So today was the first time I slept through one of my classes since taking on this English teaching stint. I woke up to the hyper-obnoxious phone ring of my cellphone and was totally completely and utterly disoriented. I thought, oh maybe it's my student for my 12:30 class canceling, again. But then I was like, wait what? It's light out, and Oscar is calling me. SHIT. I answered, and began apologizing. Thank god he's super "buena onda" (basically, a good guy, good times, etc.) and told me not to worry, it's happened to him too. I felt really bad, obviously, but still, he made me feel not so ass-like. It was my fault though. I'm not sure if my alarm rang or not, but I went to bed at around 2:30 last night and should have known that my 6:30 alarm would've produced absolutely no effect. The annoying thing is, when I don't teach I don't get paid.
So heads up English teachers. Sick days (or in my case, Sleep days) = smaller paycheck. And by smaller I mean minuscule. Teaching English isn't exactly the most lucrative profession, still you can get by. I'm not living the high life, but I'm making it. So if anyone out there in the cyber world has some questions about teaching English, the possibilities, etc., I might be able to be of use. Usually I'm quite responsible, I swear!
So other than being exhausted, what was it that kept me from getting out of bed at the right time? Winter, my friends. The past five days Santiago put on its winter death coat. This means cold and darkness. The sun is up for such a short time each day it's almost like it needn't even bother. And I don't know about you, but my productivity goes waaay down once the sun sets.
What happened to Fall, everybody? Fortunately, today the sun has come back out, so I'm not a complete disaster. Winter here makes me want to crawl into a hole and never leave, which of course brings the seasonal depression I usually fall victim to. Weather.com may tell you Santiago isn't so cold in winter, but those numbers lie. I always try to tell Santiago newbies, no really, you're going to need a winter coat, and if you plan on surviving indoors you will need woolly everything -- socks, sweaters, slippers, everything! I'm not kidding, people don't usually believe me, but then those first winter days come and they realize what I'm talking about. So travelers, study abroaders, indefinite time here livers (like myself) beware!
Good thing Santiago decided to turn it around a bit and show some sunshine today, otherwise this gripe-fest could've gone on a lot longer!
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4 comments:
I definitely came unprepared for this weather. I honestly didn't expect it to be THIS cold, I mean I come from England for crying out loud, nothing could be colder than there right? And it isn't even winter here yet...
p.s: at least we have our significant others to cuddle up to ;)
haha, yes, thank god for that!
Ooh! I just stumbled across your blog (from another gringa -> chilena) blog I read and... I think you should talk to me about teaching English in Chile! Anyway, I just graduated from college and decided awhile back that I'd like to teach English somewhere, which went from Japan to Thailand and eventually to Chile (to further practice my Spanish) and really, that's about as far as I've gotten. I've found that there are some opportunities through the ministry of education (I think?) there, but I don't know much else about it. I've never really been to Chile (I passed through Santiago's airport on my way to Easter Island which is technically Chile, far more Polynesian in terms of culture than Chilean) and I studied abroad last year in Buenos Aires for 6 months. That last sentence seems disjointed, but the point remains. Anyway, I'd love to hear about your experiences getting a job teaching, where you teach, getting paid and all of that jazz. I mention the getting paid part not because I expect to get paid well, but because I knew some girls who were teaching English in a private language school in Buenos Aires and they seriously had to argue to even get their paychecks and I don't want anything to do with that. Pay me whatever you want (well, it needs to be more reasonable than just that...) but just be sure to remember to PAY me. *sigh*. Anyway, holla? (I am posting this comment under my gmail address, but in case it doesn't just show that my e-mail address is boltisawesome [at] gmail [dot] com annnnddd I'm sorry if this comment is super weird.... but I'm going to point my finger and say you invited it with this blog entry!)
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