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What Was My First Ever Visit to South America Like?

And the summer school flew by swiftly. It was my first time in South America, a country where English is hardly spoken, yet people’s behavior is quite Americanized.

It’s a vibrant country, but despite being a third-world region, prices are comparable to Western Europe. Life must be quite challenging for the locals here… 

Along the way, I spent a day in Panama City where social inequalities were much more apparent, with enormous mansions standing next to slums. Here, at first glance, it seems like everyone’s life is bittersweet in a similar manner. However, the reality is likely to be highly unequal, considering that the GDP is similar to Poland, and people walk the streets in tattered clothing.

What Was It Like Living With a Chilean Family?

And indeed, after the summer school, I moved in with a genuine Chilean family. A friend, upon hearing that I was staying in Chile without knowing exactly where, graciously offered for me to live with his family.

According to Ward and Kennedy (1999), the ease of sociocultural adaptation during a stay abroad depends heavily on the amount of everyday, close contact a sojourner has with host-culture members, exactly the kind of contact that living with a local family provides.

Living with them, I’ve observed how resourceful the less fortunate can be. They recycle everything they can, composting potato peels, segregating waste, and cultivating their own spices. According to Baker and Nelson (2005), Administrative Science Quarterly, people facing real resource constraints often develop a “bricolage” mindset, creatively making do with whatever materials are at hand rather than being held back by scarcity. It’s somewhat ironic that in a country surrounded by the ocean, seafood is so expensive that people can’t afford to eat it. Instead, they make do with corn, simple bread, and potatoes. 

What Was the House Itself Like?

Despite being constructed from inexpensive materials, the house exudes a delightful atmosphere. It’s a typical bungalow, a spacious single-story dwelling with strategically placed roof openings that allow light to pour in from all sides. The kitchen is interconnected with the living room at the heart of the house, featuring a quality sound system and ambient music playing through the speakers. 

As I observed it, my mind brimmed with ideas for my own dream home. A vision is gradually taking shape, and my stay in Chile is greatly contributing to it. Moreover, the locals are so enthusiastic that upon realizing I am the first European to set foot in their home in 25 years, they hurriedly embarked on renovating it, so as not to feel embarrassed.

Today, as I returned from the local grocery store with a bag of provisions in hand, I was surprised to find them frantically painting the living room from white to purple. It utterly disarmed me. In response, I decided to be a good guy and prepared a stack of my favorite Polish potato pancakes.

I tidied up the kitchen as well since it was in a dreadful state. This is one of the many joys of traveling—wherever you go, it swiftly becomes your new home.

What Do I Remember From the Summer School?

Regarding the summer school… First and foremost, I took to heart what a dear friend once told me when I asked why my life wasn’t going well. He simply said, “You want too much.” 

In the past, I used to submit countless applications for summer schools, spending nights researching the speakers to know who’s who and come up with clever questions. I would actively engage during lectures, initiating conversations with anyone, even if there wasn’t a meaningful topic. 

I stressed over the project and constantly compared myself to other students—someone younger already had two neuroscience papers, someone else had a better project, another student my age was on the verge of completing their PhD, and there were those with famous mentors… The list went on. About 80% of my efforts at these schools were aimed at combating overwhelming frustration. According to Schlechter, Meyer, Hagen, Baranova and Morina (2025), Social Psychology of Education, students who compare themselves upward to seemingly more accomplished peers during high-pressure academic periods reliably report higher stress in the moment.

Anyway, sometimes you have to lose everything to learn from your mistakes and get back on track. This time, I hastily wrote my school application in just two hours while packing for Kilimanjaro.

What Was the School Experience Like?

I went to school with only a vague idea of the topic, without bothering to read about the tutors. Surprisingly, I made countless acquaintances and contacts that I can hardly believe. 

Moreover, the knowledge I gained from previous summer schools made understanding the material much easier, requiring less mental effort. I asked heartfelt questions, and the project turned out exactly as I had hoped.

Everything went smoothly. Somehow, I stopped comparing myself to others and focused on my own growth, and it yielded excellent results.

Moreover, I pleasantly surprised myself. I had a project to work on at this school, and initially, it didn’t go well for the first two weeks. The tutors stubbornly insisted that the project was difficult. It revolved around the so-called Turing patterns, which frequently occur in nature, including patterns of activity in the human cortex. My project partner implemented a neural field model using a simulator called DANA, treating the populations of excitatory and inhibitory neurons as continuous variables. 

On the other hand, I created a network with similar parameters but composed of “real” neurons firing potential on a toroidal mesh. Remarkably, we achieved convergent results that impressed the faculty. 

What Did the Project Teach Me?

However, apart from learning how to implement a network, the project instilled a sense of empowerment within me. The program failed to compile until the last day, right before our group presentation. We were the fifth group in line, and it was only after the third group’s performance that I calmly produced the results and sent them to my partner.

According to Locke and Latham (2002), specific, challenging goals paired with a hard deadline reliably raise performance and focus compared to vague or easy goals, which may be part of why the looming presentation sharpened rather than derailed my work.

Some called me crazy, but I persevered, working steadily until the very last moment, despite the challenging task and limited time. And I emerged victorious. 

What Did This Victory Restore in Me?

This experience helped me overcome the learned helplessness I had acquired due to job loss and restored my belief that I can advance my PhD project, even though it’s considered highly difficult by my boss and everyone familiar with it. I received ideas and suggestions, and I decided to dive into the work instead of pondering whether the project had a chance of success or not.

In addition to all this, I discovered that establishing connections with the people of South America is easy. They have wonderful personalities and possess wisdom, knowledge, curiosity, and warmth.

According to Triandis (1989), people in more collectivist cultures tend to sample their social, relationship-oriented sense of self more readily, which may be why forming warm connections with people here comes so easily.

They have their unique perspectives and a balanced approach to life, all while embracing it to the fullest. At the school, there were many people from Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Paraguay, and Cuba, and I got along with all of them effortlessly. And let’s not forget the sun in Latin American countries… 

After The Summer School in Chile: What Next?

Now, I’m considering pursuing a Postdoc in Barcelona. They have excellent neuroscience there, among the best in Europe, and they also offer beautiful sunshine and a vibrant Latin community that exudes warmth, politeness, and a true appreciation for life. Contrary to appearances, they know the value of hard work—perhaps even better than the Dutch.