By DandyLion
Hello from Santiago, Chile - where I have chosen to study abroad for the past 2 and next 3 months! So far it has been absolutely wonderful; I couldn't have asked for a better experience!
I chose Santiago, Chile for a few reasons, the first of which being: ¿Why not? The GW Chile seemed like an fantastic opportunity with so much to offer, and so far it has proved to be exactly that. There has been so much to see and do and get to know, all of which as been great positive learning experiences. The city is enormous and exciting with amazing views, restaurants, events, and people - people who will stay up (literally) all night enjoying it all! It is a much more culturally comfortable experience for me; being Persian, I am quite familiar with the staying-up-all-night-talking-and-having-fun-with-family-and-friends lifestyle versus the typical US approach. Another reason I wanted to come to Chile was obviously to increase my fluency in Spanish. As Chileans have a very quick and distinct way of speaking at times, I figured: If I can understand and communicate in Chilean Spanish, I will be able to understand and communicate in ANY Spanish. This theory has so far also proved to be true. A third and final reason I elected Chile as my study abroad location was because Chile has a lot of rich cultural history - even in recent years and currently - that has proven to be quite intriguing not only in a political context, but a psychological and public health perspective as well - which are what I am currently and will be studying in the future, respectively.
The volunteer work I will be doing in Santiago is at a private company known as La Bicicleta Verde (or, The Green Bicycle) which is an organization devoted to sustainable tourism of Santiago, Valparaiso, and local vineyards via a great natural resource we often forget we have access to: our legs! LBV uses bike tours and walking tours to show visitors (and locals!) about the incredible things Santiago has to offer including the markets in the city where you can buy everything from fruits and veggies to leather belts and shoes, the historical and monumental structures that encompass the rich and oftentimes unsaid past and present of the country, and a view of some of the finest, organic, and most supportable vineyards nearby. Although the correlation with my career path is not direct, there is a more personal connection that I have made with the business in that the importance of the care of the earth resonates with me strongly. Furthermore, I find that exercise helps to keep a more balanced mindset and I am delighted by the view that LBV takes towards personal health and care in natural movement. I will be doing a bit of office work here, but I will primarily focus on giving bike tours of Santiago as the practical portion of my volunteer work!
Here I'm including a sneak-preview of my affinity for natural exercise in a world-famous beach and surfing town about 4 hours south of Santiago called Pichilemu! ¡Que disfruten!