Adjusting in Chile didn’t come without its challenges. In fact, nearly everything was hard. But after more than two years, by far the hardest thing about living in Chile is leaving.
I have documented my own embarassing guffaws plenty of times on this blog, so I think it’s only fair that I also share my students’ comical blunders. After teaching English as a Foreign Language for two years, I’ve heard it all. Here are the top 5 funniest language mistakes I’ve heard in my classroom.
Before I moved abroad, guidebooks, blogs, friends and travelers raved about all the incredible people I would meet. No one warned me about how many times I would have to say goodbye.
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.
Knowing that this would be my last Fiestas Patrias in Chile for the foreseeable future, I vowed to go all-out. Success would only come if I did as the Chileans do and sacrificed a week of sleep, spent all my money on terremotos and ate all the delectable treats I could stomach with a guilt-free conscience. And so that’s exactly what I did. During my nine-day holiday, it was all things Chile and it rocked.
