Story Location: Chile
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Why You Need to Play Sports While Studying Abroad
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Months before I left for my semester abroad in Valparaíso, Chile, I was standing before my university men’s ultimate frisbee team, explaining why I deserved to be captain for the next season. Everyone had the same question: Aren’t you going abroad? I assured my teammates that I was already in the process of contacting frisbee…
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Discovering Chile: Traveling Within a Country, Not Just Through It
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When I was choosing among the many IFSA programs, one factor I considered was how easily I could travel to other countries. In many programs, students often try to visit as many countries as possible, almost as if there’s a competition. Santiago, my host city, is a major hub for travelers, with trains, buses, and…
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Learning To Slow down in the Midst of Adventure in Valparaiso, Chile
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During my first week in Valparaiso, after months of backpacking around South America, I was eager to explore and fit as much of the city as I could. My stomach had other plans. An unidentified source—maybe the tap water at my workaway, the eggs in the carbonara I’d so lovingly made as a departure meal,…
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What does it mean to be an Intercambio student?
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My first day in Santiago I was instantly met with the term “Intercambio”. While in the airport with other arriving students, we were met with quizzical looks from other travelers who were confused by the large group of English-speaking college students. Upon receiving one particularly strong look from a passerby, our program director explained, “Somos…
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A Journey in Embarrassment and Why I’d Do it All Over Again
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My 2022 New Year’s resolution was to embarrass myself more. This resolution did not derive from masochism. Rather, I wanted to detach from my need to be in control of how I was perceived. I wanted to be wrong more so I could become more comfortable with learning. I wanted to be laughed at and…
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Six Tips for Studying Abroad While in a Committed Relationship
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Studying abroad comes with a lot of challenges: Navigating a new city and culture, learning a new language. Amidst it all, you might also be trying to maintain a relationship back home. From the moment my boyfriend and I started dating last year, we knew this was coming. I’ve wanted to study abroad since high…
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A Guide to Chilean Spanish
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Within Latin America, there are many dialects and accents of the Spanish language. You’ll find different slang words, greetings, pronunciations, and even names of everyday foods. Each country is unique, but Chile is often cited for having one of the most difficult dialects, with a rapid, fluid speaking style and myriad of slang that can…
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Music and Immersion in Valparaiso
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Some of the most profound connections that I have made throughout my life have been through the simple act of sharing music. This act was central throughout my childhood and remains important in my relationship with my family. My mother is a professional cellist, and hearing her play inspired me to start learning the instrument…
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Career Catalysis: Finding Professional Inspiration in Chile
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When I stepped off a 14-hour flight into the blinking winter sun of Santiago, Chile, I had no clue what I would find. Throughout college, where I study Disability Studies and pre-medicine, I had worked hard to plan for some free time during my study abroad semester where I could really branch out and try…
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“Mi mamá chilena:” Living with a Host Family While Abroad
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Cooking with mi mamá chilena During Fall 2019, I traveled to Santiago, Chile – a city of 7-million people in a part of the world that spoke a language I wasn’t used to speaking. As a lifelong small-town dweller who had never practiced Spanish in a conversational setting, I was nervous about how I could…
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