Hola y Bienvenidos! Hello and welcome!My name is Rachel Shriver, and I am beyond excited to share my journey with you. I am from Manassas, Virginia in the United States. I went to college at Penn State and earned a degree in Secondary English Education (which means I teach high school and middle school English) and TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language). Growing up, over 30% of the students at my school were learning English as a foreign language, and a majority spoke Spanish. Although I am accustomed to seeing and hearing Spanish (one of the coolest languages ever!), living in Bucaramanga, Colombia is a whole new level. Here in Bucaramanga, I work in the College of Physical-Mechanics Engineering in the Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS). This is sort of like the university MIT, but in Colombia. I work with professors and administrators on their English skills. I love my job because I share empathy with the people I work with--they are learning English and I am learning Spanish! Together we help one another. When I am not at UIS, I am exploring the Andes Mountains, trying all sorts of new food and juice, taking salsa classes, and meeting hundreds of new people. I can't wait for you to explore with me. I wonder what new adventures we will find along the way!
