Not your Average Teacher

Hello friends, I finally found a minute in the chaos to sit down and write. To put it simply, it’s been chaotic. Simultaneously closing the school year and leaving the country indefinitely has been a lot for this gringa to handle. My game-plan has been to accomplish small goals each day, which has worked well. Leaving Chile in all of its bureaucratic glory should be considered an Olympic sport. I started the process 7 months ago, and I’m still working on it. I’m going to be m

Hello friends! I’m currently writing to occupy myself in the awkward silence as the handyman installs a new porcelain throne in my bathroom. Why you ask? Let’s backup to yesterday afternoon. I was trying my best to enjoy my Sunday afternoon (Sundays are my least-favorite day of the week) when I had the urge to pee. Like most, I went to the toilet and completed my mission without issues. I had recently dropped one of those things into the toilet tank that makes the water turn

Well hello! It’s been a while! Let’s back it up all the way to mid-September when I returned from Easter Island (see previous post). I actually hopped on a plane a day later and headed back to the USA for a very brief visit home. It was an impromptu trip –one that I was not thrilled about having to take. As many of you know, I am leaving Chile at the end of December. As a result, I am currently trying to close all of my accounts and collect my pension. I have a significant am

Hi Friends! I’m dedicating this post to my trip to Rapa Nui, aka Isla de Pascua aka Easter Island. Whatever you call may call it, I call it absolutely incredible. This place has been on my radar since I first heard about the most remote island in the world with hundreds mysterious statues scattered about. Both my mom and myself dreamed of visiting this place while I was living in Chile. Rapa Nui is Chilean territory, so it made sense to make use of my current residence. The o

Hey friends! It’s been a minute! I’ve been a busy little bee down here in Chile. Just like in previous years, it’s the most stressful time of year. The two most important events of first grade are [poorly planned] two weeks apart from each other. We just had student-led conferences where the student shares his/her work with their parents and we reflect about the school year together. Those are exhausting because we have 27 conferences in 1.5 days. By the end my face always hu

Hola dear friends! Since we last spoke, we celebrated fourth of July and you guys at home have had 1 or 2 heat-waves. Personally, I’d much rather be swimming in the pool than holed up in my apartment for 3 days straight because of heavy rains. The temperature this winter has been melodramatic here in Santiago. One week it’s pretty cold, the following week it’s pushing 70’s. Shortly after my last post, I became very sick with sinusitis again. The air in Santiago is so horrendo

Since Ally left, I've been quite busy! I had a pet-filled weekend with León. First, we spent Saturday at Expo Mascotas. It's basically a big expo for pet-lovers where they sell all sorts of products, have shows and some animals. Every year I've wanted to go, so this year I made it a point to actually go. I'm always more likely to go if I can bring my dog. The expo was massive! It was in a giant expo center filled with vendors and people. When I arrived, it was super crowded.

Hi y'all! Since we last spoke, I had a very special visitor here in Chile, my childhood best friend, Ally! Ally and I were inseparable while growing up. I basically lived at their house and became her parent's 4th daughter. We did everything together, including getting our blackbelts together. It was so great to have an old familiar face come see my strange reality. She brought me all kinds of things I ordered online and she happily restocked my Dunkin' coffee. The original p

Hi y'all! Can you believe I'm writing this one state-side? It's surreal to be writing from the comfort of my own bed with León at foot of course. Let's rewind a bit to the very beginning of this "summer" as we refer to it in Chile. Before heading home to colder weather, I had a glorious 10 days of rest and relaxation in the summer sun. I attended a 3rd farewell party for my dear friend Edel, because 1 just doesn't suffice for such an incredible human. This time we went to the

If you're like me, you get a thrill out of finding grammar mistakes in everyday life. Santiago is a goldmine for finding nonsense English words/ grammar mistakes. I'm the first to make silly and laughable mistakes in Spanish so I think we can all conclude, foreign languages are hard, man! I've handpicked some of my most valuable finds in Chile below, enjoy! 1. Not a day goes by where I don't regret buying this shirt 2. Get some ass sent right to your door 3. The gift that lea

