I have always had a passion for education and empowering others to reach their goals. Throughout the last two years of teaching English as a Foreign Language in Santiago, Chile, I’ve seen the terribly unequal access to quality education, and was further inspired to make a bigger impact in people’s lives through Peace Corps service.
Police tanks spraying tear gas barreled down the street; the water cannons followed quickly in tow. I ran for cover, ducking into a McDonald’s just as employees pulled the metal doors shut. The June scene, a once common occurrence in Santiago, is long-gone now as students buckle down to finish a school year extended so they could meet graduation requirements despite monthslong protests and sit-ins. At my school, however, the strikes have just begun.
The Color Run really is the happiest 5K on the planet! It was awesome to be surrounded by my whole Chile “family” as my friends and roommates joined me for this explosion of color and fun.
A top reason I’m going to hate leaving Chile someday: Amazing wine. Cheap, amazing wine. You can get a delicious bottle of Chile’s rich specialty Carmeneré for US$6 to$8, but even $4 will get you something decent. At those prices it’s hard not to become a wine connoisseur in this country, not to mention Chile is home to some of the best wines in the world.
With just 7 hours in Panama City, I toured the capital’s colonial neighborhood, new town, and of course, the world-renowned canal.
For my mom’s big 5-0 birthday, we all wanted to celebrate together in a special place none of us had been. We decided to go “somewhere in the middle” and found ourselves in the paradise of Costa Rica where the season is always summer.
