My exchange with Reach the World is drawing to a close, but my time in Chile isn’t! I've been here over five months now and I'll probably stay another six. It’s been a roller coaster being here during the Coronavirus outbreak. Sometimes I think about how crazy it is that I’m living in another country during a pandemic: how difficult it has been to completely switch my research plans in an unfamiliar place; how I’ve had to navigate difficult situations in my second language; and how I've had to use so much extra time and effort to figure out how transportation, healthcare and financial systems work in another country!
Written down here, that situation sounds really overwhelming. However, as I write this journal entry, I realize that I have been able to get through this because I've had so much practice traveling and going through difficult situations. While the reality of Coronavirus still looms over me and everyone in the world, living here in Chile isn’t such a novelty anymore. I don’t mean that in a negative way, however. In fact, I'm enjoying my time more and more. I have a routine, I speak Spanish every day (mostly) with ease, and I've built a social network. While I frequently keep in touch with friends in the U.S.
