Career breaker's guide to Latin America

Latin spirit, mountainous landscapes and festivals, festivals, festivals! A guide to career breaking in Latin America!

The quickest way to get a taste of true Latin spirit (without getting fired for drinking at work) is to take the plunge and head to the Americas. The continent has fixated the western mind ever since some not-so-welcomed guests came ashore in funny hats a few hundred years ago. Thankfully modern visitors show a little more respect for a fascinating continent of majestic beauty and thrilling cities. Take a trip into virgin jungle, scale tropical mountains playing hula hoop with clouds or explore thriving traditional cultures.

At its heart Latin America is still the wild child of the continents; modernisation has made travel here easier without dampening the passion, energy and vibrancy of the place. This makes it the perfect destination for anyone desperate to swap the daily commute for a walk on the wild side. Whether you’re bored in your career or just never got around to taking that big trip, Latin America may be the answer. Read on to see the sorts of things Latin America has to offer for the career breaker.

Volunteering

Volunteering is a popular activity for career breaker’s because it offers something that a career often doesn’t; the chance to make a difference and really feel like you’re a valuable part of a team in an interesting and inspiring environment. Too often we can feel trapped in a life that gives us no opportunity to make a difference. Well now there’s a way out because volunteer projects offer you this and more. Wildlife, community, conservation and teaching projects give you the chance to give something back while internships and paid teaching placements offer you the chance to get something back!

Although Africa and Asia are often the focus of international attention, Latin America struggles with poverty too. According to the Commission of Economics for Latin America, the recent economic crisis has left over 200 million people living in poverty; a new front on the war on poverty has opened up, and it’s in Latin America. What is better known about this place is its amazing natural diversity; icebergs and rainforests make for an odd couple but they share a continent here, along with soaring mountains and tropical beaches. Like all beautiful places, Latin America is made up of fragile eco-systems well worth protecting. If you’ve got time for an extended stay, why not combine community and conservation projects and see even more of the place?

Teaching abroad

Career breakers often need to earn money while they are away. Pesky financial commitments at home mean every penny counts. As well as proper planning, teaching abroad is a great way to pay the bills and even extend your trip. Fans of Latin America are in luck because the continent has plenty of students keen to learn English. We work with placements in Ecuador and Honduras and offer quick courses that will get you qualified in no time. For a relatively small price you can have a plan B to fall back on if your finances run away with you. With access to TEFL contacts all over the continent it’s easy to squeeze teaching into your itinerary, or even build your whole trip around it

Things to see

These are only personal choices so feel free to let us know the great things you found here, but we think we’ve found some inspiring excursions that are perfect for forgetting the office.

• The Rio Carnival- not even 'dress down Friday’ can compete with this; the most colourful and vibrant street party in the world.
• Watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu and banish thoughts of deadlines, paperwork and working through your lunch break.
• Take a trip to the glaciers in Patagonia and please, please, please remember to take a camera!
• Try diving with sharks in beautiful Belize; what would Health and Safety make of that!
• See the majestic waterfall at Foz do Iguacu on the Brazilian and Argentinean border.

Daydreamometer

How does Latin America compare to those daydreams you had in the office? Latin America is a great destination for the career breaker; there are a host of volunteer opportunities to take, paid teaching placements to do and exciting secrets to uncover. This means you can make your trip anything you want; a chance to make a difference, a launch pad for a new career or just an adventure. Or even a mix of all three!

**** A great destination for volunteer, TEFL or adventure travel

Useful links

http://www.i-to-i.com/career-breakers-guide.html

http://www.i-to-i.com/tefl/

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/

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