Flying into Santiago was incredible, nestled between the snowcapped Andes Mountains and Chilean Costal Range. Upon arrival, I felt a sense of excitement and nervousness. Javiera, Kathleen, and Margarita from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile welcomed us at the airport and drove us to the Edificio Metro Salvador II Building, where we will stay during our program. Looking out as we drove through Santiago, I was amazed by the mountainous landscape, flourishing parks, Mapocho River, architecture, and colours of the city. I felt excited to spend the next month exploring the vibrant city of Santiago, Chile.
After arriving at the beautiful Edificio Metro Salvador II Building, Kathleen and Margarita took us to the Costanera Centre, which is the largest mall in South America, located in a skyscraper! We took the Metro de Santiago to the Costanera Center, which is a high-speed rail network used by 2.5 million passengers daily. Strolling through the aisles of the supermarket, I first began to experience culture shock, realising how tricky a simple thing like doing my weekly shopping would be, particularly as I am learning to speak Chilean Spanish.
During our first weekend before our classes began, we explored Santiago. We went out to try some local Chilean food and practice our Chilean Spanish. I really enjoyed meeting the locals, who were incredibly friendly and patient with the language barrier. On Sunday morning, we visited San Cristóbal Hill. We rode the funicular to the top of the hill, about 860 meters above the city. I didn’t realise until reaching the top how high the hill was, and the views were spectacular. When we reached the top, I was in awe of the panoramic views of Santiago, home to 7 million people. We walked further up the hill to the Statue of the Virgin Mary and took in the breathtaking view. After exploring the top of the hill, we took the cable car down, overlooking the Costanera Center and Andes Mountains.
On Monday, we began our program! We headed to Campus San Joaquín and were welcomed by Javiera, Cristián, Kathleen, Margarita, and Vivi. We went on a tour of the beautiful campus, and I felt so grateful and excited to begin studying intercultural approaches to public health. During the tour, Javiera shared with us that the students have nicknames for different buildings/ statues on the campus. For example, the Statue of Christ is nicknamed Batman! I felt very welcomed and excited to explore the campus.
On our second official day of classes, we met international students joining us from Switzerland and the USA. Our first seminar was about globalisation and public health, focusing on diversity and cultural learning. On Wednesday, we had a seminar on human mobility and migrants’ needs in the Chilean context and mental health in Chile. I particularly enjoyed learning about the trajectory of changes in both legislation and healthcare systems to support mental well-being. In the afternoon, we had a seminar on social welfare in Chile, where we learnt about the relationship between Chilean social welfare and healthcare systems.
Reflecting upon my first five days in Chile, I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and excited for what will come. I have learned so much in only the first five days and cannot wait to share my experiences with you guys!
Exciting and amazing opportunity !!! I will keep reading your blog to catch up with you 🙂 xx