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While it is great to step away from the textbooks, this summer break has been far too busy to be a real “break”. I have been working hard to find flexible jobs in order to make the most of my time. Finding the funds to help support my study abroad experience, including the research and day-to-day expenditures, is far from easy. Working for the funds is even harder. What I realized this summer—something I have never had to be as concerned with before—is that making money, and actually saving it up for something as extensive as a semester abroad, takes incredible dedication. Therefore, this summer I am dedicated to working as a pet sitter, dog walker, part-time cook and cleaner, family-chore-doer, illustrator, and brand ambassador. In retrospect, I could probably be making more money if I was waiting tables, but I am set on having a summer that is action-filled and still pays off! So far, I must say, I am enjoying dog sitting the most.
In my limited but productive free time, I am making progress on Duolingo and watching “Casa de Papel” (“Money Heist” is the english title on Netflix) in order to keep practicing my Spanish. I do wish I had more exposure, but it’s been hard to will myself to find people to speak in Spanish with, especially since my friends that do speak Spanish all end up responding in English. However, I did have the luck of connecting an old friend from high school. She was an exchange student from… Chile! My senior year she was in Denver for a semester, and when I reached out to her I found out that she is going to the same university that I will attend in Santiago! This is fantastic news because knowing a local will open up so many opportunities, not just for tips and support, but also for my research. This way, I will have easier access to speaking with locals and learning about their experiences, opinions, and ideas about sustainability and energy security.