Eric in Santiago English 4 Blog

 I have been an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) since 1992 when I got my Master's degree in Linguistics. Once I got that degree, I started teaching EFL--which I still do, as you know. However, once I had the experience to teach another language: German. I was working at an institute back in the early 90s, and the German teacher (this institute taught English, German and French) got sick or had to go on a trip--I don't remember. As an emergency solution, I took over that German teacher's class for a month. I was given the post because my mother tongue is German (my mother was German, and I grew up bilingually) actually speaking German better than English until I went to school. I had the methodological skills from English which I could apply to teaching any language really. It was a great experience because I got to teach something different while at the same time being able to use my teacher skills. The goals were basically the same as an EFL class: encourage the studen...

 I recently went on this vacation, and got back just a few days ago. I don't really know if it's the best ever, but it certainly was very special, and very good. It was my first vacation after 1,5 years of going NOWHERE because of the pandemic and all the quarantines and bad conditions for traveling. I went to San Pedro de Atacama for 5 days with a friend. We flew to Calama and then took a transfer to San Pedro. I had been there 22 years ago, but only briefly. This time was much better. San Pedro is a really amazing and beautiful place. It's a town at 2,500 meters on a high plateau in the Andes and Atacama Desert. It has an amazing atmosphere and a lot to see and do nearby. We went to a place called Baltinache where you can bathe in a salt lake, which has amazing turqoise colors surrounded by white salt. We also went to a place called Puripobre because the Puritama Hot Springs were closed. Puripobre is another little oasis where you can swim surrounded by cactuses in a cany...

 I would like to visit many countries. To be honest, I would like to go back to many countries I already have visited...and I'm sure I'll go back there...certainly when the pandemic is over. One country I think about from time to time as a place to visit is Ethiopia. Ethiopia is located in East Africa. Being in Africa it has a lot in common with other countries around it: A variety of ethnic groups and lifestyles, rich flora and fauna, breathtaking landscapes, and a rather tropical climate, although in many parts of the country the climate is modified by altitude. My cousin works in Africa, in Burundi to be specific, and she has said that Ethiopia is probably the most interesting and recommendable as a place to visit.  Ethiopia has some very unique features and aspects. The dominant ethnic group, the Amhara people, speak a language distantly related to Arabic as it is a Semitic language. Their predominant religion is Orthodox Christian as they converted to Christianity in the ...