To Chile and Beyond!

To Chile and Beyond!

Keep in mind that the goal for this year was to not only explore but to teach English and try to learn some Spanish by immersion.  Both of which will help improve our job opportunities as we come back to the U.S. As well as instill a more culturally open mind for us.  As our adventure took us to South America we really wanted to immerse ourselves more and try to enjoy our time in a new environment.

1.  We lived in a really cool house for five and a half months that contained three floors filled with nine rooms and an awesome rooftop terrace.  I'll miss being able to wake up and have a coffee with different people every morning as well as a drink and conversation at night.

2.  Living with people from Spain, Ireland, France, Germany, Sweden, Holland, and Chile was an interesting and amazing experience because I got to see a little bit of each culture come out including my own.

3.  We went to the "end of the earth" or simply Patagonia.  We touched the Strait of Magellan and hiked for four days in Torres del Paine National Park.  Words can not describe the natural beauty we encountered there.  It also tested our physical and mental capabilities because we had never done a four day hike together, but we encouraged each other and pushed through to meet our goals.

4.  The beauty of walking to work everyday is astounding.  I've spent so much of my time driving in a car to work and at the end of the day being so exhausted I just wanted to go home and take a nap.  Before our time away I was not getting consistent exercise and had little motivation to take care of my body.  So, although teaching English in Santiago was not the best paying job, it rewarded me with consistent exercise, a new group of friends, and a skill I had never done before.

5.  The one thing I truly enjoyed about Santiago was the view of the mountains surrounding the city, especially at sunset.  As most of you know the one thing I missed while living in Florida was being about to see and hike up mountains.  One weekend we rented a truck and went camping and exploring in Cajon del Maipo, a region an hour outside of Santiago.  We saw a volcano, swam in natural hot springs, drove around a lake with spectacular views, camped on a river, and hiked to a glacier.

6. We also spent a couple days exploring Buenos Aires, Argentina.  There was a lot to see and do here that I feel we walked for four days straight!  If anyone goes here I recommend the free walking tour as it gave us a good history of the city and took us to the most relevant places.  Oh, and the market was really cool.

7.  Just so you know I do miss home sometimes and I think about all of the people and experiences I have had so far in my life often.  You never know when there is a connection to a memory or person while you are walking around exploring different places in the world.

I had hoped to write more blogs before this trip, but as you know life gets in the way or other things take priority.  Like now, I should be booking hostels or planning the next leg of our train journey in case we have to reserve seats.

8.  So, what are we doing now? Well, we purchased a three month continuous train ticket that takes us around all of Europe.  So, we are spending our days exploring new places, riding through the countryside, eating sandwiches, finding places to do laundry, staying up late and getting up early.

We will try to post more pictures, but it is a daunting task as we have pictures to compile from 4 devices as we are also continuously playing the "where can I charge my device?" game :-)

9.  As for the future I cannot say, I know we will be missing big events in our friends lives from graduations, weddings, births, and birthday, just know that you are with us on this journey too.  Live each day as if it were your last, right?