Arica Chile: Palta, Pancito, y la Playa! When can I go back?! Past Review
By Carolyn W (Public Health: Global and Community Health Sciences & Latin American Studies, Tulane University) for
SIT Study Abroad: Chile - Public Health, Traditional Medicine, and Community Empowerment
I learned a lot about myself, a lot about how others view Americans, and about the universality of people.
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. |
In general, everything was graded incredibly easily. The Spanish program was actually pretty pathetic. I do believe that they have gotten a different coordinator, though, so maybe it will get better. During my semester, though, the Spanish program did not improve our Spanish at all. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program is getting too big for what it is, but otherwise, everything about the staff and the program was great. The staff is incredibly confident and inspiring. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
We ate entirely too much bread and not enough vegetables other than salad. We did eat a lot of really delicious things, though, and my host family made an effort to help me try lots of new things. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
All of the indigenous learning experiences in this program are absolutely amazing and so priceless. |
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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? | It varied, but if I were to average out what I spent over the whole semester, including travel, I would say about $50-$60 a week. You could get by on less than that, though. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Plan how much you want to spend on souvenirs before you go, there will be 8 bajillion opportunities to buy the same things and your money can get away from you because it seems so cheap, but it adds up. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | SPAN 304: Grammar and Composition |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
When with my host family, the staff, Chilean friends, or in class, I spoke Spanish and that definitely helped. Writing my 30 page research paper in Spanish was also a great exercise in learning more academic Spanish. The group of American students I was in, though, did not practice Spanish enough when together. |
| 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?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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