Student Perspective – Study Abroad
By: Mollie Picha, ‘15
Hola! Bienvenidos a mi historia! My name is Mollie Picha and I am a senior in the Honors Program here at Gonzaga. After many semesters of indecision I will be graduating with a double major in International Relations and Environmental Studies with a minor in Spanish. People are often surprised at how much I love my university, but any other Gonzaga graduate or current student would instantly understand me. Part of my love for Gonzaga stems from my study abroad experience and all the opportunities that are available to students through study abroad.
Last fall, I spent six months studying in Valparaíso, Chile. Though my program was not sponsored at the time (it is now!), Study Abroad worked with me so I could have this unique experience. While in Chile, I participated in a homestay and lived with my host parents, Máximo and Orietta, in Viña del Mar. Viña del Mar is the “twin city” of Valparaíso; both lie on the picturesque coast in the middle of Chile. When any student desires to study abroad, I highly recommend staying in a homestay because it gives a unique cultural immersion that is difficult to get otherwise. I learned so much about Chilean culture and family traditions by living with my host family. Everyone gathers around mom and dad’s bed to watch the nightly news, lunch is the huge family meal of the day that takes place around 2pm, once is a bread and tea replacement for dinner around 9pm, and young people typically live with their parents until they get married. Though I might have learned these things in a book or in class, I certainly understand and appreciate these traditions much deeper after living with my host family.
Chilean Spanish is infamous for its difficulty and is often regarded as the hardest Spanish to understand in the world, many even calling it a different language altogether! Even though I had studied Spanish for four years before travelling to Chile, I still had difficulties communicating and it took me about two months before I felt truly comfortable in the language. Those first few months were difficult being away from Gonzaga and only being able to talk in English every once in a while, but once I got over the learning curve things went up from there.
Most students learn to be more independent during their study abroad experience, but I actually learned how to be a little more dependent as well. I have always been an independent person, relying on my parents less than the average child and young adult. This helped me in my study abroad experience in adjusting to a new life and new people outside of my Gonzaga community, friends, and family. But, I still was not completely prepared for this change and I learned that because of the cultural and language differences, I was going to have to rely on other people in addition to myself. Sometimes all I needed was a little bit of extra help with Spanish, so I would go to my host brother and we would practice. Other times, I would need to go somewhere, and directions became nearly impossible if I didn’t simply ask for help. Though it wasn’t an astronomically difficult transition for me, it did take a little time before I felt comfortable in Chile and was willing to depend on other people for help.
Once I did settle in, Chile gave me the best six months of my life! I took all but one of my classes in Spanish, with Chilean professors. Unfortunately, there were no Chilean students in my classes because they were on strike for the first month of the semester, protesting for more inexpensive and higher quality education. Chile has a pretty vibrant civic culture and individuals and groups are not afraid to express their discontent through strikes and protests. Even without Chileans in my classes, I was able to find a great community at the church I attended and spent much of my free time with the Chilean students from youth group! This, coupled with taking regular classes in Spanish, improved my language abilities exponentially. I know now that I could go to any Spanish speaking country tomorrow and communicate without any problems because I was able to conquer the “Chilean” language.
Because I decided to not leave Chile and explore neighboring countries, I was able to get the full Chilean experience. Though travelling to other countries can be an amazing experience to see many different cultural and historical places, staying within a country is also a great way to fully immerse yourself in the culture of that country. Just within Chile, I saw geysers in San Pedro de Atacama in the Atacama Desert, hiked and sledded down a snow covered volcano and visited a native Mapuche village in Pucón in the lake region, connected across age, gender, and nationality with men while volunteering at Hogar de Cristo in Valparaíso, experienced German cultural influences due to immigration in Puerto Varas, learned about the many tall tales associated with the island of Chiloé while visiting Chile’s largest island, and even went backpacking at Torres del Paine in Patagonia in Southern Chile. Some might say I did it all!
Chile is a country of both immigrants and indigenous peoples with a rich cultural and somewhat rocky political history. I learned so much from classes, friends, host family, and trips that I never would have learned had I not been able to study abroad. I have grown so much as a person and I would not have given up my experience for anything. Espero que sus estudiantes tengan la misma oportunidad que yo para estudiar en otro país durante su tiempo en Gonzaga! I hope that your students have the same opportunity that I did to study in another country during their time at Gonzaga! Chau, hasta pronto!