Spring 2009

Megan O'KEEFE
Consultorio de Placilla

The consultorio in Placilla where I am doing my internship is a government-funded clinic for the very poor people of a sector of Valparaíso. The first time I went to the consultorio, I was surprised by how much they offer. There are family doctors, a gynecologist, and nutritionist, in addition to other services. While working at the consultorio, I was able to learn more about the public health in Chile, which is very different than in the United States. Throughout my time at the consultorio, I worked with the social worker, a very engaging and helpful woman who always took time to explain to me what was going on. Most of the patients were either people who needed financial help, pregnant women, or those with domestic problems.  In addition to working with the social worker, I was able to accompany other people in the consultorio to see how they helped the residents of Placilla. Spending time with a variety of people in the consultorio allowed me to have a better understanding of what the consultorio actually offers and how the people in Chile benefit from their services. A few times I was also able to make home visits with the social worker to see what the living conditions are for the people of Chile. While most of the time I just sit and observe, I did get involved with the program for pregnant women. I was able to interview the new pregnant women and introduce them to the program that the government of Chile offers. However, some of the time what I did was not as engaging as I would have liked. Many times I searched the consultorio for patient’s medical records or acted as a secretary for Jacqueline. Overall, my internship at the consultorio has been an educational and rewarding experience that has allowed me to see a very different side of the life in Chile.

Stephanie JOYCE
Centro de Estudios Científicos del Sur, Valdivia

The Centro de Estudios Científicos del Sur is a private, not-for-profit scientific research institute in Valdivia that brings together researchers, both Chilean and foreign, to study biology, theoretical physics, and glaciology. The department of glaciology, where I have been interning, is a relatively new addition, created in response to the clear need for research into Chile’s abundant icefields and glaciers, which up until recently have received very little attention. I specifically requested the creation of this internship because of a long-term interest in glaciers as a summertime mountain guide and I have not been disappointed. Starting from my first weekend in Valdivia, when I participated in a field study of the Mocho glacier on the Volcán Mocho-Choshuenco, the internship has formed a central part of my study abroad experience. Following my first experience at Mocho-Choshuenco I have returned approximately every three weeks to take measurements of a stake network to determine ice melt (ablation) and snow accumulation. In the laboratory I have been responsible for processing the data acquired in the field, with the goal of calculating the mass-balance of the Mocho glacier for the years 2005-2009. I also went to the San Rafael Glacier on the Northern Patagonian Icefield as part of a joint research project between CECS and Technische Universität Dresden to measure glacier flow rates and grounding. Although the specific internship is perhaps not repeatable due to its highly specialized nature, I would highly recommend interning at CECS to anyone studying in Valdivia.

Ellie MOORE
SAPU Miraflores

SAPU Miraflores is a tiny, very public clinic just outside of Viña del Mar and it is certainly a distinctive place. Always overflowing with patients that suffer from a nose-scratch to cardiac arrest, there are few dull moments at SAPU. In the begining of my internship I was mostly observing doctors and paramedics with patients, listening as they explained diagnosis and treatment procedures. I learned how to identify symptoms of tendonitis to rhinosinusitus, laringe trachitis and asthma. I learned quickly from the paramedics and was soon giving intra-muscular and intra-venous injections, taking electrocardiogram readings, and submitting urine tests. But most interesting for me have been the people themselves – both patients and staff. Pulic Health, especially at such a close and personal distance, is an incredible cultural window into a society. From observing patients, I have learned that some of the most prevalent health problems in Chile are asthma, hypertension, and diabetes. Resources are scarce at SAPU – for instance there is one ambulance for an area population of 7,000 – but surprisingly there are few sacrifices in the standard of medical care they are equipped to provide. From talking with staff, I’ve learned about the medical education system, and how Chilean machismo has resulted in few male paramedics, deeming such a job equally befitting of a man as that of a hair-stylist. It is a strange place, an often surreal mix of paramedics singing Spanish love songs while preparing syringes, and patients in close quarters, one getting a vaccine next to another getting his head stitched up, separated by thin curtains. And above all it is real, and certainly not for the faint of heart. I feel lucky to have had such an opportunity, especially as an English major, to work here this semester.

