Life Abroad in Santiago

Figuring out life abroad isn’t all that different from figuring out life in college, but at the same time it can be helpful to know what to expect before going to study in another country. Here’s an example of a typical day in my life here in Santiago on the Summer Health Studies Program!

I wake up at around 7:30am to get to my 9am class. My host mom left some fruit and yogurt in the fridge like I requested, but she’s always open to cooking eggs or making toast, or whatever I might want. I make myself a yogurt bowl, adding some granola and peanut butter I picked up from the store, then I leave the house at 8:15am. Even though it’s summer in the USA, it’s winter in Chile, so I make sure to wear my coat. I walk 5 minutes to the bus stop and wait for the bus, also called the “micro,” to show up. During rush hour in the morning, it usually comes in less than 5 minutes, but at less busy times it can take up to 20. I scan my payment card and ride the bus to hop on the underground train, also called the “metro,” and get to the IES Abroad Center. It’s only 8:45am so the center is still closed. I grab a coffee from a nearby cafe and sit on the steps outside.

Today is a day at EPES, a public health organization in Chile, so at 9am I hop on another bus with a few of my classmates and we drive to the EPES building for class. We learn about public health topics like obesity and problems with monoculture for a few hours, take a snack break, then finish out the rest of class. At 1pm the bus driver picks us up and we ride back to the Center. My friends and I go out to lunch on Providencia, a main street near the Santiago IES Abroad Center. We talk and laugh and take a stroll around the city, and after a few hours, we all split up and go back to our houses. It’s a nice day out, so I decide to walk home. On my way back, I stop by some shops and grab a chocolate muffin as a post-lunch sweet treat.

Once I make it home, I am greeted warmly by my host mom when I get home, and she immediately asks me how my day was, tells me about dinner plans, and chats with me for a while before I head to my room. I’m definitely more of an introvert than an extrovert, so after a long day, I usually like to take a break on my own until dinner. During this break, I pull out my planner and organize my homework schedule, then complete any assignments that are due. My host mom heats up my dinner and she sets the table for Once, the meal that lots of Chileans choose to have instead of dinner. She lays out an array of desserts, sandwiches, and breads, along with some fruit and tea. Two of her friends are over tonight, so I bring my plate of food into the dining room and sit with them, listening to them talk about life and chiming in every once in a while.

After a few hours, I start to get sleepy so I thank them for letting me sit and I go back to my room and turn the heater on. It’s very uncommon for houses in Chile to have heating, so space heaters definitely come in handy in the winter. I call someone from home, usually my mom or a friend, then I get ready for bed. Electricity is expensive, so I make sure all of the lights are turned off before I shut my eyes and drift off to sleep.

This is just a sample weekday in my life in Santiago, on weekends there’s much more time for excursions, field trips, and exploring. The most important thing is to not let your time go to waste while studying abroad. Don’t be afraid to say yes to new things, but also don’t spend so much time doing things that you are too tired to enjoy life. I hope this helps you in the days, weeks, or months of waiting in anticipation for study abroad. Until next time!