Asados en Pinos Azules Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

On-site administration of your program

The members of the PUC International Office are very accessible and open to helping with all sorts of questions, from where to buy a bike, how to schedule a doctor's appointment, to helping find a musical group on campus.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

PUC offers very little support on how to find housing; I was lucky and received a reference from a student of a previous semester. I lived in a university residence with 15 other people for the first semester. I highly encourage the experience! There were mostly people with Spanish as a first language, so Spanish was the common language in the house, and it was a great way to learn and practice the language, including all of the colloquial speech. It was also a great way to meet people, discover the city, and have a ready social group during those first few months. The location was great, and the house was furninshed. I ended up changing housing halfway through my program for personal reasons and conflict with the landlord. I had some problems with my other roommates, but the other apartment was very well located in the middle of the city and had cheaper rent, so it all worked out.

The food is not spicy (other than the added merken), and consists 80% of avocado, meat, potatoes, mayonnaise, and pisco. It's possible to eat healthy and cheap if you take advantage of the weekend markets and the city's general market.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

During my year abroad, I met many new and interesting people, both Chilean and foreign. I did have a much easier time making friendships with foreigners than with Chileans, just because it was so difficult to adapt to the group mentality.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Although the PUC has a convenient Medical Center on its larger campus, my experience with female health care was extremely negative. Because the medical center is attached to the university and its Catholic principles, they were not able to provide adequate support. Pharmacies are expensive, have irregular pricing, and I received no support from the insurance of my home institution and my personal insurance in covering the costs incurred while in country.

I did not personally have any problems with safety, but witnessed/heard many accounts of theft on campus, in the metro, and the street. Street smarts are important; don't bring what you don't want to lose.

Yes! It was right for me because it fit all of my criteria (Spanish, South America, Exchange, Capital City, Good Academics) and turned out to have many surprises! Even if I didn't return there, I would absolutely leave for a year; it even felt too short!

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

I could have done a lot better, but I frequently took the bus/metro (up to 15-20 one-way trips a week), which dug into my budget, especially the first semester when I did not have the student metro card. I also did not go as often to the market as I could have (fruits and vegetables are so cheap there, but pretty expensive in regular supermarkets). I also traveled every other weekend around the Central Region, and went out pretty often.

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• Dorm
• Apartment
• Hostel

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• Scholarships
• Language
• Academic opportunities

• Housing
• Health and insurance
• Student metro card the first semester

The Academic or Linguist