New River Academy » pucon chile

Life at the Pucon Kayak Hostel

Hunt Jennings — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:27:36 +0000

New River Academy’s current home is at the Pucon Kayak Hostel. Located just a few minutes outside out town, and on the banks of the Rio Trancura, this is a perfect setting for our school. One of my favorite things about the hostel is how much space we have. We all have our own beds, and personal space for our clothes, text books, boats, gear, and all of our other random stuff. There is also tons of space to have classes during the day. We have a kitchen area where we have three delicious hot meals a day, and food to snack on if we get hungry. After school, we have tons of rivers and creeks to choose from, all just a few minutes drive away. The Pucon kayak Hostel is a really cool environment, because we all live together, yet no one feels crowded or in need of more space. Here are a few shots that I thought illustrate the environment here at he Pucon Kayak Hostel.

Our school flag, reminding us all why we are here, and what we represent.

The gate to the hostel. Any kayaker in the Pucon area knows the unique environment that lies behind these doors.

Our kitchen area, always warm and cozy from the fire that we keep going all day. It's always cool to see the unique architecture involved in this building.

The warm, glowing fire that radiates heat all day in the kitchen.

This shot illustrates the style of living at the hostel. We either have our own rooms, or share with one other student. Plenty of room for drying gear.

This shot illustrates how relaxing it is at the hostel. It focusses on a teacher, and several students in conversation, with kayaks and gear in the background.

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Pucon Life Style Photo Assignment !

Katie Kowalski — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:09:09 +0000

GRAND Flash Album Gallery

Skins for GRAND FlAGallery, Photo Galleries, Video Galleries

developed by CodEasily.com - WordPress Flash Templates, WordPress Themes and WordPress plugins

The Flash Player and a browser with Javascript support are needed..

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Our Trip to Choshuenco

Taylor Cote — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:58:00 +0000

We just arrived back in Pucon from our last destination, Choshuenco. It was a very small town with a lovely little beach and lake we would paddle across after our day of paddling. The days we would run in the mornings were always quite funny you would pass almost everyone at least once because of how few streets there were in it. The people who were hosting us were absolutely delightful. They were so caring and offered us any help we needed. They also cooked us some pretty yummy dishes. They even made everyone’s favorite American dish one night, Pizza!
The river we had there was amazing, it offered many different types of paddling with varying classes. The Upper Fuy consisted of more waterfalls and boofs. The Middle and Lower Fuy however had amazing playboating and wave filled rapids good for working on downriver moves, such as kickflips and wave wheels. We also had Billy Harris with us this whole time and he was a great wealth of knowledge, everyday he would make sure we were boofing up a storm. He was super helpful with little tips to help improve your boating.

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A Special Night in the Quincho

Taylor Cote — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:20:49 +0000

Listen to the people yelling dinner is ready. Scurry over to the glowing, leafy haven of the quincho. Pick out a good seat next to a friend and some colorful grub. Chat away about the going-on’s of the day. Look out, as Lorena places more scrumptious food on the table. Inhale all the aromas wafting around you. Smell the roasting pork and beef on the crackling fire. Hear the ooh’s and aah’s of the marvelous feast. Hold up the ginormous sphere of bread that is bigger than your face. Munch on the tomato-y mixture of the pico de gallo. Glance around at your big, crazy, smiling family. Comment on something you find absolutely absurd. Let yourself laugh joyfully with everyone else who got the most recent joke. Join the chorus of “thank-you’s” to Dave and Lorena. Watch the embers of the once-large fire sparkle in the coming darkness. Grab your dirty dish to clean off in the sink. Wait in line behind the other five people who decided to do the same. Help out with the rest of the dirty dishes. Walk back to the cabins; chill out and watch the newest downloaded movie. Sigh happily; another amazing day at the best school around.

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First Week in Pucon! | New River Academy

Callie Morgigno — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:04:40 +0000

Dear Parents,

           Wow, I can’t believe that we are already finishing the first week of school down here in Pucon! Through ironing out the schedule, getting bodies ready for the river and minds ready for class, I have managed to get acquainted with all of my new students!! My name is Callie, and I am the new Literature teacher and Public Relations Coordinator. I will be keeping you updated on the happenings throughout our time in Chile, and am happy to chat with any of you at any time. You can read a more detailed account of my life on the staff web page, but here’s a quick summary: I grew up in Southern California, studied literature and international relations at the University of Salamanca, in Spain, and at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. International travel and playing outside are my passions. I am super excited about joining NRA, and know from the first week that I am going to love this job!
           Also joining us this semester is Lorenzo, our new Spanish teacher and native Chilean. Lorenzo loves all sports, and is a member of the Chilean National Rafting Team, which took him to the World Cup in Bosnia, where his team placed second. He has been involved with whitewater his whole life; his family owns a prominent rafting and eco-tourism company on the Rio Maipo. He also obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in eco-tourism. We are all excited about the kids learning Spanish from a native speaker.
           Four days ago, I went with Dave to collect the kids from the airport, and knew that I would soon fall in love with this program. Even after a long flight, the kids all eagerly introduced themselves and welcomed me. Four days into the quarter, I already feel like we have become friends, and can’t wait to gain their confidence further.
            To some students’ dismay, today is rainy; Andy has lured them out from the cover of the quincho to collect firewood to finish cooking our traditional Chilean lunch, pastel de choclo. The fire is growing and we are all preparing to enjoy a tasty lunch, tucked away in the comfort of the fire-warmed quincho. I’m in love with this place already. In a couple days, we leave for Choshuenco, to run the Rio Fuy, where I will update you again of our explorations here in Chile!

Callie

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A Journey Through Words-Part 1

Taylor Cote — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:07:25 +0000

In Pichilemu, Melina read some of Pablo Neruda’s work. It made us both feel as though we were swimming in the deep blue of words. So as always, we became inspired. This creative writing assignment consists of writing ”quotes” to correspond to a picture. The “quotes” were trying to bring out as much feeling and emotion as Neruda did. I hope you enjoy this set.

“The blissfulness in the virgin child’s eyes are the gateways to the heavens themselves, they alone we need to cherish in the darkness” – Taylor Cote

“As we flee from the notorious and accelerate our mind into the concealed, our embodiment ceases to imprison us down to the bondages of man” – Taylor Cote

“Then the steam proceeded to rise up and envelop all that was holy and ethical leaving merely the valiant paladin to uncover the way to the revelation” -Taylor Cote

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