Intercambio

For the first few months in Chile, I hung out with alot of other Americans. We did have a group of Chilean friends that we did things with occasionally, but it is harder than we expected to make close friends at the University. I signed up to be paired up with a Chilean student that wants to practice English, and that can help me with my Spanish. It is called an intercambio program that is mutually beneficial to both people involved. My partner´s name is Byron and he is studying English at the University. It has been so much fun meeting with him on a regular basis. We split the time conversing half in Spanish, and half in English. We are also there to offer homework help or anything else that we may need. Having someone from Chile that you really get to know and talk to often allows you to learn the language in a different way. They speak with a regional dialect and I have learned so much from this intercambio! (definitely things that aren´t taught in classes, like slang words and such).

I have also introduced my American friends to Byron´s Chilean friends and we have all been going out a lot lately. It has made my time here so much more enjoyable and I am learning so much more than I did at the beginning of my trip! We are all actually planning to take a trip one weekend to a town in Chile so we can all practice our language skills. I am really looking forward to the trip and am so glad I took the time to engage in this intercambio!