|
|
It has been about two and a half weeks since our return to the States and I’ve been keeping busy working at a summer camp. By now I’m sure all of the other counselors are tired of me starting many sentences with “One time in Chile…” There are times when I can’t believe that I actually spent three weeks in Chile because one night I was sleeping in my apartment above the Subway on Providencia and the next I was sleeping in a dorm room in South Wales.
There are many things I miss about Chile such as eating empanadas almost every day, making frequent stops to Bravissimo for ice cream, freshly squeezed juice that is cheap and easy to find, choripán (Chilean sausage) with pebre (salsa), sushi and fresh seafood, and sopaipillas. I miss walking out of my apartment and smelling the bread from Subway and the incredible dinners my host mom made every night. Most importantly, I miss the people who made this trip so special like the Universidad Mayor students and faculty, my teachers and fellow students at ECELA, my roommates, the IPDS Chile cohort, and especially the 2019 Buffalo delegation from UM who took amazing care of us during our time in Santiago. I think that in three weeks I grew a lot as a person and it is important for people to travel and expose themselves to cultures different than their own. This experience has definitely made me more flexible and openminded. I am already making plans for my next trip to Chile and in the meantime I hope to learn more Spanish! I would urge all teacher candidates to participate in an IPDS trip. There is no reason not to because there are many scholarships that can make it very affordable. Life is too short to make up excuses. Going to Chile was the greatest thing I’ve ever done and it changed my life for the better. Thank you Buffalo State College and IPDS for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime and Dr. del Prado, Dr. Schmidt, and Dr. Patti for organizing an incredible trip and taking care of us while abroad. I’m incredibly grateful for the scholarship donors who believed in me and the impact of this experience on my life. Thanks Dr. Shively, Mrs. George, Dr. Julie Henry, and Dr. Amy McMillan for filling out scholarship recommendation forms for me! Also thanks, Tamara, for taking care of all of the paperwork for us! Finally, thank you to all of the people who followed me on this journey by reading and commenting on my blogs. Onto my next great adventure… IPDS Italy! Addio per ora :-)
1 Comment
|
Author¡Hola! My name is Kelly and I am an undergraduate student studying elementary education at Buffalo State. This is the first time I will be traveling outside the United States and Canada. I am very excited about the opportunity to learn more about Chilean culture, work with English language learners, improve my Spanish skills, and conduct research! I hope you’ll enjoy reading about my Chilean adventures! ArchivesCategories |