The Countdown Begins

So after today I have 34 days until I'm on my way to live in Chile.
I almost pee every time I think that.
I have so much to do.
My room in my parents' house looks like the apocalypse happened in there..
Esmeralda, the most gorgeous snake you've ever seen, still needs a new mom..
and I need to make about $2,000 more to move and live over there comfortably.

Let's recap: Apocalypse bedroom, snake mother, money.

There is simply too much to do.

However, a lot of it is already in place/in progress, so I don't feel completely overwhelmed.
I bought my one-way ticket from Memphis to Miami through Delta, which is whatever to me because I have nothing really against Delta as an airline (yet?), but I found the absolute perfect flight on American Airlines-- 8 dollars cheaper, no stops, super nice.  As I was submitting the payment information, the price went up and when I went back in to try to purchase it again, the price was up to $630!
So that pissed me off.  If you want to read about something else regarding American Airlines, click here.
The delta thing will work out alright, allegedly, but I have one main concern:  It stops in Atlanta.  Atlanta is my least favorite airport ever, and the stop is only 48 minutes long-- not long enough to really enjoy a meal or do any shopping or take a nap, but just long enough for my luggage to get lost..

But, in total I'm paying like $908 for a one-way to Chile close to the end of the year, so that's not bad.

I have officially graduated, and this post is super late, but here we go.

I, along with my best friend Misty, got to be a part of the 100th commencement for the University of Memphis!
I earned a B.S.Ed in Society Services, with a minor in Spanish, and was awarded the honor of cum laude.
I took me 4.5 years and lots of wine, but I made it, so it was a wonderful day to celebrate the accomplishment with my equally accomplished friend, and my happy happy family!

We started off in Alfred's on Beale street to get a little "pre-graduating" (as Carlos called it) in-- I'm in the white and Misty is in the blue, and we are both exemplifying class by chasing shots of Crown Royal with Amarettos..

Four drinks later..

We arrived back at my car to pick up our caps and gowns, at which point I was drunk and suspiciously tanner than before.

After the brief, hap-hazard, and Memphis-esque ceremony, we got a picture in our gowns and regalia.. it's as though we somehow knew the professional shots would come out looking ridiculous (they did.)

While the ceremony was rather boring and all around me I could see peoples' caps tilted down-- because let's be real, it's 2012 and all of us were on our smartphones-- it did serve as a great opportunity to sober up before celebrating with our families.

From there, dearest Misty and I parted ways with our respective families to giant lunch-dinners and gifts.

So we hit up Spaghetti Warehouse with 12 of my family members and had a big lunch to celebrate the graduation of the girl they didn't think was even going to graduate high school (that's a true story).
This is my favorite picture of the entire day-- it's of the Laycook family and it's 4 generations-- My Grandmother, her son (my father) and his wife (my mother), myself and my sister, and my adorably giant nephew.

Overall it was an amazing day to celebrate all the work I put in for my undergrad, and I'm glad I was able to spend it with the people that I love so much.
Carlos was even able to watch the livestream from in Chile, and I was g-chatting him the entire ceremony, so it almost felt like he was there with me. (Almost.)

My only real regret is that I neglected to send the following text message to my beloved Misty: "CONGRATS!  Finished it how we started it-- with a glimmer in our eyes and crown royal in our bloodstreams!"

But hey, the whole day can't be perfect.

Casas Del Bosque

One of my favorite places my boyfriend takes me in Chile is this winery, Casas Del Bosque.  It's a boutique winery with amazing wine, a beautiful location, and one of the top winery restaurants in the world.  Their wine regularly wins high awards and I enjoy myself thoroughly and maybe a little too much every time we go.
Below are some pictures of different trips Carlos and I have taken to Casas Del Bosque.  The wine is amazing, the food is amazing, the scenery is amazing-- Plus there's an actual wine tour, so you can learn about wine in general, as well as what makes wine from Casas Del Bosque so wonderful!

There are plenty of great wineries in Chile, and many of them have tours and restaurants and tastings available as well.  However, I know when I have friends and family come to visit, Casas Del Bosque will definitely be on our to-do list.

If you'd like to know more about their sustainable agriculture and wine-making process, wine awards, or anything else, the website for the winery is www.casasdelbosque.cl

Moving to Chile-- Step Two: Find a plane ticket!

Not just any plane ticket, but a reasonably priced one!

Having made the trip three times now, I'm not necessarily saying I'm like a travel professional, BUT I will say I've done enough slaving over internet sites looking at plane tickets and stressing over my bank account to know a thing or two.

