Una Verdadera Aventura Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I felt like these classes were a lot easier than UT courses. I never felt like I was overwhelmed with homework and although I did have to do a couple essays/papers, they were not hard to do. Professors are eager to help, especially if they know you're a foreign exchange student and you have access to any of the libraries on all 4 campuses and computer labs scattered around the university. Sometimes the labs were crowded and you would have to wait your turn which could be problematic if you were running on time. You have to buy your own paper to print and you are given a limit on how much you can spend on printing each day. My only complaint is that the courses weren't as organized as they are at UT. Some of my courses didn't have a syllabus detailing our day-to-day lessons and homework assignments and those that did never seemed to stay on schedule. The Chilean accent is also a bit odd and difficult to understand at first but you get used to it.

On-site administration of your program

We had to attend orientation before classes started and it was very informative and helpful. They give you a student manual and a bag which was very useful throughout my stay in Chile. There was a strike among the humanities departments, which resulted in one of my classes running longer then expected but professors were very helpful and I had no major problems.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Had to find housing by myself which was very stressful but was able to secure a fantastic cheap place a month before my flight! My room was a simple walk-in closet-sized room, but I really didn't mind because I had everything I needed. The place I stayed at was a 5 minute walk to campus which was very convenient. I shared the apartment with 2 Chileans, a Venezuelan, and a Salvadorean. I only really talked to the Salvadorean since we were both students at the same university and the others were already working adults. Everyone was helpful and polite during my stay

Absolutely adored their empanadas and sopaipillas! Everything else is okay but nothing exciting

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Santiago is a lot like Austin in that there is always something exciting to do! I didn't go out as much as I wanted to because I was mostly focused on my studies but the times that I did go out, I had a blast going to las cuecas (Chile's national dance), watching La Copa América (Chile won yay!) or simply hanging out with friends throughout the city

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Luckily I had no major health issues during my stay

One of the reasons I chose Chile over the other Latin American countries was because it was generally safer, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its dangers. Luckily nothing bad happened to me, but I did witness a robbery on my way back to school and another robbery near the crowded bus stations (be very careful and vigilant when passing the bus stations as they are notorious for pick-pockets). Both robberies consisted of men stealing women's purses so, ladies be careful. I also heard stories of armed robberies on the Cerro San Cristobal so watch out for that as well.

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

I didn't go out as much and my apartment was close to campus so I saved quite a bit on metro fare. I also went to the market with my roommate twice a month where the food was cheaper. I was able to save enough to travel after classes were over.

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

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• Apartment

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• International Students
• Other

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• The people
• the independency
• Most of the classes

• housing suggestions/help (finding housing was very stressful but luckily I was able to find an ideal place in the nick of time)

The Academic or Linguist