Viva Chile!!! Past Review
By jill t (communication studies and spanish, St. Cloud State University) for
University of Concepción: Concepcion - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The grading system was on a scale from 1-7. 7 being the best. The teaching methods were the same as in the United States. We had lectures, exercises, and tests. However,we did not get syllabus which was a little difficult for me. The major differences, that i noticed, in the Universidad de Concepcion and St. Cloud State University was the way in which their semesters. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Due to the fact that this was the first year the program did not take a director there were a few miss communication errors that occured. UdeC and SCSU were not on the same page for how things were going to go. We, as students, were not told about the student protests that were going on, we did not have a structured class schedule until a few weeks after the semester had started, and there was much guess work along the way. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
The food was not hard to adjust to. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Teaching english at LOTA. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Concepcion is a big city in a central location. There was not one time that I did not feel safe there. |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | It depends on much you want to eat out. The dollar was strong in Chile so I probably used 10-30 US dollars per week |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Keep some money for emergencies and souviners. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | spanish 302 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I practiced the language with my host mother, sister, grandmother, my professors, my peers, and people in the country. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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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? | Keep an open mind, there is nothing worse than going to travel to a different country and then not letting yourself experience all that there is to experience. Keep your negative comments to yourself because it might be offensive to others around you. |
