Common Questions Answered

Hola Amigos!

Since I will be leaving Gig Harbor and arriving in Chile in about a month (I know! Crazy!) I have been asked a lot of questions about my exchange and preparations. So I decided to make a blog post completely dedicated to answering these frequently asked questions! Hope you find this interesting!

What drew you to choosing Chile?

Since I am a Rotary Youth Exchange Student, it works a little differently! At district interviews, we were asked to prepare a list of our top country choices. So we group our preferred country choices in groups and then listed them alphabetically. When we went into interviews, which where in Victoria, BC, a panel of about 4 Rotarians and a previous exchange student interviewed me, getting a grasp of my personality, ideas, activities, and so on! Then later that night they used my alphabetized list of countries and met with all of the other Rotarians who interviewed the soon-to-be exchange students with me and matched us with the country that would best suit us personally and tried to keep in mind our country preferences! After the long weekend of interviews, I was so relieved and beyond excited to recieve a call the night I got home saying I was going to Chile and started crying tears of joy! I felt so lucky. Chile was in my top 5 choices including Spain, Italy, Austria, France. Chile was my top choice and i cannot believe how lucky I am. But to directly answer the question what drew me to Chile was the culture which intrigued me. Since the language spoken is Spanish and that is the language I am learning, I hope to reach fluency on or asoon after exchange. Finally, Chile has a variety of landscapes including desert, temperate, glaciers, and Easter Island which will be amazing for travel.

When do you leave?

I leave in about one month and should arrive in Chile on August 23rd

Where are you living in Chile?

I will be leaving in a town called "Talagante" which is about 45 minutes south of Santiago, the capital of Chile:)

Will your school be in English of Spanish?

It will be in Spanish! This exchange is all about immersion and becoming apart of the culture so go big or go home of course!

Will you be staying with a host family?

Yes! I will actually be staying with 2 different families! But my first family is so kind and we have been communicating often! The parents are name Marcelo and Marcia, and they have 4 children: Diego, 24, Daniela, 18, Paula, 16 (who will be on exchange to Washington while I am there) and last but not least Ignacia who is 15!

Are you excited?

YES! OF COURSE! No need to ask, I have been preparing for this for nearly a year and have dedicated so much of myself and my time to Rotary Youth Exchange and am so thankful for that. I am so excited!

Are you ready?

As ready as one could be preparing to live in another country for a year!

Hopefully that answers all of the commonly asked questions!

Adios!