My first couple of weeks in Chile
Here’s the recap of my first three weeks in Chile starting the night before my flight.
Preparing For Study Abroad (The Night Before 2/16)
Packing at the last minute may not be a bad idea (LIES: it always is). Check out what I packed by clicking the links below.
Those of you who have been reading from the beginning probably remember that I didn’t actually start packing for my trip until the night before (what a mistake - I know). In hindsight, I realized that I waited so long to pack because I wasn’t truly ready to leave my family and friends for 5 months. Being away from your loved ones while traveling can be challenging at times. I honestly have no clue how people can leave for a year or more without occasional trips back home. Fortunately, although I packed at the last minute I am so glad I remembered to bring the following items: my Alpha Keeper money belt, a product that I think everyone (traveling or not) should have - and - my Hot Head Deep Conditioning Cap a secret weapon I think every curlfriend should have.
Spreading My Wings & Taking Off (En Route to Chile 2/17-18)
Views from LATAM Flight 153
One thing that I find relaxing to do in my spare time while traveling is to write down a list of all of my thoughts, expectations, and hopes for the location I’m heading to. The best way to explain what that looks like is to just show you! If you click the links in the latter part of this sentence, you will find two journal entries that I wrote while we were Taking Off & Somewhere Past Cuba.
Additionally, if you’re wondering what put me in the state of mind to write these journals, check out my travel playlist on Spotify. It’s a nice treat if you enjoy smooth hip-hop and R&B. I’m always open to finding some new jams - feel free to share your travel playlist with me by mentioning me on Twitter.
We Finally Made It - Exploring Santiago (Week 1: 2/18-20)
After 10+ hours spent flying, Sophia and I finally made it to Santiago, Chile. We spent three days there and a recap of all three days can be found in the journals below:
Santiago Day 1 (part 1) Journal; Santiago Day 1 (part 2) Journal
Santiago Day 2 Journal
Santiago Day 3 Journal
Our first three days were really eventful as I had my first completo, got pooped on by a bird, and even drank slug water.
Wanna know more about week 1? Check out my vlog about those experience below:
Moving In & Getting to Know Viña del Mar (Week 1: 2/21-27)
View from Calle Valparaiso (Viña del Mar)
On Sunday I moved into my apartment in Viña del Mar. A tour of my apartment will be uploaded to my YouTube channel very shortly. The rest of my week was spent wandering the city and I even took my first trip to Valparaiso.
Getting to Know UAI & Viña Nightlife (Week 2: 2/28-3/5)
Orientation day at UAI
After one week of hanging out at home and relaxing, I finally took care of what I came all the way to Chile for - school! Woohoo. I went to orientation at the Universidad Adolfo Ibanez - Viña and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Pictures of this school do not do it justice. Therefore, in addition to my apartment tour, I’m also working on a video to show you what a day of class is like at UAI.
Running through the 6 with my woes.
Also, I went to my first club ever and had a lot of fun. Stay tuned for my blog post about nightlife in Chile. I’ll be talking about Viña del Mar’s series of weekly parties (St. Jueves) which take place in various locations every Thursday night.
Back to Valpo & My First Day of School (Week 3: 3/6-3/12)
Taking selfies in Valpo with other exchange students.
As you probably know from my first post about Valparaiso, the city is very beautiful and I had a great time. Because of this, I made my way back there for a Sunday afternoon walking tour. A group of friends and I got an official introduction to the city using Tour 4 Tips.
Also (por fin = at last) I set out for my first day of school. Nothing feels better than opening a fresh pack of pencils and writing in a brand new notebook. After two weeks of vacation and living the life of a lazy tourist, I set out for my first day of school. For those of you who are wondering, I’m taking 5 classes (4 in Spanish, 1 in English) and I’ll be coming back to the United States with 15 credit-hours that will ultimately satisfy the Spanish portion of my degree.
Here’s my class schedule:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intro to Literary Genres (Spanish) 10:00-11:10AM |
NO CLASS | Intro to Literary Genres (Spanish)10:00-11:10AM |
Phonetics of the Spanish Language (Spanish) 8:30-9:40AM [20 min. Break] 10:00-11:10AM |
NO CLASS |
| Chilean Culture (Spanish) 1:00-2:10PM |
Advanced Spanish Grammar (Spanish) 11:30-12:40PM [20 min. Break] 1:00-2:10PM |
Chilean Culture(Spanish) 1:00-2:10PM | ||
| Socialism, Capitalism, & Communism in Latin America (English) 3:00-4:10PM [20 min. Break] 4:30-5:40PM |
Cool story: After shopping for school supplies, I realized that it’s pretty rare to find college-ruled paper in Chile. Instead, most students just use grid paper like so:
Notes from Intro to Literary Genres
The recap of my second three weeks in Chile will be available next Saturday. You’ll get to meet my Chilean puppy, Mila, and find out why I love her so much.
Enjoy your weekend!
