Teaching Abroad in Chile Overview: Don't let the size of the country fool you, it is rich with resources, sites, economic wealth and a liveliness befitting the nickname "the end of the world" for its location on the southern tip of South America. There is a warmth to Chilean people and working as an English teacher, you will become all too familiar with the generosity of your students, as well as the hospitality of your new friends and neighbors. Often men and women kiss each other on the cheek when saying hi and goodbye. All this will become second nature to you in no time, along with cowboys, street markets and the staple of the Chilean diet: empanadas fritas, (fried pastries with ground beef and spices).
Interesting Facts About Chile
Chile is home to the driest place on earth - the Atacama Desert located in the north.
The two gold medals won by Chile in the Olympic Games come from tennis.
Chile's most famous poet, Pablo Neruda, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971 and is world-renowned for his extensive library of works on romance, nature, and politics. His three highly individualistic homes, located in Isla Negra, Santiago and Valparaíso are popular tourist destinations.
Chile elected Michelle Bachelet in 2006, the second woman elected president in South America
Chile was the last country in the Americas to be occupied by the Spanish.
Highlights of Working Abroad in Chile
Take in Santiago's cityscape from Terraza Neptuno on Cerro Santa Lucia.
Hit the slopes of the high Cordillera in Middle Chile.
Travel to the southern tip of Chile, considered to be "the end of the world," and watch the breaching whales.
Stand next to one of the colossal Moais of Easter Island (Rapa Nui)
Eat empanadas fritas (fried pasties with ground beef and spices) or a completo (a hot dog topped with avocado, tomatoes, and mayonnaise).
Sip on Chile's most popular drink, a foamy pisco sour (brandy with lemon juice, powdered sugar and egg white).
Festivals in Chile Festival Internacionalde de la Cancion de Vina del Mar
Be sure to attend the Vina del Mar International Song Festival (Festival Internacionalde de la Cancion de Vina del Mar). This annual music festival is considered the most important musical event in Latin American and features a song competition on two categories - pop and folk music. Musicians from around the world perform each year and in 2009, Latin sensation Daddy Yankee and British legend Simply Red rocked the stage.
