Submitted by Christopher Carroll on the 2014 winter session study abroad program in Chile sponsored by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures…
I cannot believe a week has passed already. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was boarding the plane in New York. Santiago, Chile is a beautiful city. I can already tell a month is not going to be enough time for me to be able to see all that the city has to offer. Meeting my host family was very intimidating, but my host mom is a very sweet and caring lady. She is making an effort to make sure that my roommates and I learn more and more Spanish everyday in her house. She also cooks traditional Chilean meals to expose us to the cuisine of Chile. The first full day in Santiago was spent by climbing the Cerro de San Cristobal. This is the mountain in the city that has the statue of the Virgin Mary at the top. The views of Santiago were truly breath taking. On Monday, the entire group toured the older part of Santiago. We started by visiting La Moneda. This is the presidential palace. From there, we saw the cathedral located in the La Plaza de Armas. The rest of the week consisted of going to classes and getting acquainted with the Chilean way of life.