Will with another Ecela student at a Chilean lake.

Moving to a foreign country will always present a somewhat daunting challenge especially if you are not fluent in the language and you have an introverted personality.

Still, Will Graebe of Raleigh, North Carolina took this situation and saw opportunity in it – not only to speak the language like a native but also to expand his own personal development.

Although Will had studied Spanish in 8th grade through high school and minored in it at college, he didn't really feel that he had mastered the language. So, he chose to visit and live for an extended period in the South American nation of Chile to completely immerse himself in the culture and the language in all its rich idiomatic form.

In short, he wanted to think in the language rather than just rotely translate English thoughts and words into it.

The first steps

The Spanish language appealed to Will at an early age even though his sister had taken German. He eventually chose a career path that will take him through law school. His goal is to then utilize his legal and language skills to serve the Hispanic community of Raleigh.

To this end, Will understood that he would a complete grasp of the language to communicate complicated legal concepts to his future clients. Taking a 12-week immersion course just seemed like the logical thing to do.

The challenge of Santiago

Will states plainly that his 9 plus years of Spanish instruction in the U.S. did not adequately prepare him for life in the capital and largest city in Chile. Coming form the relatively small town of Raleigh, NC, he had to learn how to handle himself in a city with over 10 times the population.

Still, Will dove in head first and now feels far more comfortable in a large urban environment – English or Spanish speaking.

Entrevista

Listen to Veronika Vilski, host of Planeta Ecela, and Will on this 15 minute interview.

Will Graebe of Raleigh, North Carolina gives an introvert’s experience of venturing out to attend a Spanish immersion program on his own.

He gives a mouth-watering food recommendation, and he also gives comfort to those who are nervous about studying in a large city.

Listen to learn more about where to go after you have graduated from the advanced levels of Spanish, and watch for “po” in Chile!

The benefits of an Ecela immersion program

The Ecela experience is available to anyone. Will comments that he met dozens of people from all walks of life. From around the world, there were 18 year olds with a smattering of Spanish words to adventurous 70 year olds just starting out on their path to fluency.

What's truly remarkable?

They cannot communicate effectively at the beginning but by the end, they are talking as if they were old friends. In short, the Ecela experience is a comfortable one where folks from a wide variety of cultures can intermingle.

The teaching experience

As with any school, each class is highly dependent on how it is conducted by the teacher. In class, fundamentals such as grammar and spelling are taught for two hours per day. Then, an intense two-hour conversation-oriented class is taken where only Spanish is allowed.

Wil recommends staying with a homestay for Spanish practice and to get a true sense of the culture.

Next, after school hours, students are expected to take their learning into the field and use it with the locals.

Finally, Will highly recommends that students aim for the optional homestay experience where they stay with a local family.

Not only is it great for your Spanish skills – according to Will, it is the only place where you will truly get a sense of the specifically Chilean word “po” - but it can also help change some of those introverted habits.

Timeless experiences

Will spent twelve weeks living and learning in Santiago. He engaged in many of his favorites activities including playing basketball in the park, hiking in the surrounding countryside and his love of authentic regional cuisines.

For hiking, he highly recommends the Valpo & Viña/Pucón hiking trails near Santiago. Chileans love their “carne” and Will insists that there is nothing better to eat than some chorillana – a mountain of french fries topped with sliced beef strips, a eggs, some fried onions and occasionally sausages. Then wash it down with the national drink, the pisco sour.

A few final thoughts

Going it alone to a foreign country is not for the faint of heart but an immersion program in Chile is one of the easier. The country is quite European in its outlook, has good infrastructure and an excellent wifi network so communicating with friends and family back home is not difficult.

That is not to say that a visitor should not be careful – Will had his backpack and passport stolen at one point – but all in all his experience was almost entirely favorable. Buenas suerte, po!