¡Hola todos!

As most of you know, I’ll be spending the next six (yes, six!) months studying in Chile and exploring South America. Since traveling is even more exciting when you share it with others and because I can’t hide any of you in my luggage (not for a lack of trying, I assure you), I hope you follow my adventures through this blog!

The title, “Los fines del mundo”, is Spanish for “The ends of the earth”. Chileans often refer to Chile as “the end of the world”, and I thought it’d be fitting for my journey around the southern hemisphere.

Some quick background information about the program and what I’ll be doing:

• The program is made up of two parts: an Intensive Language Program (ILP) and a University program.
• For the month of July I’ll be taking Spanish language classes during the ILP. Because English is rarely spoken in Chile, having a good understanding of Spanish is essential. During this time I’ll be living with a Chilean host family. This is pretty much why I’m leaving at the end of June, super early, rather than in August when school actually starts.
• After the ILP ends, I have around 10 days of “vacation time” before the university classes begin. Since it’s currently winter in the southern hemisphere, I’m intending to use this time to travel to northern Chile, where the dry deserts remain hot and arid throughout the year.
• I’m going to be a foreign-exchange student studying at the University of Chile, a public university located right in the heart of Santiago, and I’ll be taking classes alongside Chilean students (yep, all in Spanish!). 1-2 courses will fulfill some Spanish major requirements, and others (from different departments) will be taken for fun. I won’t be able to sign up for these until I get there, so I’ll know more about this and the process later.
• The semester ends in mid-December, but I’m hoping to use weekends to travel within Chile and perhaps to Peru/Argentina. After my finals, I want to use the next few weeks to travel around South America. I don’t have an itinerary yet, so this should be fun… :)

I’ll have frequent access to the internet, so please leave comments/queries/suggestions or tips of stuff I should try! If you have longer responses, please email me at losfinesdelmundo@gmail.com. Also email me if you’re interested in getting a postcard from South America!

I’m in town for the next week, so if you’re here let’s meet up! If I don’t get to see you, enjoy the rest of your summer; we’ll catch up in the new year!

¡Hasta luego!