Pablo Neruda, author of the internationally-acclaimed Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair and the second Chilean to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, owned three homes in his native Chile. During my summer study abroad with IES Internships, I visited two of them: La Sebastiana in the port city Valparaiso and La Chascona in Santiago’s hipster Bellavista neighborhood.

Being a book nerd and an intern at a publishing house in Santiago means that often, going to bookstores around the city counted as work research. Here are some of my favorite bookstores in Santiago, Chile.

Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center

Universidad de Chile 

I have a long and fraught history with religion. I was raised in the Church of Christ for the first 18 years of my life. Then when I was 19, I was introduced to paganism by my maternal grandmother and my aunt. I went to Thailand to learn about Buddhism and have taken university classes on Taoism, Confucianism, and Islam.

I’ve attended two Prides in the U.S. since coming out as a pansexual woman. Now, I’m marching for LGBT+ equality in the streets of Santiago…with a glitter beard glued to my face.  

A lot of my blogs have centered around my travels in Argentina. It seems unfair, because Buenos Aires has been my home and one of the highlights of my experience here in Argentina.

One of the things that made me want to study abroad in Buenos Aires--and one of the reasons I love it so much--is because of the beauty and diversity of its architecture. I'm not particularly knowledgable about architecture, but I really do love staring at a beautiful building, which can be found in every barrio of BA.

Traveling abroad can be so exciting! In Europe, travel between countries is very simple and cheap, relatively speaking. Between cheap airlines and the high-speed rail that covers much of Europe, you’ll see that a lot of people who study abroad decide to take weekend trips to cities and countries near where they’re studying. However, realistically speaking, not everyone has the opportunity to do that due to money or other reasons.

Stand here with me in a darkened and infinite, subterranean and concrete room with an automatic door, illuminated by the faces of those who went missing in the '70s and '80s under Pinochet's dictatorship.

9/11.

Every American and Chilean knows this number. In the US, the date signifies when the twin towers fell in 2001. For Chile, it was the day that democracy in the nation died. 

On May 31 I turned 21 years old. For young adults in the United States, this marks the end of being legally too young to enter clubs, buy alcohol, and smoke (in some states)─it marks true freedom. Unlike at home, it’s just another birthday here in Argentina…which doesn’t mean much, considering that Argentines love to celebrate.

Salamanca was suitably named the Golden City due to its beautiful, hand-crafted buildings made of sandstone. The palaces, cathedrals, and university buildings that make up Salamanca become more golden the more they age. When walking through the streets of Salamanca, beauty can be seen in every direction. From the side streets to the Plaza Mayor, this photogenic city never ceases to impress. There is history and modernity all over the city.