“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”

As most of you know, I was fortunate enough to spend part of my January abroad in Chile. I spent the majority of my time there in the city of Santiago, but also toured Valparaiso for two days.

I fell in love with the hype of traveling and learning about the history and culture of a place so far from my own home. The hustle and bustle of Des Moines just doesn’t compare to the slow-paced, cheek-kissing, four-course-meal-eating life I lived in Chile (although, DSM was just given the honorable title of the wealthiest city in the country, not to brag.)

As a group, we did all of the touristy things: saw the presidential palace, toured Villa Grimaldi, and ate our fair share of empanadas and ceviche.

Personally, however, I learned a lot about myself: My capability of understanding Spanish is nowhere near where I thought it was. If I push myself hard enough, no matter how out-of-shape I am, I can hike the Andes mountains. I can recover myself from a pickpocket in a matter of seconds.

And last but not least, no matter what I do in life or what path I end up taking, I know I want to make an impact; I want to see and change the world.

And by some kind of grace, as if the trip itself didn’t benefit my psyche enough, I earned college-credit.