Now, I've generally never spent more than $1400 on a plane ticket to Chile (flying out of Memphis is just expensive.. If you're a lucky person living in Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth, or Miami areas, you probably think I'm being scammed on that price.. The truth is, that price is a scam, but it's an industry-wide scam, so what are any of us going to do, stay home?), but I have always gotten the tickets ranging from $1200-$1400 for trips to Chile during their definite low season or else right after the end of their high season.
I have yet to buy a ticket so close to their high-season, and let me tell you, I've come close to peeing myself, like, twice.

There is a specific week that I can see where things in November just go crazy and tickets begin going up from one day to the next by $600.  By the middle of December, I could expect to pay over $2000, if I could still find a seat.  It seems to stay that way basically through the end of February.

So, having picked a general date to arrive (early, before any of my "obligations" officially begin), I started my search.  As usual, the search begins between 3-4 months out.  Buying an international ticket too far in advance or too close to the travel time can tack on hundreds of dollars that you wouldn't have originally paid if you had just been more patient/planned better.

There are several things I do when I'm looking for cheap airfare.  One of the first things I do is to check the airline sites directly.  Sometimes you really don't need all these travel site go-betweens, you just need to stop feeling like the airlines are directly trying to rip you off.  I mean, they are, but it's not just them.  Priceline and Expedia will do it, too, they aren't as innocent or helpful on international travel as their commercials or William Shatner might have you believe.

Most of the time I can find the exact prices on the airline sites that I can find on travel sites, and sometimes I Can find them cheaper.  There is one exception to this rule, and it's the greatest exception ever:

www.studentuniverse.com is amazing.  I use them all the time.  The trick, sorry for some of you, is to be a student.  When you want to first join, they'll ask you what university you go to and they'll verify your enrollment at that institution.  Then, you'll have access to the airfare deals they have for students-- some are great, some are just as good as the actual airline sites themselves, so worst case scenario, it doesn't hurt to look.  Of course, you can find the deals without signing up and proving your enrollment, but in order to purchase the tickets at the listed price, you will need to sign up.  Student Universe also offers a service to find hotels and hostels abroad, if you're just looking into travel and not a full-on move.

Generally, I buy my tickets through Student Universe, although the last time I bought a ticket (for a trip during March 2012), I found the exact same deal on the actual American Airlines website.  So just saying, if you have to look around a few hours, for several days, it's worth it if you're broke and saving $300 means something to you.

Another tip, for anyone who hasn't taken an international trip before, is that if you will have flight that you know must connect somewhere (for instance, Memphis International Airport doesn't fly direct to Santiago, Chile, so I have to connect at another U.S. airport first), don't look for a bundle that sells you two flights at once (I.E., I have bought, via Delta and American Airlines, tickets from MEM-MIA, and then MIA-SCL, and then the same way to return).  I mean obviously it is helpful, and maybe sometimes a reasonable price,
but when you are willing to mix airlines (saving $300 means something to some people, remember?) and buy your tickets separately, sometimes you'll get a great deal. This time, I'm buying a ticket from Miami to Santiago on the Chilean  airline LAN, and my ticket from Memphis to Miami prior to that will be via wherever I find the best deal.  I've found that doing it this way will potentially save me almost $1000.  Soooo just saying.. do your homework and look things up.
This is especially an important thing to do if you're looking up one way tickets, as my next ticket will be.  The reason I say this is because looking up packaged tickets for a one-way trip to Santiago was costing the same amount as a round trip, and somehow that didn't seem fair.  By splitting up the trip into two separately purchased tickets, I'll be saving a ton of money and almost cutting the plane ticket price in half.

I don't know about everyone else, maybe it's just because I'm a broke student on a serious budget, but airline ticket shopping is the most stressful part of planning my trip/move.  Once I've got the ticket purchased, I always feel like the most terrifying and expensive part is out of the way and the rest of the planning is fun, or at least smooth sailing.

I hope some of these tips help you if you're looking into international travel from a place with a crappy airport any time soon.  I sure wish someone would've told me some of these things!

Moving to Chile-- Step One: Pick a date

So obviously the first thing I needed to look at when deciding to move to Chile was when I would make it happen.  Originally, I was all excited and eager and knew that I would be graduating August 12, and figured, "Why not go in August?"-- well because that's a stupid idea, that's why!

Moving to another country, like most things, doesn't seem like it would be as hard to plan as it actually turns out to be.  My early, vague, and unorganized thoughts about planning this adventure originally seemed like it wouldn't take long-- "Yeah, I'll just get a job and catch a plane"...

WRONG.
That is definitely not how you move across the world like a responsible adult.

