Sunset in Santiago, Chile, Featuring City Livelihood
If I had to capture a typical day in Santiago during the MTC program, I’d describe it as a blend of learning, culture, connection, and small moments that made the experience unforgettable.
My mornings always started in a similar way. I would wake up in the Ibis Budget Hotel, getting ready, and heading downstairs for breakfast with my roommate. The dining room was small but lively, filled with the familiar faces of peers, professors, and advisors. Over plates of eggs, fruit, and fresh bread, we’d talk about the day ahead, or more often, we’d drift into conversations about our home cultures, our majors, or what surprised us most about Chile so far. It was one of the few times each day when everyone slowed down enough to really talk.
From there, our group would head to one of the three universities hosting us throughout the week. Each morning began with a talk from an advisor or local expert. These sessions were always different; some focused on sustainability, others on design thinking, and some simply on understanding Chile better. They grounded our project work in real context and helped us see how our ideas could fit into the lives of the people around us.
Late mornings flowed into teamwork time, where we spent hours refining our project, sharing pieces of our academic backgrounds, and figuring out how to translate our diverse skills into something meaningful. Engineers, business students, programmers, and designers were just some of the diverse backgrounds of educational majors, from which we all learned from each other in a way that doesn’t happen in a typical classroom.
Lunch was always a welcome pause. We’d gather around tables with our provided meals and snacks, taking a break from the academic mindset and shifting into personal conversations. This was when we learned the most about each other. Usually about daily life in Brazil, Germany, or Chile; about someone’s family, hobbies, or the foods they love to eat. These small moments, shared over completos, empanadas, or Chilean burgers, were what made the program feel less like school and more like a community.
After a full day of work, the afternoons opened up for exploring. Some days we toured historical areas; other days we hopped on the metro just to see what we’d find. Santiago’s energy, filled with small shops, mountain views, and colorful areas, all made even an ordinary walk feel exciting. Each and every single night also started with a beautiful orange sunset, giving everyone a very nice sign of relief and admiration. Dinners were usually informal gatherings with new friends, comparing cultures over meals and laughing about the day’s missteps or discoveries.
One of my favorite memories was the afternoon we all went to a local park to play soccer and volleyball. For a couple of hours, we weren’t students from different countries or disciplines; we were just people having fun on the grass, passing the ball, cheering each other on, and feeling completely present.
By the time we returned to the hotel at night, tired but content, the day wasn’t quite over. There was always a bit of homework to finish, or prep for the next day’s activities, before finally heading to bed and getting ready to do it all again.
Looking back, it’s the small moments, shared breakfasts, metro rides, laughter in the program, and cultural conversations over lunch that made Santiago feel less like an educational trip and more like a place that genuinely shaped me and provided me with an unforgettable experience.
Swanson School of Engineering 