Countdown to Chile: It’s official – Little Country. Big Adventure.

Countdown to Chile: It’s official

Jessica Fryman / August 4, 2011 / Leave a comment / Blog, South America Archives, Stateside Stories

It’s official! The countdown to Chile begins today.

My flight leaves on Jan. 4, 2012, and I’ll arrive in Santiago the following day.

I am so excited to begin this adventure. I’m sure I am in for plenty of culture shock — but for once in my life, I can honestly say I can’t wait for this change. I know I will experience and learn so much that I will probably never want to come home.

I will begin my teaching certification with Bridge TEFL on Jan. 9. It’s a month-long course followed by some desperately needed Spanish lessons. Then I hope to find an English teaching job for the school year, which runs from March to December.

Now that I have my plane ticket, pre-Chile mode is here: saving money, reading about South America, trying to sell my car, finding a place to live, thinking about what to pack, etc.

If you have any suggestions, for my trip … comment away!

Five months to go …

—JDF

Tags: Chile, expat life, Jessica Fryman, life, living abroad, Santiago, travel

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My name is Jessica Danielle Fryman, but I also answer to Fatoumata Camara.

I know three languages, the third being a tribal tongue less than one percent of the world speaks. I like to run even though I’m not that good at it. I read a lot. And I once published a book I wrote, setting all the type by hand on an old-fashioned printing press. I’m an avid traveler and amateur photographer. I’m also a master spider-killer and possess the ability to stalk my prey without the squeamish screams of my former urban life.

I’m originally from Las Vegas, a city with more people than the entire country where I currently live. I now reside in a two-room concrete house with a tin roof and a ceiling made of rice bags. I eat with my hand out of a shared food bowl. I walk down a dirt road to fetch my water and carry it home in a bucket on my head. And yes, I even poop in a hole in the ground.

Read more about me here.

The Gambia, known as "The Smiling Coast of Africa," is the smallest country on the continent's mainland. Just 210 miles long and no more than 30 miles at its widest point, The Gambia carves out a space in Senegal on either side of the picturesque Gambia River.
Although many regional languages are spoken, the official language is English. A majority of the 1.8 million people are Muslim. About a third of the population lives below the international poverty line on less than US $1.25 per day.