Adventures Of A Newtown High School Foreign Exchange Student In Chile

By Susan Coney

Dana Happel, who will be a senior this fall at Newtown High School, has spent the past six months in Chile as a foreign exchange student. She left home on February 22 and is due to arrive back in the United States on July 31. Corresponding via email, Dana has had a variety of colorful stories to share about her experiences in Chile over the past few months.

Dana, along with over 90 students from all over the world, gathered together in Santiago, Chile for an orientation prior to being placed with host families. Dana spoke of the opportunity she had to meet a variety of people from different cultures during that time. “It was amazing having over 90 kids from all over the world together in one place and we all seemed to get along so well. You would think that we would tend to group together with other kids from our country but for the most part that wasn’t the case. I remember hanging out with kids from Thailand, Norway, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, and so many other countries,” she said.

After arriving in Chile, Dana had to take a 12-hour bus ride north to the city of Copiapo. This is what she had to say about the bus trip. “Let me tell you, sitting on a bus for 12 hours gives you too much time to think about the fact that you are about to meet the people you are going to be living with for the next six months.”

A few weeks after Dana’s arrival she started school. All schools in Chile are private. Most school days run from 8 am to 4:30 pm and students go home in the middle of the day for lunch and a nap. Reflecting about her initial introduction into the school in Chile, Dana said, “I remember my first day, I didn’t understand anything. I was so confused and for the first few weeks I could never even tell what class I was in! I would think that it was history class and then the teacher would start drawing shapes and numbers on the board and it would turn out to be physics class.” Dana went on to say that it took her over two months to get into the routine and even then she did not understand everything her teachers were saying.

Another adventure Dana faced was in trying to find her way around the city. She stated that all Chilean cities have colectivos, which are black cars similar to taxies. However the colectivos each have a number on them and each number takes a certain route around the city and drives that route all day. The fare to take the colectivo is only 50 cents so Dana was thrilled to find an inexpensive way to travel around the city.

“After a month of being here I made plans to meet a friend in the plaza, so I decided to venture out into the world of colectivos! I get in the car, no problem. The driver asks me where I want to go and I reply in Spanish. Wonderful! I was going to be just fine, but little did I know that the colectivo did not go exactly to the place I wanted to get off at. So I watched as familiar sights came and went hoping I would eventually get to my destination. All of a sudden we are leaving the center of town and I know I’m in trouble. The driver spits out some really fast Spanish and I don’t understand a word. I find myself in the middle of nowhere. I had to ask five Chileans for directions and walk for a half an hour to finally get to the place I was meeting my friend. Since then I have mastered the art of taking colectivos, but it was an adventure!”

Dana also had a terrifying moment when she experienced an earthquake. She related, “I was on a trip with 40 other exchange students for a tour of the north. We were in a city called Iquique and we went to this mall called Zofri. We were walking past a perfume store when the ground started to shake a little. Tremors are really common here so we didn’t think much of it, but it kept getting stronger and stronger and then a loud rumbling sound started. Everyone around us went running for the exit so we started running. Everyone was screaming. I remember watching bottles of perfume crash to the ground. As we were running the lights went out and it was pretty dark. We got outside and the earthquake was still going strong. Finally when it was over and the shaking had stopped, I swore it was still shaking, but it must have just been me.”

During email correspondence with Dana she often reflected on the fascinating experiences she shared with other exchange students and the Chilean people she has met. When she returns home on July 31 she will have many stories to tell of her junior year spent in Chile.

Speaking with Dana’s mom, Pat Happel, brings a different perspective on having a teenage daughter traveling so far from home. “It’s hard to let your 16-year-old daughter go off. I had my reservations about the trip. Now that it’s almost over I’m glad she went,” Ms Happel said. She expressed that Dana had mixed feelings about coming home. “It’s sort of bittersweet feelings, she doesn’t want to leave just yet but misses her friends and family. It has just been a whole, new wonderful experience, she had no complaints,” Ms Happel commented.