The Journey Begins

My boss gave me a journal for this trip. In the journal there is a quote “I travel a lot. I hate having my life disrupted by routine”. I, on the other hand, have been feeling quite the opposite. After over a year of planning this trip, I find myself longing for routine and stability and yet here I am beginning this crazy journey to learn Spanish in South America. I think I understand how many of my own students must feel. I know a lot of them come to America wanting to finish school and get back home and start their lives.

I have some advice for them and for myself:

Enjoy what’s in front of you NOW! You may never get another opportunity like this one. Live it up. And from this moment, I will!

So….I’m leaving in two days for Buenos Aires, Argentina. Someone I don’t know is picking me up from the airport. They are taking me to a host family: A woman and her 24 year old daughter. I am really nervous about speaking with the very limited Spanish that I know (I’m sure this sounds familiar to my students as well). I’ve heard that South America is dangerous. I’m nervous about that as well, but I remember that many of my students are afraid of America too (I know, hard to believe), so I’m comforted. They are all here and they are all ok. I’m going to be ok.

I’m going to stay in Buenos Aires for 3 ½ weeks. I will hopefully be meeting up with a former student who lives here. I’m going to try to find a phone as soon as I can and explore as much as I’m brave to explore. I will keep you updated on how all that goes, all the exciting things that happen to me and my language learning adventures. I hope my students will find this humorous. Hopefully I will come back a better teacher.

After this I will head to Vina del Mar, Chile for 5 weeks. It’s on the coast. I did that on purpose. I want to live by the ocean at least once in my life.

Did I mention its summer where I’m going? Have fun in the snow everyone! Keep reading…