Concepción, Chile: Great Experience, Lacked Organization Past Review
By Stephanie N (Spanish/Global Studies, St. Cloud State University) for
University of Concepción: Concepcion - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I realized that many cultures, although they may seem different, are actually very similar to the U.S, or more specifically, the Midwest. The experience also reinforced my experience that, in many countries, people's view of the United States is based largely on negative images in the media and from Hollywood movies. I learned to appreciate aspects of my own culture, as well as the culture in Chile, realizing that both have positive and negative sides, and one is no better than the other, as many people would like one to believe.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I chose "3 stars" because we had some really excellent classes, but also some classes with which I was thoroughly disappointed. For most of the classes, the workload was reasonable, challenging because it was all in Spanish, but not too difficult as to feel impossible. The grading system is based on a 1-7 scale, instead of A-F. Grading scales seemed to be quite skewed, but our situation was very different than normal situations, I would assume. Our classes were constantly interrupted by the protests, and we had many classes cancel because of potentially dangerous protesting (molatov cocktails, tear gas, fighting, etc), but in general, we were able to work around these interruptions without much difficulty. One problem was that we all had different levels of spanish, so to be graded on the same level for everyone was not fair. We were never given a clear answer as to whether our differing levels were to be taken into account. I had one of the higher levels of Spanish, and so received fairly high grades, but for students who had lower levels, it was much more challenging to keep up on a level that was higher than theirs. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administrators in Chile were generally well-intentioned, but not necessarily well-organized. However, given the realities of the student protests and strikes, there were many things to work around in the organization of classes and trips. I generally felt that they generally considered our needs. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The host families for us were arranged by our university. I felt very safe in my neighborhood. I stayed in a very nice house; the neighborhood was well-kept and aesthetically pleasing. I was about 40 away from class and nightlife, using the public bus system, which was fairly easy to use. I didn't need to buy anything to settle-in to the house. My host family treated me like a family member, constantly talking with me, asking if I needed help with homework or anything, and taking me to see many, many places around Concepción and the surrounding areas. We always ate meals together and I never felt uncomfortable asking about something I was unsure about or asking for help with anything. |
| * Food: |
I wrote that I generally do not eat red meat, which was accommodated very well. We would have red meat once in a while, but in general, they would prepare chicken, turkey, fish, etc. The food in my house was delicious and varied. I definitely never went hungry. If anything, I was always full! For future students, from our group experience, it depends on the house where you live. The food in my house was excellent, but in others, was lacking. The "centro" (downtown) offers many food options, but I would recommend eating out only once in a while. Eating out is a very efficient way to deplete your money resources, especially if you make a habit of it. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Our trip to Temuco was fantastic, a great opportunity to see a different culture than that of Concepción. Temuco has a high influence of the indigenous community of Southern Chile, the Mapuche people. Many of the people there valued this community and sought to keep the traditions and culture alive. This was quite different from the perspective of many Chileans in Concepción, especially my family, who openly hated the Mapuches. We also traveled to La Serena, Chile, which was very interesting as well. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
In general, I felt very safe in my house and in the city. I never had a health issue, and our group didn't experience anything grave in the area of health. I know that a couple people who did have some health issues were reluctant to go to a clinic or hospital because no one had a very clear idea of what kind of insurance we had or how to use it. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
The people with whom I gained most of my improvement in my practice of Spanish was with my host family. Most people do not speak any English where we were staying, so we used Spanish in everyday interactions the entire time we were there. It was, in my opinion, the best way to improve my knowledge and level of Spanish. We also met students our age, who spoke some English, so it was a very fun opportunity to speak Spanish in a social setting, and to also help them with their English. During the first half of our stay in Chile, we traveled down to Temuco and stayed with university students for a week. That experience helped boost my confidence level while speaking Spanish, as well as my vocabulary and ability to have a fluid conversation with a Native speaker. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I hope that next year, SCSU improves the program, because overall I was not impressed with many aspects of the experience. However, given all of that, I would still recommend going. My host family was amazing, and my experience there helped me improve my Spanish greatly and create connections with my family and other people I met in Chile and from other countries. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Spanish Grammar for Non-Native Speakers |
| Course Department: | Not sure |
| Instructor: | Daniel Ignacio Pereira |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | This class was challenging. The teacher was very knowledgeable and well-prepared. I participated about the same that I would have at my home institution. The professor offered us detailed descriptions and an in-depth look into many parts of Spanish grammar that most of us had been taught superficially. The class was perfect for me and a couple other students, who already had a higher level of Spanish grammar understanding. It was a bit too challenging, in my opinion for students who came with a lower level of Spanish, because he would take the more complicated topics of Spanish grammar and go deeper than most of our grammar classes in the U.S had ever done. He also taught us about linguistics and went over a lot of the technical vocabulary of Spanish linguistics, and linguistics in general. It was very interesting. For me, this class was excellent. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I am still unsure about credit transfer. We have yet to hear clearly about how our credits will transfer. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Literature in Latin America |
| Course Department: | Not sure |
| Instructor: | Edson Faúndez |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | This class was excellent! The professor had an amazing knowledge of literature and, in each class, brought with him a passion and love for his topic that made it all the more interesting and fun to learn from him. It was very challenging and I greatly improved my reading, writing, and comprehension skills through this class. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I am still unsure about credit transfer. We have yet to hear clearly about how our credits will transfer. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Communication/Conversation/Pragmatics |
| Course Department: | Not sure |
| Instructor: | Ana Vine, Jessica Andrea Elejalde Gomez |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | This class had a lot of potential to be a great learning opportunity about the differences in culture, and the celebration of two cultures coming together to learn about one another. Instead, I felt that we were taught almost nothing. When we did have the rare opportunity to listen to a lecture or practice Spanish, it was on a very basic and superficial level, and felt more insulting than a chance to learn something. My primary issue with this class, though, is that we were coerced and deceived into being research subjects for the two professors, who were doing research for a master's degree. Throughout the entire semester, we were given vague information about what we had to do. During the second half of the semester, we ended up going to class double the amount of time for which we were getting credit. (We were getting 3 credits, and went to class for 6 hours per week). During the first session of research, we were told to give a recorded interview in front of a camera, and in front of the entire class. When I asked why they hadn't asked us to sign any permission waiver, they told me "you will sign them next week." We didn't receive these permission waivers until 2 or 3 weeks after that, after we had already done testing and essays for their research. When we did receive these permission waivers, we had heard them mention that some of this was for their own research, so I asked them "if I don't sign this, will my grade for this class be affected". They told me "yes." So, I signed the paper. At the end of the class, when other students got upset at the fact that many of their grades were incredibly low, even given the extra work we were all putting in, I ended up talking with the professors. They told me that all that extra work was for their research, and not for the class, and that it was all right because we had signed those waivers (those same waivers that I had been told were for my "grade" in the class). They told us the extra work we did was "voluntary." We never felt that that work was voluntary, because we were never clearly told which work was "voluntary" and which was required. I asked "why didn't you tell us clearly which work was voluntary and which was required?" They replied, "if some people had known that the work was voluntary, they wouldn't have done the extra work!" This, to me, is deception and abuse of power on their part. At this point, they started making claims that we were only objecting to this class because we came from a cold culture that needs to know too much and is too controlling. At this, I felt very insulted and I sincerely hope that they receive some sort of disciplinary action for taking advantage of foreign students. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I am still unsure about credit transfer. We have yet to hear clearly about how our credits will transfer. |
