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During these 2 years at The English Academy Rapa Nui, we have had Zoom conversational classes with students at Rosmini College in Auckland, New Zealand. The objective of these classes have been to have real conversations with native English speakers about climate change.

When I was 12 years old, my family and I lived in Punta Arenas, Chile and, one day, my father told me that we would have to relocate to another city. I thought that we would have to move back to Valparaiso, but I was wrong.

My name is Tauhani, I’m a sophomore in high school, and my parents’ names are Cristian and Carolina. I have been learning English since I was nine years old and, thanks to The English Academy Rapa Nui, I have been able to participate in great projects to continue learning and improving my English.

When I first heard about Rosmini College’s program, The Ocean That Connects Us All (TOTCUS), I had no idea how it would impact my English abilities. This program offered me an unforgettable educational and social experience.

Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui or the navel of the world, is a small island located in the Pacific Ocean. It is considered one of the most isolated places in the world, located 3,800 km from the South American continent. Rapa Nui was annexed to Chile in 1888.

Since I was a child, animals have been an important part of my life. I grew up on a small Polynesian island in the middle of the Pacific, without cities or much development and where the relationship with nature is part of our daily life. The island’s subtropical climate means that there is dense vegetation, especially in town where it is really common to see horses and chickens roaming around freely.

When I moved to Easter Island three years ago, I started being more connected and more aware of the impacts we have on nature.

Even now, people all over the world don’t know where they can throw out and get rid of all their trash and, to make matters worse, instead of eliminating accumulated waste on our lands, we are building artificial islands that negatively impact our oceans and marine life. Personally, I believe that trash is an important and urgent topic that needs to be addressed and we need to increase our awareness about how our actions affect all life forms.