Preparing to Invert My Latitude

As I prepare for the coming semester in Chile with IES Abroad Santiago I have had a lot to get done. I spent the beginning of the summer at my home school, Wofford College taking both summer classes and doing archival research on Spanish Civil War to help brush up on my Spanish. This meant, however, that I had approximately only two weeks to get everything in order before I depart. The way I saw it there were two categories of things I needed to get done before I headed down to South America. The first category is things I need to due in preparation for being in Chile and the second category is things that I need to do in preparation for being away from the United States for a semester. 

The first category of things I needed to do in preparation for being in Santiago included all the necessary forms that IES Abroad and my home institution, Wofford College needed me to fill out. On top of these forms I needed to make sure I stayed on top of things coming from IES Abroad's partner institutions. The program I am enrolled in, IES Abroad Santiago, Politics, Social Justice & Language requires all the participating students to take at least one class at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, or UC Chile. I got a taste of the Spanish language immersion that I will experience in Santiago by communicating with and registering for classes at UC Chile in Spanish. 

Beyond filling out paperwork it eventual occurred to me that I did in fact need to actually pack for my semester abroad. I will be living with a host family which means by laundry will be regularly done. That knowledge made me a bit more comfortable with bringing  just two weeks worth of clothes as recommended by IES Abroad. While researching the climate and weather in Santiago I quickly realized it would be a bit similar to the climate here in Atlanta. Both Atlanta and Santiago lie between the 33rd and 34th latitude lines, north and south respectively. Both cities lie at the foot of mountain ranges, albeit the Andes much larger and climatically significant than the Appalachians. After doing more research into the winter weather in Santiago (seasons are flipped in the southern hemisphere) I discovered that the winter lows and highs were in fact quite similar to Atlanta. The big difference is that the there can be a more robust daily change in temperature. This was a relief as it meant I would not need to go out and get any sort of super heavy coat or parka. I did make sure to pack a not insignificant amount of sweaters, sweatshirts, and quarter zips as our virtual IES Abroad orientations had forewarned us about the lack of central heating in many buildings.

Unrelated, but one recommendation I have for anyone trying to pack lightly is to use compressible packing cubes as they will both help you stay organized and drastically reduce the amount of space your clothes will take up.

In regards to the second category, they main thing I felt I had to do before I left the United States was see friends from home and school. Myself and a group of friends met up in Spartanburg, SC, the home of Wofford College, last week for one last hoorah before several of us went off to different study abroad programs. We decided to take a road trip up to the mountains so we looked at a list of cool mountain towns in NC and settled on Sylva as none of us had been there. When we arrived in Sylva, which by the way is a really trendy mountain town and great hiking destination, the first thing we noticed was the replica Moai statue. I quickly snapped a pick and new I would upload it. My friends and I all agreed it was a good omen for my coming trip to Chile and all the adventures that will be had. 

My flight leaves tonight so next time year hear from me I will be sending my regards from south of the equator.

Salud!

-Jackson