Semana Santa

Classes at DuocUC ended Thursday afternoon, for Semana Santa, and Friday morning Sophie, Hasan, and I went to Concon (next to Viña del Mar) to visit our friend Nick. On Friday night he hosted an asado (bbq) at his condo, and he gave us surfing lessons on Saturday, it was a lot of fun. I am surprised to say I was even able to stand up and ride a couple waves, in between getting hit hard by them and swallowing mouthfuls of salt water. But overall, I am glad I got to try it, and I plan to visit again soon. 

Life and work in Santiago

I am into my second week of teaching now, and the more classes I teach, the more I love it! I love it when I feel like my students understand what I am trying to explain, or laugh at a joke I make. I am getting a feel for each of my classes, they are all different. Some students barely know any English, and I have to do a lot of explaining in Spanish, but others know a lot of English, and we have great conversations. So, I am just trying to figure out some fun activities to add to the book exercises, because the classes are 90 minutes each. I have Mondays off, I teach Tuesday/Thursday 11:30am-1pm, and 5:30-7pm, and 4 classes on Wednesday/Friday between 2:30 and 10:45pm.

Besides teaching, I have been trying to see some different parts of Santiago. On Monday I walked up cerro Santa Lucia, which is a hill with castle like structures leading up to a viewing area overlooking the city. Hostel life is getting a little old; it's like living in the dorms again, which can be fun, but also very cramped. I do miss my mom's cooking a lot already. Sadly, my diet so far consists of bread, crackers/chips, avocado, cheese, and cookies; good thing I am doing a lot of walking.

Ironically Cristal is probably the least classy beer here

Santa Lucia

St. Patty's Day Chilean Style

View from Santa Lucia

Adorable kittens in pet store 

Perros

Just a random thought I wanted to share about dogs here in Chile. Many people here own dogs, but there are also tons of stray dogs because no one neuters there pets. However, every single dog I have seen here is SO ADORABLE (not as cute as Missy though, so it just makes me miss her more). The stray dogs pretty much do whatever they want, such as sleeping in the most random places like the middle of the street or sidewalk, etc.

Bus parking spot

Park garden 

Bus stop

DuocUC orientation

I started orientation at Duoc this week, at the main campus, which is the same location I will be teaching at. The English program faculty that we met are all very nice and welcoming, and the building is very cool. We had meetings on the 15th floor, and there was a big balcony overlooking the whole city, it was really pretty. I am very excited, and nervous to start teaching. They told us it will be difficult and rewarding, and warned us about students not paying attention. I'm not sure exactly what to expect.

Looking all professional and sunburnt 

DuocUC, Antonio Varas location

one view from the top story balcony 

Santiago Arrival and Viña del Mar

I finally made it to Santiago yesterday, the journey felt like it took forever, but there were no problems, so I was happy. The hostel is really nice, my room is crowded, with 3 bunk beds full of girls, and the bathrooms are tiny too, I don't know how I am going to live here for 30 days. Anyways, I have meet some really cool people so far. Right after I got here and showered, I went wandering with Hasan (from England), Mike (from Miami), and Sophie (from Chicago. And we have the exact same birthday!). We got some food and drinks, then came back to hang out at the hostel, where we decided we should go to the beach the following day (I really pushed this idea). So I got up at 8, which is early for me, to make sure they were all up to head to Viña del Mar. It is a 2 hour bus ride from Santiago, very cute city. It was so nice to be laying on a beach, I got too excited and decided not to wear sunscreen on anywhere but my face in order to speed up my tan. Of course, now i feel like a lobster and it hurts to move, so in retrospect that was a horrible idea. I wish I would have known about the hole in the ozone layer here. Anyways, I just wanted to put some pics up of some stuff I've seen so far. 

View flying over the Andes Mountains

Near Hostel Providencia

Hamberguesa con palta (hamburger with avocado)

Beach at Viña del Mar

Me and Sophie (Birthday twins! Born on Mothers day 1990)