Monday, April 9, 2012

La Vida Iquiqueña


I can't believe that almost a month has passed since I last updated my blog. Sorry, kind of fell off the map there. Ruby, Kate and I have now been living in Iquique for about three weeks. We were living in a hostel up until last night when we finally moved into our new apartment. There were definite pros and cons to living in the hostel and it was bittersweet leaving. We met so many great people there but it will be nice to finally have our own space and not have to worry about people stealing all of our food anymore. Our apartment is super close to the hostel so we can always go back to visit our friends and make new ones, which is awesome. We're really getting the best of both worlds.

Jobs are plentiful in Iquique but the visa process still befuddles me a bit. I've been working at an English Institute for a little over a week now but I can't officially sign my contract until I have a work visa. When I researched the process of obtaining said work visa, all of the info that I found says that I need to have at least a one-year contract before I can get it. So right now I'm basically caught in a catch 22, just waiting for more information so I can figure out what my next move will be.

I was also offered a position at a colegio teaching pre-kinder and kinder (4 and 5 year olds) for 4 hours on Wednesday mornings in Alto Hospicio (about an hour from Iquique by bus). I went to the school on Monday and Tuesday and I'm really excited about the prospect of working with kids again. I spent some time observing in their class and I had a blast. Again, the issue is the visa. I need to have my work visa situation figured out before I can sign a contract and start working there.

In the meantime, I've been having a blast in Iquique; partying, laying out, jogging on the beach, swimming in the ocean, playing ping pong, eating sushi, chilling in the hostel and making lots of trips to the Piña (our favorite juice place on the beach, which is shaped like a giant pineapple). My current work schedule is kind of crappy (6 pm-10 pm Monday-Friday and 9 am-1 pm on Saturdays) but my co-workers are cool and I'm really enjoying teaching. Overall, I can't really complain. La Vida Iquiqueña is pretty sweet.