First off, I kind of gave it a test run by applying for jobs in person, and let me tell you, Chilean schools will not commit to giving you a job one and a half/two semesters in advance.
So, there's that.. I came home jobless and despondent, although some of that despondence probably came from leaving my boyfriend behind there. again.
 So then it was back to the drawing board.  Not only did I realize I wouldn't have a job lined up in August because of the different school schedule (If you go to any other country, there is a very great chance that their semester starts at a different time than those in the U.S., especially if it's on the opposite side of the equator with opposite seasons!) and my conflicting graduation, but I knew even if I moved and was jobless, I would still need to have enough money to live on for... roughly 7 months before I would even get a real teaching job.  Not to mention that, but for Chile, a foreigner without a work or resident visa must leave the country every 90 days, so then there's all that.

Obviously, I needed more time to make money to save, and why not spend more time with friends and family before my big move??

Another huge factor-- my best friend's wedding. Now, obviously I can't miss it.  And seeing how it's on November 3rd, it would be a ginormous pain/expense to fly back for it, then fly back to Chile.  So that's the main way I arrived at my decision to leave in November.

Also factoring into the decision to leave in early November was the fact that airfare to Chile in December is a ridiculous price thanks to how awesome Chile supposedly is in December (as of now, I have not been to Chile during the peak of their summer).

The final, and very large although perhaps not the largest, factor in moving to Chile in early November was the start date of a TEFL in-person course (140 hours with teaching practice and job placement-- to be mentioned later) that I intend to take about two weeks after my arrival.

Of course, everyone going anywhere will have different things to consider.. I suppose my main point is that it requires more thinking and planning than you first imagine, so get yourself a notebook and a bottle of wine and start brainstorming as soon as the idea of moving strikes you!

Recent Developments

Carlos visited Memphis, met some friends, met almost my whole family, and generally had what I believe to be a good time.  We went to Graceland, The National Civil Rights Museum, Beale Street-- the usual stuff to be seen in Memphis, plus we had some wonderful food.

In less than one month I will be graduating from the University of Memphis, and will begin the mad-dash to work as much as possible to make the money necessary for my big move.

That's about all I can post in reference to recent developments right now, although I assume I will have a lot to fill everyone/anyone/no one in on back to back in the coming weeks.

-- With Carlos in Valpo, March 2012

TEFL/TESOL courses

I thought I would bring this up simply because it was one of the more stressful decisions I made for myself once my decision to move to Chile was made. 

There are two main types of certifications to get if your college degree is not already related to Teaching English as a second/foreign language.  The TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).  There are a lot of different paths to take to get one of these certifications-- you can go to a ton of different websites and complete a course that is completely online, some companies offer a weekend seminar, some offer a weekend seminar along with online coursework, and some are 9-week (or of similar length) programs that actually take place in an institution.  One of the most reputable certificates you can get is the CELTA, which is offered through Cambridge.  Mind you, it's expensive, and unless you live in a major city (and I mean seriously major), you're going to have to travel and arrange a living situation throughout the course.  Had I extra money, the CELTA would've been my choice;  However, I believe the course would've run me between $2000-$3000, not to mention travel to the city is was being offered and living arrangements for the duration of the course.  Another thing I have noticed (or seem to have noticed-- correct me if I'm wrong) is that a lot of English teacher jobs in Asia seem to ask for a TESOL certification, while a lot of jobs in Latin America seem to seek a TEFL certification.  I don't suggest you make a decision on something this important based solely on my own observations and decisions, but I do want to post my own experience finding the course that worked best for me, since the only other experiences regarding this online that I have been able to find were written by people who didn't seem to be on a very strict timetable or budget, and I have the strictest of both :(

I began with a lot of research online-- I really would have liked to take a course in person because they guarantee you supervised teaching hours, which would look super nice on a resume.  However, I decided to forgo those courses because: 1) Time; 2) Money; 3) My degree is already in education, and I have already served a ton of supervised teaching hours-- they just weren't relating specifically to ESL.

I chose an online course which I will explain in a minute, but let me warn you-- when you begin searching for courses online, spend at least a week looking into different courses.  I felt immediately overwhelmed at the sheer amount of different online programs there were.  Many of them seemed suspicious and looked like scams.  One website that I found that really helped me a lot was http://www.teflcoursereview.com 
That site was wonderful, because I wrote down all the information I could find about 5 or 6 programs I was considering, and was able to find all of them on there-- while no one can completely guarantee the reviews to be reliable or honest or even written by actual customers and not the program itself, they did provide more detailed information and likes/dislikes about many different programs that you won't necessarily find on the programs' official websites.  Take each review with a grain of salt, but for the most part, I found this resource to be very helpful.

