Chile: Skye Dickson (Final Reflections)

Program: SIT Public Health, Traditional Medicine, and Community Empowerment, Spring

When I chose this program one of my main goals was to improve my Spanish language skills. At first, I was so nervous when I would speak in case I said something wrong or embarrassed myself. I quickly learned that I just needed to be confident and realize that mistakes would happen but they would help me get better at the language.

I have noticed that my Spanish has improved a lot since I have been here. Staying with a host family has definitely been great for practicing my Spanish in a more casual way and with more various topics.

Over the course of this program, I have noticed feelings of being nervous to speak have worn away. One day, our group was staying at a hotel in the south of Chile and I was sharing the room with two other people. They told me the next day that I had been saying Spanish phrases in my sleep. I think they were a little annoyed about waking them up but I was so happy because I felt like it was a big step in my language learning.

I have been learning Spanish since 8th grade and I feel that over these past few months I have learned more in a couple months than in years due to the full immersion. I am grateful for the opportunity to improve and hope to continually improve my vocabulary and fluency over the rest of my program and beyond