SIT Chile: Que Bacán. Past Review
By Krista D (Spanish/ Women's & Gender Studies, Wellesley College) for
SIT Study Abroad: Chile - Public Health, Traditional Medicine, and Community Empowerment
It was amazing overall. There were some bumps and the Spanish program was seriously lacking, but if you take initiative and are interested in the program's focus areas you'll do great.
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 |
Always available and willing to help. At times, it would have been helpful if some of the staff spoke English. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
Vegetarian options are scarce. I was fed meat and got sick several times because "carne" only means red meat, and fish is not considered meat. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Academic excursions to Temuco, Pucon, Putre, and Tacna, Peru |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Healthcare very accessible. |
| 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? | About 10 mil ($20) a week at most |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | The trip can be very cheap if you plan accordingly. All imported goods (toiletries, ESPECIALLY SUNBLOCK) are very expensive, so bring enough. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spanish 272 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Family and friends in the program |
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 do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | It's awesome. You'll love it. |
