Good News Bad News: Living in Santiago

Although teaching English in Santiago may have its many downsides, the few positives outweigh the negatives by far. My time here has only been sprinkled with a few bad experiences. When I finally decide to leave Santiago, I will take home the greatest souvenir- perspective. Living abroad truly enriches your life and instills in you a strong sense of confidence. If I can jump on a plane to South America, then I can do just about anything. Life is never without its bumps, but hands down, teaching and consequently living in Santiago has been the greatest part of my 24 years on this earth.

Bad News - Relax, there isn't much bad news when it comes to living in Santiago!

1. Expenses- Alright, everything here is very comparable to Texas (and I say Texas because it has a lower cost of living than other states). A trip to the grocery store costs about the same. In reality, this is only bad news if you have planned on lower expenses in a South American country. However, clothes and shoes run a bit high for the shoddy quality.

2. Less Amenities- I don't have a dryer, dish washer, indoor heating, air conditioning. To me, this is perfectly fine. Actually, I enjoy putting a little extra effort in hanging up my own clothes. Unless you want to pay a lot of money for all the comforts of your cushy life back home, enjoy this so called "suffering." It makes you a better person. 

Good News

1. Rent- I rent a room in a fairly large older apartment in Providencia. I pay about $260 a month and it includes electricity/gas/internet. My roommate situation is ideal. After I was hired at my institute, I had grand plans of finding my own apartment. However, compared to my month earnings, the feat is fairly unfeasible for a single person. Plus, if you do not have an i.d. card, I hear it's difficult to contract  internet service and it opens up more opportunities for someone to take advantage of your bright-eyed gringo-ness. On another note, finding a room to rent is another great way to meet people and practice your Spanish. It cuts significantly cuts down the amount of loneliness of the first month.

2. The City Itself- When I first arrived in South America I jumped off a plane in Buenos Aires. It was huge, the people were beautiful but cold, the downtown was a little dirty, the transportation was a nightmare, and I couldn't receive change anywhere. So, I was immediately relieved when I hit the streets of Santiago. There is smog and it may not be as fascinating as other cities, but it's the perfect first-time-living-abroad city: different enough to be interesting but similar enough to be comforting.

3. La Vega- This is wonderful. Just plain wonderful. The prices of fresh produce and everything else you could possibly want is sinfully cheap. It's about a 45 minute trek and a couple of hours of dedication. However, I leave with a bag (sometime a bag and a coche) full of beautiful vegetables, dried goods, and fresh eggs.

4. Wine and Pisco- Wine is good. Wine is cheap. Nothing is better than finishing classes a little early on a Friday afternoon, coming home, and pouring myself a little (or big depending on the week) glass of wine. As for pisco, the origin of this liquor is a huge debate between Peru and Chile. It's very difficult to find the US, but it's everywhere in Chile. Whether you like a sweet pisco sour or the ever popular piscola, you will have no problems ordering one at any establishment.

5. A Lot of Humans- I have met more people from around the world here than is anyplace in the US. Santiago is home to some very large university making it a hub for international students. I've met people from Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, Slovakia, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland, California and almost every South American country. Whether you take a TEFL course, study, work at an institute, or just bum around, Santiago is a great city to meet other people.

DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! Move abroad, travel, open your mind, and change your perspective. Stop living with your parents or off of their money, step outside of the comforts of home, and enjoy something that reaches beyond the horizon of what you know. Sometimes it's difficult to read through pages of pathetic facebook updates. "My problem is this. My problem is that." NO! The problem is yourself. Now, do something about it and stop littering my newsfeed! Please, of course. :)

Life Currently: Aside from the impending excitement of the September holidays, the weather is by far the best part of this week. It has been in the upper 60's to mid 70's. Nothing brightens your day more than a dose of sunshine. Me encanta Santiago en la primavera! For the next three months, my goals are to eat more veggies, think more positively and kindly, and learn more Spanish. Just practicing for my trip home... which I purchased my plane ticket this past Friday!

La Malena- bad kitty, doesn't come inside when I call her!

air dried

welcome home

My first bottle of Pisco back last fall!

A Day in the Life- Wednesday #1

Alright- Wednesdays are going to be a progression of pictures. Hopefully, this will prove more interesting when I'm in Chile, but a girl has to practice, right? So until the end of January, you're going to be stuck with these mundane shots of a poor graduated girl with a part-time job!

Today was a sleepy Wednesday with a serious sinus headache on the side.  Seeing as I had the day off, I planned to cross through many of the things on my ever expanding to-do list.  Seriously, it seems like the more time I have, the less I get done!

sleepy head. headache. 7:30am.

I got my Mac in from UPS this afternoon which only proved to be a distraction from my "to do" list. However, I'll consider transferring files and just trying to figure out how this thing works as an accomplishment.

can you see the foot print on the mac box?

#1

#2

#3

I ran a couple of errands today, trying to make some head way on my Christmas list. I hopped in my car to Hobby Lobby to pick up some ceramic paint. Then found these bargain mugs on clearance at Ross. So, I'm in love with etsy.com and all its talented artisans!  I was inspired by some shops to create my own mustache mugs. Can I say ironic? And need I remind you how much I love irony?

