I was an exchange student in Rancagua, Chile from 1996-1997. At the time, Rancagua seemed to be the epicenter of Rotary exchange in Chile. There were 9 of is in the tiny area! Santiago only had 4. Of the 9 of us, 6 of us were girls. Here we are on our way up to tour El Teniente, the largest underground copper mine in the world, conveniently located outside of Rancagua:
From left to right: Clare, Nanci, Krissy (kneeling), Erin, Martha, and Krissy.
Over time, I have lost contact with most of them; not to mention all of the boys. Through facebook, I have reconnected a bit. I now know a little about the lives of 4 of us. Here are the facts:
- Three of us have/are marrying Latinos. One married a nice white boy.
- I am marrying someone I met when we were there.
- Two of us are Spanish teachers (I think high school in both cases, but am not sure).
- One works in a Latin American Studies department at a major university.
- One has returned to Chile for a Fulbright.
- Two returned to study for some time in college (summer or year).
So…. at least the four of us who I know about, have clearly stayed connected to Spanish, Chile, and/or Latin America. Here is my question: Which came first? The chicken or the egg? Our time in Chile or our love for all things (and people) Latino?
Musings from inside, outside, and underneath 
I just want to know why it’s always girls that study abroad!!!!
There were three boys in the group. They are not pictured because I have no idea what happened to them– and this picture is hot. I mean, the helmets, the great 90s jackets, some rockin’ shoes. What not to love?
wow interesting facts. 4 out of 3!! I believe there must be some interest in the men, the culture and life of Latin America to end studying there.
However my story is different 😉
I went to Chile to learn Spanish because I found the Spanish women to be attractive and the thing that spoke for Chile was that it was warm in November and there is little crime / corruption.
I wanted to increase my chances with them and did NOT intend or want to end up in Chile or Latin America. Also since it were only 4 weeks I did NOT want to start a relationship there. But 😉 I am now happily living in Chile con mi Mecixan amor I met on this language holiday.
Cute picture and good question. I started taking Spanish class in high school and became fascinated by the language and the culture I was learning about. After my first study abroad in 2005 I was hooked. I think I’m one of those weird people who is meant to live a large chunk of my life in Latin America.
[…] If you liked this post, you should read my first post on what has happened to people in my high school exchange group and Kyle’s post on people from MN moving to […]
[…] originally traveled to Chile in 1996 as a high school exchange student. I did not choose Chile. With Rotary we were given a list of 33 countries to put in […]
[…] I arrived in Rancagua, Chile in 1996 as a Rotary exchange student. I was one of 9 in Rancauga which is a very small place. Over the course of the year, I would […]
Hi Clare! It’s Jason…Not sure if you remember me from Chile or not. If you would like to reconnect email me at [taken out by site admin]