A constant roller-coaster of emotions and experiences, but I grew up a ton Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

There are essentially two different types of academic systems that function at PUCV: the regular one, where you take classes with degree-seeking local students, and the one exclusively for international students (spanish language classes + culture classes + more specialized area-studies classes than are generally found in the regular curriculum, more geared toward foreigners). I only have experience in the former. I chose to take all my classes with local students in the name of immersion, which is both a good and a bad thing. When regular classes are in session, they are EXTREMELY demanding and definitely no joke/not your typical study abroad blow-off classes (also in my own personal opinion, they're not very inspiring/engaging classes either). You will have to work hard and read a ton (like 500 pages of readings fresh from the photocopier (no textbooks here), all in Spanish, for an evaluation is pretty standard) to merely get a passing grade (a 4 out of 7). In one of my classes, the highest grade was a 5,5 (B range), hardly anyone ever makes an A (6,0-7,0). However, if you take regular classes, you must also be prepared to be flexible, as right now, Chile is going through a nation-wide student movement that's fighting for many things, but needless to say, strikes are common. They can last up to 2 months, sometimes even longer. It depends on the faculty (the humanities faculties are more radical than the business/economics one, for example), but you will probably miss class at least once or twice due to a 'paro.' I can't talk about the international student only classes, as I have no experience in taking them, but from what I've heard, they're generally pretty easy and aren't affected by the student strikes.

On-site administration of your program

i don't know how many of the issues i had with the program administration was due to my own problems or chilean bureaucracy, but two areas for improvement particularly stand out to me. 1) i had to get my student visa in-country (if you don't get it in the US you can get it when you're in chile). somehow they couldn't issue me one for a year (only for 6 months), even though they said they would, so i had to go back and ask for another 6-month student visa (even though i was halfway done with my second semester). 2) i had a ton of emotional problems my first semester here and i really would've liked it if the international students were able to use the free counselors provided by the university (they can't - they can only go to the physical doctor there). instead they told me that they could send me to an outside counselor that charged $75 usd/session (unlike a lot of study abroad students, i don't have a ton of money, so $75 usd is considerable). since this isn't a "program" per-say, run by a separate company with its own employees (e.g. CIEE, IFSA) and more like a direct exchange with the university itself, there was no one on the staff i could talk to that could help me. i think they should either let exchange students use the university counselors or hire a counselor that works for the international office that the exchange students can use free of charge.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

i really liked my host family here. they let me have my independence/weren't overbearing in the least, but when i needed them, they were there. the structure of their family also resembled the structure of my own, which i liked. only thing i would change is location, since i was kinda far from everything but the mall (and going to the mall for everything gets tiring after a while).

chilean food in general is really nothing to write home about. though there are some good dishes like pastel de choclo, choripan/anything you can find at an asado, for the most part it's all kind of 'bleh.' go to neighboring argentina or peru for the food.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

i made an active attempt to spend as much time with locals as possible, though i felt way more integrated my second semester than my first. my spanish is definitely chilean now. also i don't know where else i could put this so i'll put it here BUT quite possibly the best experience i had in chile was going on this volunteer trip put on by the student federation of the university for 2 weeks before my second semester started. i can't describe how much those two weeks impacted me personally, but i'd encourage any and everyone to seek out opportunities like that. not only are you doing good in the community, but you're also getting to know locals in a setting that's away from either the classroom or the bar/discoteca - and allowing to get them to know you in a different context as well. i met one of my best and closest friends in chile on this trip and got to know around 20+ other chilean university students from the region. it was also an incredible opportunity for language immersion, since it was just me and another american girl and the rest of the people were chileans, which meant 2 full weeks of spanish 24/7. if you're planning to stick around during the southern hemisphere summer (december-march), i highly recommend going on a trip like this. most universities offer a volunteer trip, so just look around and apply for it. also i'm sure there are other organizations that aren't universities that offer similar trip opportunities.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

had no problems w/ healthcare, luckily. if i did though, there was a clinic close by. however, make sure you have enough of any meds from home with you, or a prescription from your home doctor so you can get a chilean doctor to write you a new one if you need more. also you don't need a prescription for birth control and it's really cheap (~$2 usd for a months supply)

i've always felt very safe when i was here, even in valparaiso (which has a reputation of being more 'dangerous' than viña). and nothing bad safety-wise has ever happened to me, either.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

public transportation will eat up your money! exchange students don't get the student card for the city buses (only the metro) and though it may not seem a lot, believe me, IT WILL ADD UP (especially if you're constantly out and about and going places). however, you can use the metro, but the metro only goes a very limited number of places. prices in general are very comparable to the US, though imports are incredibly expensive ($5 usd for a box of oreos or a small bag of mini reeses peanut butter cups, for example), as is eating out at restaurants. bars are generally pretty cheap in valpo, the ones in viña are more expensive.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

i took all my classes with locals, i lived with a local family that spoke no english, most of the people i'd hang out with were chilean

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students

• very independent program - no hand holding at all
• direct enrollment in local university with local students

• ACADEMICS
• maybe it was too much of an independent program? i found myself wishing that i had a person i could go to and talk to about issues i was having like the kids in programs like CIEE/IFSA did

The Nearly Native or Trail Blazer