Ben:
A geology professor (LINK) at Idaho State University, Ben brought his family south during a one year sabbatical at the Universidad de Concepción. His time abroad was partially supported by a Fulbright Scholar award that focused on teaching courses in geomorphology and doing research on the origin and persistence of daily cycles in water quality parameters (such as temperature or turbidity). We kept track of the sabbatical adventure on our other blog, "Who am I to Blow Against the Wind. (LINK)" The drive home is a great opportunity to learn mechanical skills and spend time with the family after a year of solid work, some of which was featured on Jimmy Fallon (LINK)!
Cana:
About to attend her 20th class reunion (FHS '94 represent!), Cana has learned the important life-lesson of proper hatchet handling. She likes to write and play music and dreams of being in some sort of garage band. She comes from a large Iñupiaq Eskimo family, and though she's never lived there, she calls Noorvik, Alaska home.
Dylan:
Taking her role as big sister seriously, Dylan keeps a close eye on her little brother Wells, whom she often calls "Son." (Which is a typical thing to do in Native culture, BTW.) When she arrived in Chile in June '13, she spoke no Spanish, and since starting Chilean public school in August she has become semi-fluent. An avid skier, Dylan looks forward to the upcoming ski season in Idaho.
Wells:
Passionate about computers, Wells is learning to program and design video games. His luxury item in the van is a skateboard he got for his birthday, and he and his dad are going to hit as many skateparks between Chile and the USA as they can. He's semi-fluent in Spanish and is looking forward to getting back to his friends and trampoline in Idaho.
