During the 2019-2020 winter break, I spent 17 days in Chile with my ERM 499 classmates. While in Chile, our schedule was rigorous; we traveled to all four main regions of Chile. We visited the Capital region in Santiago, The Lakes District, Patagonia, and the Atacama Desert. As a junior majoring in Agriculture and Extension Education and minoring in Environmental Resource Management and International Agriculture, I expected to learn technical information about the flora and fauna of Chile. However, my expectations were far exceeded, and my international experience helped me learn more about myself, future career, and the importance of having a global awareness.
One of the highlights of my experience in Chile was hiking to The Towers in Torres del Paine National Park. The hike was grueling, lasted 10 hours, and spanned about 25 kilometers. The weather was hot, and the trek was mostly uphill. I was determined to make it to the top, but I’ll admit that at times my motivation to do so was lacking. This experience taught me a lot about not just how to motivate myself, but also a group. As a future teacher, I know that my experiences in Chile will be applicable to motivating an FFA Chapter Officer team, apathetic students, and fellow colleagues.
Additionally, I enjoyed comparing Chilean agriculture to American agriculture. While in Chile, we visited a sheep farm and a dairy farm. The sheep farm, Olga Teresa, focus was agro-tourism. I was impressed by the facilities this farm had and their passion for sharing new and old technology in agriculture. The dairy farm we visited maintained a herd of 350 Jersey cattle. I was surprised to learn that this dairy did not sell their milk to a cooperative, but instead processed their own milk on-site. Their two main products were cheese and manjar, a Chilean caramel. These experiences complimented the content I have learned in previous Animal Science courses at Penn State.
In terms of my future career as a secondary school-based agriculture educator, I learned more about education on this trip than I anticipated. Through observation of my professors and classmates, I discovered a lot about how to organize and structure a trip with students. Throughout our travels we were required to keep a journal with our thoughts and reflections. This is an assignment I hope to incorporate into my classroom as a tool for students to reflect on their experiences and interests throughout the year.
This trip also reemphasized the importance of global awareness. While in Chile, I was able to brush up on my Spanish and as a result, I am more comfortable ordering from a menu and asking questions using Spanish. I plan on continuing to learn more words and phrases in Spanish because I know that I could encounter students who’s first language is not English in my classroom. By knowing Spanish, I will be able to better communicate with these students and their families. Furthermore, it is also important to understand how the globe is connected through the Internet and trade. These are topics I hope to incorporate into high school agriculture class.
I am so thankful that I had this opportunity to travel to Chile. This trip was my ideal international experience and it touched on all three of my interest areas: agriculture education, environmental science, and international agriculture. I would like to thank the Student Engagement Network, College of Agricultural Sciences, and Schreyer Honors College for their financial support.
Rock On!
The Towers, Torres del Paine National Park.
Hiking Views
A view from a hike in the Valley of the Moon, San Pedro de Atacama.
making animal friends
Playa Venado, a Jersey dairy farm.