I’ve never been prouder than when I saw Chile make it all the way to the finals of the Russian Confederation’s Cup. It was a Sunday morning full of excitement as all of the streets were full of vendors selling merchandise for the game. The game was scheduled at noon so I thought that I would …
Tag Archives: Chile
The First Bout of FOMO
I began dreaming of my college study abroad semester pretty early on in my high school Spanish classes (what else would have motivated me to get through all those “preterite versus imperfect” lectures?). During Hope prospective student visit days, I sat front row at every off-campus study info session, stored away all the pamphlets, and talked to …
How I Got Lost in the Atacama Desert
Saturday morning started like any other would in the driest desert in the world. Yes, I was in the Atacama Desert of San Pedro. It was as if the desert had a thirst so severe that could never be quenched even by its recent heavy rains. Its travelers feel the same as water is hard …
2 ears, 1 mouth
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” James 1:19 If you know my personality, you know that I am often a better listener than talker. I’m slow to contribute to conversations, and it seems like when I do speak, …
I’m a bad vegetarian
I’m a bad vegetarian. I’m not Catholic, but I’m feeling a need to confess. This last month here in Chile has really tested my commitment to my self-imposed dietary guidelines, and truth be told, they haven’t stood up to the test. I have three (kinda funny) examples of the challenges of being a vegetarian while traveling. …
Health Studies Program in Chile
As I blogged in a previous post, I was part of a health-studies clinical observation program as a part of the IES Abroad program. In this program, we have a Medical Spanish course that meets 3 times a week, a biweekly public health seminar course and a weekly field placement. My field placement was under …
Smells of the City
My friend Luisa has a very sensitive nose. This is one of the first things I learned about her when we met three weeks ago. She sampled my gnocchi and told me it had hints of sweet potato in it. I had no idea. Luisa’s nose has come in handy various times, like when we …
Cuidar la Tierra
Last week, when my Chilean family went on a hike with other families from the church, they turned it into a learning experience for everyone about caring for the environment. It was so sweet how my Chilean parents took it upon themselves to educate people on how to “cuidar la tierra.” One woman, Gloria, who organized the …
Sí, claro…
Chileans are incredible chatters, and they don’t slow down for anyone. It can be pretty difficult to keep up, especially with all the Chilenismos and “po’s” thrown in. Within hours of my arrival, I humbly accepted just vaguely understanding most things in the coming semester. When I don’t know how to respond, or if I get lost …
Mary, not Martha
I’ve learned that I’m a pretty task-oriented person. If you would have asked me before I came here, though, I would have said that I appreciate the journey. However, even thinking in terms of a journey implies that there is a direction and a destination. That’s different than simply being present. In Chile, people are …
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