Why did you choose this program?
After two years living in Madrid, Spain, I wanted to continue living abroad and teaching English in a Spanish-speaking country, but I was ready for a change of scenery: new city, new country, new people, and a new culture. I set my sights on South America, and the CIEE TEFL program with job placement in Chile immediately jumped out at me. Santiago seemed like a great city to live in––safe, clean, modern, and close to nature––and Chile offered incredible travel opportunities that were much different from what I had had in Europe.
What did your program provider (or university) assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?
CIEE's job placement was better than I could have hoped for––they landed me a job interview with a reputable English academy in Santiago before I even began the TEFL course in order to help me get a head start on the visa process. This was something that I really appreciated, as the visa wait can be quite lengthy. After getting hired, I was in the hands of my employer rather than CIEE, but my employer was very helpful with handling the visa paperwork as well as with providing guidance on where/how to find housing upon arriving in Chile.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?
I would recommend giving yourself plenty of time to get to know the city before signing on to year-long rental contract. Santiago is a very big and very spread-out city, and each part has its own unique character. Therefore, I would go ahead and get an Airbnb for your first month so that you have time to explore and get your bearings before starting the housing search. That way, you can relax a bit and not feel pressured to rush into a place. Finding housing is probably the most difficult part of the process, so once you have it done it's smooth sailing!
What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?
One thing that is great about the set up here is that you can basically build your own schedule in terms of the classes that you take on. Since you are working with adults, the majority of the classes will be in the morning or in the evening. I am not a morning person, so I chose to have most of my classes in the afternoon and evening. Nearly all of the classes are online, so I work from the comfort of my apartment with a beautiful view of the Andes out my window. This set up is also great for traveling––you can do the classes from anywhere, and you generally have the middle of the day free to go out and explore. In addition, I like to keep my weekends free for travel, so I only work Monday through Thursday.
Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?
I wouldn't say that I necessarily had the biggest fear, given that I already had a couple years of experience living abroad in Spain. Having never been to South America before, I guess I was a bit unsure of what it would be like, especially since people in Spain had told me that it would be so different than what I was used to. However, I find it to be a lot more similar to the US than Spain is, both in terms of the city and also the people. Overall, it has been a great experience, and I would recommend it to anyone looking to broaden their horizons and immerse themselves in another culture.
