Some Favorites So Far

It continues to be a busy yet fun time here in Chile! Last weekend my familia and I went to Santiago. They have a daughter that lives there with her family, so we visited. It was a lot of fun but quite busy, and I had a lot of homework due this week, so I …

The First Few Weeks

It has been a pretty hectic couple of weeks here in Valparaiso, Chile! I have already learned so much about the city and the culture and the way things are done. It has been an adventure, to say the least, and I have a long way to go before I will be a master of …

The Countdown

It is a beautiful day here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. And here I sit, stressing about the next few months because, well, I leave in July to go study abroad! I am excited and terrified and so, SO pumped to go. It has been a dream of mine to study abroad since I was very young. Spanish …

So far…

As I continue with my stay here in the city of Guanajuato, I realize that I am getting more and more used to the lifestyle here. I am getting much closer to my host family, they are very caring. It is interesting to think that there are many Mexicos, not only one. With that I …

First Day of Class

I was quite nervous for today – it was my first day of class! I didn’t know what to expect or how it would be. Would I feel strange? Would I be an outsider among my own people? Would I be accepted? Would people be able to tell that I have lived 14 years in …

Chichimeca the indigenous people of San Luis de la Paz

Yesterday was one of the greatest experiences of my life. As a group we visited a Chichimeca indigenous reservation in San Luis de la Paz, Guanajuato. We were accompanied by bilingual teacher Emmanuel. The Chichimeca are one of the only indigenous people who were not conquered by the Spanish. Emmanuel is Chichimeca, he speaks Chichimeca …

The city of Guanajuato

The city of Guanajuato is beautiful, it is my first time in the city. The host family that I was put into is very warm and open. My host family’s home is in the hills of Guanajuato; which is why I can see the city of Guanajuato from the terrace. I actually have to walk 20 minutes …

Nothing says Family Bonding like… PEANUT BUTTER! :)

hey everyone! It’s been awhile I know, but these last few weeks have been CRAZY! To recap what I’ve been up to… I went North, where I lived with an Aymara family for five days and worked in the fields (stay tuned for a separate post on that experience!) and after returning to Viña de …

“Up North” Chilean Style

It’s 10:09 PM local time, and I’m curled up on the couch in the lodge of Hotel Q’antai in my North Face zipped to the top. You would never know that scorching sun beams filled the air at 4 pm, as it’s probably around 0 degrees Celsius now.  Belly full of vegetable soup, quinoa, mate, …

Soccer School, Puppy Chow, and Dunes!!!

Hola a todos!! So this past weekend marked my 6th (and busiest!) weekend in Chile. It was packed with awesome people, events, and everything that makes studying abroad an experience you will never forget! Saturday, I woke up at 8:30 for school. Yep, school on Saturday. But this was not a typical school day. At 9:15 …