My Study Abroad in Santiago, Chile
I spent the school year of 2014-2015 studying abroad in Santiago, Chile. It was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity that I had to live in the country and spend an entire year practicing Spanish and truly immersing myself in a Hispanic culture. It was also very difficult at times, like the first few days, when we had to find our own housing within 7 days while also going to a preparatory class for the school year.
Although it was incredibly difficult to be expected to go out and find housing so quickly in a country I had never been to before it was also an experience that has made me much more independent and sure of myself as I venture out into the world and other countries.
Throughout the year I encountered many other difficulties, but I will only mention the ones that I found the most difficult to overcome. To being with, Chileans are known for being the fastest Spanish-speakers in the world so it took quite awhile to adjust to the diverse ways of speaking and actually being able to understand them. As I think back I realize that by the end of the year I too was able to speak like my Chilean friends and use "chilenismos" (slang words) that I had learned throughout the year. The best way, I found, to overcome this difference in speech and words is to simply ask questions and speak as much as I could to keep practicing and be able to speak faster.
One other difficultly I found, at first, was simply trying to figure out what to eat. Going to the grocery store for the first time in a foreign country to stock up food in your apartment can be very overwhelming. I wasn't sure what some of the products were and everything was written in Spanish so I felt even more confused, but overtime and after trying new things I was able to overcome this and shop like I would at home.
In reference to academics in Chile, I can say that it was difficult. La Universidad Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile is the number one school in the country and in South America. To be able to attend such a school was a privilege, but it came with a lot of work and study time. Most students, when they study abroad, take courses that are considered easy or courses they can do credit/no credit in; but at La Catolica everything was in Spanish and all our courses counted towards our majors and our grades back in the United States. With that said, I can easily say that I had a bit of culture shock when adjusting to the load of school work when I started my first semester abroad. The school system is much like ours here, with lectures twice a week and readings to do during the week and tests or essays at the end of the courses; but I found it more difficult when I was surrounded by Chileans who spoke very fast and could understand the professor so easily. The way I overcame it was to just keep going and keep trying and eventually I was understanding as well and able to pass my courses with good solid grades.
Because South American summers are during the months of December-March, I had an entire three months to travel and explore other places in South America. I think this was my favorite part of my whole year abroad. For three months I traveled all over South America, getting to know places I had only dreamed of going to. I visited places like Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia; seeing the unique beauty of each place.
Overall, the experience was amazing and I came back homing having learned so much about myself and my values and how I see the world. I am highly considering moving back to South America in the future to continue doing work like service and surrounding myself with the very rich Latino culture that is present.
Although it was incredibly difficult to be expected to go out and find housing so quickly in a country I had never been to before it was also an experience that has made me much more independent and sure of myself as I venture out into the world and other countries.
Throughout the year I encountered many other difficulties, but I will only mention the ones that I found the most difficult to overcome. To being with, Chileans are known for being the fastest Spanish-speakers in the world so it took quite awhile to adjust to the diverse ways of speaking and actually being able to understand them. As I think back I realize that by the end of the year I too was able to speak like my Chilean friends and use "chilenismos" (slang words) that I had learned throughout the year. The best way, I found, to overcome this difference in speech and words is to simply ask questions and speak as much as I could to keep practicing and be able to speak faster.
One other difficultly I found, at first, was simply trying to figure out what to eat. Going to the grocery store for the first time in a foreign country to stock up food in your apartment can be very overwhelming. I wasn't sure what some of the products were and everything was written in Spanish so I felt even more confused, but overtime and after trying new things I was able to overcome this and shop like I would at home.
In reference to academics in Chile, I can say that it was difficult. La Universidad Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile is the number one school in the country and in South America. To be able to attend such a school was a privilege, but it came with a lot of work and study time. Most students, when they study abroad, take courses that are considered easy or courses they can do credit/no credit in; but at La Catolica everything was in Spanish and all our courses counted towards our majors and our grades back in the United States. With that said, I can easily say that I had a bit of culture shock when adjusting to the load of school work when I started my first semester abroad. The school system is much like ours here, with lectures twice a week and readings to do during the week and tests or essays at the end of the courses; but I found it more difficult when I was surrounded by Chileans who spoke very fast and could understand the professor so easily. The way I overcame it was to just keep going and keep trying and eventually I was understanding as well and able to pass my courses with good solid grades.
Because South American summers are during the months of December-March, I had an entire three months to travel and explore other places in South America. I think this was my favorite part of my whole year abroad. For three months I traveled all over South America, getting to know places I had only dreamed of going to. I visited places like Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia; seeing the unique beauty of each place.
Overall, the experience was amazing and I came back homing having learned so much about myself and my values and how I see the world. I am highly considering moving back to South America in the future to continue doing work like service and surrounding myself with the very rich Latino culture that is present.