Great for all abilities Past Review
By Alex D (KIN: Outdoor Education, University of New Hampshire) for
USAC Chile: Santiago - Spanish Language, Latin American Cultures, Journalism, and International Studies
An important gain for me was a confidence that I can get through difficult times anywhere in the world. I gained the knowledge that I can learn another language, I can interact with people from other cultures and can even be adopted into the culture itself. I have gained a love for Chile that will lead me to living there in the future, and a hope that I can bring something positive with me. In the end, the language just came when I was no longer worrying about it, but my realizations about how REAL the whole experience really way didn't arrive until long after I had left, but they will always be with me.
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Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The Academics of USAC Santiago are really open ended in that you can either make a really challenging experience out of them and grow a lot, or slack and kinda go for the ride. Either route is fulfilling and possible, they allow all sorts of options for coursework. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Very helpful and willing to compromise. The student body is small enough that the administration is able to custom fit the curriculum to most needs. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Very loving and helpful host family, some stresses as will happen when living with a family for 8 months. By the end they were one of the main aids in my Spanish-language growth. |
| * Food: |
The (street) food of Chile is disappointing... mostly fried and without much nutrition. The host family cooked wonderfully and were worldly and open minded about food, though I have heard that not all host families were so. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Friendships with "gringos" were great, but it was very difficult to make real friends outside of the program without having 'partying' be the main social lubricant. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Use common sense, and dont do dumb things (especially while under some external influence) and you'll most likely be fine the whole time there. Do dumb things and you wont. Easy as that. Health coverage was on a refund basis. All receipts were to be kept and the refund was once I returned to the States. |
| 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 |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
USAC offers an opportunity for all language-ability students. The coursework can be tailored to the fluent to those who barely speak Spanish. It is difficult (if one were looking to REALLY improve their Spanish) to make large gains, though, for someone who already has a strong grasp of the language as English is generally spoken by the students (not professors) with the exception of a very few dedicated students. If the student has little or no Spanish background, a great deal of growth is possible. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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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 do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Anticipate that travel expenses (metro, bus, plane) will be more expensive than estimated. Bring flip flops or slippers for inside the host family's house as a lot of Latin Americans have a poor opinion of barefootedness. Experiment with relationships and people of different cultures! But remember that if learning the language is the most important to you, it is best to date people who DO NOT speak your native tongue; If they speak English their powerful want to perfect that will be difficult to overcome and your powerful want to perfect Spanish might be forgotten. Don't be afraid to just go out and explore! And remember (although you may think this already) to have fun. It's easy to lose the 'fun' of being somewhere new because you're thinking/worrying about all the places you have to see before you leave! Explore where you are (abroad) before you feel the need to explore elsewhere. |
