If I had to describe my last two weeks in Santiago in one word, I think I would chose STRUGGLE.
I had a rough two weeks – from getting my smartphone stolen right out of my pocket on the metro, getting jumped and having my purse ripped off of me literally right in front of my host house, and then someone stealing my gold ring right off of my finger as I was exiting the metro station. On top of that, the universities here are disorganized – I am never again going to take PSU for granted. To register for classes, you have to manually go to that departments office and physically register during specific hours (that were written wrong in our orientation books). Classes also seem to have no set “syllabus” – the professors just stand in front of the room and talk and talk and talk for hours – no powerpoints, no visual stimulation, nothing but Spanish words.
After filing a Chilean police report for my attack, finally finishing my class registration, and replacing all my documents that were stolen along with my purse, I can say that I have gotten more cultural immersion than I would have ever imagined.
One thing that I can point out throughout all my experiences thus far is that Americans are not welcomed warm-heartedly here in Chile. We are not only being targeted for robberies, but Chileans also seem to mock us and not want to be friends with us. In school especially, other students do not want to associate with foreigners. I still can’t put my finger on why this is but it has forced me to try to act more of a local. I am considering dying my blonde hair brown, starting to dress in the Chilean fashion (which usually includes boots, jeans, and a dark jacket), and doing as much as I can to be “less American.”
On the brighter side of things, I ended up going to Vina del Mar last weekend with a couple of friends from the program. Vina is a beach town about 1.5 hours away from Santiago. This is a picture of me and the sunset. The town is smaller and less fast-paced than Santiago and the beach reminded me of home (good old Jersey shore 🙂 )
Right next to Vina del Mar is a town called Valparaiso which is a city literally built on hills. The houses are painted all sorts of different colors and there is graffiti throughout the whole city (but more artistic graffiti rather than criminal graffiti).
This is a picture from one of the many hills we climbed in Valparaiso.
This is me with some of the graffiti of the city (which was literally on every street).
Hopefully the next couple of weeks will be less of a struggle – but hey without any pain there is no happiness! I am very excited to keep pushing through with this experience.
Location: Santiago
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Hi Marta
I am very glad to know that you have such a positive attitude. Studying abroad will teach you so many things and will expose you to situations which are not necessarily the best.
If you look at the bright side of things, things will get brighter for you.
I am looking forward to reading your adventures throughout the semester.
Best
Nimisha
Gosh, Marta, what a challenging few weeks you’ve had. You haven’t lost your optimistic attitude though and that is awesome! I can’t wait to read your upcoming posts. The pictures you posted were great too.