Hi, I’m Madison! For my Senior Project I will be spending two weeks in Chile from February 20th to March 6th. Four of my friends and I will be staying in Santiago, the capital of the country. We will take Spanish classes at a facility that offers Spanish lessons through a language program with stations in many Spanish-speaking countries all over the world. In addition to the classes, we also elected to take salsa lessons as part of our program. The language classes are four hours a day, followed by salsa instruction. It seems that even outside of the country, we still find our way into a classroom.

After class, we will be exploring Santiago and neighboring parts of Chile. In an attempt to experience a true Chilean cultural immersion, we will visit historical museums and art galleries, as well as markets, hot springs, restaurants, and everything in between. We are traveling to the beautiful beaches of San Antonio for a weekend, taking full advantage of our host family’s vacation house. We also hope to see Valparaiso, if only for the day. I know for certain that we will discover how much better Chilean Sea Bass tastes in Chile.

I have not yet had the realization that this trip is actually happening. Because we started planning in October, the whole Senior Project idea simply seems like a distant dream. We have been counting down to the 20^th since November. I am elated to have the opportunity to pursue my interest in foreign cultures with my friends. For the first time, my friends and I will have independence unparalleled to that of most high school seniors. It will be the perfect time to demonstrate the responsibility, consciousness, and intelligence that we have cultivated over the past four years.

While I am extremely excited for the trip, I am also a little anxious. My primary concern is the flight. While all worthwhile things take a journey to reach, over 10 hours seems a bit extreme. Yes, I am aware that this concern is incredibly trivial. My not-so-trivial apprehension revolves around my ability to communicate accurately. I have always tried desperately to avoid embarrassment, so naturally I am afraid of using my atrociously accented Spanish. I hope to progress from this fear in order to both humble myself and expand my knowledge. Practice makes perfect?

Ciao!

Madison =]