I will say that if you don't already have an idea of the country or city you want to teach in, look for a course that guarantees to provide you with a job placement.  Some courses offer assistance, and others guarantee it.  I have known since day 1 of planning that I want to teach in the Valpo area in Chile, and sadly, a lot of jobs there are not exactly advertised online.  That said, if I hadn't already chosen where to live, I would view the job placement programs as a great stepping stone to finding work.

While I'm sure others will have plenty to offer up, the one program I found to be supremely shady was Oxford Seminars.  I can't guarantee to you that they are a scam;  I'll just say that the reviews I read for them seemed like all of their students were very displeased;  On top of that, the course lasts a total of one weekend, so a lot of material may be covered, but it just doesn't seem like a very comprehensive learning experience, especially if you don't already have a background in pedagogy.

My final choice was the i-to-i program.  The reasons are very simple-- you can choose a course to fit your needs.  They offer courses completely online, or online and in-person combos.  You can elect to take a 20 hours course, 40 hours course, and increasing amounts all the way up to something like 120 hours.  This program seemed reputable and reasonably priced (they constantly have specials going-- if you miss the first advertised special you see for them, don't freak out, another one will be offered at the end of the one you saw, probably within a few days) and the reviews were good.  The tutor feedback sometimes seemed really helpful, and sometimes seemed really petty.  Regardless, I did learn a lot of techniques to teaching English to all levels and ages of learners, and I feel like even someone without pedagogy study experience would learn quite a bit about education as a whole, not just aspects that pertain to teaching a foreign language.  On top of that, they offer some really awesome-looking internships and jobs to really popular destinations like the Czech Republic, China, etc.  They also offer teacher kits, if you have absolutely no idea by the end of the course how to put together a lesson plan (or even if you do) so that you can take a binder full of lessons and teaching materials with you to wherever your new career choice leads you!

Basically, my biggest advice is to take your time and perform thorough research on the programs you find, as well as the general requirements to be a teacher in the country you may already have in mind.  I chose to complete the i-to-i TEFL 40 hour course.  My next biggest advice is not to take it too lightly;  I began this course during a 20 hour senior semester in college-- 20 credit hours of school per week, 20 hours of work per week, and 50 field hours in schools for my coursework.  Needless to say, my TEFL work did not initially get the attention it deserved, and I had to work it all out on a pretty tight schedule over the winter break to get it all completed in time.  Some of the chapters/modules were fairly short and simple, while others took quite a bit of time to get through.  I suggest you take detailed notes and give yourself about an hour for each official assignment, if not more.  Save your work as you go, because nothing will piss you off more than losing it when you click submit because the session expired... experience here!

I hope this information helps someone make a decision on a course.  I take forever with those kind of decisions, and basically stressed myself out a lot.  While I'm not guaranteed a job with this TEFL degree (I mean let's be honest, you get what you pay for), I will let you all know as soon as I hear what potential employers say about my certification.  I would love to hear from others about the courses they chose, and why they chose them.  If you want to check out the i-to-i program that I took, click here

Chile Rising

This is a short documentary about Chile's student protests.  The students were protesting about the profiteering that occurs within the education system, as well as the lack of high-quality institutions, low level of monitoring by accreditors, and the fact that almost everyone goes into debt to pay for their secondary education and higher education.  The students began with protests and ended up occupying the schools, causing classes to be postponed for months.  Students were joined in the protest by their parents, grandparents, professors, and fellow citizens.  The demand is for state-funded, high-quality education, and even led to the demand for a new constitution (the constitution in place now was designed during the dictatorship). A very comprehensive article about what the movement stood for can be found here.  At this point now, the movement seems to have hit a lull, but the youth of the country seem as inspired as ever.  As said in the video, this generation is the first generation with no personal memory of the dictatorship.  The students are an inspiration to me and I can't wait to see the direction in which they go on to steer their country.

The Flikr is Go!!

Alright soooo... I uploaded a lot of pictures to my new flikr account that are from my last trip to Chile, which was in May of 2011.  I'll link you guys to that set here, not because I expect you to be especially curious, but more because I want to see if I do it correctly.  Besides, I'm about to put up a few much more interesting posts, so don't wet your pants over anything just yet.

Technology is Hard!!

With the beginning of my final "serious" semester, I thought I should add to my "preparations to move" list the whole internet communications setup I'll be using to keep in touch with everyone.  This includes this blog, a flikr account, and god knows what else at this point, but I will post updates here as soon as I figure it all out!