Locals in Chile

Our classes at the University have Chilean students in them as well. At the University, we take classes with a combination of Northeastern students and Chilean students. This has made it extremely easy to meet locals! The students in our class have shown us around Santiago and have brought us to places we wouldn’t have even thought to go to otherwise. It’s been awesome having the opportunity to hang out with Chileans, even when we’re just studying together at a coffee shop! While exploring the city we’ve also come across some very unique markets. My personal favorite was Pueblito Los Dominicos. It’s a small market with handmade crafts, paintings, and clothes. The jewelry was beautiful and many of the pieces were made with a blue stone called “Lapiz Lazuli” which are unique to this country as the only large deposits of the rock exist in Chile and Afghanistan. They also had the coziest alpaca sweaters, but my budget is a bit tight here and I am still debating whether or not to buy one! Santiago hasn’t been too expensive, especially since we do not have to pay for housing or most meals because we stay with host families. The biggest part of my budget has gone towards excursions, which I am more than okay with spending a bit of money on. Public transportation has also eaten a hole in my wallet. The metro is fairly cheap, only about $1 each way, but I ride it about 4 times every day. On top of that, the metro closes at 11 pm here which means that I have had to rely on Uber quite a few times. Staying within my budget hasn’t been too difficult. There have been times where I have spent a bit more money than I probably should have on an activity but sometimes it is worth it for an opportunity I may never have again! We will be going skiing in the Andes next week, and even though it is quite expensive I’m willing to spend extra for an activity that I am truly excited for. Constantly having my calculator app up for conversions has also been a necessity to stay on budget!