Abby's Line

Just to anybody reading this, the part about the s...

2012-04-09T03:43:25.505-03:00

Just to anybody reading this, the part about the students being REALLY flakey is so incredibly true that it cannot be stressed enough. You'll be totally broke and not have enough money to eat dinner and be thanking the fates that you have this class tonight...then you'll show up and sit in their lobby for 20 minutes until your phone rings and your mealticket cancels and you go home and fall asleep hungry.

Don't ever, EVER EVER EVER consider private students to be a reliable source of income. They're great icing on the cake, but don't ever count on them to be a stable money flow, because they aren't.

Also, Chileans lie constantly. Everybody you talk to will be all about having classes and wanting/needing to learn, but then you'll call them up to ask when you can get together and they'll be going out of Santiago, they'll be having a busy week at work, it'll be some reason why they can't do class and by extension, you will make no money.

Pour all of your time and effort into institutes. A good private student is a definite diamond in the rough, but don't ever try to make them a primary income source, because it just will never work out.

Wow! Congratulations!

2011-03-08T21:34:54.981-03:00

Wow! Congratulations!

Thanks for the laugh!!

2011-03-08T10:14:17.200-03:00

Thanks for the laugh!!

This is a great post. I backpacked Chile from the ...

2011-03-07T09:53:03.092-03:00

This is a great post. I backpacked Chile from the Atacama Desert to Santiago in a month and loved the country and the people.

I'd love you to join me for my Expat Linky Party on March 19th :)

Eileen: Yeah, I need me some more of those Chilean...

2011-03-02T21:01:30.433-03:00

Eileen: Yeah, I need me some more of those Chilean friends. But I've been making an honest effort to only speak Spanish with my "kids" which has actually been helping a lot.

Sara: Yeah, it's hard when chileans want to practice their English...I always use the excuse that I'm not an English teacher anymore. :)

Alessandra: Voy encantada...para cuando la invitacion?? ;)

Mujeerrr tienes que venir a mi casa!! Hablamos 100...

2011-03-01T23:17:04.768-03:00

Mujeerrr tienes que venir a mi casa!! Hablamos 100% espanol! :)

I feel the same sometimes. Okay, a lot of the time...

2011-03-01T17:22:36.855-03:00

I feel the same sometimes. Okay, a lot of the time. I may live here (or be back living here) but most of my friends speak English. I blog in English. I talk to my family in English. Even L wants to learn more English so he's been using it more frequently. I thought I was at a point where I could think in Spanish, but now it's been coming more difficultly. I think learning a language and immersion is just a process.

me parace la raja pues gringuita! Yo escribo casi ...

2011-02-28T13:03:20.585-03:00

me parace la raja pues gringuita! Yo escribo casi siempre en inglés, pero mis días son mas mezcla tirados hacía castellano, y mas amigos chilenos que gringos, pues me ha servido!

But I'm still going to talk to you in English, because I agree that anything else would be ridiculous! Unless it's on a micro in Estacion Central at 2 in the morning. Then maybe not so ridiculous.

Great post Abby! And thanks for the plug... and fo...

2011-02-26T21:11:29.777-03:00

Great post Abby! And thanks for the plug... and for inspiring Eileen's Caminar más que Kung Fu & for generating Katie's "por si las flies"! LOVE that one!
And I get irked by the insistence on how to pronounce Vermont, although I usually hear it more like BEAR-moan (like bears being sick in the woods or something... which might be a LITTLE better than cigarettes!)

Marmo: Te había contestado antes pero después tiró...

2011-02-26T18:25:06.214-03:00

Marmo: Te había contestado antes pero después tiró un error y me dio flojera volver a escribir de nuevo...pero sí, toda la razón. Aprender castellano ha abierto nuevos mundos y oportunidades para mi. De hecho, por esa razón decidí aprender otro idioma. Pienso mucho en español, quizá más que en inglés de repente. Depende de cuál idioma he estado hablando ese día.

Luisa: Gracias! Sí, la verdad es que me gusta mi burbuja gringa. :) Pero aún así, quiero hablar más castellano.

Me parece estupendo, Abby. Cuando yo vivia en Irla...

2011-02-24T16:14:09.259-03:00

Me parece estupendo, Abby. Cuando yo vivia en Irlanda tenía el mismo problema. Acabas rodeandote de amigos de tu pais y hablas mas tu idioma de lo que debieras. Pero no te preocupes, todos necesitamos crear esa pequeña burbuja de nuestro país en el país que nos acoge. De todas formas, tu español es bastante bueno. Sigue así!

Cuando aprendí algo de otros idiomas, sentí que se...

