Author: matt.kelemen

by Adela Kelemen

Recently, my family and I took a trip down south. We went to many places and did many things. We learned about culture of the native people, the lives off the German settlers and much more. We visited new places almost every day. All in all, it was an amazing adventure!

We started of by visiting our friends, Ben, Ella, Charlie and Stephanie in Puerto Montt. They were staying on a farm owned by an American man. We had the “great outdoors” to play in and that is what we did. We played games during the day, games during the night, and roasted marshmallows over a fire. It was a lot of fun but we did not have much time there. We headed off to Chiloe for the night. Our original plan was for the four of us to go we whale watching. But, two more spots opened so Ella and Ben came along. We stayed the night at a cabaña (cabin) and got ready for an early wake up in the morning. The next day we drove out to the place that had the boats but when we arrived, our trip was canceled! =( So, we decided to kayak instead. It was not whale watching but we still had a good time. That was our last day with the K-Rads (Ben, Ella, Charlie and Stephanie). After we  dropped them of we headed farther south to our next adventure.

That night we got a ferry that took us overnight to Chaiten. From Chaiten, we drove 4 hours to a place called Puyuhuapi. Puyuhuapi is a small town on the shore of a fiord. But we did not stop there. We went about 5 minutes up the coast to a dock. We got out of our car and got on a boat that took us to the Puyuhuapi Lodge. The two days there were our days of luxury. They had fancy dinners, thermal pools, and beautiful views of the fiord. We saw a melting glacier called the “hanging glacier” which was spectacular and got to go kayaking at dawn with sea otters and sea lions. We learned a lot about the culture of the native people living here and it was, all in all,  amazing. When our two days of luxury were over, we packed up our stuff and headed out. We drove almost the whole day until finally we settled down in a campsite on the bank of the river Futaleufú. We set up camp and made dinner. We swam in the river and had hot chocolate in front of a fire. We were tired from a long day of traveling so we got into our tents and went to bed. The next morning, we made a friend who took us to see two kittens on the farm area where the camp sight was. The kittens were so ADORABLE!! One was gray and white and the other was a brown tabby cat. We packed up our stuff and got ready to go. We drove down to a place were we could go rafting. I was not old enough to go because their were class 5 rapids but my mom and I got to go zip-lining! It was a lot of fun and I videotaped it with my GoPro. There were great views as we zip-lined so I got some good pictures too. After my brother and dad did rafting and my mom and I did zip-lining, we hopped in the car, again. After a night of camping and a full day of driving and ferries, we got to Puerto Varas.

We arrived in Puerto Varas pretty late and we were all hungry and tired. We had dinner and headed to a little motel in the area. The next day Dylan would have to wake up early to get on a bus because his soccer started up and he could not miss any more practices. When I woke up my brother was already gone and my dad was at breakfast. I walked down stairs and had a delicious breakfast of kuchen, eggs and toast. Petrohue was our next stop. I had not gotten a chance to do rafting so I did it there. We were at a hotel so we got a good night of sleep and the next day was river rafting day!! My dad had already rafted so it was just my mom and me. We drove down to the place were they would pick us up and we got our gear. Then we piled into two vans and we headed to the river. When we got there, we did some practice and then we headed out on the water. It was a little cold but it was fine. And it was nothin like Disney World. We each had a paddle with which we had to generate power. The German woman next to me was not generating much power but the women in front of me was so it was really all about balance. At one part we all got out and did some rapids on our own. We would dive in sideways and then get on our backs. It was a lot of fun and before we knew it, the rafting was over. 🙁 After the rafting, we went back to the hotel. My dad made us a meal and me went down to the lake. It was supposed to be the most beautiful lake in the south of Chile but, personally, I have seen prettier. The next morning we checked out of the hotel. My mom had been “craving” a bicycle ride so we rented bikes. We rode 7 kilometers along Lago Llanquique, out and back. On our way back, we saw an adorable fox! We stopped to take some pictures and then headed on our way. Now it was time to go to Valdivia.

We had 5 days in Valdivia but it was our last stop. We went to our AirBnB house and settled in. We had some friends (my mom’s teacher Judy and her husband Gunther) who we spent most of our time with. We went and had dinner with them that night and some of their family came too. We had a great time and great food too. The next day was the city’s birthday. We went to a little parade and a celebration; then we went on a little tour of the area. But the best part of the day was the animal clinic. Daniel (Gunther’s son and Judy’s stepson) runs a pet hospital. I got to work there for a couple of hours. Their were puppies, cats and dogs there. I helped out with a lot of stuff like feeding and petting;). I also visited a house so an adolescent pug could get a check up. SO CUTE!!!! The power went out that day so we had a little problem with the doorbell. After that we had a small dinner and headed out to a music festival. But it was not so interesting so we headed back. The next day, Judy my mom and I went to visit one of the forts protecting Valdivia. We also visited a coffee place that used to be Gunther’s old house. It was cool to hear the description of the old house compared to the new cafe. After that we headed to this huge market with lots of little restaurant stands. I had two really long skewers of meat and they were so good! Then we went to a beach really close before we left. We had dinner with one of my dad’s old friends Francisca. She was about to adopt a baby. (Now she already adopted it!) We had pretty good food there. We were all a little tired so we went home. The next day me and my dad went to a hidden beach were we saw lots of cool things including shells, rock, crabs, little animals and kelp farmers. We climbed rocks and looked at tide pools. It was a lot of fun. When we got back, I went to the clinic and my parents went to a cafe. The clinic was a lot of fun and this time I got to see baby hamsters! They were so CUTE!!!

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