Talca

            For the last few months friends and family asked me about my plans down in Chile.  I responded with teaching English for four months… nothing more.  Up until a week before I left I knew little more than this. Luckily with a few days to spare I found out that I was teaching in the Maule region in a town called Talca. The Maule region is a fairly agricultural place that produces tons of wine, is situated between the mountains and the ocean and is quite rainy.  Talca is a college town where everyone loves fútbol.   As I spent many a few days in Eugene, Oregon, I believed I found my sister city on the other side of the world...

Or so I thought…Not Quite… But hey… change is good… and speaking of change I am switching up the writing style with this post. Enjoy. 

The Main Avenue Park 

Welcome to my home for the next 4 months. This is a brief overview.

·      Talca is not necessarily a tourist destination… but beauty can be found.

·      Every house has a metal fence surrounding the outskirts.

·      There are more colectivos (taxis on a specific route, a car/bus) than I can imagine

·      Which leads to a game of frogger every day you cross the street.

·      Countless dogs still roam the streets

·      There are more completos (fancy hotdogs) than actual dogs

·      There is very little green space or parks to run or play which makes it difficult to exercise (refer back to the 4th point)

·      The wine is great!

·      Like Springfield, Oregon it is very close to beautiful scenery to the west, south, east, and north- which apparently is pointe, sur, oriente and norte here

·      Its not uncommon to see horse drawn carriages lumber down the road

·      They still have earthquakes

To make a long story short Talca is different than any other place that I’ve ever lived, and makes me really appreciate where I grew up and what I have been given in my life.  Though the city may not win awards for its beauty, the people I have met thus far continue to impress me everyday. Talca is not Eugene like I imagined, but has its own charm.  As you will learn in future posts about my family and my school, it is the people who really make an experience.  When you are over 5000 miles from home, it doesn’t necessarily matter how far you roam or if the city is fair as long as you are with people who care.

My House