2011-02-24T00:58:34.251-03:00

Cuando aprendí algo de otros idiomas, sentí que se abrían infinitas opciones de información y formas de ver las cosas. No tengo dudas que tu español debe ser muy bueno, y que debe haberte presentado también un mundo completamente nuevo a medida que aprendiste conceptos o ideas que en inglés tal vez se ven de otra forma o no existen (o viceversa, cosas que existen en inglés y no en español).
Leerte en español va a ser muy interesante. Total, el inglés no lo olvidarás jamás.
No se cuanto tiempo llevas en Chile, más lo que antes estuviste en el Salvador; me pregunto ¿piensas a veces en español por un rato? ¿Usas spanglish en tu mente o siempre piensas en inglés y hablas en español cuando lo necesitas solamente?

Nice post. I agree with those reasons :) I think S...

2011-02-23T12:17:12.545-03:00

Nice post. I agree with those reasons :) I think Santiago is a comfortable city to live in. Most gringos who come would not be making a huge adjustment.

Side note: Jeez...I hope things don't happen in threes. Once is enough for some things...

I´ve been getting lots of emails like this too lat...

2011-02-23T11:26:29.884-03:00

I´ve been getting lots of emails like this too lately! The "I want to take the plunge, but what if it doesn´t work out for me/what if it´s not the right thing?"

I also knew just about nothing before coming here (Came at the end of February and in April realized I came without a winter coat, so stupid!)

When I was on exchange and when I moved here I really didn´t even think about it. It was Chile + success - no other option.

Good post I´m gonna tweet it now/maybe copy you hahaha

Living here has definitely taught me to relax more...

2011-02-22T11:02:22.477-03:00

Living here has definitely taught me to relax more as well. I think everyone goes through adjustments at first no matter where they are, but I also agree that I often feel like I'm in a US city sometimes.

It took me ten months to decided to come to Chile....

2011-02-21T23:23:15.237-03:00

It took me ten months to decided to come to Chile. Then only three days in Buenos Aires to decide that I wanted to go back to the US. And then it took me only two days in Santiago before I realized that I wanted to stay! And now, I can't wait to discover more of this country.

El Cisne Negro equals super intense! I keep grossing myself when I think of the hospital scenes.

Rob: That's awesome. I knew next to nothing wh...

2011-02-21T21:16:24.928-03:00

Rob: That's awesome. I knew next to nothing when I arrived for study abroad, but when I decided to move here I was much more informed (having spent 7 months here previously). Glad the flight to Stgo was less expensive than Lima!

Emily: No worries, blogger didn't eat it, I just have comments moderation turned on :) I totally agree with you about that. Very well put!

I often tell people that Santiago is a pretty easy...

2011-02-21T11:56:40.107-03:00

I often tell people that Santiago is a pretty easy city to live in if you're coming from the US - it's different, of course, but it's not like you've moved to the moon.

The first time I came to Chile (in 1994) was becau...

2011-02-21T11:25:27.325-03:00

The first time I came to Chile (in 1994) was because the flight to Santiago was US$20 cheaper than Lima.

And, I only knew three things about Chile... they speak Spanish (which is what I wanted to learn), the capital is Santiago (because that's where the plane lands) and there are huge mountains called the Andes running along side it (which I didn't see during the first two weeks due to the bad smog at the time).
You could say I wasn't prepared either.

Emily! Rachel! Wahhh I want to have a reunion and ...

2011-02-18T10:30:52.501-03:00

Emily! Rachel! Wahhh I want to have a reunion and eat Brie and drink wine and play that silly game where we draw pictures and write captions and have a sleep over. The end.

Alessandra: Yeah, the bond you form with college friends is really strong, probably because of the whole living together thing. I am lucky to have my friends even though we are spread out across the globe. :)

Bah! I feel like this everyday!!! I miss my frien...

2011-02-18T08:54:56.791-03:00

Bah! I feel like this everyday!!!
I miss my friends from schoool so much sometimes I cry! Probably also because I havent been here as long as you and although Ive made some awesome friends, they arent as close because I have never LIVED with them.

Dont you think that college friends become more like family? We all lived together and really helped each other so much at getting the hang of life - it's a pretty unique relationship. You're lucky to have people you love/that love you all around the world!

We miss you too!

2011-02-18T01:38:50.114-03:00

We miss you too!

I miss you too!

2011-02-18T00:09:55.092-03:00

I miss you too!

Alessandra: Yes, Ladies Lunch is where it's at...

2011-02-15T21:39:15.050-03:00

Alessandra: Yes, Ladies Lunch is where it's at...haha. See you there!

Thanks Leigh! Eileen, yes, that may be necessary....

2011-02-15T21:37:56.247-03:00

Thanks Leigh!

Eileen, yes, that may be necessary. And achoo galore up in here.

Alessandra: It's actually ridiculously easy to make a video on my computer, just way time consuming and with limited features. I think I could probs do more if I had a mac. Sweet video, I like the guy who talked about the $1 beef.