You Never Graduate from LU (Life University)

A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary… Thomas Carruthers

As you've read earlier, I am now preparing to become a volunteer English teacher in Chile. I am leaving January 5th and could not be more excited! In order to prepare, I have to become TEFL certified (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). About a week ago, I began my certification courses and have been struggling with the student mindset since. It must sound ridiculous being that I only graduated in May, but to go from "hahaha everyone else is in school and has to study" to "hey wanna meet up and study together" was definitely a change that I was not excited about. Fortunately, I have quite a few friends who are still in college or studying for other things in their life that enjoy meeting up at Panera, Starbucks, or other various locations. Unfortunately, Simi Valley is not well equipped for students who do not posses the ability to study in their home. When I lived in San Diego, I was very content to walk to the nearest coffee shop which was outfitted with several comfy chairs and plenty of plugs for my computer. I'm now on a search to find out where students go for a quiet study session  due to the fact that Panera and Starbucks are on constant chatter mode. And why shouldn't they be? People go there to have lunch too! 

As I go through my courses for my certification, I am doing my best to absorb the information in order to return it in essay form at the end of each module. For those of you who don't know me well, essays are not my favorite. I wouldn't say that I am bad at them, I just really don't enjoy them. Thankfully, so far, the essays I have been writing are mostly about my ideas and thoughts about how I will be teaching certain topics or concepts. NO RESEARCH NECESSARY!! It's fantastic not having to quote at least 10 sources for each essay like I did in college. =D

What is my status now, you ask? Well I leave in exactly 57 days, I am 15% finished with my certification, and I'm thankful I don't need any shots/immunizations. My struggles at this point: being patient as my essays are graded so I can move to the next module and figuring out how on earth I'm going to pack!!

I Promise to Not Come Back the Same

I'M GOING TO CHILE!!!!!

Great news!!! I have officially been accepted as a volunteer English teacher for BridgeTEFL's English Opens Doors Program, 2011!!!!! I received the email last night congratulating me and, to be completely honest, I started crying because I got so excited. I began my day by paying the remaining balance for the program (everyone's been asking how much I'm getting paid...I'm not, I'm paying them and I know it will be more than worth it!) As soon as I got off work, I booked my flight for only $513 (all of the other flights I found were over $600)! (I'm so excited about how many reward points I will be getting because of this trip!)

 

 Countdown Begins tonight at 61 days until Chile!


Official Flight Info:
Depart LAX: 1/5/2011 @7:55pm
Arrive Lima, Peru: 1/6/2011 @ 7:30am


Depart Lima, Peru: 1/6/2011 @10:42am
Arrive Santiago, Chile: 1/6/2011 @ 4:17pm
Total Trip Time: Approximately 15.5 hours

I will arrive in Chile and be transported to the home I will stay in for the duration of the orientation. This time will include 5 excursions around Santiago ranging from English camps for kids to sight seeing. Then, we will have 3 weeks of free time in which we can take Spanish classes, tour more of Santiago, learn to dance, etc. I am hoping to find a nice Chilean family to stay with during that time so I can save my money. Although, I have been told that hostels only cost around $10 a night! I will then be transported down to my designated school and new host family to prepare for classes to begin in March!

 I honestly cannot tell you how excited I am about this opportunity. Yes, I will definitely miss my friends and family back here in the States, but we will all have such wonderful times catching up when I get back!! The trip is scheduled to end on July 29th; however I am working on plans to travel for a month or so after in Argentina and maybe a few other countries. 

I find myself so very thankful for the opportunity to explore a part of the world that many do not get to experience. God has really shown me that He cares about the things I desire and when my heart's only concern is to pursue His will, then everything will work out to His glory.

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. I can't tell you enough how much I love and appreciate you!

From Chili's to Chile

As many know, I've recently applied to a program through BridgeTEFL called English Opens Doors Chile. This is a program with which I am hoping to volunteer to teach English for 6 months. Originally, my hope was to go for a full year, but due to unforeseeable developments, the longest amount of time offered is 6 months. To be honest, I freaked out a little bit when I found out about the program being cut. I felt like, all of a sudden, I was not in control anymore. Then I remembered, I never was in control! See, from the beginning, this has been God's mission for me and I was just responding. Somewhere between graduation and finishing my application, I got it into my head that it was all my idea and MY trip. Boy am I glad He reminded me who is really in control. It took me a few conversations with people who knew my problem of being a bit of a control freak to be reminded where I really stand in my life and where I want to stand: always under the protecting wing of my Savior. You may wonder where I am at with it all now. Well, I have officially applied and sent in all of my documents. I am waiting to hear about a phone interview which will hopefully tell me when I'll be able to book my flight. After being accepted, I will begin my certification, which I imagine will be quite time consuming but very rewarding in the long run. Above all else, I am content in waiting on the Lord. I don't know what may happen at the end of the 6 months. Maybe things will have changed and I'll be asked to stay for another semester. Maybe I'll get connected with a missions group. Maybe I'll travel for a few months around South America. Maybe it will be time for me to come back to the States and begin God's next project for me here. The point is, there are an infinite amount of possibilities for my future, and I am so happy to leave the planning of my life's path in God's strong and capable arms.
I promise to keep everyone posted on my status of going to Chile and everything else as new developments come. Thank you for your prayers, support, encouragement, and love!

Psalm 91:4-5 "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day."