One week to go...

So I have one week left of teaching at the copper mine, I have really enjoyed alot about this experience, it was something that I never envisioned when I arrived in Chile. It has opened my eyes to another world, I have met some interesting characters, people I never would have encountered if I were only working in Santiago. I got access to places that most people don't, many of the people who work for the mining company, some for more than ten years, haven't seen the mine itsself. I made better money, which allows me to do some exciting stuff over the summer, like travel to Torres del Paine and hike for days on end!

Of course, there were the downfalls, the massive amount of travel that arriving to the mine required, getting up at 5:30 am one day, arriving at 3 am to Santiago the next, my sleeping cycle hasn't been regualar since it started. There was also a bit of a culture shock going back and forth from what amounts to an isolated outpost high in the Andes to the speed, impersonlity, and noise of a city of five million people. My personal life was effected, especially my relationship with my girlfriend,we were left with little time to spend together, which is made worse by other commitments to places like the Santiago Times, and other classes in Santiago.

It was worth it, before I was feeling like I hadn't been pushed enough in Santiago, that I needed a bit more intensity, and it allowed that. Plus, it gave me time alone in a silent room that has been good for reflection, every week that I went back to Santiago felt a bit like a brand new start, every time I went back to the mine, the end of something. That cycle, as disorientating as it was, really made me think about what I am doing, and why I am doing it. I came to Chile to learn, recently teaching English has seemed like a burden, but I think that I lost perspective a bit, it was never the sole purpose for my trip, just a way of making it possible and giving me a structure, and a connection to a foreign land. It serves that purpose well, I think I need to be better at creating my own creative life outside of it, the two really go hand in hand very well.

So next week I move into a new stage of my Chile experience, and I am sooooo looking forward to the change!