En camino (on the way)...

This is an email I sent to my grandparents, but I decided it would work just as well as a blogpost for everyone to read.

Just thought I'd write and give you and update on what's going on down here with me. I just finished up my first semester on Thursday after a long day of final exams on Wednesday. It's been a difficult, but rewarding, semester. There were times when I just wanted to quit and go back to the states, but I know I'm gaining valuable experience here not only with teaching but for any other profession I might decide to pursue in the future. And although I often my doubts about my ability as a teacher, and I know I still have a lot to learn, I have received some good feedback from many of my students (even some of the more difficult ones). I just received this message yesterday from one student who required a bit more attention (it's in Spanish, but I'll translate for you):

Alex!!
Te envio este mail para agradecerte lo buena onda que eres y por haberme ayudado mucho en ingles , espero poder tomar contigo el prox ingles! porque aprendi mucho!!
eres super buen profesor!
Muchas muchas gracias!

Alex!!
I'm sending you this email to thank you for the "good vibe" that you are and for having helped me so much in English, I hope to be able to take my next English course with you! because I learned a lot! You are a "super" good professor! Thank you so so much!

It's funny how a semester's worth of headaches and frustrations can seem entirely worth it after receiving a couple of those. Surely there were students who weren't as happy with me, but I'll take any sign of progress that I can get. Anyway, the semester ended on a high note, and I'm excited to have a fresh start next semester. After a long, well deserved break that is...

Which brings me to today...

Right now I'm in Concepción giving Jen a hand finishing up her semester before we head to Bariloche, Argentina for a couple days, then back to Santiago for our flights to Medellín. Bariloche is a town near the border with Chile on the northern edge of Patagonia. It's really picturesque during anytime of the year. Right now it should be pretty cold, highs in the 30's and lows in the 20's, probably with some snow, but I'm actually looking forward to it. I've been pretty cold for the past month or so, but there's been no snow. I guess I figure that if I'm going to be cold, I might as well see some snow. Also, with lows in the 30's we can expect buildings with heat, which will be a welcome change. Apparently there's some decent and fairly cheap skiing in the area, so we're going to look into that as well. It's kind of a haul, though. I was on an overnight bus last night, and we're taking another one tongiht to get to a town called Osorno by tomorrow morning. From Osorno we cross the border to Bariloche (about 6 hours including crossing the border). Of course we'll have to do the whole thing over again to get back to Santiago for our flight on Friday, but I'm sure it'll be worth it. It feels good just to get out of Valpo for a while. You know me, even though the constant travel can be a bit miserable at times, it's really what I live for.

Our flight to Medellín will be an experience as well. We have two short layovers on the way, one in Lima, Peru and one in Quito, Ecuador. Jen's family is very excited for us to arrive, and it sounds like they'll have a lot set up for us when we get there. I feel really luckey to have the opportunity to stay with them for so long. This isn't an opprotunity that many people can have, and I'm very greatful for their generosity.

I guess that's about all I have for now. I'll send at least one update once I get to Colombia. I'll have my computer with me, and there will also be internet cafes I can go to, so you can expect some sort of communication at some point. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying summer in the northern hemisphere!

Cuídense (take care),

Alex