Packing for Chile
 

My 20 year old daughter is traveling to Chile for a 3 1/2 week study aboard program Aug 23 to Sept 19. She will be in Santiago for 2 weeks and then Villarrica and Puerto Montt for the remainder. What types of clothing should she pack for this time of year? Also, she will be finishing up the time in Santiago Sept 17 - 19. Is there a big celebration happening during that time in Santiago and what can you tell me about it? Thanks! Your information is invaluable!

Anyone? Percy, I hear you are a Chile expert. There must be others, too. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

It will still be fairly cool in Santiago at that time, especially in the evenings. A layer of t-shirt, sweater, fleece, rainproof jacket would see her from Santiago to the south. Layers can be added or subtracted. A hat and gloves for the south and good thick-soled shoes.
The 18th and 19th are both holidays, the celebration of the national day and army day. There are numerous celebrations all over Chile and she is sure to be taken to some. There will be typical food and dancing and special activities to mark the holiday. In Santiago the possibility of seeing some of these celebrations actually starts a few days before.

Thank you. I'll pass along the information to my daughter. I think she has thought of all items except the hat, gloves and thick sole shoes. That area must be a bit colder and wetter. I'm sure she'll have a great trip!

The ViaSpanish Spanish Language School has some good information on their website about what to expect for a student in Santiago:

http://www.viaspanish.com/Learn-Span...-Santiago.html

Other than that, it´s always good to look at other peoples experience of the country on the better blogsites like:

http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/

and finally, the following site is very big, but you can find some really good information on there for a wide range of information.

http://www.transitionsabroad.com

Hope that helps...

Sorry to reply so late but I was in Switzerland on August 11th when you posted !!
then I was off to
Germany
and France..but I have been back for a weeks now.

I agree with what Huentetu said.

Sweater , gloves and a hat is a good idea for her.

There is nothing to ruin your visit as easily and being cold or chilled.

If she is watching some celebrations and the cold wind is blowing ..all of a sudden your thinking of just being warm.

You can always put the gloves in yopur pocket and take a layer off if you are too warm.....BUT if you are cold and you have no addition clothes with you ...then your are uncomfortable.

I learn this lesson the hard way ..as we all have done..I am sure :)

Good Night
Percy