Best Experience Ever! Chile is the best choice for SA! Past Review
By A student (University of Denver) - abroad from 07/20/2017 to 12/07/2018 with
IFSA: Valparaiso - Chilean Universities Program, Valparaiso
I learned so much about Chilean culture and Chilean Spanish. It was one of the best experiences of my life
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The on-site administration was great I felt really comfortable coming to them with my worries and problems. But they were almost too available and made the students on the program shelter behind them and not expand out as much as they should have. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I LOVED my host family and it was amazing! but I am frustrated with IFSA for not making it clear that it is possible for them to place you in Vina a near by city and not Valpo which is where the program is located. I applied for the valpo program partly because I wanted to live there but I ended up living the farthest away out of my whole program. It was fine though because I loved my host family!! |
| * Food: |
Chilean food is very unhealthy and my host family didn't eat very well so get ready to eat a lot of bread and processed meat! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I didn't feel that integrated because I lived in the more white wealthy neighborhood which isn't representative of what the real city was. But I integrated well into my family. It was really hard making Chilean friends at school though. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt pretty safe as a woman compared to other places I have traveled. But definitely targeted for being white and American. Be very careful of valuables! |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I would love to be in the same place. Valpo is such an amazing city and I loved studying abroad there. |
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 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
Very easy! My family provided me with all the food I ever needed and it wasn't expensive to do things other than travel. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | If I was traveling it would be like 300$ a month |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | plan out your trips and how much money you will need for them. talk to people who already went and ask them how much they spent for each one and which ones to do |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I finished a Spanish minor but had taken Spanish since kindergarten |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | DON'T HANG OUT WITH AMERICANS! You will speak english even if you don't want to its very hard to resist the muscle memory of english. Branch out and hang out with international people who only have Spanish as a common language or make a big effort to make Chilean friends. |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
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? | That I really needed to make a bigger effort to get to know Chileans more my age. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
