Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Super wonderful, although sometimes disorganized - would totally reccomend! March 04, 2024

By (Gender Studies and Spanish, Middlebury College) - abroad from 02/27/2023 to 07/15/2023 with

Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Valparaiso

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
yes!! - friends -language skills -independence and self-reliance -so many cool memories of doing new and exiting things -learning to live in a city and a different country

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I really enjoyed 3/4 classes. The one I didn't like as much was a first year class with 80+ students and I really didn't learn much from it. I did not feel like PUCV provided enough resources for me, in terms of help with registration as well as learning about the school and it's opportunities.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

I found the program directors to be incredibly kind but not very organized, which made it challenging at times to get support/get into a good rhythm.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I loved my host family, and really really enjoyed living being able to feel a part of a family and learned a lot about the region/culture/lanugage, etc. from them.

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I loved living with a host family. I wish PUCV was easier to communicate with when I asked questions/expressed interest in joining clubs/social groups.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I felt safe as long as I was following the suggested guidelines. (Ubering after dark, avoiding certain areas, not being on my phone on the street, etc.)

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

I would choose the same program again - however I would suggest a much more organized direction of the program. Also, there were many times we were expected to go to and from Santiago for program things, which ended up costing a fair amount of money. I imagine that for some students this would be

Finances

* 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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? $30-$80ish

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Intermediate
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? Advanced
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? 300 level
How many hours per day did you use the language? 10+
Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? movies, TV, chats with your host family

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • living with my host family
  • being in classes with chileans
  • having lots of freedom to explore and dive into new things
* What could be improved?
  • My experience with class registration was horrible, despite asking for support multiple times.
  • general organization (scheduling, support, etc.)
  • covering travel costs to program events
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? living with a host family is such a special thing - if it's not working for you, make a move and request a different family!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Antropologia Cultural
Course Department:
Instructor:
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: It was not challenging/academically rigorous. It was a first year class of 80+ students and I found it really hard to pay attention with lots of students. There was a lot of group work, and my groups often left all of the work to me/didn't care quite as much about the work.
Credit Transfer Issues: no issues
Course Name/Rating:

la Historia Mapuche
Course Department: history
Instructor:
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: I really enjoyed this class. It was easy to understand and I found it super valuable to learn about the history of the mapuche people and chile more broadly. I liked the way the grading system worked.
Credit Transfer Issues: this was a half credit course, but I was able to get credit for it by combining it with another half credit
Course Name/Rating:

Chile Colonial
Course Department: history
Instructor:
Instruction Language: spanish
Comments: This was a 2nd year class that was really really interesting. I learned a ton of information, which I really appreciated. It was however super challenging because of how much information was covered in each class, especially because the chilean students all of course had background knowledge that i didn't have about Chile and it's history.
Credit Transfer Issues: no issues
Course Name/Rating:

Geografia de la Pobreza y Desigualdad Social
Course Department:
Instructor:
Instruction Language: spanish
Comments: I enjoyed this class. Sometimes the lectures felt like information overload, but I actively enjoyed writing the papers for the class because it felt really interest and meaningful to be able to apply class material to my life/news stories/etc.
Credit Transfer Issues: half credit, which I combined with another half credit class I took