Last Updated on June 11, 2015 by
When I am alone sitting outside in Chile, just thinking and looking at the hillside, I see something beautiful and amazing. It is a hard thing to describe because it is really beyond words. Even in English I don’t think I would know how to explain fully. In Spanish, definitely not. I find myself self so caught up listening to people talk and understanding what they are saying that I rarely speak. I love talking, so for people that know me, it may seem strange to hear that I am not talking a lot while here. But I am here to learn the language so I know it is important that I listen. And in a lot of situations, I know the words I need but I simply would rather let another person speak the entire time. The longer I am here, I feel myself learning more and more.
The Hillside
Dinner with my Chilean family and close friends.
I know that my experience here is different than other exchange students, but the experience that I have versus others will always be different because it is based around how I live my life.
Being here in Viña del Mar I am truly taking a road less traveled. If I take nothing else from this, which is absolutely impossible, I will have this. I am referring to the fact that I am not afraid to be away from home, virtually alone in another country. My saying that I am “alone” is a true statement, because I have no friends or family from home here with me in Chile; it is just me. I am never lonely though, because I have met amazing people here in Chile and though I may miss the States at times I know that my choice to come here was the right one.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Find out more about studying abroad in Chile
