Work

So what am I actually doing in Chile, anyway?

I moved to Chile for a couple of reasons. First, I knew I wanted some kind of change, and I've always wanted to live in a Spanish-speaking country. I had always been too afraid to do it by myself, but when Matt came into my life, with his spirit for travel and adventure, I knew this was the time to act.

So why Chile? Matt lived in Chile in 2011. I felt more comfortable going someplace he already knew than going somewhere totally unknown. That's not to say we didn't look at other places. Mexico was on the list, as was Guatemala. We decided on Chile, though, because Matt loved it and missed it, and because I wanted to see it. And it's somewhere people don't usually visit.

Chile is the long skinny country on the western side of South America. Although it's on the western coast of the continent, it actually isn't very "west" at all. If you look up near the top of the map, you'll see that Chile is almost a little east of Florida. That's why right now there's no time difference between VA and Chile - we're longitudinally not so far apart. 

Before I moved, I was a teacher. Here, I am also a teacher, but in a very different capacity.

In the US, I taught high school Spanish (level I and levels IVZ and IVH). In Chile, I teach English. It's not an English class like you'd have in a high school in the US, though. (We're not reading Shakespeare or writing essays.) I'm teaching mostly business (but sometimes conversaitonal) English to adults. 

How does that work? Matt and I are both working for a language company, technically as independent contractors. Our language company gets a call from the businesses and businesspeople in Santiago who are looking to learn English, and our company finds a teacher for the job. They provide the curriculum structure, the tools, and the texts. 

Most of my classes are in person, and last an hour and a half. No class is larger than six students, and in fact all of mine right now are one-on-one. I like my students a lot.

What does it all look like?

This is the Titanium Tower. I posted it a few days ago as well. I have two classes here. It's a gorgeous building that hosts several different businesses. The ground floor houses many restaurants and cafes, as well as a gym.

I took this walking to the Titanium Tower, over in the business sector. It's nice that the mountains are always visible. 

The elevators in the Titanium Tower are huge. 

Waiting for a student and looking like a horror movie ghost.

This building is alive! It's across the street from the Titanium Tower. 

I also teach an online class. It's also an English class, and since conversation is the best way to learn a language, we use Skype to communicate, and an interactive internet platform to teach grammar and vocabulary. It's neat. 

Right now Chile is in its busy season. It's winter here right now, and everybody is very busy at work. That means lots of people are taking English classes, so there's a lot of work for us as teachers. During the summer months (January - March), Chileans take long holidays. They travel, they rest, and enjoy time away from work. Like most countries around the world, Chile offers more vacation time than the US, so it's easy for people to make such plans. During that time, it'll be a bit harder for us to find steady classes.

But for now, it seems to be going ok. Working as a contracted teacher prompts me to explore the city, since my classes are at different businesses all around the city. I'm not sure if this is something I'll do the whole time I'm here (or the only thing I'll do the whole time I'm here), but for now, it's a good place to start.