Arrival of the Interns

Greetings from intern orientation! Arriving during Chilean summer vacation has given us time to get oriented, so we’ll be ready to hit the ground running as soon as we kick off activities next week. Earlier this week we took a tour of some historic neighborhoods of Valparaíso, and learned about Chilean society and its ‘chilenismos’. We’ve also visited three of the five neighborhoods with which we’ll be working--Montedónico, Laguna Verde, and Toro--and we’ll be taking trips to visit the others soon. Meeting the local directors and seeing their profound commitment to the kids makes us all the more excited to work with the kids ourselves. We’ll start working with them soon and we’re excited to spend the summer surfing with them! We visited La Boca, our local surf break, and had a chance to practice our own surfing skills as well. Stay tuned to the VSP blog to read about how we kick off our surf sessions this summer.

VSP: What do you hope to learn during your time with VSP ?

Charlotte: I am very interested to get to know and be part of the ‘behind the scenes‘ of VSP. As VSP is a young organization, it is exciting to learn how it was created and what it aspires to be. I am looking forward to interacting with the kids and doing my best to help them find their purpose. Also, I must admit, I am very excited to get the opportunity to improve my surfing.

Chelsea: I am eager to interact with the students in an outdoor setting, and learn how to motivate them and challenge them to the best of their abilities in the water. I am also very interested in understanding how a non-profit functions from the inside out.

Eve: I am excited to create personal relationships with each of the kids, getting to know them as fully actualized individuals while also seeing them in the context of their families, neighborhoods, and city.

Paul: I hope to learn a lot during my time with VSP. I want to learn about Chilean culture, and more so the culture of Valparaiso and the cerros we will work in. Also, I am excited to learn about myself and about how to sustain a non-profit like VSP - the day to day, month to month and year to year.

VSP: What is your spirit animal?

Charlotte: I am a koala who aspires to be a panther.

Chelsea: My spirit animal is a sloth. Sloths are very ‘chill’ animals, enjoy hanging out in trees, and value rest and relaxation.

Eve: My spirit animal is a rabbit. I already eat enough veggies, so I’m ready!

Paul: I would be a humpback whale. They move through the water with such beauty and live with such purpose.