Trying Not to Get Hit by a Bus and Other Extreme Sports

A good public transportation system is on practically everyone’s Benefits of Living in a Big City list. It may even have a fighting chance for the number one spot. Being able to get where you want to go without having to drive yourself or walk is a huge bonus. As long as you get there …

Beauty at High Altitude

In my last blog post I talked a bit about my trip up to the northern Chilean town of Putre, and I’m going to take this opportunity to share a little bit more about the trip with you because, honestly, it was beautiful and I loved every minute of it. During the trip, we got …

Weekend in Valparaiso

After a heavy week of learning about human rights abuses in Chile, we took a weekend trip to Valparaiso. Valparaiso is a city full of character, color, and art. There are not many housing regulations there, so houses are built on top of and all around one another! On our first day, we had class …

The Key is Reciprocity

Part of my SIT study abroad program is getting the opportunity to travel throughout the country, and stay with host families of different cultures. The first of these trips was to the northern Chilean town of Putre, where I got the opportunity to stay with an Aymara family for several days. The Aymara people are …

What it’s like to live in a “post” dictatorship state

Before coming to Chile, I read a lot about Pinochet’s dictatorship. I read that it lasted from 1973-1990, and that, since then, Chile has recovered beautifully, evolving into a thriving democracy. Unfortunately, after many lectures and conversations with my host family and teachers, I realized that the state of Chile is not as it seems. …

Photo Diary of Chilean Independence Day Celebrations!

As I mentioned in my last blog, the entire week surrounding September 18th, Chilean Independence Day, is completely filled with celebrations of every type from everyone. I was lucky enough to be able to share these celebrations with my host family and friends, and I would love to share some of them with you via …

Homestay Family, Bella Vista, and Corn Tortillas

For three of the four weeks I’m in Chile, I get to live with my host mom, Claudia, and her twelve year old son, Lucas. My host mom is an incredibly talented photographer, and her house is full of her photos and different types of artwork. She’s completed many projects and books capturing human rights …

Deja Vu in the Midst of Culture Shock

Most of the time, when you go to a new country, everything seems new. You don’t know what’s going on half of the time, and they call that culture shock. But sometimes, occasionally, you spot weird similarities between cultures and they stand out more than all of the differences in the world. For example, when …

Human Rights Alive in NYC

Much of our time in New York City was spent laying the foundations of human rights and traveling to different sites to see human rights work alive in NYC. When referring to human rights work, it’s important to distinguish the difference between Human Rights (HR) at an institutional level versus human rights (hr) at a …

Vibrant Beginning

First Stop: New York A little over two weeks ago, I landed in New York for the first day of my Human Rights Program. I was quickly bombarded with the typical bumper to bumper traffic, a montage of smells, and loud noises. I was also welcomed with rich diversity, vibrant street art, food trucks, and …