The Job Hunt

I have been currently seeking a job here in Vina del Mar and have even went to a job interview.  I am attempting to teach English down here at a few different Institutes and the first interview involved a 2 part test (English + Teaching).  I received news last week that I passed both tests and I am still waiting for them to schedule another meeting.  Hopefully picking up some work will keep me out of the country longer.  Not sure where this urge to work is coming from but I guess if it allows me to play a bit more I guess I can work for it just a little bit.

 

I will keep you updated as more job news breaks.

The Apartment in Vina Del Mar - Outside

I have rented an apartment here in Vina del Mar, Chile.  Rocio set it up for me so I was thrilled when I finally made it to town and saw the location for the first time.  It is winter here (South of the equator the seasons are reversed) but living so close to the ocean is enjoyable year-round and since I made it to town it has oddly been warm and sunny pretty much all of the time.

The apartment is located about 4 buildings in from the ocean on an river that runs through town.  I do however live on the backside of the building so daily views of the ocean are not possible but walking out to see the water is great.

My building is the center one in this photo.  This is a shot from across the river.

Here is another shot of the building from near the large casino here in town.

The beach next to the house pretty much looks like this but there is a place at the end of the river with some nice sand.  A decent (but enjoyable) walk down the coast gets me to a larger beach that I am sure will fill up when the weather heats up a bit more.

Attempting to Learn Spanish… again

Ok so I have stumbled my way around the globe for a while now and have spent about 6 months of my live in Spanish speaking regions and yet somehow I still don’t know the language well enough to actually claim it as my second so I am going to study for what might actually be the first time in my life.  Granted, the Chilean accent could make someone born and raised in any other Spanish-speaking country to fell lost and confused in the conversation but I am going to attempt to at least make advances in it during my time here if not conquer it (barring understanding the grammar).

First Offline Post Attempt

I realize that since I made it down to Chile I have been posting very infrequently so I have downloaded Windows Live Writer to try and set it up where I can just make create some posts offline and post them whenever I get around a solid source of free internet via (legal of course ;) ) WiFi.

Just to check if photos will upload as well I have included a shot of Rocio and I taken just across the street from the apartment and hopefully within a few steps of where I will once again find the free WiFi that will allow me to post the blog.

I took a bus for close to 60 hours to make it down to Vina del Mar, Chile so you will excuse me if I have been taking a little time off now that I have set up shop in my new apartment.  The bus ride was surprisingly easier that I thought it would be although the bus company I wanted to look into at the beginning that a friend talked me out of did turn out to be super-luxury (I saw one of them half-way through my bus ride).

Now I am living in a building that oozes West Virginia Mountaineer pride... so I will be supporting them from thousands of miles away this season.

Here is a shot from Vina del Mar of the city of Valparaiso at night.  It is great living right on the water.  It would be great to have a view from the apartment, but all I have to do is walk out the front of the building to see the water.

There are sand beaches but seeing as how it is winter it is great to go out and sit on the rocks when it gets nice outside.

Safely in Chile but NO INTERNET

I have moved into my apartment here in Vina del Mar, Chile but have yet to allocate internet.  Not quite sure when I will have it but for now I will be updating photos randomly on facebook and making limited updates here on the blog while I search for both internet and some form of employment. 


Wish me luck

Peru Summary

Peru was a quality month of my life spent with great friends and some small sense of party mixed in.  I have now made my way down to Chile and will be settling into my new apartment down here tomorrow.  I have made contact with a school down here and have and interview coming up that still hasn't been scheduled.  If you want all the pics from Peru you can find me Jonny Walker on facebook.

Sadly I can't post them all on here.

While in Peru this time I did get the chance to try Cuy (AKA Guinea Pig) it was sort of like rabbit but not much meat.

I also got to spend some time outside of Lima with some ladies

and attend some great clubs/events

Watch Bob show off how Americans dance.

and then say goodbye as he left me as the only gringo still in Peru... I made sure that some of the TGIFridays sign was in the background seeing as how and American Flag could not be found.

Now after close to 60 hours on buses I am in Chile and getting ready to move.

PERU VIDEOS

Leaving Peru

I realize that I still have a lot of Peru to post about, but I have been a little bit behind with my posts and I am leaving the country early tomorrow morning. 

In a brutal attempt to save money and to punish myself for my hedonistic lifestyle I have opted to forgo the plane and any attempt at sanity and take a nonstop bus journey close to 60 hours from Lima to Santiago.

I have loaded my bag up with my mp3 player and charged up the laptop to watch movies on the trip and try not to go insane.  Wish me luck.... I start on Thursday morning and end my trip on Saturday in the afternoon so I won't be around much during that time.

Shots of Chaos

50th Birthday in the Country

A 50th birthday is definitely a reason to celebrate and in Peru you might as well do it big.  An uncle of my friend Peke (who I am currently crashing on her couch) had a birthday party that I got to crash. 

The party had some traditional Peruvian dancing...

Then they have a time called crazy hor that involves hats and balloons that oddly enough centers around a partying clown that is mostly enjoyed by the adults who are all dancing by this time.

I got some new clothes from the deal and graciously thanked the host and Peke's mother for bringing me.

I will not show a photo of the food because it will just make me hungry again if I reread this post.

Flame Exits Lima

Of the 3 random Gringos that shared an apartment in Lima, Flame was the first one to return to the real world although from what can be learned from some mild facebook stalking he apparently ended up on a beach back in the US for a while so it is not like he was that upset about the return.

Flame (left) is gone and Bob (right) is next to go.... 

as for me, I make no plans.

Fountains of Lima

I realize that  my updates are a little bit behind schedule but I am going to chalk that up to being on Peruvian Time.  This phenomenon automatically adds an assumed 2 and a half hours to whatever time that is said.  (EX: "let's meet at 5" = "See you around 7:30 if all goes well")

These are some shots from the fountains of Lima.  For the low price of 4 soles (1.40 US) you get to walk around great water displays and they even throw in some 3-D glasses for the laser show that is ultimately not in 3-D, but the glasses rock.

Photos from sandboarding

Huacachina Sandboarding

As a break from the usual gray skies of Lima, a group of us headed out to Ica, Peru and Huacachina to get sun for a few days and to do some boarding but this time on sand and not on snow.  The main center of the tourist driven location of Huacachina is this desert oasis

Honestly, I think if the others hadn't needed to get back to Lima I might have stayed out there.

The riding on sand was a little bit tricky and the boards werent exactly made by Burton so the wax would get you about 30 feet or so before it started to stick but it was still a good ride.