My neighborhood in Chile!
Memories in Words: A Reflective Narrative
By living and studying abroad in Santiago, Chile for a year, I have demonstrated that I have been actively immersed in and has internalized Hispanic culture; therefore I have completed MLO 5: Cultural Praxis. This experience, along with the skills and abilities gained through the journey, will have more influence on the future of my life than any class I have ever taken. So much happened during the 12 months abroad that it is difficult to begin with one aspect. In order to explain how this year bettered me as a person I will cover life inside the classroom, life outside the classroom, and time spent outside of Chile.
Life in school proved to be much different than I had in mind. I was unaware of the status of the university I attended in Chile, very rich. Due to this fact, I felt like the Chilean students were all very serious making it hard for me to make good friends in class. All of the classes were pure lecture with little to no homework, and were based heavily off of tests. Although my university proved to be a huge challenge, I was able to adjust my expectations and provide work necessary to pass the classes.
In my opinion, the true immersion I experienced was the second I left campus and entered the real life of Santiago. Taking the metro, bus, or even walking seemed interesting and like an adventure every day, and without these adventures immersion and the full understanding of a new culture is impossible. With musical acts on the train and bus, the unknown was always the future. The feeling of full immersion didn't come right away, in fact, it felt just like vacation for the first month. Only once settled in a house with all the appliances needed to live a healthy life did the feeling of immersion begin.
During my 3 month summer break in Chile I decided to travel to the surrounding countries in order to further immerse myself into the cultures of South America. I left to Peru alone with a jumble of emotions packed inside my one backpack. I spent 2 weeks traveling Peru with my older brother, and a month working at a hostel in Lima. Then traveled to Uruguay, through Argentina, and arrived back in Chile for my last semester. These 3 months of my life will never leave my memory as they define how I became the person I am today.
Life in school proved to be much different than I had in mind. I was unaware of the status of the university I attended in Chile, very rich. Due to this fact, I felt like the Chilean students were all very serious making it hard for me to make good friends in class. All of the classes were pure lecture with little to no homework, and were based heavily off of tests. Although my university proved to be a huge challenge, I was able to adjust my expectations and provide work necessary to pass the classes.
In my opinion, the true immersion I experienced was the second I left campus and entered the real life of Santiago. Taking the metro, bus, or even walking seemed interesting and like an adventure every day, and without these adventures immersion and the full understanding of a new culture is impossible. With musical acts on the train and bus, the unknown was always the future. The feeling of full immersion didn't come right away, in fact, it felt just like vacation for the first month. Only once settled in a house with all the appliances needed to live a healthy life did the feeling of immersion begin.
During my 3 month summer break in Chile I decided to travel to the surrounding countries in order to further immerse myself into the cultures of South America. I left to Peru alone with a jumble of emotions packed inside my one backpack. I spent 2 weeks traveling Peru with my older brother, and a month working at a hostel in Lima. Then traveled to Uruguay, through Argentina, and arrived back in Chile for my last semester. These 3 months of my life will never leave my memory as they define how I became the person I am today.