Chile is a country generally not on the top of the list for most travelers — but it should be. Often forgotten by the rest of the world, Chile is the economic leader of South America. Santiago contains 40 percent of Chile’s population (6 million), leaving the next largest city with only 2 percent. Therefore, other than the capital, the country appears to be untouched by man. Reaching up to 25,000 feet, the Andes run along the more than 2,000-mile border on the east; the ocean swallows the west; and the Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world, guards the north, leaving Chile a solitary country with a distinct culture and Spanish language.
The country is on average only 150 miles wide, making the ocean accessible from just about anywhere. Within the country, traveling almost guarantees activity. You can go backpacking around the lakes and glaciers of Torres del Paine, climb one of the 180 volcanoes, enjoy the world-renowned surfing in Pichilemu, sandboard the dunes in the north, and of course, snowboard down the Andes.
The Eductation Abroad Program brought me to the modern city of Santiago. The 9,000 city buses make a large contribution to the unbelievable amount of pollution in the air, which at times hides hills and buildings only blocks away. Most Chileans live at home until they are married, but if a student goes away to college, he or she will generally live with another family. The country is conservatively Catholic — divorce and abortion are 100-percent illegal — and though many parents are strict with their daughters, there is a rejection of Puritan values. The night life that starts at 11 p.m. has recently led to a reversal of the law against drinking in public because the authorities were just fed up with throwing people in jail. Some sources say that “”personal”” use of marijuana is legal, and at the University of Chile, it is hard not to smell the number of students that take advantage of this.
The most memorable adventure I had was the first time I ventured over the Andes into Argentina. For quite some time, Argentina has had horrendous economic problems and the weekend I chose to travel by myself, the banks decided to close. Since I left on the day of the National Census in Chile, everything was closed, making it impossible to buy food. After seven hours in a van, I arrived in Mendoza hungry and without Argentine pesos. My legs took me as far as a beat-up old hotel next to the bus station, but for $5 I got a room and breakfast. The receptionist told me I could pay in the morning and there would be someone to exchange money. However, at checkout, I was told by a different person to leave my passport and go out and find someone to change my money. All the Automated Teller Machines had been bled dry and the “”casas de cambio”” closed, but fortunately, after only a few hours I found someone at an international bus company who would change my Chilean pesos for Argentine.
Studying abroad involves unimaginable ups and downs, but overall I would recommend a program like EAP to everyone. Not having enough money is no excuse, because renting a room for $300 in the nice area of Santiago will include utilities, food, laundry and most likely the Latin custom of maid service. For more information, Isabel Allende’s “”The House of Spirits”” gives an account of Chilean culture and recent history with a brutal dictatorship. Also visit the International Center off Library Walk.
