The trip

            Probably the most memorable thing about my first few weeks abroad was how unbelievably tired I was. Not physically, as I had not found a good place to exercise, but mentally. Even though I had studied Spanish for 5 years before stepping foot in Chile, I was not prepared for the mental exertion required when surrounded by it 24/7. It wasn’t until I had been in Chile for more than a month that I actually felt I had gotten the hang of things, although people still occasionally chuckled at my language errors. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for immigrants in the U.S. who come with little or no exposure to English, and I now have a new level of respect and empathy them.

            The next thing I learned was how to take initiative in order to get what I wanted out of living abroad. Given the way my program was organized and the relative shyness of Chileans, it would've been very easy for me to spend the majority of my time with other Americans from my program, speaking mostly English and living a social bubble isolated from the real Chile. Part of me was tempted by this situation, as were many others, because it was familiar. However, I realized early on that I had chosen to live abroad because I wanted to experience another culture, and the only way I was going to do that was through my own initiative. So I broke away from comfortable presence of other Americans and sought to make friends with locals. The depth and potency added to my experience living abroad was unmeasurable, and the willingness to go out of my comfort zone and take initiative will help me throughout my life.

             During my time in Chile I traveled to Uruguay, Argentina, and explored a large portion of the Chilean countryside. I sang in a choir, tried belly-dancing, got lost countless times on the buses, and learned not to let my limited Spanish skills frighten me from speaking up in class. I went skiing in the Andes, repelled off a 100ft cliff, mountain biked around a volcano, and learned that life always has something unexpected up its sleeve. My internship with the Inglés Abrás Puertas program run by the Chilean government solidified my desire to become a teacher so I can help cultivate and expand new minds to the myriad of possibility. And if I could offer one piece of advice to those dreaming of going abroad I would say: Dreams will remain dreams until you initiate!