Chile: The Best Choice of My Life Past Review
By Tonya S (Peace and Social Justice, Berea College) for
USAC Chile: Santiago - Spanish Language, Latin American Cultures, Journalism, and International Studies
What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Chile was amazing. It impacted me in such a way that my future plans are now to get my ESL teaching certification and return to Santiago to teach English.
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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I was fortunate enough to be in Chile during their bicentennial celebration. It was amazing. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| 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? | Roughly $30-40 per week. Public transportation is expensive, costing $1 every time you ride the metro, which I used everyday, multiple times a day. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I did not realize that we would have to pay for medical expenses out of pocket and wait to be reimbursed by the international insurance company. I wish that would be explicitly stated during the orientation weekend. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | none |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
My Chilean friends, my American classmates, my host family. I used Spanish every day. Most people did not speak English. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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 do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Go. Do. Live. Experience. |
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