Visiting Muelle de Las Armas, Chiloé

Chile turned 206 years old on September 18th! Experiencing the 18th in Chile was an insightful experience of the country's culture, history, and politics. It was a glorious day filled with intoxicating smells of BBQs, Chilean kites flying high in the sky, and everyone laughing and dancing with their loved ones. Looking back, here are some great ways I was able to enjoy such a historic day of a country that I’ve come to call my own.

With technology, communicating is a lot easier than it used to be while traveling. Now during the times you are abroad, you can not only communicate with your family and friends back home, but you can use programs like Skype and Facetime to see them, as well. Although it may not be the main method of communication, sending postcards and written letters from around the world can be something you keep and look back on to remember your time abroad. I did this while studying abroad in London, and am grateful for the experience.

This past weekend was surreal! As part of our study abroad program, the program director invited us this past weekend to La Serena and Vicuna, a six-hour drive north of Santiago. I am so grateful that we took rest stops to stretch our legs, because I would have gone insane. Given that our trip is coming to an end in less than a month, it was such a perfect way to spend time together as a group.

There are many different types of living situations in London for study abroad students. I studied abroad with a program provider called Academic Programs International (API), and they made our room arrangements for us. University-run programs also arrange the housing for their students. If you decide to study abroad on your own, you’ll need to make sure you are on top of applying for housing.