Elizabeth EDOUARD
SERNATUR

SERNATUR is the national tourism service of Chile, responsible for many programs throughout the country. I am interested in sustainable tourism and this internship has allowed me to learn about different aspects of this form of tourism. I have been working on a government-sponsored program known as "Gira de Estudio", which offers socially disadvantaged students the opportunity to travel to a destination in Chile. This program helps to increase tourism during the low season as well as allows students to have a unique experience with their classmates while discovering a new region of Chile. I am also working on a project to create a tourist circuit in the Valparaiso region to celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Darwin. I have done substantial research for this project, besides writing a few papers, but I am still unsure of what SERNATUR plans to do in terms of the actual route of Darwin.

My day-to-day tasks at SERNATUR involve answering phones, calling schools, researching information online and calculating budgets. Later in the semester, I will be going with my supervisor to different schools to promote the program "Gira de Estudio" as well as helping to organize the trips. I have benefited from this internship and I hope that with time that I will have the opportunity to become increasingly involved in other programs of SERNATUR.

My internship was at a public elementary school in Santiago with a second grade class. I helped out the teachers with whatever small tasks needed to be done. This mostly consisted of checking homework and helping explain concepts and assignments in class. I was able to help and take a more active teaching role during English class and helped the teacher explain new concepts and teach songs to the students. However, unlike other internships in elementary schools, my presence was with a class rather than a subject, so a lot of the internship was observational since I wasn’t in a position to teach subjects like social studies. That said, I learned a lot about how the public educational system in Chile works and got to see teaching practices in action. The teacher I primarily worked with was really helpful in explaining public education in Chile to me. Talking with the teacher and hearing her opinions about what works and doesn’t work in the school system was the most interesting part of the internship for me.

Mallory WHITE
EXPLORA

EXPLORA is a national program that attempts to allow more access to science and technology for Chilean school children. In order to accomplish this goal, EXPLORA puts on a wide range of activities including science fair competitions, funding for classroom activities, gatherings for teachers and the community. My role here in the office of EXPLORA varies from day to day depending on what tasks need to be done. So far this has consisted in creating and maintaining a Facebook page for EXPLORA, making calls to the local schools and creating packages to send to the schools in celebration of the Year of Astronomy. While it is an office job, the variety of the tasks I am given helps keep it interesting.

What I have found most rewarding in my internship with EXPLORA has been the friendships and conversations I have had in the office. While everyone is busy, the office environment is relaxed and many of the employees make it part of their day to visit and chat with me. Many are quite interested in why I am here and where I come from. Overall, while it has not been the most riveting experience of my life, working with EXPLORA has been a spectacular way to improve my Spanish, make some friendships, and learn about the working culture in Chile. I have also appreciated the fact that EXPLORA tends to be a little bit more organized and better with basic communications than some of the other internships offered in the area.

Erica CAMARENA
Programa Puente

The Puente Program is a government program that pretends to create a bridge between the families in extreme poverty and the government benefits that they have a right to. The office of the program is located in Valparaiso’s Municipality. However, I spend most of my time visiting the homes of the families. My work is to help one of the field workers who goes home by home, asking questions about their living situation and giving them information about health, education, and housing benefits that they qualify for.

When I first arrived at the program I asked them how I could be most useful and the program director pointed out that they needed to improve the motivation and working environment of the team. So, I proposed to conduct a workshop for the team of field workers that would touch on their needs. At present I am designing three sessions of group integration exercises to improve relationships between the members of the team and change the environment of the office.

By working on this program I have seen the other face of Chile, the one that is hidden on the top of the hills around the city of Valparaiso. Some of the things I have seen have shocked me, made me uncomfortable, and angry about the unfairness of life, but I have also had the experience of meeting families that despite their situation are generous to us, and have the strength to take the small help that the government gives them and do something good with it.

