Bienvenidos to my study abroad blog for the next two semesters while I call Santiago, Chile my home!

I’m so excited to share all the ups, downs (& everything in-between) of my yearlong adventure. My goal for this blog is to be completely honest about my experience & encourage anyone reading this to go out and have a crazy adventure of their own!

My name is Kelly Cavanagh & I’m from Long Island, NY. I live in a beach town, where I work on the water every summer, but also get to go skiing upstate every winter. I love my hometown and I’m already anticipating some separation anxiety from real NY pizza. I’m also lucky enough to call Columbia, SC my home, despite saying “coffee,” & “dog” differently than most southerners. I’m a junior in the University of South Carolina’s Honors College. I major in International Business and Global Supply Chain and Operations Management, with a minor in Spanish. In March, I’ll be leaving the Darla Moore School of Business for Facultad Economia y Negocios (FEN.)

My freshman year, I was accepted into the two-year International Business of the Americas (IBA) cohort program that USC offers. This past year, I took classes and went on field trips with ten other USC students and one Universidad de Chile exchange student. For the next two semesters, all twelve of us will study at FEN together. Not only did this program provide a support group for the stress and questions that come with housing & class registration, but also it’s comforting to know that I’ll have some familiar faces so far from home.

5,126 miles away for 276 days… I’ve always believed that the best way to grow is to do something that scares you a little. That’s what brought me to USC as a Yankee, and that’s why I chose the IBA program. I wanted a whole year to immerse myself in a new city & a new culture, so that I can truly call it my home. I can’t think of a better way to spend 2016 & I can’t wait to make the most out of those 276 days.

As I said before, I want this blog to help aspiring travelers, so I’m going to write about everything from visas & packing, to my classes & weekend trips. Stay tuned for the over-packing, the language mishaps & the mistaken directions that I’m sure will fill my blog. Hopefully, I’ll even convince some of you to join the IBA program by the end of my two semesters. Hasta liege!