Renowned Author Isabel Allende Spoke to Audience of EBI Students and Families

OAKLAND, Calif. - May 18, 2016 - PRLog -- Internationally acclaimed author Isabel Allende spent time earlier this week with an audience from a local, leading Spanish bilingual school, Escuela Bilingüe Internacional. Allende discussed her experiences as an author, activist and immigrant with the 170 attendees, including teachers, students of the school and their families.

Allende said she sees herself as equal part writer and activist. "I belong to the first generation of feminists in Chile," she said. "We are privileged in the U.S. as women but this is not so in 80 percent of the world. I have an obligation to fight for my sisters in other parts of the world." She called on the audience to continue to take small actions as well. "Little by little, you make a difference. Each one of us has something we can do."

Allende has written more than 20 books, many of them translated from her native Spanish into 35 languages. She is also the author of a trilogy for young readers, including City of Beasts, Kingdom of the Golden Dragon and Forest of the Pygmies. Allende, who has received dozens of international tributes and awards over the last 30 years, describes her fiction as "realistic literature," rooted in her remarkable upbringing and the mystical people and events that fueled her imagination.

Allende noted that she wants her life to be full of stories, even if challenges are involved. She also said that humor plays an important part in her literature and in her life. "What would fiction be without humor," she asked. She finds joy in writing and highlighted for the audience the importance of discipline in the writing process.

"We were delighted to have Ms. Allende visit with our students and families. Her life and work provide a model of resilience, fortitude and the value of art and storytelling as tools to understand the human experience and connect with one another." said Jon Fulk, Head of School.

During her visit with the Escuela Bilingüe Internacional community, Allende participated in a conversation guided by EBI's middle school Individuals and Societies Teacher, José Antonio Galloso, along with Elisa Batista, Campaign Director at popular advocacy website MomsRising, former journalist and EBI parent. Allende spent time answering questions from the audience as well.

For more information about Allende's work, visit her website at http://isabelallende.com/.

About Escuela Bilingüe Internacional

The mission of Escuela Bilingüe Internacional is to provide an excellent Spanish-English bilingual education based on the highest international academic standards in an environment that thrives on diversity, fosters global citizenship, and develops the character necessary to recognize that cultural uniqueness is the touchstone of our common humanity. Visit www.ebinternacional.org or Like us on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/ebinternacional/