want to share the stories with the world. I remember that you should never give up. Especially on your dream.

Dylan: I am a very lucky child and have gotten to go on many different trips and adventures, learning and developing my skills as a human being. For instance, how many people do you know who have moved to a different continent for new opportunities? We have moved to Chile, a wonderful place with many beautiful natural features including glaciers, mountains and lakes. I especially enjoyed our time in December at the beach in Tunquén. Although the water was cold, the weather was beautiful and we got to spend some quality times with our friends. Another opportunity for me is being able to be part of the football club Universidad de Católica, where I have been improving my skills daily. Furthermore, Adela and I have been studying at Santiago College, one of the highest preforming schools in all of Chile. My studies have been pushing the boundaries of my brain and I have been making new friends, like Lucas Rojas, Juan Ignacio Echeverría, and Vicente Moreno. All in all, it has been a great opportunity for me and my family to move down to this corner of the world and learn about the culture of a distinct country.

Jeannette: It’s been a year of fascinating contrasts for me, but I am also appreciative of a few constants. The biggest contrasts have much to do with being an outsider and communicating in a second language which I’m still learning. There have been many times when I’ve misunderstood someone or a situation – and plenty when I’ve been misunderstood. As for a major constant: Fortunately I’ve been able to continue with meaningful work through various consulting projects and a new job at Fundación Chile focused on educational leadership development and targeting high-need communities. I’ve also taught workshops on project-based learning to over 150 professionals and I loved being a mentor to two groups of fifth-graders preparing for a spectacular spring school exhibition at our kids’ school. I am grateful for finding welcoming faith communities here in Santiago, and I appreciate my time enjoying the great outdoors (on foot and on bike!), cooking, and spending time with local friends and far-flung visitors!

Matt: With our move to Chile came a truly amazing opportunity for me. This is a nation embarked on an expansive effort to re-make its public education system and I have the good fortune to play a small part. Working as a consultant to the Inter-American Development Bank, I am helping a small but mighty team at the Ministry of Education to essentially design school districts. It has everything I’m looking for in my work — a chance to examine and tackle real dilemmas, an opportunity to grow and learn in my own understanding of educational systems, and most of all, a chance to connect to a social movement grounded in increasing opportunities and power for the most vulnerable children in this society. And all the while, I’m still staying engaged in US education policy through New Leaders and other consulting opportunities, I’m loving spending more time with the kids and Jeannette, and I’m just starting to train for another half-marathon.

2015 by the numbers

1 – The number of presidents Matt got to meet in 2015

3 – The number of houses owned by Pablo Neruda that we visited in 2015

8.3 – The magnitude of the largest earthquake of the year in Chile (Sept 17)

15 – The number of friends and family who  visited us in Santiago in 2015 (in order of appearance . . . Holly, Steph, Charlie, Ben, Ella, Mimi, Pop-Pop, Tammy, Andrew, Ruth, Tina, Matt, Peter, Dan, and Julie)

90 – Length in seconds of Adela’s solo performance of “On My Own” in her musical theater cabaret

177 – The Celsius equivalent of 350 degrees Fahrenheit, which is one of the many metric conversions we have to remember regularly

800+ – The daily number of WhatsApp messages we collectively receive from our various friends, colleagues, sports teams, and online social groups

2,500 – The roundtrip distance in kilometers for Dylan’s bus trip to compete in an an international soccer tournament in Santa Fe, Argentina

17,995 – Height in feet of Cerro El Plomo, one of the many peaks we can see  from our rooftop

As immigrants in another country, we are acutely aware that many families don’t share our luck or privilege. While we chose this life, so many others are being forced from their homes. While we had months to plan and prepare, so many others have to grab their most precious possessions and head off with little idea where they will land. While we had the softest of landings and have been welcomed with open arms, so many face closed borders and threats of violence. As a new year starts, we renew our hope in the kindness of strangers and hope that everyone will take a chance to welcome those who need — or even just want — a new place to live.

Happy New Year. Happy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Peace and love to you all.

-Jeannette, Matt, Dylan and Adela

by Adela Kelemen

My grandparents came to visit me, my brother, my mom and my dad.  They came about a month ago. They stayed at a hotel not to far from our apartment. They had Thanksgiving with us and it was really fun=]!!! They brought us presents and other things. But also they showed us a great soundtrack from the musical Hamilton. They saw the musical in New York. I really like it because it was not only music, it taught me about Alexander Hamilton and his life. There are songs about his love life, the war and politics. I listen to the music from this soundtrack every day. I have also noticed that my dad really enjoys the music too. I really like that how they make the music rap. It lets them put more words into the musical so they can tell more of the story. It also is very different compared to the more traditional musicals like Cinderella or Wicked. It also attracts more people of younger ages.

Sometimes I imagine how it would be like to live in that time. When America was fighting for freedom. When America was starting a new life. That makes me think about how different it is now compared to when Hamilton lived.  If he had not been alive, this country may still be ruled by a king and queen and the presidency would not be a thing in America. Hamilton made many important changes. He created the American Bank system. He helped our country fight in the war.

I also like how the music tells the story and you can see the perspective of Hamilton and the way he reacts. They also sometimes they switch over to someone else’s perspective and talk about what they think. I like connecting and thinking about how those are connected. I like hearing about the story and learning about America’s history.

Finally, I think that Hamilton the musical is great. I think people can learn from it and also enjoy themselves at the same time. One of my favorite characters is Angelica. I like her because of her backstory and her way of thinking. But you will not find out who she is unless you watch or listen to the musical ? (wink wink).  There are many great songs and raps. I think you would really enjoy them.