By Teagan Caulfield, 2023-24 McCall MacBain International Fellow in Chile

After spending 67 days in Chile, I can surely tell you that I have had 67 unique adventures. Despite getting into somewhat of a routine, each day I continue to experience new things that keep the excitement of living abroad alive. Even tasks as simple as grocery shopping are eventful and leave me with a story to tell. And as you can imagine, if grocery shopping is eventful, then a weekend trip or activity is nothing short of an unbelievable adventure. However, that is not to say that every day has been amazing or stress-free. As one would expect, living abroad presents you with new challenges and leads you to feel emotions you never knew existed. But with each challenge comes a huge learning experience, and what else did I want from this fellowship other than just that?

Since mid-July, I have been living in Santiago, the capital of Chile and a true metropolis. Never have I lived in a place with one million people, let alone eight, so you can imagine how big the city felt when I arrived. As one would expect, big city living has its pros and cons. I simply love how easy it is to get around and get involved in the things I love. Everything is just a short walk away, and if not, heaven forbid I must use the clean, organized metro that runs every minute and accesses every corner of the city. That being said, with 8 million people living and commuting, it can be hard to escape the sound of traffic and the smog. For me, this has proved a challenge, as I am someone who loves to recharge in the solitude of nature. As such, I try my best to get out of the city some weekends to go hiking with my friends and enjoy all the beautiful scenery that Chile has to offer.

One of the reasons each day is so filled with adventure is because I am constantly pushing the boundaries of my communication abilities. Every day when I finish school, I enter a second classroom—the city. To this day, I am still baffled by how quickly I picked up on the essentials of Spanish; after just a couple weeks, I could get around the city and hold basic conversations with those around me. However, learning a language, like anything, has not been a linear process. While I began improving significantly each and every day, I have now noticed the challenge of perfecting my speech. Having learned so many verb tenses, I often find myself confusing the simplest of them. To add to that, just like in English, I love to chat. This often leads me to get ahead of myself and try to speak complex sentences quickly. While I sometimes feel frustrated with myself for making dumb mistakes, my lovely teacher reminds me, tranquilo: relax, slow down, and you will get your message across just fine. That being said, Chileans speak with such speed and slang that while they can understand me, I often have trouble understanding them back. As such, my favourite sentence has become “más lento por favor”, to which they often repeat what they said louder but not at all slower.

Outside of the classroom, I have found myself a great routine filled with activities I love. I have always been a busy person, but never did I realize just how much I loved it. When I first arrived, I struggled with having so much free time and felt a bit lonely and unproductive. However, now I have returned to my normal self with a packed schedule of activities and acquaintances. I have always found joy in sports, and I was so happy when I entered the sports community in Santiago.

One of my favourite activities every week is my Wednesday workout, where I meet up with a bunch of locals for a free class in the park.Last week, the usual instructor couldn’t come, so I even helped run it! I also couldn’t live without my Tuesday and Friday gymnastics classes and hanging out at the climbing gym. No matter how hard my day has been, I always leave these activities in such a great mood. I have gotten involved through volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. While finding a volunteer position was much harder than I imagined, I am so glad to have the opportunity to help with this organization. Not only am I learning Spanish and so many practical skills, but I feel proud to help my community.

Outside of the everyday routine, some of the highlights of my journey have been my trips to Pucon and Concepcion. Pucon is a lovely small town in the south with endless nature and culture to explore. I even climbed (and tobogganed down!) Volcan Villarica, which has just recently begun erupting.Concepcion was a different style of trip, as I went to attend a national youth climate change conference. Here, I was inspired by so many local youth who are pushing to make real impacts on climate change policy. On this trip, I felt so included by the community and learned more than I ever could have imagined. And, as an added bonus, I was so kindly hosted by a professor from the local university. She showed me around the city and campus with such love and passion that I could not help but want to return. As such, I am now applying to the university to complete my academic term in the city.

I cannot write about my language term without mentioning my amazing school. At Escuela Bellavista, I feel at home. It is not only the place where I learn Spanish but also where I laugh, dance, and sometimes cry. It is where I have met so many amazing friends and have felt endless support from my teachers. In all, my experience in Chile has been a rollercoaster filled with ups and downs. But just like any other carnival, I always reflect back on each experience with an overall sense of joy. With each win and loss, I learn so incredibly much that I cannot help but feel proud of what I have done and excited for what is to come.