Our News
The most important thing that's happened recently is that Claudio has got a great new job with a multinational firm! Finding work is so difficult here at the moment, and it's been a long and tough process for him to finally get this job, so I'm really proud and happy for him. ❤
In other news, I actually took the decision this week to start phasing out my teaching job here, with a plan to finish it for good at the end of August. I had been having doubts about it for a while for various reasons, namely the low pay rate, the amount of unpaid work I have to do outside of classes, very early/late working hours, restrictions on the amount of time off I can take, a lack of sick pay/paid holiday, and the prospect of potentially having to work on Saturdays in the future. And then a demoralising incident that happened this week finally made me realise that I couldn't put up with all this for an entire year.
Although I've actually really enjoyed teaching most of my students, I feel relieved to have taken this decision. Of course I came here to live and work, rather than to take an extended holiday, but I didn't envisage spending this year doing hours of unpaid work every week, with few opportunities to take time off.
Getting this job gave me the chance to finally get the visa I needed to come and live here with Claudio, and I'll always be grateful for that. But now that I have the visa and am a resident here, I'm no longer tied to the job. So I'm going to be reevaluating my options in terms of what I'm going to do next, though I think it's most likely that I'll return to self-employment, which will allow me to earn around the same or even more than I'm earning now, with more regular hours and less work. Most importantly, it will let me set my own hours and take time off when I want, meaning that I'll be able to travel more. I was always aware that coming to live here was never going to be a way to get rich, so I saw this year as an opportunity to travel and spend time with Claudio. Hopefully from now on, that will get easier. 😊
La Ola Mall Sport
Aside from travelling to various places around Chile and South America, one of my other goals for the year is to have new experiences, and to try things I've never done before. This was something we had the opportunity to do last weekend, when we went to La Ola (the wave) at Mall Sport for a surfing lesson.
La Ola is basically a massive artificial wave that you launch yourself down on a bodyboard (my pictures show the area without the wave machine turned on). It is a little bit scary, and a lot more challenging than it looks, but also really really fun! I got flung around a couple of times, but by the end, I was beginning to get the hang of it, and Claudio was even able to do a couple of tricks!
We had a lot of nasty cuts and bruises afterwards, and some muscle pains the next day, but we were really glad to have tried it. It was a totally new and different experience and a great escape from the stresses of daily life. We'll definitely be surfing there again, and perhaps also at a beach sometime in the future.
Mall Sport is, as the name suggests, a mall devoted to sport. In addition to surfing, you can try out other activities there, including skateboarding, high ropes and climbing. There are also plenty of shops selling sports clothes and equipment, and an area of restaurants around an artificial lagoon, so it's a nice place for a day out.
Mirador del Alto
After our surfing lesson, we drove to Mall Alto Las Condes to get some lunch. This mall has a great viewpoint from the roof where you can look out over the city and the mountains.
Monasterio de Carmelitas Descalzas de San José
This monastery is another place we've discovered while walking around our neighbourhood. It caught my attention because of its traditional Latin American architecture and its peaceful-looking garden.
Palacio Vásquez/Castillo de Macul/Municipalidad de Macul
Today's outing was to the town hall (municipalidad) of the neighbouring comuna of Macul. The building, which is also known as Palacio Vásquez or Castillo de Macul, is not quite as well looked after as the historic buildings we've seen in Providencia and Ñuñoa, but it's very elaborate and interesting to see.
There is also a restaurant next door which is built in the same style!
So that more or less sums up my life in Chile over the last two weeks!
Speaking more generally about my time here so far, I'd definitely say that the good parts have outweighed the more challenging parts, but I'd also say that I'm starting to experience some realities of life here that I didn't experience when I was studying here in 2018. Back then, aside from some personal problems that I had during the first three months of the semester, I really had an amazing time, especially during the last month (after I met Claudio). I felt like the quality of life I had was actually just as good, if not better, than what I had back home in Wiltshire and Nottingham.
But Chile has changed a lot over the last few years. Crime has increased, often-violent protests are taking place on a weekly basis, inflation has risen significantly while salaries remain low, and most people are feeling the pinch. After my semester here and during my final year at university, I honestly thought that I might end up settling here for life, but because of all the less-than-positive changes that have taken place here in recent years, and also because of the great experience Claudio had when he stayed with me and my family, we are becoming more and more convinced that our future probably lies in Europe.
That's not to say that I regret coming here - I'm still really happy to have taken this decision. We have a lovely apartment in a great neighbourhood, and lots of family support. In addition to that, we've already been on one incredible trip to Iquique, and we've got plenty more places to discover around this beautiful country and continent throughout the rest of the year, starting with Parque Nacional ConguillÃo next week!
So, overall, I'm feeling positive about things and I'm looking forward to making the most out of the coming months. 😊
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