You´ll never be the same again! A must have experience :)

I came across the EOD program by sheer luck. I say that because normally when you look around for programs that allow you to volunteer, they usually ask for a fee. This program does not. In fact it offers you a stipend for teaching. It might not be a huge amount but honestly you won´t need more than that as the program gives you options between staying with a host family or staying on your own. If you choose to stay alone then they give you stipend which covers your living expenses (around 2,15,000 CLP) and if you choose to stay with a host family then they pay you 60,000 CLP because you food and room are already taken care of by the family.
The best thing about the program is that everyone is super coordinated and always reachable. They try their best to make the transition of a volunteers, from their countries to the assigned region, as smooth and hassle free as possible.
When you reach Chile you are not pushed into teaching without any training. We had a week long orientation that prepared me for the task ahead. Teaching English can be a lot of fun but it is hard work too, and the orientation gets you into the right mindset for the same. I got some valuable tips and amazing lesson plans that I was able to use successfully during my service. It also allows to share your ideas and gain some amazing ones from the other volunteers. Plus I can guarantee that it´s not just work because it´s an active week and you get to actually practice with the activities that you think which helps you see if the activities would really work out or not.
I was assigned to a school in the beautiful little town of Los Muermos in the south of Chile. It was all that I imagined and much more. The kids loved having a foreigner all to themselves :). They have hundreds of questions and are super delighted to have some one answer those. I can say for sure that the kids would love you way more than you can imagine and actually put in more effort than they normally do just so that you would not be disappointed or to hear you say ¨ Excellent Job!¨ :). The teachers were lovely, helpful and super patient considering that I spoke zero Spanish when I came to Chile. The EOD team, my host family and the teachers made sure that I settled in my new environment and received all the material that I needed for my classes with in two weeks as the postal service in little towns can be pretty tricky.
My host family was like way better than I could have imagined! They were super accommodating and they made me feel at home instantly. I had a room to myself and the house was impeccable! Clean, big, warm and full of lovely people. My experience has not only equipped me with valuable knowledge about teaching English as a second language but has also made me a better teacher considering I taught kids who spoke very little English because I spoke zero Spanish.
I would recommend this program highly as it´s definitely one of it´s kind . It´s an amazing experience and definitely makes you realize that you can help and in the process you end up learning! :)