After arriving home and talking to people about my experience I realize that in the past week so many interesting things happened that it’s hard to condense into a simple answer for “how was your break?”. I am really glad I decided to go on this trip because it was such a unique opportunity. It was really interesting being exposed to a new culture and architectural styles.
I’ve never been to a spanish speaking country and being forced to quickly relearn all the spanish I forgot in order to make it by was a challenge. I was surprised by how quickly I was able to remember things and start trying to think of how to say different things. I was surprised that I was able to become a very makeshift translator at some points. This trip made me want to improve my Spanish so that if I get the opportunity to travel to another Spanish speaking country I will be able to communicate better with the locals. That being said I’m incredibly grateful for all the people I interacted with who put up with my broken Spanish and confused expression and worked to help me understand and make it possible to communicate despite the language barrier.
Something that surprised me about Santiago was the amount of greenery everywhere, even within urban areas. There were giant trees everywhere that provided shade and broke up the endless facades of buildings. Even in residential areas there were balconies with plants overflowing them. I have never seen a city that had so many trees and it made me realize how much they can add to one’s experience of a urban area. This trip gave me a new appreciation for landscapes and green spaces in cities. The presence of the Andes mountains surrounding Santiago, and the Cerros tucked within the city was another natural feature that I found myself forgetting then noticing and being in awe of all over again. There was one day were a group of us climbed to the top of Cerro Santa Lucia and it was a surreal experience being able to climb to the top of a hill and look out over a city.
Outside of the projects we focused on there were so many interesting buildings in Santiago. I remember standing at the top of the Costanera tower with a group of people pointing out different buildings we liked and discussing them. There were ones that were interesting colors or shapes. One that stood out appeared to have a front that was covered in greenery. Even just walking down the street there were different buildings that stepped out of the box and brought interesting moments to the city.
This trip is one that I will fondly remember for the rest of my life. It taught me how to become a more independent traveler and reassured me of my ability to adapt to new environments. I also feel like I gained a new appreciation for architecture and landscape by experiencing the amazing spaces Chile had to offer. Going into this experience all I really knew about Chile was that it was the long, thin country in South America. I didn’t really know what to expect that I’ve had the opportunity to explore the country I can say it surprised me in so many ways. I loved my experience in Chile and would return in a heartbeat if given the opportunity.