This internship has been a good opportunity to be exposed to the reality of the majority of Chileans and to understand the culture from a point of view that is completely different from the one shared by my fellow classmates and the family that I live with.

Allison DAPPEN
Centro de Educación Continua

I worked with the Centro de Educación Continua (CEC), an organization that provides alternative forms of education to improve human capital in southern Chile. They have a variety of different projects in the region, ranging from promoting tourism to improving the quality of agriculture. I first did research for a project trying to educate small farmers and families in farming techniques to improve the quality of milk and meat in the region. I then switched to another project with a high school in Valdivia. The CEC hopes to improve the quality of the school by teaching the administration how to better direct their school, as well as by working with teachers to improve education in the classroom. I assisted a teacher in one of her English classes and coordinated a program that brought a group of students to the university once a week to improve their conversational English, learn more about American culture, and see what it might be like attend college.

Though I was by far the youngest person in the office, the people in the CEC were friendly and made me feel like a contributing member. I learned the importance of speaking up about my interests: I wasn’t enjoying the agriculture research but, when I finally said something, they were happy to move me to another project. My work with the high school was great, as it gave me a chance to interact with people outside of the office and learn more about the public school system in Valdivia (a definite culture shock for me).

Kristen WALKER
Un Techo para Mi País

Un Techo para Mi País (UTPMP) is a non-profit organization similar to Habitat for Humanity, but with more emphasis on social programs. I work in the central office in Santiago with a woman whose focus is on applying for grants from foundations in the United States and Europe. My main task is to help with the grant-writing process, which involves everything from searching online for organizations and grants, calling or emailing the organizations, and writing and editing the grants. I came in with no previous experience in grantwriting, and by my 6th week found myself in charge of writing a grant application for 1 million dollars from a major US foundation.

Through UTPMP I have also had the opportunity to be directly involved in impoverished communities. I am tutoring English to children in one of Santiago’s campamentos (shantytowns), and also will be going on a weekend construction trip to build transitional houses.  As a sociology major interested in a career with non-profits, I feel like this internship has been a great opportunity for me. In addition to getting real work experience writing grant proposals, I have learned more about the social issues within Chile and have gotten to see realities that are often invisible to study abroad students.

Christine DOBIES
Colegio UNESCO
Viña del Mar, CHILE

My internship was at a public elementary school in Viña del Mar, working with students aged 7-14 in several English courses. Most of the time I was in the classroom leading activities and games, aiding the teacher to explain concepts and grammar, and administering listening comprehension or oral interview exams. About a quarter of my time was spent outside the classroom, helping to create and go over the lessons, getting to know other teachers, and doing other preparations. The teacher with whom I worked was wonderful at integrating me into her classes, very personable, and truly dedicated to her students. She really focused on optimizing my time there by having me speak to the students in English as much as possible and having me administer dictations and exams instead of her. I was very appreciative of the fact that she let me have that responsibility to lead so many of the activities. Working in her classroom was rewarding because of this; I really felt I was offering the students something they otherwise would not have, and their teacher was constantly reminding her students how lucky they were to be able to have a native English speaker in their class. Also, it was interesting to see how Chilean teaching and disciplinarian methods compare to US practices, and I definitely think this helped me understand some Chilean values that I may not otherwise have noticed or considered.

Katie PANHORST
Consejo nacional de la cultura y las artes
Departamento de artesanía

The organization I worked with is part of the governmental culture agency. Their mission is to give more value and recognition to Chilean artisans and their work and to help incorporate traditional craftsmanship into modern Chilean society. The office administers the national registry of artisans, organizes national and regional seminars, awards prizes to master artisans, and produces many publications and educational materials to help increase knowledge of traditional and contemporary artisans in Chile. I really liked the organization itself, and all of the people I worked with were very passionate about what they do. They were also very accommodating and incorporated me as a part of the team despite the relatively small amount of time I was in the office each week. Besides general office work, I did a lot of research about artisans and craftsmanship on the internet, including compiling lists of fairs, related institutions, and marketers, and even developing the organization’s YouTube channel. The idea behind this research was to develop a network between artisans in Chile and around the world and to make information more easily accessible. The internship was a good experience in that it gave me a chance to experience a South American office environment and allowed me to contribute to the organization’s work in a very self-directed manner, as well as learning about a new field.


