La Llegada

I'm back on a plane headed to South America. It hasn't even been 365 days since I came home from Spain. A friend, convinced he had me figured out, told me that I seek diversity, that I grow bored when things stay the same for too long. This is probably true to an extent, but just to clear things up, I'm not setting out on this latest adventure because I'm bored.

I love Baltimore, I love my family, my friends, my job, my life. But since my contract at work was going to run out, I sent out 40+ applications, and this is the job I got: teaching English for a language firm in Santiago. It seems that fate has tossed me a second chance to fall in love with Chile, and this time I plan to take full advantage of it.

My history with Chile is a mixed one; I studied abroad here in 2007, at the time madly in love with a boy who stayed in the US. Although I traveled a good bit and saw some of the most spectacular places in the world, my heart was at home with him. Now that I am unattached I plan to make the most of the trip and live in the present time and space as much as possible.

So here I am, on the road again, nervous but ultimately faithful that things will work out in my favor.

***

The last time I went to Chile, there was a blizzard that shut down 2 of the 3 major airports in the region. Tears streaming down my face at the thought of leaving my boyfriend, I was driven to the only open airport, and it turned out to be the wrong one. (Un)fortunately, they were able to get me on a plane to Santiago, but I would have to buy a round trip ticket because I was going on a tourist visa. It ended up costing $1800.

This time, I was scared I would run in to the same problem since I don't have my work visa yet. Nonetheless I was able to check in, breeze through security, have an enjoyable sit in the Bogota International Airport, and waltz through customs and immigration in Santiago with no problems. (I highly recommend Avianca airlines for all your South American travel needs.)

Another concern I had was the temporary housing situation. Not only was my flight set to arrive at 4:45 am, but I had never actually spoken or written to the woman I was supposed to stay with. However, when I did show up at her doorstep at 6 am I received a warm, friendly greeting. She has given me tons of food, unlike the stingy host I was expecting (partly based on past experiences). She even brought me warm milk before I headed to bed! Clearly the woman has grandchildren.

I was also worried about my job. What was I getting myself into? I don't know anything about the world of business, and I had only spoken to my boss over skype. I decided to stop by the office today to scope things out. I didn't do much but the place was nice and I even spied a sign left by another teacher seeking a roommate. I wrote down her phone number, went to the store to buy a prepaid cell phone, and texted her at lunch. Tonight I stopped by her apartment to visit, and it was exactly what I had in mind. She lives with two Chileans and another American teacher a couple blocks from our work, all of them are friendly, the place is nice, clean, and safe, and the rent is affordable. They gave me the keys and I move in tomorrow!

I can't believe how smoothly things have gone today. It has been a whirlwind 24 hours, but I am starting to feel like this is the trip to Chile I was always meant to have. I like to say I am lucky, but another old friend told me it isn't luck, I just know what I'm doing. I think in a situation like this, though, a little luck is a very nice compliment to hard work and experience.