Discovering yourself in Chile

Studying abroad in Santiago, Chile was one of the best choices I have made in my life. I am a neuroscience major, but have always had a desire to become fluent in Spanish. For that reason, I decided to study in the Health Studies Program, to learn more about the health system in Chile, but also to fully immerse myself into a Spanish-speaking culture. This program allows students to take a seminar where they can choose between shadowing in hospitals and clinics, or intern at a Public Health organization in an underserved community. I decided to intern at the Public Health organization, and through that experience, was very inspired by the theory of Popular Education, and experienced first-hand the power and importance of community health. This experience for sure inspired me so much, and made me think a lot more about the type of career I would like in the future.

In addition to the educational aspect of the program, Chile was a great country to study in with the goal to learn Spanish. Even living in the capital city of Santiago, it was rare that you would enter a restaurant or mall and find someone who could, and would, speak english to you. Santiago is also a wonderful city to live in, which many beautiful parks, restaurants, and hills to hike. I also loved the nature that Chile has to offer, and simply by traveling outside of Santiago to these natural environments were very inspiring as they are beautiful settings to both challenge yourself and reflect on life.