The following excerpt has been modified from a journaling reflection. Arianna Mosqueda is a special major in Dance and Latin American & Latino Studies, who studied abroad in Santiago, Chile in Spring 2025.¹

Ari Mosqueda ’26

Arriving for my Semester Abroad

As I stepped foot offof the plane, the beautiful Andes mountains greeted me along with a warm, early morning sunrise. I was eager to learn about everything: the history, music, arts, cuisine, celebrations, social customs, and traditions that make up Chilean culture and its people’s experiences. I wanted to notice the mundane too: how locals greet each other, what nicknames are given amongst friends, how people joke around. For so long, I had envisioned myself learning Chilean slang, having conversations with local students, and becoming integrated. Finally, I was going to be able to do it all. 

After a long two hours of getting through customs, I was in the taxi on the way to my host family’s house. Staring out the window, I tried capturing every detail — the palm trees, the street names, the storefronts, and the billboards. All the while, I couldn’t help but notice that the first song that played on the radio was a reggaeton song that I had had on repeat for the past weeks. Welcome to Santiago, it said to me. 

Orientating to Santiago

Looking back at my travel journal, my first entry is titled “Mi Primer Día en Santiago.” I wrote about how welcoming my host mom was. I described the porotos granados I tried, the soccer fields I saw, and the beautiful mountains. I shared new words I learned, like palta. Little did I know that fifty pages (and counting) later, Chilean slang would grow on me, the bus and metro routes would become instinctive to navigate, and spaces once unfamiliar would become so dear to me. 

During the first week, I was riding on pure exhilaration, so I would wake up super early, get ready, eat breakfast with my host mom, and get to Metro Baquedano (our usual group meeting spot). In that first week of orientation, we visited places all over Santiago: Plaza de Armas, Museo Histórico Nacional, Cerro San Cristobal, Barrio Patronato, Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos, and La Vega Central among others. 

When the Adrenaline Wears Off

I must admit that the first few weeks after orientation were overwhelming. The initial adrenaline wore off, and I was frustrated with the fact that I had little consistency in my routine. In my pursuit of meeting all types of students, I had chosen to take classes at all three universities. Initially, it was difficult to keep up—I was trying to ground myself in so many spaces at the same time, feeling fragmented as I split my time up. 

I was running around trying classes and using different routes everyday (I had to be glued to Google Maps!). I was going to different university events and meeting tens of people everyday. I was also getting used to the different educational environment, getting used to city life, and missing my family. However, having a weekly core seminar helped to ground me. [Through structured activities facilitated by my program], I was able to try food that is important to the city’s cultural makeup, become more comfortable with Chilean Spanish, get to know my peers-turned-friends, take in Santiago’s enriching cultural and historical background, and grow new curiosities that would shape my experience in Santiago in unexpected ways. 

Connecting with my Identity in New Ways

As a Mexican-American, I’ve never felt a true sense of belonging in Mexico. However, certain moments in Chile have made me realize the extent of my emotional and cultural connection to Mexico— and deepened it too—which was a complete gem of a surprise I didn’t expect to find. 

I have one vivid memory from orientation of walking into La Vega Central. There were cute cats everywhere, stands with arrays of fruits and vegetables, and wonderful smells of freshly cooked food. But what I remember most is that there was a song playing that I recognized: Como En Los Viejos Tiempos by Eden Muñoz, a Mexican singer of whom my older sister is a fanatic (and by proximity, I am too). It was such a surreal and comforting experience to hear music in this new and unfamiliar country that I typically only heard in my household or when I visited my parents’ towns in Mexico. 

I learned that there isn’t much of a Mexican community in Chile, but that Mexican music holds a significant influence. Ever since, I’ve collected bits and pieces of Mexico’s trace here. I connected with an Uber driver in Valparaíso over our liking of corridos and Natanael Cano. Various Chilean friends have recounted the history of Chile’s attempt to help in the Mexican Revolution. A worker-turned-friend at Universidad Diego Portales has talked to me about the Mexican artists that he listens to, for example Molotov and Julieta Venegas. Another friend told me about her study abroad trip to León, Guanajuato, a place I’ve been to many times with my family. We admired Mexico’s beauty together and laughed over our experiences with the clash between Mexican and Chilean slang. 

Why Chile?

Sometimes I think back to the many times my Chilean peers and friends asked me “Why Chile?” I’ve said everything: from my major in Latin American studies to my interest in its history of social movements, from the soccer culture to the reggaeton music in clubs. 

But the truth is, I am still discovering reasons as to why I would choose Chile a thousand times over. It’s the weekly after-soccer-practice conversations on the bus with my friend Elisa, and my jokester soccer instructor’s funny commentary. It’s the lunch conversations with my host mom, and how her face lights up if I use Chilean slang. It’s the community I’ve found at Club Palestino through my Dabke workshop, and the friends I’ve made at the universities. 

The list of goals I made beforehand to dance, play soccer, and make Chilean friends became much more than just items to be checked off; they became cherished memories, curiosities discovered, and connections deepened. 

So, why Chile? Because these small moments that trickle into everyday life, seemingly mundane, have gifted me another place that feels like home. 

1. The views and/or opinions represented in the GEO blog belong solely to the student(s) and do not represent Swarthmore College; students are not liable for any errors or omissions in the personal experiences they share. ↩︎