IRONY- weapon of choice

Okay, okay. I'm pretty bored with this post, too. BUT this will get better in time, I promise. Alright, one last photo. This is a treat. A macbook photobooth picture along with a "how to."

hott-with 2 t's, of course

How to Take a Hott/Haute Macbook Photo (ie. what I've learned from girls on facebook)

1. Find optimal lighting

2. Distort face such as pursing lips, squinting eyes, extending chin, etc.

3. Add some sort of cute prop

4. Make up, make up, and more make up for best results

5. The less it looks like the real you, the better.

Oh how I jest! On a more serious note, I've come to realize that facebook is a necessary evil. But it's definitely evil. 

-Katie

Dilemmas!

I have these dumb dilemmas. Seriously, they are so dumb, fo' real. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and I can admit that I am grateful these simple issues are my current struggles. So many others have such difficult decisions to make!

1. Half marathon- I'll begin with this: I am so stunned that I have upped my mileage to 8. Really, really? Me, me? YES! I may possibly be doing a little Rocky sequence in my mind currently. Eye of the Tiger. Now that my body has recovered from a cold and stomach virus, this random croupy cough has attached my respiratory system. Usually, I'm the annoying girl that says to you when you're sick, "oh, I never get sick, the last time was 10 months ago." Well, I've been humbled on the account that I've been sick three times in a row. These past two and a half weeks have been pretty critical to my training. I haven't felt motivated at all to run since I feel so tired and just plain sick- so, I haven't. I think I'm going to sit this one out, boys. Being such a miser, I don't know what I hate more not completing an attainable goal or losing the money I spent.

My first 5K! 3.6.10

2. Macbook Pro or Macbook Air- I've decided to forgo the iPhone 4. I'm going to grab a cheap go-phone down in Chile and cancel my plan with AT&T, here. Okay, so this means I have a little room to spare some cash! Woohoo! Like a good little consumer, I've been doing my internet research. It sounds like the only benefit to the Macbook Air is it's size. This would be an appropriate investment, but still it's a lot of freaking money. Let me say this: I have saved for a long time, and this is not a light decision that I can make on the whim of my parent's credit card.

3. MY CAT- Enough complaining about this issue! I'm still in the middle of trying to find a placement for her and for how long.  

Avery. LOVE.

4. Facebook- Oh man. Truly, it's a great way to stay in contact with people. However, here's my beef. (Can I say that since I'm a vegetarian?) I strongly believe that anything personally written or typed should also be something that can be verbalized. We've all been guilty of the emotionally charged update or the holy-than-thou status at least once in our social networking days. I'm so sick of reading them. Plus, it's such a time waster!

Hopefully, I didn't bore you to death! Alrighty, my loves, any suggestions for me?  I feel like I had a little updating to do before I fall into a routine posting.  But then again, my life doesn't feel very routine.

Summary of silence.

I need to summarize the past few weeks of silence. And by summarize, I actually mean being concise.  No one likes drowning in line after line of mundane text. Let me give a special shout out to P!nk (or however, the heck she spells her hardcore name) and that gem of a song cycling on the local radio stations. I'll confess that I've been listening to mainstream pop for the past five or six months. Anyone can attest to the poop (funny, how it's only one letter different from pop...) on the radio, but usually I just laugh it off and continuing singing about how cool you look in sunglasses or how fly I'm feeling like a G6. BUT it wasn't Enrique or Katy who snapped me about of this funky rut, it was Pink's newest diddy that slapped me dead in the face. Honestly, I'm not sure which phrase I hate the most. It's pretty much a toss up among "what's the dealio," "don't get fancy just get dancy," "nitty gritty dirty little freaks," or "call me up if you a gangsta."  I have question: what the bajezus is a "penny snatcher?" All I have to say is please do party on your own. Not hating on Pink, just that horrifying jiggle. Besides inquiring about the vernacular of her single, it also caused me to ask questions like: WHERE IS OUR SOCIETY HEADING? And IS THERE A GOD? And IS THERE NOTHING SACRED? Okay, now I'm just being dramatic and a tad ridiculous. On to real life...

1! I'm seriously considering skipping my half marathon. I know "weak-sauce", right?? I've been sick and haven't been able to do any training in almost a week and a half. Not lying, I had a cold and then a stomach virus. My longest distance run has been a very slow 8 miles, and the race is in less than three weeks...

2! I have a little black book to keep my addresses in.  Isn't it cute?

I need YOUR address!

3! As I was leaving from Molly's house today, she handed me a travel organizer for my South American adventure. I was simply blown away by the thoughtfulness and the awesomeness of the gift. Can you believe someone thought of me this week? I've already started using it and haven't owned it for a complete 24 hours.

ORGANIZATION <3

4! Jeez, I've been procrastinating like a mo-fo... fo real. I'm leaving in less than two and a half months and instead of organizing my room/more important docs, I've been scourging the Internet/blog-scene on how to backcomb my hair without ensuing damage. Although, I have made a smidgen of headway on our Argentine travel plans. I want to book the hostels by Thanksgiving which is literally right around the corner.

Okay, this is enough! I will explain the entire of my little facebook fast come next entry. I have plans for this blog, so you better start figuring out how to use RSS feed (it's simple) to following along. Commenting is easy to, and it shows me you're there, especially on the account that facebook is a no-go for the moment.

Muchos besos.