Happy New Year! It’s only mid-Jan, I can still say that. Apologies for the 3 month delay on the blog post, imaginary faithful readers who wait with baited breath for that magic ‘ping’ notifying them of another long awaited new post. But thanks for bearing with me, welcome back to any old readers and hello…
Category: South America
‘There and back again… An Incredibly Unfit Human Girl’s Tale to See a Waterfall’, by Emily Cooke
During my trip down South I also visited the small town of Pucon. Closely resembling a little Alpine village, I did feel a little as I had walked into Lapland as I trudged through the main street to my hostel. All the buildings looked as if they were made out of wooden logs, and I…
German Wanderers in Southern Chile
I recently took a trip to the lakes region in the South of Chile. Many of my students have repeatedly told me that before I leave, I have to take a trip to the South as by many it is considered the most beautiful area of the entire country. Forget the Atacama, Patagonia and the…
9/11 in Chile
The 11th of September is synonymous throughout the world with the tragic attack on the Twin Towers in New York City, 2001. But in Chile, this date has a different significance. On the 11th September 1973 the CIA backed military campaign led by Augusto Pinochet, overthrew the democratically elected government in Santiago and imposed a…
Superstitions and their origins
Do you believe in superstitions? Are there certain people, places, things or events that are lucky or unlucky? Do you believe in ghosts or spirits from another dimension? What are some superstitions from your culture? These were a series of introductory questions to a lesson I gave last week based on (yep, you’ve probably guessed…
‘Quidditch’ is the Same in Every Language
The language barrier has definitely been the most difficult thing about moving abroad to a country where English is not the first language. When I arrived to Santiago I had an extremely basic level of Spanish (I had just about mastered the Hola, no hablo espanol, estoy perdido and adios). The foundation for any great…
‘Singin’ in the rain’ in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is a city like no other I’ve experienced. Cobbled streets, tango, neutral Parisian styled apartments, wide squares and the brightly coloured houses of La Boca…it can only be described as the perfect blend of South American and European architecture, ideas and cultures. Sadly, it rained for four days straight and so we were…
Condors, Gauchos and Steak: A 3 day tour of Salta, Argentina
Argentina may be slightly off the radar for many. For one, it’s distance. Secondly, it is pricier than many other South American countries. Another… many places in Argentina are very difficult to get to (as we were soon to discover). Before going to Argentina, I was unsure about what to expect. I knew nothing about…
A Rough Guide to Teaching English in Santiago
Teaching English as a foreign language is a funny one. In Chile, you need virtually no qualifications other than the ability to speak English (helpful, I know) and in some cases the luck to have been brought up in an English- speaking country. ‘Natives’, we are flatteringly and not always accurately called. Never have I…
Chile: Developed or developing?
On the surface, Chile seems like a pretty ‘developed’ country, not so different from many North American cities. That was certainly my first impression on arrival. An afternoon spent in Las Condes, the business sector of the city littered with high rise glass buildings confirmed this. And indeed, there is a lot of money here….
Making Sense Of It All 