Theodore DICKERSON
CRAC

CRAC is a center for contemporary resident artists located in the heart of downtown Valparaíso. The goal of the organization is to integrate current contemporary artistic practices with the history of the city and its political context. It serves as a platform for communication, debate, and reflection for resident artists and is connected to artists throughout the world. I have mainly done general office activities, including organizing, sending emails, delivering documents around the city, and lots of translating. Due to the fact that CRAC is connected internationally, and my bosses do not speak perfect English, I translate a lot of official documents, websites, etc. Early in the semester, there are not any resident artists, and the work is a bit slow. Later in the semester, I am told that my job will also consist of working with resident artists in various ways and doing research to further integrate contemporary art with the patrimonial district of Valparaíso. The atmosphere is super laid back and my bosses are really nice. The office consists of four people, but there are always artists coming and going. It is a great place to talk and learn about the artistic community in Valparaíso. Although I have not been able to do a lot of things outside of translating thus far, it still has been a good experience and an important part of my overall experience.

Catherine KLEM
El Centro de Estudios Agrarios y Ambientales

My internship is with CEA (el Centro de Estudios Agrarios y Ambientales) which is a group of biologists who are currently focused on organizing a database of all the biological papers regarding Chile (many of which were lost in a fire), developing ecotourism on the nearby Isla del Rey, and helping to reestablish the natural forest on the island. Initially I helped out in CEA doing office work—printing, scanning, and searching for documents for the database they are trying to create. I am currently helping them write a book on geology to be used by teachers and guides as an aide when teaching geology classes. I am working fairly independently and I’m amazed to have this much responsibility but it is also very interesting. The book is divided into three parts—an introduction to geology, a guide to identifying rocks and common geological features in Chile, and a section with interactive games and activities for kids. I will also be helping with their ecotourism project by identifying interesting geomorphologic features on the Isla del Rey and designing museum windows to explain these features. All in all my colleagues are extremely friendly and I’ve enjoyed working with them. There are a couple of women who are always there and they are always fun to talk to, and they are very understanding of my limited ability to express myself in Spanish. There also seem to be several other part time employees who are equally fun and enjoyable.

Kristen FAIFERLICK
Teaching English at SENAME

SENAME (Servicio Nacional de Menores) is a government-run organization that takes in minors who have been ordered way from their families by courts. I work at a center in Playa Ancha (half an hour away from Viña del Mar in bus) teaching girls ages 13-17 English. The center is a transition center that houses both girls and boys while they are being evaluated and the government is searching for suitable living situations for them. Many of the teens have experienced abuse or rape, have been involved in theft, have alcoholic parents, or other disturbances or troubles in the household. The teens at the center have experienced a different side of Chilean culture than my friends or classmates.

I work in small groups (4-7 girls) teaching the girls basic English. Most of the girls haven’t had English classes before, so we only work on the basics. Girls come and go from the center on a regular basis, so it is difficult to progress past the basics. I create my own lesson plans and worksheets for the girls and teach two classes (one and a half hours each) to each group of girls.

This internship is definitively rewarding, especially when a student masters a new concept. However, it can be challenging in that the girls aren’t always motivated and the lack of progress can be frustrating. Also, it requires extra work outside the internship designing a curriculum and preparing lesson plans. This internship would be perfect for anyone who wants hands-on experience (as opposed to office work), likes teaching or working with teens, and doesn’t mind putting in a few extra hours each week to prepare. It’s definitely one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had so far in Chile and a great way to see a different side of Chilean culture.

