My Junior year of high school, I was able to study abroad for a year in Chile. I lived in Santiago and got to experience a way of life that contrasted my small-town Kansas life. This was the first time traveling on my own and it is one of the most defining times in my life. I grew more than I thought possible and learned so much about myself. My time in Chile let me travel to the Atacama Desert, Patagonia, Easter Island, and parts of Argentina. I learned Spanish and made great friends, two things that helped me greatly the more I planned to travel.


My classmates and I at our school, Castelgandolfo


Sand dunes in the Atacama Desert




Some of the Moai on Easter Island


South of Chile in front of a volcano