Makenzie Wright

Makenzie Wright is an Ambassador who studied abroad in Chile.

Briefly describe a specific cultural experience you had on your trip that made a lasting impression. Living with a host family!  Living with another family- not to mention a foreign-speaking family- is a very unique experience. You learn things about the people that you would never be able to without that aspect of the semester.    

Volunteering at an after-school program at a YMCA.  I got to see a side of life that I would never have gotten to understand had I stayed in the heart of Viña.

Why did you choose the program in which you participated? I wanted to go to Chile because I had never been to South America and wanted to try something new that would challenge me.  I am also a Spanish minor, and I could complete my minor in this program.  I didn’t want to live in Europe because I wanted something more different from the daily life to which I was already accustomed.  I am sure that I will travel to Europe another time in my life, but the chance of traveling on my own to Chile was slim.  I enjoy natural beauty (which Chile has a lot of!) more than man made beauty.  The Chile program is in an urban city, which was a change I needed from rural St. Joseph. ?  Now I’ve been to every continent except Australia and Antarctica… though at the Southern-most tip of Chile I did get as close to Antarctica as one can get without actually crossing the ocean!

What advice do you have for future travelers? Join a sports team, club, or community organization that involves other Chileans!  Joining the U soccer team was one of the best decisions I made.  The girls on that team were awesome, very welcoming and friendly, and became the Chileans my age that I got to know best.   Most people I met I got to know for a night and never talked to again.  Because I saw the same girls every week, it was worth their time to invest in me.  You don’t have to be a great athlete or have a lot of experience.

Travel within and outside of your country.  If you get an idea to go somewhere, ask your group members if they would like to go with you, and just plan it and go.

Go to Peru!!  Cuzco, Peru was my favorite place!

How has the trip affected you? How are you different for having completed the experience? In the US, we learn very little about the countries straight south of us (I know I only had a European history course in high school).  In Chile, I was always learning something NEW, even if it was just an afternoon off walking around the city, whether it was my Spanish, Chilean culture/history/government, or people’s attitudes and way-of-life.  My Spanish speaking improved a lot.  I am not fluent, but I am much better than when I left.  The most significant change was in my inhibition to speak.  You can’t hold onto a fear like that when you’re living there for four months– it just naturally fades away.