Fall 2008

Kyle OLSEN
EXPLORA

This internship is run by a government organization, EXPLORA, which is part of CONICYT; both are intended to improve student’s access to and appreciation of science and technology. There are many programs that they organize, including science fairs, exhibitions and talks by professors on any and all topics. Part of my job has been to attend a number of these functions and take pictures to put up on their website. The great part of my time, however, involves visiting schools in the region that participate in another EXPLORA initiative. In this program, students from 5^th to 8^th grade receive materials and descriptions of more than 30 science-related activities from EXPLORA, which they do once a week with their professor. So, I visited these schools when they did one of these activities, took pictures, and talked with the students and the professors about the program, or whatever else was on their mind. I also invited each to participate in some of the other talks and exhibitions, and a special activity called “Semana de las Ciencias,” which features more EXPLORA activities in addition to science fairs and other science related activities in (hopefully) every school that did these activities. The benefits of this practica is that it does not involve much time in an office, much of your time is spent traveling, and I can now claim to have visited more of the cities in this region of Chile than either my host parents or the directors of our program. I also got to meet fun, intelligent little students who were generally very attentive and interested in how I, a very “gringo” gringo, ended up at their school.

Ryan COLE
Ministry of Agriculture

The Ministry of Agriculture, as you might guess, is involved with all things agriculture-y. They are somewhat of a government umbrella agency that oversees 4 principal offices: SAG, INFOR, CONAF, and INDAP, which all have fancy Spanish names. Essentially, these offices work with forest management, forest research, small and medium sized agricultural producers, and health and safety inspections of produce and cows and milk. So far, my time in the Ministry of Agriculture has consisted in going to a lot of meetings, which is great because you can see the outlying rural areas of Valdivia, from Mafil to Paillaco to Lago Ranco, all of them ridiculously beautiful, and a nice change of pace from the city. Many meetings revolve around rural womens groups, which have begun to organize in Chile, and it is very exciting to see this movement sparking. Also, you may not get the same opportunity, but I attended two speeches with the President of Chile, and got to kiss her on the cheek! If you are looking for an internship where you will be given specific work, and feel like you are changing the world, this may not be it, but if you are looking to begin to understand how government agencies function here, learn a little about agricultural export policies, meet interesting characters, see rural areas, and occasionally get taught chilean phrases of dubious moral character, this is perfect for you. Also, all six people in this office are extremely welcoming, friendly, and funny, and will no doubt joke with you, and call you gringo.

Spring 2008

Molly LOHMAN
SAPU Miraflores

SAPU Miraflores is a public emergency room in a cerro of Viña del Mar where I got to see all types of smaller scale emergencies, everything from headaches and stomachaches to large cuts, burns, and seizures. There was never a dull moment in SAPU, getting to know the amazing group of paramedics and doctors was only the beginning of a great experience. How I spent my days in SAPU changed drastically from the beginning to the end of my experience. I was always presented with the flexibility to decide how I would spend my time everyday in SAPU, but by the end of fifteen weeks I spent much more time participating and actively assisting patients. Aside from preparing the patients to see the doctor, I also had the opportunity to give injections and learned other procedures such as taking electrocardiograms. Everyone, including the doctors, paramedics, and nurses were always willing to stop and talk with me about any questions, specific or general, about what I was seeing, and in this way, I not only learned about the Chilean public healthcare system, but also about a part of Chilean society I would have never seen without an internship.

Hilary MISLAN
Consultorio Placilla
My internship at Consultorio Placilla, a public medical center, has been an intense and educational experience. I work with the social worker there, observing her with her patients each day and learning about the various problems that affect the quality of life for this demographic. The staff of the Consultorio is wonderful--after a few weeks I feel like I fit in there, and everyone is friendly and welcoming. The Consultorio serves patients from a variety of social and economic backgrounds, but most of the patients I see with the social worker come from very low resource families. My special project with the social worker involves working with pregnant women who have high social risks. We will be evaluating the situations of about 10 to 15 women and planning “interventions”-- workshops to be run in their homes that will hopefully educate them about ways to improve their quality of life and their health. I think the most important thing that the internship has done for me so far is that I’ve been able to see a side of life in Chile that most exchange students and tourists are oblivious too. It’s another reality that is tough to take in, but it has been an eye-opening experience.

