After numerous requests from friends, family & co-workers, I decided that it was indeed time to start my career as a blogger so I can keep the masses updated on my whereabouts and adventures. I promise to share with you the dramatic/life altering incidents of my travels (using a man's turban as toilet paper in the middle of the Sahara desert) to the more unlucky (sporting a black eye after getting socked in the face at a Chilean night club) outcomes. And of course, the everyday la de da of my life in South America.
So as many already know, I will begin my new life as an English teacher through the Programa Ingles Abre Puertas (English Opens Doors) and the Chilean Ministry of Education in just 10 short days. Just yesterday I learned that I was placed in Region 1 Tarapaca of Chile located in the extreme north by Peru & Bolivia. After a rather short moment of disappointment that I would be an entire day of bus riding away from my already made Chilean friends through studying abroad two summers ago, I realized that there is nothing more that I want than a fresh start. Unfortunately, this fresh start has a weight limit of only 44 pounds for total combined checked luggage. Yes, you heard me-only 44 pounds of checked luggage! Although the task remains difficult, I keep reminding myself that I was able to live out of a normal sized bag for 6+ weeks while traveling through Europe (even though by the time I reached mom in Italy she gagged from the lingering odor). Oh well.
Anyway, schedule. I arrive in Santiago, Chile on July 2nd at 7am. I happen to know a girl, Nikki, that will be getting in just an hour short of me, so I will have someone to shuttle to the hostel with. I will have a week of training in Santiago with the other volunteers, which (I have heard) is a week long of cheap wine & good conversations! Following this, there will be two weeks of winter camps where all of the 'elite' English students attend camps that focus on practical experiences while using the English language. I figured these two weeks would be great practice for me considering the fact that I have never taught English before! Besides my 4 month stint of tutoring English in Spain & my Saudi Arabian couple at school, I do not know the first thing about teaching ESL. But there we go again, it's alllll part of the adventure and I am positive that you will hear some funny stories stemming from the classroom.
Quite surprisingly, I have been extremely calm, cool and collected thus far in the preparation stages. However, I think I am just now feeling the litttleeee bit of anxiety that comes along with moving to another country, yet alone another continent. I am hoping by next week I will know the exact location of my homestay and the school that I will be teaching at. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.
So, in conclusion of my very first blog post ever, I wish you all a great rest of the week and a buenas noches!
