Live in the moment, says exchange student Juliette

Juliette was the guest speaker at the event.

“My adventure started on the 31 January 2020 when I arrived in Chile and ended on 29 January 2021. I was immediately invited to a midday braai on the same day and said ‘si’ to the question ‘would you like to go to the disco tonight’”.

“Apart from only knowing how to say ‘si’ to everything, I was determined to experience everything I could from day one – a decision I will treasure forever. The only thing that kept me from collapsing that evening from fatigue was the catchy reggaeton music,” Juliette said.

Juliette stayed in San Fernando, situated roughly two hours south of Santiago, and explained that schools only started in early March and are quite similar to South African schools.

“I attended a private catholic school that was a seven-minute walk from my first host family’s home. After about two weeks at school, I attended my first school party.

“That same Sunday evening, the president closed all schools in the country due to Covid-19. As was everyone else, I was relieved, thinking it was a temporary break. Little did I know that the next time I step foot on those school grounds was going to be in November,” she added.

“Covid-19 affected everyone. After the government closed schools, I didn’t leave the front porch of the house for about a month. Everyone had to adjust to the new normal.

“Coming home from the supermarket, everything had to be disinfected including the soles of our feet before we stepped inside the house,” she said.

Juliette had two host families. “The families were very different in their ways, which kept me entertained since I was constantly moving up and down between them. My first family had two host siblings, Diego and Antonia. The second family had four host sisters, Laura, Mariana, Antonia and Emilia,” she explained.

“People sometimes ask me if I think it was worth it. I’m pretty sure we all wish that the pandemic never happened. It affected everyone in the world but not all necessarily in a bad way.

“I learned, among other things, some new social skills such as tolerance, especially living in a pandemic with a family that isn’t your own.

“I also realised how important it is to live in the moment and do things as soon as you get the chance to because that opportunity might not be there again tomorrow.

“Adjusting to circumstances and making the best of your circumstances is so valuable, especially in today’s world. Strangers became family and Spanish, or should I say Chilean, became second nature.

“I would not exchange my exchange year 2020 – 2021 for anything in the world,” she concluded.