Home Stay All the Way Past Review
By Brett C (Sociology., University of California - Riverside) for
ECELA: Santiago - Spanish Immersion School in Chile
Well in just two months I can understand and speak Spanish MUCH better than I could before I left. And we have it good here. Jobs pay more and we have more freedoms. I am definitely going back to visit my friends there, but I was to travel to more Latin American countries as well.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I took language courses. They were mostly conversational, which I loved. Much different from the reading and writing Spanish education we get in America. Although, common grammatical mistakes students made were addressed as well and vocabulary was a big part of it. There was homework M-TR, but I wasn't overloaded. I loved all my teachers because they created a fun learning environment. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I pretty much decided what I wanted to do as far as daily life choices and made sure I went to school. I went during the summer so OAP was what I went through (i.e. I booked and took a flight by myself). |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I chose home-stay with the program. They set everything up for me as far as living arrangements. Neighborhood was safe from a male perspective. I was 15 mins walking from everything pretty much (school, metro station). I absolutely loved my host family. |
| * Food: |
I'm not picky at all. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I went to many beaches, Isla negra, a vineyard, curanto (they bury meat and cook it for 2 days or so) where there was traditional dancing by indigenous peoples from Easter Island etc. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Wear one of those wallets that hang around your neck. Either that or always keep you bag in front of you even if its a backpack when entering train or bus or crowd. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I brought about $2 grand for 2 months and spent it all. I wish I could have had more to spend. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Just bring as much money as possible. You're going to want to spend it all and why not? You're on vacation. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spa. 5 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Most people did not speak English in Santiago, but all of the staff at school spoke at least 3-4 languages including English. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Don't stay in the dormitory because there will be all different levels of ability to speak Spanish between the tenants. Plus, you can always meet people who live there and go hang out there, but still have your little space with a host family for alone time. |
