Learned the most through personal experiences Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

There are very few resources throughout the semester and very few spaces to complete work or study. On the other hand, university administration is amazing and very friendly but they have very little control of the programs and professors.

On-site administration of your program

The administration working directly for Middlebury and not in the host university had very little communication with the students throughout the program. When the violent protests began, we had no communication until days after and we were not given answers as to the program's continuity. I flew back to the US at the end of the program after sending two emails to the head of the department in Chile and they never responded even to say goodbye.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The host family barely spoke to me even when I tried to start conversations. Most of the dinners were arguments between the family. I lived outside the home in a room built in the backyard and was constantly locked out of the actual house.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The local healthcare system is great with its easily accessible pharmacies.

Stealing is extremely common. I was constantly told not to take my phone out in public because people passing by would steal them from people's hands. I had this happen to a friend on her third day. I had to hold my backpack a certain way and I would constantly be told I was at high risk because of my gender. After about 3 months, violent protests began and I was hit with tear gas. The country was on curfews and the military ran through the streets blinding people with rubber bullets. These protests are not over and my host family refused to speak about any of this. When streets were destroyed, buildings were broken and the grocery stores were robbed, everyone pretended nothing was happening because we were housed in the higher privileged homes but my host university was at the center of various protests.

Chile is a beautiful country and the culture is equally as amazing. I had a very positive experience before the violent protests. After a state of emergency was declared, a curfew was set, the military was in the streets, stores were robbed, buildings were destroyed, the metro was destroyed and all classes were cancelled, I had very little left to do in the country and I felt unsafe. I had been hit with tear gas near my host university and protests with millions of people were constantly taking over the streets. Academically and as a student I felt that I had no reason to stay. It was not a safe environment and all my classes were cancelled with the grades set to those we had in place before the protests. I had no transportation and I had nothing to do for months. We were constantly told to stay home through emails.

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

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

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• International Students

• Host university administration

• Host Middlebury administration communication
• Housing

The Academic or Linguist