So we’ve finally arrived at the main event. The event I’ve been talking about for months. The event that I flew someone in just to escort me to. The event I’ve had a dress for since January. Flo’s and Joaquín’s wedding!!! 2 years ago when I arrived to Chile, I never would have thought I’d be dancing in Flo’s wedding. Or that we’d become such close friends that I’d cry like a baby watching her walk down the aisle. Flo has become one of my best friends in Chile and I’m so happ

Hello strangers! For starters, my best friend ever came to visit me. He really deserves a trophy for dropping everything just to escort me to a very important wedding. More on the wedding later! For all of y’all who have asked, Theo and I are just friends. Tranqui!! Also, he’s gay, so theres that… Theo arrived on Friday by following my very elaborate guide on how to get from the airport to my apartment. That night we went to an artisan market and then met Fran, Benja and his

Hey strangers! Back at it with some life updates. Since my last post, so many exciting things have happened! Trump Rally: As you know, in the past few weeks, there has been a lot of political angst in the United States. It’s been a bit difficult to watch from a far because I feel kind of useless. There is a large gringo presence in Chile and this time “Democrats Abroad” was able to organize a vigil for Heather Heyer right here in Santiago. The vigil was organized in just two

Hi friends, sorry I haven’t written in a while, it’s been a whirlwind the past couple of weeks. Concluding a semester is no joke for teachers, even elementary school teachers. I’m still not finished with the laundry-list of things I still need to do. But as I’ve always said, I prefer to be busy rather than not… The Fourth of July This was my second fourth of July in Chile, remember I initially arrived in August. Since SC is technically an American Private School, they really

Hi friends, so we meet again! This time, I’ve just returned from my trip to San Pedro de Atacama. Where is that you ask? It’s a desert located in the north of Chile. The trip was incredible, San Pedro de Atacama is actually listed in the top 5 best places to visit in world on Lonely Planet because it’s so geographically diverse. They have over 70 volcanoes, however only 4 are active. They have salt flats, geysers, miles and miles or desert, mountains, lakes, lagoons and the b

Hello to all my wino friends out there! This post is dedicated to my experiences at two very well known wineries here in Chile. Let’s start with a disclaimer. I know very little about wine, in fact, I don’t even like most wine. However, I think it’s classy as heck and you look pretty cool with a glass of wine in your hand rather than a beer, so I’m trying to develop a taste for it. Slowly but surely, I’m starting to not hate wine. Baby steps. So why go on a wine tour? Well, t

Hola amigos! Happy 2016!! I’ve had a wonderful week with my best friend Lexie, and from the looks of it, she’s really enjoyed Chile. On Monday-Wednesday I had to work, so Lexie went off to explore the city and take some tours. After work, we would go to dinner and hang out. For those of you who don't know, Lexie and I have been friends since middle school (about 13 years old). We grew up in the same town and I consider her family to be my family. I see her to as my third sist

Hello friends! Feliz Navidad! My sincerest apologies for the late post –it has been a busy week to say the least. Let’s back it up to the beginning of the week. We only had to work until Tuesday which was wonderful. On Tuesday, the school threw a party to celebrate the janitors and security guards. Everyone chipped in about $7 USD so we were able to give them each a nice cooler as a gift and buy a delicious cake. I’m glad we got to celebrate them; they do so much for us and t

I’m so excited to share my experience at my first Chilean wedding this past weekend. It was quite different from an American wedding. Throughout this post I’ll point out the moments that stood out to me, and the differences between American and Chilean weddings. The Invitations and Presents: When you are invited to a Chilean wedding, there are no ‘Save the Dates’ and the invitations come just a month of two beforehand. Even if you’re not engaged or married, you get to bring a

Hey there friends! It’s been a short but eventful week here in Chile. For starters, it was our last week before sending the kiddos off to second grade. I’m a little sad to send off my first graders, we’ve become like a little dysfunctional family :P I’ve also been running around the city trying to get my visa paperwork in order. I spent the morning on Wednesday waiting 4 hours to register my visa at the International Police Station. It’s always a fun time there, luckily this