Before Departure

Studying abroad just started as an idea about no more than a year ago. At this point it seems almost unreal that I will be leaving in little over a month for almost 7 months. I will definitely miss my friends and family but this journey alone to a foreign and strange new land is next on my lists of things to accomplish. You may all be wondering why Chile? Out of all the other Spanish speaking countries why there?

I always wanted to learn Spanish. Coming from a half Latin American family I feel it is my duty to learn how to speak the language. Without knowing how to speak Spanish I have missed out on getting to know many of my uncles and aunts and especially my grandmother on a different level. 

As I was narrowing down my decision among the many Spanish-speaking countries, I knew for sure I did not want to go to Spain (even though I would love to go there in the future) because most everyone that wants to study Spanish in a foreign nation chooses to go there. I wanted to be different and travel the unbeaten path. In high school one of my Spanish teachers of two years went to Chile and I remember him telling the class he absolutely loved it there. Because, I have already been to Europe, Mexico, and Central America I felt South America and more specifically Chile was the right place to go. With the beach and mountains in close proximity to one another the climate seems familiar to my current living situation and with my love for both the beach and the mountains Chile seemed the best way to go. 

I will be living in Valparaíso, Chile. It is on the coast and is about an hour and a half away from the capital Santiago. A couple things I really hope to do while I'm there include; getting accustomed to the culture, learning Spanish and being able to speak it fluently (of coarse), and travel to the Andes to snowboard, and see Machu Pichu. 

The plan is to use this site so I can keep in touch with everyone. More importantly though this is a means to allow everyone a little insight into my life and experience in Chile without having to keep in touch with many people on a more personal level. Also I hope to write on here as much as possible to build on my writing skills and share my way of thinking. You may even expect to find some essays, poetry, and photos on here as well! If you have any comments or questions feel free to post them and I will try to address everyones questions as best as possible. Don't forget though I will still have my facebook and myspace and will probably be uploading many photos on that. Happy reading! 

with love, 

Bobby