The following excerpt has been modified from a post originally written for a journaling reflection by Sophia Caceres, a double major in Spanish and Religion, who studied abroad in Santiago, Chile in Spring 2025.¹

Sophia Caceres ’26

The Fears and Promise of a Spanish Immersion Experience

I decided to study abroad because I made a commitment to improve my Spanish and knew that the only way I would actually get to where I wanted to be was to make myself wildly uncomfortable and do something I’d never done before.

I had dug myself into a hole before I even got on the plane, because I was overwhelmed by a profound insecurity of my own language skills. What I didn’t know was that in a few months I would be making brunch plans with Chileans friends, getting invited to parties, and dressing up for the Santiago Philharmonic, all while (mostly) speaking Spanish.

Creating a Strategy and Sticking to your Goals

Despite my nerves, there were certain actions that I took from “Day One” to set myself up for success. 1) Creating a relationship with my host family to practice speaking. 2) Finding ways to get to know my program group and other international students. 3) Joining communities on campus primarily comprised of Chileans.

All of those things were extremely overwhelming and very VERY scary. It felt like freshman year all over again introducing myself to international students
at orientation. The first couple of weeks with my host family were awkward and I was absolutely terrified to speak to my Chilean classmates.

But don’t listen to that voice in your head telling you to just stay at home. I invited new friends out to lunch. (Some I haven’t talked to since, and others I now have standing ice cream dates with once a week.) I started opening up to my host family more and more and began to ask questions about my grammar/vocab. I now cook for them on occasion and we enjoy relaxing together on the weekends.

Joining Student Clubs on Campus

I highly encourage you to find community outside of your program, your country, and your language. You’ll learn so much more about the culture and the language than you ever would in the classroom. It could be sports, it could be a club or even a salsa group.

For me, the real game changer was joining two groups: La Comisión Acogida (CAUC) and La Selección de Natación PUC.

CUAC is a student-led group at the Universidad Catolica that organizes activities for international students. They run day trips around the city and to nearby towns. I went to Pomaire with them and made empanadas and clay pots (coolest experience ever!) They even take you surfing on the coast. I went to a couple events with them and it was an amazing way to both practice my Spanish and get to know the country better with Chilean students who actually wanted to get to know me.

Building Camaraderie Through Athletic Teams

La Selección de Natación PUC is the swim team at la Catolica. I’m on the varsity team at Swarthmore and I knew that I wanted to find a team in Chile (more to make friends than to commit to something ultra-competitive). Joining the team at la Catolica gave me access to a close-knit community
bound by a common goal of team performance.

The sports culture in Chile is primarily focused around club soccer, but even then, it doesn’t compare to the energy and intensity of sports in the US. Even if you just played in high school and want to work out consistently, I’d encourage you to check out the teams at either la Catolica or at U de Chile. Practices and competitions are flexible and give you access to some incredible groups of individuals.

In my case, I tried out for and made the swim team and began practices with them after the first couple weeks of class. I even got to compete with them at the end of the semester. Socially, the trick is to invite your teammates/ classmates/ club members to do things with you. Be annoying about it. Chileans are known to be a little more reserved; and chances are they would be super excited to receive an invite from the new American. By the end of my semester I was hanging out with my teammates pretty regularly and not only was it awesome language practice but I also made some incredible friends I’ll never forget.

Exploring this Beautiful Country

In addition to all of the activities that you can get in involved individually on-campus, my program facilitated many experiences that allowed me to make the most out of my time in Chile.

We had four organized trips with the program: a day trip to Valparaiso and a day trip to Isla Negra; as well as two “long weekend” trips to Patagonia and San Pedro de Atacama. Outside of the trips, we had class every Friday with a local professor to learn more about Chilean culture.

From speaking with other American students I’ve met, no other program provides such comprehensive trips and lectures. As a student, it alleviated a lot of stress knowing that everything was planned out in advance by the program administrators.

Out of all the trips we took, I was absolutely floored by how beautiful San Pedro was. It was by far my favorite trip we went on together. I had never been to the desert before, and all of a sudden I was in the driest place on Earth. On top of that, the Atacama desert is especially remarkable because (although it may seem arid and a little lifeless) there are a huge range of locations available for sightseeing that go beyond walking in the sand. We were able to see flamingoes, go swimming in hot springs, see the geysers at El Tatio, and even get to know the locals. And I know I would have been too stressed out to plan these activities on my own.

Building Community within the Program

Each trip gave us all an opportunity to bond as a group. For me, one of the things that makes a trip so special is the folks you share it with. Each time we traveled as a program group, I felt myself grow closer to each individual in the cohort. Because of this, almost all of us chose to travel together in smaller groups for our “spring break,” a one-week break the students at La Catolica get at the end of April.

I went to Peru with two friends where we stayed in Lima, Cusco, and Machu Picchu. Just a few of the highlights included: an amazing food tour in Lima, rooftop bar views in Cusco, and an unforgettable two-day hike in Machu Picchu (one of the seven wonders of the world!) I absolutely fell in love with Peru and all of our tour guides were extremely knowledgeable, making the trip all the more special.

Parting Advice for Swarthmore Students

The biggest piece of advice I can give you before going abroad is — say “yes” more than you say “no.” Say yes to the trips, the nights out, the concerts, the everything. Make yourself uncomfortable. Leading up to my flight, I was dreading going abroad for an entire semester because I am terrified of the unknown and forever a perfectionist. But by taking those “uncomfy” risks and being willing to make mistakes, I was able to meet all of my linguistic and cultural goals, and to make memories that I know I’ll never forget.

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. ↩︎