Valparaíso is a vibrant city on the Pacific coast in Central Chile. Known as "The Pearl of the Pacific", the city's port was once the most important in all of Latin America, an important stopover for ships passing between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans before the opening of the Panama Canal. The city's heritage, architecture, cuisine, and cultural makeup is a mixture of the many different backgrounds that settled from around the world in this port city. Everyone from here, colloquially known as "porteños" are very proud of their history, and it was an amazing experience to be able to live their lifestyle for a short period. This photo is of the colorful and famous buildings found on Cerros Alegre and Concepción in Valparaíso. 

During my time in Valparaíso, I took two Spanish-language courses at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, including Hispanic American Contemporary Literature and Chilean Culture & Conversation. Class sizes were very small, with less than six students per session, fostering development of relationships between students and faculty. During class, we were also able to take field trips in the local community to see the concepts we were learning in action. This style of hands-on engagement enriched the material and supported greater language acquisition and practice opportunities. This photo was taken during the program completion ceremony with my Chilean Culture & Conversation professor and classmates.

Chile's long and narrow geographic shape sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and Andes Mountains creates a variety of beautiful and unique ecosystems in different parts of the country. Valparaíso is located in the Mediterranean climatic zone present in the central part of the country. To gain a better understanding of a different part of the country, I travelled south to Puerto Varas in the Region of Los Lagos. Located at the foothills of the Patagonia range, this area is subject to a temperate oceanic climate and completely different weather patterns. Even more interesting, this city has a distinctly German ancestry, with German influenced architecture, food, and even German-language signage in some places. This photo was taken at the Saltos de Petrohué in Parque Nacional Vicente Peréz Rosales.

In addition to Puerto Varas, I had the opportunity to travel to an often forgotten part of Chile: Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as it's known in the indigenous language of its people. Considered one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth, staying on the island felt like a true escape. Its residents are amongst the most generous and kindest people I have ever met, excited to share their home and heritage with us, despite a history of suppression of their Polynesian culture in favor of the culture from mainland Chile. Their resilience and pride as a people in light of this and other past tragedies, such as tsunamis, was truly inspiring and a life-changing experience. This photo shows one of the moai statues partially buried at Rano Raraku, the historic moai quarry on the side of one of the island's volcanos. 

One of the great components of this study abroad experience was the opportunity to stay with a host family. This photo shows me with my host parents, Marisol and Norberto, along side their kids and granddaughter. By opening their home to me, I was blessed with the opportunity to learn first hand about daily life in Chilean culture. From sharing the daily afternoon "once" (coffee/tea and bread) with Marisol, to watching soccer matches with Norberto, to strolling the neighborhood chatting about both the history of the city and their family within it, I truly began to feel like I was finding another home in Chile. I am forever grateful for their support and know my program would not have been the same without this homestay arrangement. 

Another influential component of this study abroad program was the inclusion of cultural emersion activities. At least once a week outside of class, program coordinators would take us on a cultural tour of a new part of the city, where we could interact with people and history first hand, learning not just the "what's" of Chilean culture, but also the "how's" and "why's". This is something that can only be taught through experience and not in a classroom, one of the reasons I consider study abroad to be an invaluable life experience. This photo shows my study abroad cohort on one of our excursions to the Cerros Alegre & Concepción, whose architecture and graffiti are preserved as part of Valparaíso's UNESCO World Heritage Status.