Rachel BARBER
Centro de Educación Continua (CEC)
My internship is at el Centro de Educación Continua (CEC) in Valdivia and though I am the first foreign-exchange student to intern at CEC I’ve had no trouble adjusting and fitting in. Everyone at the office is incredibly friendly and the people I help out have definitely made great efforts to involve me in what they’re working on. At CEC I have two main jobs. The first is helping the head of project development with the current projects that are being undertaken. Since I have gotten here, I have been helping with the proposal for la escuela de talentos that CEC hopes to launch in a few months. I have written the anticipated results section of the proposal, which while being an intimidating task, proved to be very rewarding (thankfully my coworkers are understanding with my grammatical errors). I now am researching existing IT programs for a new program that’s being developed to evaluate computer literacy of students in the area.
    The second job I have as CEC is that of starting a weekly film series at the office. This job has been fantastic. The director of CEC originally proposed it when I first met with him and told him that I was interested in film. Sebastián, a teacher at the university in Valdivia who also works at CEC, and I have picked 11 films relating to the theme of “imperfect love” which will be shown every Wednesday night at the office. 
    At CEC I have experienced an independence that I had not at all anticipated. I have been given the freedom and responsibility to start a film series, contribute ideas in meetings, and add my own take on the anticipated results of programs. All of this has made my internship a very exciting and gratifying experience.

Cassidy D'ALOIA
Centro de Estudios Agrarios y Ambientales
My internship is with CEA (Centro de Estudios Agrarios y Ambientales), a small office of biologists in Valdivia. CEA has had several Middlebury interns in the past, so everyone there is extremely friendly, supportive and understanding of any language barriers. As a biology major going into my final year of college and trying to figure out what direction I want to go in afterwards, it’s an incredible opportunity to be able to try out this work in the “real world.” The type of research CEA does is exactly what I’m interested in—natural history, ecology, conservation, etc. so it’s interesting to how it all plays out in actual research as opposed to what I’ve done in the classroom. Thus far, I’ve gone on a week-long field project measuring trees in a restoration forest, completed a lot of biodiversity analyses of Chilean animal species and am now beginning a more independent, academic project of a literature review on river restoration.
For me, the experience has been full of all the ups and downs of any internship: the excitement of becoming comfortable in a new work environment, getting to know supportive co-workers, feeling competent in my Spanish and useful in the office, but also the struggles of being the newest, youngest and most inexperienced person in an office that requires a lot of expertise and coming to terms with the type of assignments that allows for! Overall, the internship is an incredible learning experience for me and certainly useful in terms of figuring out my future career. It’s also just great to have a fun and comfortable environment to both meet new people who are interested in the same things I am, and at the same time to be able to do more professional or academic work.

Maggie MAYER
Municipalidad Temuco

Working in a public sector of the government indeed has a lot to teach, just by observing the construction of various projects the bureaucracy is prominent and the complications plentiful. The department of rural development consists of employees with training in all different backgrounds, engineers of various sorts, social workers, and historians. Thus far I have been working on two rather distinct projects.
The goal of the first project is to bring drinking water to a 15 km stretch from the edge of the city, through various communities, ending in Chol Chol. Since the water in Chile is privatized the municipality is forced to work within the system of private companies to buy water for the rural communities. The water is meant to aid the indigenous communities however there are strict laws that limit the sale and purchase of indigenous land to other indigenous people. As a result, the municipality is forced to acquire the land by offering other public services in exchange.
The second project is of a completely different nature and is still in the stage of drafting a proposal rather than instating the idea. My task was to draft a document arguing why they should build a volcanic observatory on top of Cerro Ñielol—a historic monument and tourist attraction here in Temuco—to be used for educational, scientific, and tourism purposes.
In addition to these projects I will be working in the school of Boyeco exchanging English for Mapudungun. The municipality is indeed the perfect place to learn about my new surroundings; the one difficulty is the feeling that I am learning more than I am able to contribute.

