I'm back...to blogging. I'm still in Chile...

A summary of the last several months of my life.

Better late than never......

Yes, it was back in March 2010 when I was preparing to leave for Chile to volunteer for the year. I had been laid off in the summer of 2009 thanks to stupid people and stupider banks and a faltering economy. I took some time to travel and then came back to NY towards the end of 2009 to a still struggling economy and with even more uncertainty than with when I left.

The truth is I can't blame it all on the economy, I had never been too sure about my career. And after my post-lay-off trip and meeting people from all around the world, I was even more certain about my uncertainty...what? Well what I mean is I was sure that I didn't want to settle down right away with a job in NYC. I was hungry for adventure and something new. I kicked around and dabbled in a few part-time jobs at the end of 2009/start of 2010 until I finally made the decision to go to Chile.

I applied to a volunteer teaching position in Chile and started in April 2010. A lot of people, including Chileans, ask me why Chile? Well there were a few principal reasons. The volunteer program was well organized, had no fee, included a monthly stipend and room and board with a Chilean family. Most other programs require fees and don't include much. And then there was the language, I'd always wanted to learn spanish and be bilingual. (The wine, women and sea food were just the icing on the cake).

So I did it.....you've read the blog posts, seen the pictures on facebook...but then what happened? I finished the volunteer program in November 2010 and then what? Well in October before finishing as a volunteer I made the decision to extend my stay and I found a teaching position in Antofagasta, a city located 3 hours from the small town Taltal. Yes, still in the desert, but yes, still on the coast...

After finishing my program I met up with my friend Alex who'd been traveling through Peru and Bolivia. We travelled together to the South of Chile to climb volcanoes and see glaciers. We rode a 36 hour bus north through Argentina to Buenos Aires. We partied in Buenos Aires and learned the meaning of arrogance (don't ever tell a person from BA that you're from the states). And we finished our trip on the beaches of Uruguay. By this time it was Christmas and I was on the my flight home to NYC.

I spent Christmas and New Years with my family. I ate pizza and oversized sandwiches, drank beer, and shoveled snow. In January I was already on my way back to Chile where it just so happened to be the beginning of their summer. I found a place in the city of Antofagasta and started teaching on March 1st. I was living the life of a teacher, long vacations and pounding head aches. I've left out a lot of details, but if you've read my blog I'm sure you already know teaching here (nor anyway) is easy. To make it even worse, my new school was extremely disorganized.

In 2010 I had a support line, people from the English Opens Doors program that checked up on us, gave us support, spoke English....But in Antofagasta I was on my own. I was a teacher in the school system just like any other teacher. Of course I was treated a bit differently, but teaching is teaching. The school where I was teaching is a semi-private school and I thought the students would be better behaved than the students of the public school where I was volunteering the year before. I was wrong, very wrong.. Long story short, in June I took a job teaching at a Language Institute.

Since June 2011 I've been working at a Language Institute called Anglia. All classes are one-on-one. We primarily teach professionals looking to advance their careers. English is like gold here, speak English and you are guaranteed to move up the ladder...Antofagasta is the location of a lot of international mining company offices. Most are owned by English speaking countries like Australia, Canada, USA, South Africa, etc. I teach Monday - Friday, 8 - 10, 1 - 3, and 5 - 9, and on Saturday from 10 - 1. Those are the hours that the students are available, before or after work and during lunch. The environment is great and I like my coworkers. Though this whole teaching English thing is getting old for me....

So that should bring you up to speed with life for now. Like I said, I'm starting to get a bit bored of teaching English, and there is no future in it. Well, at least not for me in Chile. I'll never return to the school system of Chile (just google Chile education strike and see why). And though teaching one-on-one classes with mature adults is nice and rewarding, I don't see a future in it.

So then what's next? Good question... The interesting part of what I'm doing now is that I've actually made a lot of connections. I teach business executives, secretaries, and engineers from companies like BHP Billiton, one of the biggest mining companies in the world. One of my students suggested that I apply to a job called the 2012 BHP graduate program, designed for young college graduates who need mentoring, direction and some job structure to start a career. So I did...

I applied for the job in August and will know by January whether or not I got the job. It would probably be in Human Resources or Operations. I'm not sure because there are positions all throughout the company, but only in Chile. I see this as an opportunity that I probably wouldn't turn down. BHP is an international company and it would certainly open doors for me and give me the chance to have an international career. They have offices in locations such as Australia, Europe, Singapore, California and of course Chile. This program would be a 2 year commitment in Antofagasta, Chile. So yeah...another 2 years on the other side of the world. It's a big decision that I'll have to make, but let's wait to see if I even get offered a job...

The truth is I'm not 100% sure if I should go corporate, but I think it could be a good stepping stone to something else. And 2 years...that's 2 more years here. Besides that I've also considered going back to school in NY, Cali, or anywhere else in the world, but why, well because it's just an option, grad school is always an option I guess. Or just going back to the states and jumping back into the a job market at 10% unemployment....hmmm

So within the next 3 months I'll be making a lot of decisions...By 2012 I should be on some sort of new path...but where I'll be heading I have no idea. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated with this new email list. I'll try to get another email out before the world ends next year. I hope some of you get around to responding and filling me in on any news that I've missed out on. I miss everyone a ton!

Next up...Entrepreneurship in Antofagasta. A look into entrepreneurship in Chile and particularly Antofagasta.