I guess I can write about my everyday life and the reason why I really am here...SCHOOL. They call this "study abroad" meaning that we are expected to go to school. I go to the Universidad Adolfo Ibanez in Vina del Mar and it's the #1 business school in Latin America. It looks AND feels like highs school, but somehow it's not. There are less than 2,000 students and a quarter of them are international students. I have a few classes with locals which has been fun to get to know them. Everyday everyone gets on a big tour bus to go to school. There are 3 pick up locations so I walk about 15 minutes to the bus stop and jump on with a bunch of other students. The buses run every hour and a half so you have to plan that around your class times. it's a strange concept, but it's free transportation and gets the job done. I do go to school when I'm here, but honestly I learn more outside the classroom. I learn more when speaking spanish to our tour guide at Machu Picchu or eating meals with my host family when we talk about politics or about the drug trade. So here is a glimpse of a typical week (no such thing) at my incredibly relaxing, adventurous life down south.
Monday~sleep in and read. Go to 1 hour of class (Socialism, Capitalism, and Communism in Latin America). I really like the professor and we always talk about interesting things. He raises a lot of points that I would never here in the states. We often talk about facebook, drugs and corruption around the world. After class go to the gym or come home and hang out. I usually help my older sister with her English homework and then maybe cruise to the beach to catch the sunset. Vensa (14 yr. old host sister) and I eat dinner together every night at 9:30. Mama is in the kitchen with us talking and serving us our soup, main dish, and whatever we want for desert.
Tuesday~Spanish class at 10am. It's supposed to be a conversation class, but usually we listen to miss Maria talk about different aspects of Chilean culture or one time we watched a movie about futbol. Break from 11-3 so either go to the gym or hang out with Logan and Murphy. We either sit out in the garden overlooking the ocean as the boys enjoy beverages or we've watched Austin Powers. 3pm is Latin America in the Age of Globalization taught by a 30 year old who majored in philosophy. He is king of incredibly longgggggg and uncomfortable pauses in his sentences and really just wants to talk about philosophy and how and why things are the why they are. "But what is a horse?" he literally asked this question in class and we spent half an hour discussing it. 4:30pm is my two and half hour Strategic Leadership class with students representing 10 countries. This class could be really cool, but no one participates and we read off of slides a lot. After class finishes at 7 it's time to take the bus home and hang out.
Wednesday~ baking/cooking day. Meghan, Jen, Kelly and I go to one of our houses and make scrambled eggs for breakfast and bake cookies. We've become quite the bakers considering our circumstances. We still aren't quite sure what baking soda and baking powder are in the grocery store so we use one of them and somehow things still work out. We've had to substitute oil for eggs before too. Today we made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and they were delicious despite having the consistency of a sponge. I met up with Katie who is the older sister of a friend at DU who currently lives here after she studied abroad and met her husband here when she was my age. She had a can of pumpkin for us and we'll forever be grateful for it because Chileans don't have the pumpkins we have in the states nor do they have canned pumpkin. It's my 1:30pm class from Monday followed by Latin America Culture and Identity. This class only has 7 students in it and is basically a history class of Chile. The professor can't be over 30 years old and often has at least 10 english mistakes a class, but he's a nice guy. After class it's the gym or recently I have been babysitting for an American family living here till December. This babysitting gig has been awesome to get a little bit of income and it's fun to hang out with the 11 year old boy and play Madden or FIFA on the x box.
Thursday~Spanish class at 10am with lots of my friends. Break again from 11-3 so either gym, finish/start homework, or hang out. Globalization at 3pm and then Culture & Identity at 4:30pm. After class it's either time to leave to travel for the weekend or come home and hang out until we go out later. Thursday nights can turn out to be wild adventures or nights where I watch Happy Gilmore on Netfilx.
Friday~ No class! if we aren't traveling or skiing it's a day to hang out or go on local adventures. I've gone to zumba & pilates with my host mom before or I'll go on a run by myself. Mama, Vensa and I usually eat lunch. Friday nights are usually spent hanging out with friends. Kelly, Meghan, Jen and I either get ice cream or meet up with friends at a bar (Journal, Oasis, Juglar have been popular destinations in Vina).
Saturday~ hang out again. Maybe go for a run or hang out on the beach. Maybe take a micro to Con Con (20 minutes north of us) and hang out on the beach there or get empanadas. Or maybe get frozen yogurt in the mall. Usually a big lunch with the family occurs in the early afternoon. Saturday nights are similar to Thursday and Friday. Either a trek to the beach club or Valpo or hanging out in Vina.
Sunday~ sleep in and then go to mass at 1pm with my host parents. The church is beautiful even if I can't understand much of what people are saying. They don't have hymnals so I can't even follow along, but I enjoy it. After mass it's a big lunch with the fam and usually some extended family. Lunch lasts for a few hours. After lunch we usually hang out as a family for a little bit.
