Cliché or not it was a life changing experience!

I found Oyster to be a fantastic organisation whose team in the UK and staff on the ground in Chile provided us with unparalleled support both pre-departure and during our program. The pre-departure briefing at their offices was useful. It prepared us well in terms of practical knowledge and to give us some idea of the cultural do's and don'ts. It was also a good opportunity to meet other members of the group. In terms of support in Chile, having someone just around the corner was invaluable for days when I felt a bit homesick or if I had a problem I struggled to resolve.

Everyone participates in the Spanish course at the beginning of the program. Most of the other participants had a similar level to me (post-ALevel) so they tailored the classes to make them intermediate level. We went through useful vocabulary to use every day and some classroom/teaching specific vocabulary. The teacher was really lovely too.

I absolutely loved living with my host family! It was a bit daunting at first (as I wasn’t very confident with my Spanish) but in the end it was my favourite part of my life in Chile. My family were really welcoming and always included me in their celebrations. September 18th is Chilean independence day and my family taught me how to make all the traditional Chilean foods and all about the traditions associated with the day, so they helped me adjust to the culture too. They didn’t speak any English so it was great practice for my Spanish and they always helped with things I didn’t understand. I loved family meal times as we all got to sit and chat together, and my Chilean mum was a really great cook! I still speak to my Chilean family now and I left 5 years ago now, so you can see we had a great relationship.

At the school, I worked as a teaching assistant in English classes mainly helping with the speaking aspects of classes for children aged 4 to around 14. We also played games and sang songs with them (all in English of course!). Children with disabilities and with learning difficulties don’t often receive special educational help, so I also gave catch-up classes and one-to-one help to children who were struggling or who needed special attention. We wrote and corrected exams. We also helped with an after-school English programme where we worked on projects and prepared presentations which the children gave in whole school assemblies. I love to sing, so also helped out with the school choir – I’m sure if you have any interests, like sports or art, then you could help at another club! It was great to see how students progressed and I have fond memories of my time teaching there. This has also helped me to get other teaching jobs abroad since.

A great addition to the program is the expedition element. As a self-confessed couch potato, I never thought I would go glaciar trekking or ice climbing but did so during our time away from Coyhaique. Seeing the marble caves was an amazing experience and stopping off en route to see the cave paintings of Chile's oldest residents was an added bonus! It was a great excuse to get out and see more of the south of Chile but was structured and well organised.

I had the best experience in Chile! I now go in to secondary schools where I live to tell people about my experiences and to encourage them to also take a Gap Year before university.