This is a warm-hearted couple from the U.S. who just finished a volunteering tour in Chile. They enjoyed home stays, mining tours, sharing with students, and so much more. We love our volunteers!
Mary with homestay Maggie Diaz, at their apartment entrance
United Planet volunteers, Craig and Mary Noke, a retired couple from California, flew into Santiago after four days of sightseeing in Peru, including Machu Picchu. Their three week teaching assistant/CAP quest in Chile included two weeks in Santiago and their final week in Viña del Mar.
In Santiago they quickly felt “at home” in the large, comfortable apartment of Maggie Diaz, a gregarious, warm-hearted widow.
In Viña del Mar they were welcomed into the home of a couple of engaging journalists, Karen and Marcelo, and their three young children. The fact that Karen is Maggie’s niece made their homestay transition easy.
The logistics were also easy as UP’s coordinator took them to the Santiago bus station and two hours later Karen was waiting for them at the Viña del Mar bus station.
Speaking to Guillermo Fernandez, 4th grade students at boys school
During their first week, Craig and Mary made CAP talks to engineering students in business English classes at Universidad de los Andes, as well as, to a group of seniors at a community center.
Their second week was spent helping Chilean English teachers at a girls school (grades one to twelve) in a populous section of Santiago known as La Florida.
One day they developed a special presentation on different kinds of music which was very well received by their students.
Another day they were invited to make CAP talks at one of Chile’s top private schools, and finished that day by giving a presentation before the school’s 90 teachers.
On the weekend, they took an all-day bus tour high up into the Andes Mountains, to El Teniente, the world’s largest underground copper mine, and Sewell, an abandoned mining town.
Tour of Copper Mine. Inside the world’s largest underground copper mine
Craig later commented that, as a fan of processes, he especially enjoyed watching how a huge rock crusher operated inside the mine.
Another day the UP coordinator took them on a walking tour of historic downtown Santiago that included such landmarks as the Plaza de las Armas, the Cathedral, Santiago’s Stock Market, and the Moneda.
During their last week the Nokes gave CAP talks to English classes at a technical college of 5,000 students in Viña del Mar. They later commented that they could not believe how warmly they had been welcomed by the teachers there. They also spent an enjoyable day touring the Port of Valparaiso with its picturesque hills, and visiting the home of Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda.
The day before leaving Chile, they sat down with the UP coordinator to explain why they considered their Chile quest such a fantastic experience. They loved both their homestay families. They had received a warm welcome by the Chilean English teachers at all the schools they visited.
They enjoyed their classes with both high school and university students, especially the interest shown by students in their CAP presentations. They liked answering the student’s sometimes unexpected questions.
Mary teaching a classroom of students
Their advice to future volunteers was simple and along those same lines. They say you have to learn to expect the unexpected. They are also convinced that sharing their life experiences, as they did for three weeks with Chilean students and the new Chilean friends they made, was valuable for everyone.
ABOUT UNITED PLANET
United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. Established in 2001, United Planet offers volunteer abroad, virtual internships, internships abroad, gap year volunteering, and global virtual exchange in more than 40 countries.