As you can see it's pretty relaxed. There's always the occasional trip to the grocery store, futbol game to watch or errands to run with Mama that make things interesting. I'll have 22.5 credits that transfer back to DU towards my majors and minors so I'm not complaining. School has been quite easy, which has been a really nice break. 4 classes are in English since they're what would transfer back to DU and then I have the 1 Spanish class. I've had lots of time to casually read, take walks, write in my journal and talk with friends both here and abroad. Really I've learned to enjoy the simple and basic parts of life. I wake up every morning to a bowl full of bananas, pears, apples, strawberries (recent development), and kiwi that mama has cut up. I put some yogurt and oats on top and it's perfect! I make my bed every morning but Mama remakes it and it always looks like a hotel! My laundry is also done for me every day. It's pretty nice to not have to worry about any chores or errands. It's also a weird feeling not having a bunch of stuff to do. I'm use to getting less than 5 hours of sleep, playing 2 sports daily, volunteering, being in charge of organizations and taking 19 credits so this is a BIG change. But it's a change that I think is good for me. It's been good to learn how to relax and value relationships with people more. Three months later and I'm still enjoying my time here!
"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony."-William Henry Channing, American unitarian clergyman
 |
| View from school at night |
 |
| School |
Tuesday~Spanish class at 10am. It's supposed to be a conversation class, but usually we listen to miss Maria talk about different aspects of Chilean culture or one time we watched a movie about futbol. Break from 11-3 so either go to the gym or hang out with Logan and Murphy. We either sit out in the garden overlooking the ocean as the boys enjoy beverages or we've watched Austin Powers. 3pm is Latin America in the Age of Globalization taught by a 30 year old who majored in philosophy. He is king of incredibly longgggggg and uncomfortable pauses in his sentences and really just wants to talk about philosophy and how and why things are the why they are. "But what is a horse?" he literally asked this question in class and we spent half an hour discussing it. 4:30pm is my two and half hour Strategic Leadership class with students representing 10 countries. This class could be really cool, but no one participates and we read off of slides a lot. After class finishes at 7 it's time to take the bus home and hang out.
 |
| baking cookies |
Wednesday~ baking/cooking day. Meghan, Jen, Kelly and I go to one of our houses and make scrambled eggs for breakfast and bake cookies. We've become quite the bakers considering our circumstances. We still aren't quite sure what baking soda and baking powder are in the grocery store so we use one of them and somehow things still work out. We've had to substitute oil for eggs before too. Today we made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and they were delicious despite having the consistency of a sponge. I met up with Katie who is the older sister of a friend at DU who currently lives here after she studied abroad and met her husband here when she was my age. She had a can of pumpkin for us and we'll forever be grateful for it because Chileans don't have the pumpkins we have in the states nor do they have canned pumpkin. It's my 1:30pm class from Monday followed by Latin America Culture and Identity. This class only has 7 students in it and is basically a history class of Chile. The professor can't be over 30 years old and often has at least 10 english mistakes a class, but he's a nice guy. After class it's the gym or recently I have been babysitting for an American family living here till December. This babysitting gig has been awesome to get a little bit of income and it's fun to hang out with the 11 year old boy and play Madden or FIFA on the x box.
Thursday~Spanish class at 10am with lots of my friends. Break again from 11-3 so either gym, finish/start homework, or hang out. Globalization at 3pm and then Culture & Identity at 4:30pm. After class it's either time to leave to travel for the weekend or come home and hang out until we go out later. Thursday nights can turn out to be wild adventures or nights where I watch Happy Gilmore on Netfilx.
Friday~ No class! if we aren't traveling or skiing it's a day to hang out or go on local adventures. I've gone to zumba & pilates with my host mom before or I'll go on a run by myself. Mama, Vensa and I usually eat lunch. Friday nights are usually spent hanging out with friends. Kelly, Meghan, Jen and I either get ice cream or meet up with friends at a bar (Journal, Oasis, Juglar have been popular destinations in Vina).
Saturday~ hang out again. Maybe go for a run or hang out on the beach. Maybe take a micro to Con Con (20 minutes north of us) and hang out on the beach there or get empanadas. Or maybe get frozen yogurt in the mall. Usually a big lunch with the family occurs in the early afternoon. Saturday nights are similar to Thursday and Friday. Either a trek to the beach club or Valpo or hanging out in Vina.
 |
| Frozen yogurt at the mall |
Sunday~ sleep in and then go to mass at 1pm with my host parents. The church is beautiful even if I can't understand much of what people are saying. They don't have hymnals so I can't even follow along, but I enjoy it. After mass it's a big lunch with the fam and usually some extended family. Lunch lasts for a few hours. After lunch we usually hang out as a family for a little bit.
As you can see it's pretty relaxed. There's always the occasional trip to the grocery store, futbol game to watch or errands to run with Mama that make things interesting. I'll have 22.5 credits that transfer back to DU towards my majors and minors so I'm not complaining. School has been quite easy, which has been a really nice break. 4 classes are in English since they're what would transfer back to DU and then I have the 1 Spanish class. I've had lots of time to casually read, take walks, write in my journal and talk with friends both here and abroad. Really I've learned to enjoy the simple and basic parts of life. I wake up every morning to a bowl full of bananas, pears, apples, strawberries (recent development), and kiwi that mama has cut up. I put some yogurt and oats on top and it's perfect! I make my bed every morning but Mama remakes it and it always looks like a hotel! My laundry is also done for me every day. It's pretty nice to not have to worry about any chores or errands. It's also a weird feeling not having a bunch of stuff to do. I'm use to getting less than 5 hours of sleep, playing 2 sports daily, volunteering, being in charge of organizations and taking 19 credits so this is a BIG change. But it's a change that I think is good for me. It's been good to learn how to relax and value relationships with people more. Three months later and I'm still enjoying my time here!
"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony."-William Henry Channing, American unitarian clergyman
No comments:
Post a Comment