Winter Vacation in July. . . Just as strange as it sounds

Greetings and Salutations!

      I am finally back in Santiago after my 2 week vacation in Buenos Aires.  Before that the Lathan’s were in town for a few days which we spent in Valparaiso, Vina Del Mar and Santiago.  But let’s take it back first to the end of my first semester at Duoc. 

      I love my job.  I have no idea how I got so lucky, but here I am, at 24 with a job that I’m passionate about, in a city I love, working with people I adore.  My students did exceptionally well on their final exams.  A few are not coming back to Duoc next semester, which made me sad, but I was delighted to hear that one of my best Basic students, is leaving Duoc to study English full time.  I’m really proud of her and excited that she liked my class enough to consider pursuing an English Major. 

      Grading was good, but I was still a little bit behind from when I had Pneumonia, so I spent a lot of time in the Professors Lounge during the week after I had finished my finals, just trying to catch up on everything before Vacations. 

      Also, after months, I have finally befriended most of the Professors at school.  It has taken lots of baked goods and excessive cheer, but hey, that’s what I live for.  Chileans are known for being shy and as such, I have had to introduce myself to everyone as they didn’t introduce themselves to me, but, at the end of the semester, they know who I am and what I’m doing here.  I am under the impression that most of the Gringo English Professors who have worked at my Duoc site in the past haven’t been particularly outgoing. 

      Even though I can’t continue teaching at Duoc next year, the professors have all been helpful and encouraging in regards to my wish to continue teaching and working in Chile.  One Professor already started looking for apartments for me while others have been recommending jobs for me.  A couple of Professors have even offered to let me stay with them at the end of the year if I can’t find an apartment right away.

      I got good reviews by my students at the end of the semester and, like I said, for the most part they performed well on their Final exams, so I finished the term in excellent spirits. 

      My family came in on the Saturday after term.  We drove straight out to Vina Del Mar.  I had a really nice time, but Reid, Naturally complained about everything.  The weather was Crystal clear, which I appreciated.  It was still cold, but it made for good touring weather.  The food was far from sensational, but Chile is like that.  I think the best thing that my brother ate on his trip was a “completo Gringo”.  (Yes a hot dog with ketchup.)

      We went out to dinner with the entire host family on our last night in Chile.  It was fun to have everyone together.  It was a very merry evening.  We all ate well and I think that everyone had a nice time.  The next day, Reid headed home, while Mom, Dad and I headed to Argentina.  The Swine flu had been classified as a pandemic there, so we were a little nervous about being quarantined, but got in and out without any trouble. 

      We stayed in a great little hotel in Palermo for a few days.  My parents got in touch with some friends from Graduate school (the Dougall’s) who live in Buenos Aires.  We had dinner with them a couple of times and then they were nice enough to invite me to stay with them for the rest of my trip.  I couldn’t have been luckier.  They have four kids.  Camila (23) Connie (21) Lolo, who’s actual name is Sebastian (19) and Carolina (18).  They proved to be fantastic guides to the city and I had a lot of fun with them the whole time I was in town. 

      I had a great time with the kids and am sad that I missed out on the last twenty years of our lives.  Camila and I were supposedly friends when we were babies and our Dad’s were studying at Darden.  It was funny when they pulled out baby pictures of the kids and I was in the album. 

      Everyone I met in Argentina was really friendly and outgoing, which was a very nice change from Chile where everyone seems to be painfully reserved.  I made friend just about everywhere I went.  It was nice to be around people who aren’t afraid of me for a change.  I saw a tango show and took advantage of the café’s throughout the city.  I sat, read, wrote and drank fantastic coffee.  (Something I have sorely missed since I left Costa Rica)  I shopped and wandered.  I got around on buses and trains, all of which made for a great vacation.  I can’t wait to go back.  I might even end up teaching there in a couple of years, who knows?

      I got back to Chile on Friday the 31^st.  As I passed through customs, an Argentine Customs agent told me that my passport was a coquetta (flirt) because it had so many stamps.  It was the best compliment I've had in a while.  Since, my return to Chile.  I’ve spent most of the week hanging around the house and getting ready to go back to school.  Yesterday I went up to the mountains with some friends to go skiing.  It was fun to go skiing, but the kids that I went with didn’t exactly know what they were doing, and I’m not a good enough skier to teach anyone else how to do it.  It hadn’t rained in a while either, so it was a bit icy and the wind kept flinging ice into our faces.  Not ideal learning weather, but it was still a lot of fun.

      I’m looking forward to starting classes again on Monday.  It’ll be interesting to meet a whole new slew of students and get to know them.  I will try to keep the updates coming a little more frequently for the next term.  I know they’ve been somewhat sporadic this year.  Wish me luck for back to school!