I recently had the immense privilege to travel with Westridge to the magical, somewhat-goth (the only color teenagers wore there was black) country of Chile. Many moments of the trip were insightful and touching, including a visit to their Human Rights Museum, scenic drives through the Atacama Desert, and walking through rows and rows of street art for sale.

Other parts of the trip though were complete and comical disasters, leaving me yelling at the gods, “why did I pay 4,000 dollars for this experience?!” Here are eight anecdotes that sum up all the wretchedness of the Westridge 2025 Discovery Week Senior Trip to Chile.

10-hour layover

Congratulations! After a long 11-hour flight to Chile, you made it to the Santiago airport! But wait…you have a 10-hour layover until your next flight to the nearest airport to the Atacama Desert. Sitting in a Starbucks for six hours, how fun—especially when you haven’t slept in like 32 days.

Cheeseburger with no cheese (just cold nacho sauce)
After a long day of walking in the driest place on earth, all I wanted was a nice, juicy cheeseburger. Boy, was I delighted when I received a piece of black meat topped with a delectable, gourmet nacho sauce. Too bad the sauce was cold; the burger may have otherwise been edible. Thank heavens it was only 7,000 Chilean pesos.

Dog engaging in inappropriate romantic activity while running on the streets
One of my favorite parts of the Atacama Desert was the sheer amount of dogs everywhere. Our hotel even had its own dogs, and it seemed like every storefront had their own furry friend sitting outside. Arguably, my least favorite part of the Atacama Desert was what I witnessed occurring between two dogs. Let’s just say they loved each other.

The worst pain I’ve ever felt in my entire life, 12,000 feet up in the Andes
In pursuit of seeing beautiful Chilean geysers, our travel group woke up at 5:00 a.m. to make an ascent up the Andes. Combined with horrific cramps, freezing temperatures, and intense altitude sickness, my friends had to hold on to my hoodie like a leash to get me moving. The geysers didn’t even erupt either…Dead emoji…it was just boiling water.

Transparent shower pane
A city girl at heart, I was ready for everything Santiago had to show me. Still, not even the mean streets of L.A. could have prepared me for our hotel to have transparent showers. Sharing a room with one other girl, we had to sit criss-cross applesauce behind the bed, facing the window, as one of us showered, because otherwise, we’d be at risk of seeing it all. Same goes for the toilet!

Forensics in the park
The six episodes of “Criminal Minds” I’ve watched did not prepare me for the ongoing forensics scene I encountered in one of Santiago’s most extensive city parks. With caution tape everywhere, I’m glad all my personal safety lessons in Human Development taught me what to do next: get out.

My future coming out
Dozens of college decisions coming out all at the same time. That’s all I have to say. Rough. #WouldNotDoAgain. And I still don’t know where I am going.

30+ course meal
In the midst of the ongoing college decisions, I had the privilege of enjoying a near-30-course meal at some restaurant I do not know the name of. Banana bread as an entree? Sure. What about blood sausage? Yum. Eel soup? Out of my comfort zone, but sure. By the time we were on our tenth course, most of my peers and I were full. We resorted to passing down the food to our classmates still eating out of fear of being rude for not finishing our meals.

After all of this, all I can say is that I was glad to have 12 hours of flying to sleep on the way back.