Fall 2007

Spring, 2007

Dylan GRAETZ, Valdivia
My Internship has been amazing and one of the best parts of my time here in Valdivia. It is where I have spent most of my time, but the hours remain fairly flexible, and it has not inhibited me in any way. I have spent most of my time working in an external consultorio of the hospital, which is affiliated with the University. It is called “Consultorio Externo de Valdivia” and my director is Dra. Loreto Podestá. I have not worked so closely with Dra. Podestá, but she is around every morning and she has taken particular care of me, making sure I am happy and learning and busy. I work with the “internos” students in their final year of med school, who are basically doctors working under a real MD. The consultorio is in a poor neighborhood and the patients I have helped attend are all kids (I have been working in pediatrics). Every afternoon I watch and help take patient histories and examen the patients. Every week I learn more, and depending on the patient and the intern my role has ranged from just listening to actively participating. In the mornings I also have attended seminars with the interns about a variety of subjects and spent time visiting a couple other areas of the consultorio. I have never been bored and I could have continued working there forever, but I wanted to get to know the hospital and am particularly interested in pediatric oncology so I made some efforts in that direction. It was a little more complicated to gain authorization to work in the hospital, but I ended up spending my last three weeks there. I mostly just observed in the hospital, but the doctors are wonderful once again and they kept me very involved in every case, discussion, and procedure. I have also done lots of medical reading to keep up with it all. It´s been a priceless experience and I´ve learned lots about medicine, Spanish and the health care system in Chile.

Jill MORRISON, Valdivia
I worked in CEA (el Centro de Estudios Agrarios y Ambientales) and it was possibly the best decision I made. In my first few weeks with CEA, I took trips to Panguipulli (a rural town) where we visited some of the local mapuche people and talked with them about a project on conservation of the barn owl. I also took several trips to the field, including collecting trapped rats and various excursions to collect seeds of the native trees (for a project I spent many weeks working on). I also took several trips to the Isla del Rey, an island in the river near Valdivia where CEA has a workstation and is engaging in numerous projects (my project involved creating a system of nets to collect falling hazelnuts in order to later weigh them and discover how much fruit each tree produced). Going into the experience I was hoping to have an internship that involved trips into the field and would allow me to have daily interactions with an interesting group of people. This is exactly what I got. The people in the office were all incredibly friendly, to the point where they invited me to their houses for dinner and on weekend excursions. They were also extremely patient with my comprehension and speaking difficulties and repeated things ad nauseum to help me understand. Another aspect of my internship that I really enjoyed was the time I spent making a series of dioramas with various educational themes (such as dispersion mechanisms of seeds). This was a really simple and relaxing opportunity in which I was able to engage in art projects and had room to shape the projects as I saw fit.

Matt PLITCH, Valparaíso
The opportunity to work inside the house that Pinochet built! While living and studying in the city of Valparaíso, Chile, I worked as an aide to a Senator of the Chilean National Congress. The Senator and his staff were very welcoming and kind and immediately made me feel like I was part of the team. Although I think there may be ways that that the internship could be better tailored to a North American student, I learned a ton and am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work inside the walls of Congress. Through my individual projects and through working within the Chilean political environment, many of my internship hopes were fulfilled. The major project of my internship afforded me the opportunity to work as a political consultant and campaign strategist, for me a tremendously exciting professional path that I now know I want to pursue later in life. Overall, it has been a unique and wonderful opportunity that I am so glad to have experienced.

Ana SISSON, Valparaíso
I interned at the SAPU Miraflores under the supervision of the Corporación de Salud de Viña del Mar. I worked at a primary care emergency clinic in Cerro Miraflores of Viña del Mar. I learned so much in four months. I began by shadowing the doctor yet from the first day they had me giving injections and by the end of stay I was putting in stitches from start to finish alone. The staff was amazing and they became my second family in Chile. They were friendly and bright, but they also enjoyed teaching me anything and everything. Near the end I also wrote and administered a survey to the patient population about their quality of treatment and their understanding of the services they were receiving. This experience was very very very rewarding and I will never forget neither what I learned, nor the people I had the privilege of working with for over four months. I am truly thankful for having been given this opportunity.

Fall, 2006