Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
— Neale Donald Walsh
This quote was the one I picked for my yearbook senior year of high school. It is cheesy – as are most quotes by nature – but I have found that it manifests itself fairly often in my own life. Everyone that knows me is aware of my desire to explore and immerse myself in things that are “outside my comfort zone.” I would even be inclined to say that my life usually blurs the boundaries of that comfort zone pretty often, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Due to this lifelong pursuit of new places and adventures, when it came to choosing a place to study abroad in college, somewhere off the beaten path was the only option.
I have never been to Latin America. I have been to various European countries, but nothing really south of Mexico. This is ironic due to the fact that I am pursuing a major in International Affairs with a concentration in Latin American studies, and an Anthropology minor on the side. Choosing my study abroad was therefore straightforward, as I have always felt drawn to Latin America, in a way that I – a gringa – can’t really explain. Everything that I have ever heard or experienced about Latin America has only made me want to travel there even more. GW has a great program that is based in Chile, which seemed the most efficient way to get myself down to the southern hemisphere. After some research on the program and the country, I was sold. I mean, just LOOK at pictures of Santiago. It doesn’t even look like it could be real!
Everyone in my school circles have been thinking and talking about study abroad. Most of my close friends at college are going abroad to various places around the world, which will be awesome to hear about and bond over in the months after we return to our regular routines. Throughout the past semester or so, I have listened to them discuss European train schedules, trips to Africa, hikes in New Zealand, etc. I, however, am stumped on this:
How does one prepare for a place that is beyond her very imagination?
Throughout the whole preparation process, I have felt completely unable to think about Chile, solely because I feel like it will be unlike any place that I have been and therefore I have no frame of reference in which to think about it. Maybe that’s how everyone else feels as well and they are just more well-researched that I. Who knows. Honestly, the way I manage to paint it in my head sounds like it is some sort of earthly almost-paradise (at least to me): everyone speaks Spanish and the food is amazing and the scenery is incredible and well, you get the mental picture. Through all of this, the farthest I’ve come with my preparations is buying hiking boots and packing for both trekking in Patagonia with glaciers and also 90 degree November days in Santiago. Both of these things further my conclusions that Chile is a surreal place that I feel so so so so lucky to get to explore for 6 months!
I feel like this is a good place to end this first post, because I can only scribe what I imagine what Chile is like for so long before you readers get bored and leave, SO I will wait to write more until I am actually there.
Hasta luego for now,
Cecilia
Cecilia in Chile - Fall 2019 