Not your Average Teacher

Since moving to Chile, Colombia had been one of my top destinations but I never seemed to have enough days off to make it work. So I decided that on my way back to the U.S. from Rio, I’d stop in Colombia for a week –I mean it’s on the way right? I flew to Cartagena and spent my first 3 nights in Boca Grande. My first full day in Cartagena was actually my birthday. I booked myself to join a free walking tour of the walled-city or the historical part of Cartagena. Immediately I

Hey strangers! Miss me? Sorry, life has been a little bit chaotic, but I'm back now to fill y'all in on the juicy details. For starters, I moved back to the good ol' US of A. More to come on whats next for this not-average-teacher, but in due time, grasshoppers... First, let me fill you in on Rio de Janeiro: Exactly a month after I arrived home, I jetted back to South America. Looking in, it seems rather odd. You were literally just there Kim… Well, my Chilean friend Flo (who

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

Hi all! It’s been a whirlwind the past 2 weeks. As mentioned in my previous post, I was supposed to go to Brazil for the first week of my winter break. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. I still can’t comprehend how I forgot, because I never forget things, but I forgot to get my visa for Brazil. US tourists need a visa to enter Brazil, because the US requires one of Brazilians. To say I was heartbroken is putting it lightly. So instead of relaxing on the beach in Rio de Janie

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

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

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

Hello hello! What a week it has been! For starters, I can’t believe I’ve been in Chile for a month. Time really does fly! At school this week, we had our big Open House. It went off without a hitch –the kids were so proud to show their work to their parents. The parents were so proud to see all that their child has accomplished. The kids came to Open House dressed in traditional Chilean clothing. They were adorable!!! And the dresses were beautiful –unfortunately, I’m not all

Welcome to all those who have stumbled upon my little old blog! I hope you'll find my story intriguing, if not, move along.... So why are you going to Chile? If you've been following me for the past week, you'll notice a lot of changes have been taking place. Basically, it has been my dream to teach internationally after graduation. As a result, I sent my resumé out to literally every American school in Chile. After months and months of no responses, I gave up hope and began