Itchy Feet or Homesickness?

It´s been a few weeks since I touched the blog, but tonight I find myself with some time to spare for the first time in a while. It´s been GO, GO, GO for the last while running around (in my only pair of respectable shoes) doing interviews and sitting in (like a big plant) on demonstration English classes and the like. But, at last, I am working - boring the pants off (i.e. teaching English to) executives in various companies around the city. So far, I´m enjoying it even though it´s pretty demanding. It involves a lot of hopping on and off the Metro, preparing classes and writing up reports. Also, I love the students I have. They are really lovable, and I thought I´d explode laughing when one of them gave me a little present of an alarm clock during the week. It was so nice! (and I really DID need an alarm clock...) So, all in all, it´s going well, and the Institute I work for are very pleasant to deal with and very encouraging.

BUT.....

Atfer all that, after happily having made up my mind to settle here for a while, two things have happened.

1) It seems that $100ish a week isnt enough to live off here in Santiago. Iif I stay, the rest of my travel kitty will be gone in a matter of a few short months. If the Institute feel that I dont suck too much at the whole teaching thing, there is always the possibility that I may get more hours...but ´taint a certainty! So...Im faced with a dilemma....Do I love Santiago enough to dwindle all my savings here and simply return home having not seen NZ, Australia, etc.....?

2) I have suddenly become the victim of a SEVERE bout of homesickness. It´s Ennio Morricone´s fault, so I´ve boycotted his music in future. I was wandering around Santiago last Sunday in super form until "that song from the Aer Lingus ad" (Gabriel´s Oboe) came on my MP3 player. As I walked, I thought nostalgically of our national carrier, it´s sad decline into low-faredom, my family´s various employment histories with the company, the beloved members of my family, our faithful dog and cat, my bed at home......(you get the picture). Since then, I have been on a major DOWNER...tearful...checking out airfares....staring for hours on end at pictures of Aer Lingus aircrafts....

However, if it came to actually booking a flight home, I´m pretty sure it´s not something I want to do yet. And so, I started thinking that maybe I just have a dose of itchy feet again. Staying too long in one place causes you to make too many comparisons with your life at home, and maybe the homesickness would be easily cured by just getting back on the road again. I have until August to get to NZ before my working visa becomes null.....and I have yet to see Buenos Aires and Rio de J. before I have completed my SA leg...

What to do......what to do.....I really dont know.

Apparently, getting work in NZ is effortless, and I could earn pretty good money there, which would fund the rest of the trip back home...

HELP!!!!!!!!! Advice/suggestions appreciated........

Confused Ev.

Spain Anyone?

It's been raining here in the South-west of Ireland for days now. It's overcast and humid and very oppressive. There is NO WAY I can wait until next January for a holiday. So, I've decided to take a week to 10 days in Spain in September.

THanks to Ryanair, I have sourced some very cheap flights from Shannon! In total, with taxes, etc. a return flight will cost me €88. I live not too far from the airport which is great! No long-term parking, I can just get my brother to drop me off. PLus, the great thing about Shannon is that its relatively effortless to go through. No long waits or prolonged security checks.

So, this morning I e-mailed my boss to ask for the days I need off. His typical response was "I'll have to get back to you" Hmph! Bosses! *roll-eyes*. Why do they always act like they're doing you a favour by agreeing to give you your days off. He better hurry up. Grrr...If I lose my cheap flights......

The flights I'm thinking of booking are from Shannon to Barcelona (Girona). I would really like to see the south of Spain but flights to Seville or Malaga are quite significantly more expensive (and would mean flying from Dublin with Aer Lingus) so this time, for convenience sake, I think I will stick to the north of the country.

I'm getting excited already planning how I will spend my time there. If anyone who's reading this has any suggestions on where to stay/what to do, I'd love to hear them!! September is my favourite time of year to travel in Europe, and it's usually still quite hot.

I know I should be keeping the money for the Big Trip, but I NEED A BREAK!