Valparaíso: una ciudad mágica con memorias invaluables Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

When we were in school, I had a reasonable amount of work. Far less than what I have at Pomona but the perfect amount for someone looking to learn inside class AND outside. The biggest challenge was group projects because Chileans are notorious for not putting work into them. We also went on strike for my last 2 months so it ended up being easier than it should have been.

On-site administration of your program

The Middlebury team in Chile is full of wonderful people but this is very much a "get shoved in the deep end and hope you swim" program. I happened to swim but I know many who sank and had a very very rough semester. There is almost no support unless you actively seek it out and even then spotty. The travel excursion with the program was nice but not a good way to get to know the places we visited (except the day tours in my city)

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I had a good host family but I wish I could have not lived with a family at all, which Midd doesn't permit for safety reasons.

Food was my biggest challenge in Chile. I was hungry all the time because my host family just doesn't eat that much, and essentially breakfast and dinner is just bread. I highly recommend being very vocal from the getgo that you need more food if that's the case. I got in too deep and ended up having to supplement what my host family provided almost daily.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I chose to never hang out with Americans and it was the best choice of my life. Middlebury does a good job of encouraging this but it 100% depends on you in the end. Even just being in a room with another american made me think in English so as far as language immersion goes, it's 1000% better to stick with all Chileans all the time. I ended up having a serious boyfriend and a lot of really really close friends that I still talk to daily.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

N/A

Valpo is known for petty crime so I had to learn how to make sure my backpack didn't get into in the streets and had to spend a lot of money on ubers when I went out at night, but I never really felt like I was going to get injured or killed. Honestly it's probably safer than cities in the US because there are no guns. I appreciated the opportunity to develop my street smarts, and if you're smart and careful (like don't put your phone in the outer pocket of your backpack, don't hold it in the streets). If you're a woman, take uber at night. you can be alone and a woman, or a woman at night, but you can't be a woman alone at night. Be safe!

Although the Midd team isn't the best support system during the hard times, it is the only program out there that can get you immersed as possible.

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

My food was paid for by the program so I just paid for public transportation and extra snacks (and going out)

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

Middlebury makes you sign a language pledge but THE COMMITMENT IS UP TO YOU. The number of Americans I spoke to by the end that were jealous of how immersed I was was impressive. Commit! It's so worth it!

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• International Students

• SPANISH IMMERSION
• encouragement to make chilean friends

• Support system
• Better planned excursion

The Nearly Native or Trail Blazer