Just breathe...
Deep. Breaths.Buenos Aires bound today. Today. Churning with emotion, as to be expected; heart wrenching goodbyes, anticipation of hellos, figuring out how to charge a damn international phone card,...
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Home, Sweet Temporary Home
I'm home!What a feeling it is to settle in and unpack your suitcase! (Except when they unpack it for you in the airport; My bag got the random search at customs in Mexico City and you can imagine what...
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'I' before 'e' except after...
Auxiliary verbs, diphthongs, synonyms, present perfect continuous form... my life this week has been a literal 16 hour cycle of Teach-Learn-Damn you, irregular verbs!-Plan-Repeat. Silvina providing...
View ArticleLanguage Learning
Warning. I’m going to rant about language learning now. I’m climbing up on my soapbox and because it’s the internet you can’t get me down, so beware.I’ve been thinking about language learning a lot the...
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A purse is a purse is a purse
We've all had a moment like it. That moment where, as you lean back in your chair laughing, the pit falls out of your stomach and you blurt out, "Guys...where's my purse!?" (And then lots of...
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No more pencils, no more books...
No more teacher's dirty looks! Though that would be me in this scenario, wouldn't it...? Ohmygoodnesswesurvived! Six exhausted, elated 'CELTees' and our tutors. From the left: Justice, James, Yours...
View ArticleComfort Level
Today was my fourth day of work. There are four different exit stairways at my subway stop downtown. And today-- for the very first time-- I walked up the right one. Yeah. I got this.When I first...
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Small World, New Friends
Sure it's a bit hackneyed, but everyone so loves to proclaim, 'What a small world!' we live in nowadays. Bemoan or embrace the social media technology as you will-- it truly is crazy easy to get in...
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Working, 'day by day'
Let's get to the reason I really came to Argentina, to eat-- errrr, work! I've been teaching for a few weeks now and have started to get into an everyday (or as my students would say, 'day by day')...
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Dia de la Memoria
One of the things I enjoy most about living in another country (other than food) is a chance to learn about a place's history and politics first hand. It's one thing to read about Korea or Argentina in...
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Home, Sweet Temporary Home....Again.
I'm all moved in...again. In the process of this most recent move, I realized that this is my 6th apartment in the last two years!! Not to mention three countries and a whole slew of different...
View ArticleNext Steps, or: Why my Parents were Pretty Much Right about Everything. Damn it.
It was a frigid January day in Chicago, and I was curled up in Mans' cozy studio apartment drinking tea and watching The West Wing, as usual. We were discussing our fast approaching 25th birthdays, and...
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Same Faces, Different Places
People often question why I keep picking up and moving across the globe. As a friend recently teased, "You kind of take it to the extreme, Kerk. You do know that you're allowed to go to other countries...
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What's up, Montevideo, what's up?
Here's an important (read: vital) fact about teaching in Argentina-- unless you possess a highly costly, highly difficult to obtain teaching visa, you generally work under the table as a 'tourist.'...
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What's up, Colonia, what's up?
If you were to ask any of my former travel companions, they might warn you that I'm fairly predictable company. I'll assuredly stop for ice cream at least once a day, regardless of season. I'll...
View ArticleChivalry: or, a Modern Chica Flummoxed by Politeness on the Bus
All of Buenos Aires takes lunch at the exact same time. From 1pm-2pm, downtown becomes a blur of loosened ties, catch-up errands, and "ejecutivo" specials. Most of my students take classes at lunchtime...
View ArticleJob Description
Every language teacher I know starts class with the same question: "Hi, everyone- how are you today?" With my kiddos, the response is usually, "Teacher, I am fine!" with the occasional, "I am very,...
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What's up, Iguazu, what's up?
Note: In reality, I'm no longer living in Argentina. But, I've been told the ethereal realm of 'blog time' exists and I'm rolling with that. Besides, if I was writing about my current day-to-day life...
View ArticleElection Edition Part 1: American-ness
With the presidential election looming and dominating our news, we hear opinions (oh, so many opinions) about, "Who Americans are and what they need/want/care about." And while I have political...
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Election Edition, Part 2: Absentee-ness
Disclaimer: the following contains educated young women engaging in the political process and may actively excite or threaten you. Tea Partiers advised to exercise extreme caution.One of the things...
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