Saints Around the World: Chile Costa Rica Mexico

Cristiana Hoene '27 wasn't sure where she wanted to study abroad or if she wanted to study abroad at all. One year later, she's a Siena trailblazer.

Nobody likes an 8:00 a.m. class, so image how Hoene felt when her Nature Photography professor announced their next class would begin promptly at 4:00 a.m. She set the alarm for an ungodly hour, tried to fall asleep early in her jungle bungalow, and after sleepwalking onto the bus, happily drank the tea they provided in the dark, pre-dawn hours. Was it worth it just to see a sun rise from her view perched above the Monteverde Cloud Forest? One thousand times yes.

Her journey into the Costa Rican jungle was set into motion several months earlier when Hoene came to this realization:

"I needed something new. I needed a change. I told myself, 'I've got to do... something.' It was either leave the country or cut my hair really, really short."

She didn't cut her hair, but she did catch a plane to Santiago, Chile. Before settling on Latin America, Hoene considered studying in Spain, but the programs didn't align with what she wanted and needed. When Spain didn't work, she nearly scrapped the idea of international study altogether.

"I was really on the fence about going. It's new. It's scary. You don't know what to expect until you do it. Everybody told me it would be the best decision of my life and that I would regret not going, but I didn't take it to heart."

Eventually, to spare her long brown hair, she pivoted to Latin America. The health science major with minors in Spanish and psychology is the first ever Saint, through CIEE Study Abroad, to live and and learn in three different countries during a single semester away. She spent her first six weeks in Chile before relocating to Costa Rica. On Sunday, she moves to Mexico for the final leg of her study abroad tour.

"I take two classes in each country, so it works out to be six classes over the course of the semester. The best class so far was Culture and Cuisine in Chile. The class met in a café. We learned about different cultures and their food and their circumstances. The class was really important to me."

In Costa Rica, Hoene plunged from the highest bungee jump in Central America. She didn't scream, she remembers, she just laughed. It was that feeling of, 'I can't believe this is my life right now.' Whether it's suspended 500 feet above the Cloud Forest canopy or remembering to lock your bedroom door to keep the monkeys it out, everything about the experience feels surreal (and way more impactful than a haircut).

Hoene would like to pursue occupational therapy and ideally she'll work with kids and maybe find a way to leverage her Spanish, which has improved tremendously in the past three months. But for now, she still has one more stop on her Latin American adventure.

"Honestly, I'm dreading going home."