Santiago de Chile

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Hola from Chile! I hope this post finds everyone well. Wow, I can't believe I have been in this country 5 days now.
The flight here could not have been better. The 2 seats next to me on the plane were empty so I could sleep for most of the 8 hour over night flight. When I woke up the sun was coming up on my left over the Andes mountains. So exciting!
The group of people coming to teach in Chile are awesome. We are a small group of 13, as some people decided the aftemath of the earthquake was a little too much to handle. Which might be why the group gets along so well. We are all dedicated to the cause and maybe a little bit crazy. 😊 Our group consists of 8 people 22- 24 years old, 2 people 25-35, and 3 awesome ladies over 40. Our weeks are filled with training and orientation activities as well as Spanish classes. Our brains feel like they are going to explode at times.
We are staying at a Hostel on Londres Street in El Centro de Santiago. It is very nice by hostel standards although five girls to one bed/ bathroom is sometimes challenging.
There is so much to tell and working on a public computer can be difficult but I promise to up date this sooner rather than later. . . .

Our first two weeks have been crazy! SO much to learn before teaching these students and trying to get a feel of Santiago has left us with little time for rest. It has definitely caught up with us and we are excited to have some free time this week. We all get along very well and everyone is awesome. That being said, having 13 highly independent people live and work together 24/7 has been probably one of the biggest challenges we have faced. We are excited to get to our host families in 2 weeks and be able to visit each other and really enjoy each other´s company.

We will be moving to another Hostel on Sunday that is apparently a really big party hostel and we aren´t really looking forward to that. It is only for one week though and it is where the Ministry of Education has decided we should stay. We will be meeting other volunteers there who have not come through WorldTeach but from another organization, so that could be fun.

Up next. . . Santiago's stray dog population and Cueca class, Chile's national dance.

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Comments

[Julie Satchfield]

You are a brave bunch!
As I drank my Dunkin' Donuts coffee this afternoon I thought of you. I could never leave the comforts of home. However, the pictures are great. The city looks clean from the few pictures I've seen. Can't wait to hear and see more!