It is important to me not simply to learn how to speak in Spanish; I need to also understand the culture of the people here and what is important to them so that we can work together to protect the ocean.
By staying with a family in Santiago, Chile, I hope that I can learn more about what Chilean people do every day, and how Chile is different from the United States. I speak as much as I can in Spanish with the mother of the family I am staying with. She is trying to learn English, so we can help each other! I am also taking classes in both Spanish and English at a university here so that I will understand both the culture and the language better. I hope that by the end of my time here, I will not only be able to communicate better with Chilean people, but I will also discover some new ideas and points of view that I never thought about before.
