During the summer of 2017 I went to Valparaíso, Chile as a Dietetic (nutrition) major and Spanish minor. the only expectation I set for myself was to leave with expanded skills and knowledge in both fields.
I left with intangibly more.
upon arriving:
one thing they DON’T tell you about Chilean Spanish: it’s the hardest to learn from but if you can learn it, you’ll be able to speak Spanish anywhere in the world. I fully support that claim.
one thing they DO tell you: Chileans are among the most friendly of people. I fully support that claim too.
My first night, my Chilean host brother, Nico (pictured) and my Spanish-American host sister, Paloma, took me to eat “Churrasco.”
Churrasco is a hamburger bun the size of your face (see first pic for proof) filled with thinly sliced steak, globs of guac, globs of mayo, and tomatoes.
I had to hush the future-Dietitian in me for the night…
…and when I realized I was averaging sushi and/or empanadas 5 times a week. shamelessly.
Valpo:
Valpo is home to so many amazing artists, and luckily, the locals let them paint on every wall and building in site.
they are also quite welcoming to dogs.
seriously, they’re everywhere.
open markets are everywhere too. this market spans 3 blocks and is the source of the freshest, cheapest, most beautiful produce from the region.
excursions:
just a few days in, I found myself at the top of the sand dunes our neighboring city, Viña del Mar, with Nico and Paloma and a sand board that I had rented for the equivalent of about $1.60 US dollars.
same concept, new terrain: we took a weekend trip to the capitol, and found ourselves skiing from the top of the Andes peaks by noon Saturday.
***sidenote: if you’re a novice skier from the South (@me), don’t be afraid to shamelessly own the bunny slopes with all the latino toddlers like I did.
make friends with a Colorado Eagle Scout so you can hike cool mountains.
preferably, cool mountains that Charles Darwin made famous
preferably, cool mountains that take you above the clouds.
but if sea-level is more your thing, the entire east coast of Chile is beaches, which–if you’re familiar with the shape of Chile–is a LOT of earth.
the blobs on that pier are sea lions, you don’t even have to leave Valparaíso to see them.
they like to play king of the pier.
and last but not least, the Atacama Desert is home to to the most exquisite animals and terrain 
***sidenote, I hesitate to add any photos from this 4-day excursion, because they do not do it justice. you just have to see it yourself!
the desert is home to geysers that do cool tricks like shoot their vapory contents 25ish feet in the air…
…and they even create pools that you can swim in…
…or you can stay bundled like me because it’s about -6 degrees fahrenheit by the geysers.
so much for “desert heat.”
don’t forget to visit the national flamingo reserve!
this is the *unfiltered* sunset view the flamingos get to see every afternoon.
lucky birds.
the best part:
the people are BY FAR what makes Chile (and any study abroad trip) so valuable.
from Saturday soccer games with house-mates…
…to many evenings at home where bettering my Spanish meant deepening my relationships with my housemates…and teaching them how to frat snap…
…to spending time with mi Mamá, the most warm-hearted and encouraging women in the whole southern hemisphere. it was Marisol’s reminders that “we are in Chile and therefore must speak ‘Chileno'” and her motherly spirit that drew everyone in the house together (no matter the hour of the night or one’s Spanish proficiency) that gave me the confidence needed to thrive and survive in a new country.
not to mention, working with incredible nurses and awesome Chilean students that I still keep in touch with.
they taught me all the slang I needed to be “bacán” in Chile while we had a mini-photo shoot.
sadly, I cannot post pictures of the children I worked with. but they changed my heart too. It’s one thing to volunteer at *insert random community-service program that you moderately enjoy* but it’s another thing to be a volunteer where you can practice what you love. working with the dietitian on-site and a little girl with personally relatable health issues added so much meaning to my summer, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
These memories will far outlast the memories of any mountain peak, wild llama, or 8 foot cactus I saw in Chile.