IFSA: Chilean Universities Program, Santiago

Chile, in my opinion, is the most beautiful country in the world. If you love nature, or if you are a big-city person-- this location could not be more incredible. Santiago is a city of 7 million where you can get to almost anything imaginable by public transport. And right next to the city are the snow-capped Andes mountains, full of incredible nature experiences for anyone looking for adventure. With so much diversity in one city, you don't even need to travel outside Santiago to find an incredible experience!

The IFSA program makes all of the logistics of living and studying in a foreign country so easy, and the program staff on site are incredibly caring and helpful. The on-site director personally texts and calls in response to any problem you may have, no matter what time of the day or night. there are many incredible scheduled activities and trips with the group, and the on-site staff are always available for any questions about your host family or social life, your academics, travel, health and safety, language learning, culture shock, homesickness, or almost anything else that you may need.

One amazing thing about this program is that it allows you to truly become a part of the city's community and culture. You get to pick classes in multiple universities, and that helps you even more to see what a diversity of thought and opinion there are in the country. I went to the two best universities in Chile, the private Ponticicia Universidad Catolica, and the public, more liberal Universidad de Chile. It was so interesting and fun making friends at the two universities, and seeing two different perspectives on life. The stay with a host family in Chile was one of the most rich immersion activities I experienced while I was there. I really became a part of the family customs and traditions, and even helped my host mom to decorate the Christmas tree!
Overall, my time in Santiago, Chile was one of the most influential moments of my life, and it has made me dream of returning some day, or maybe even living there in the future. For anyone wanting to travel to Chile, I definitely recommend IFSA in Santiago.

As a Spanish language learner and someone who had only been to Puerto Rico and Costa Rica for beach vacations with family, my five months in Chile was astounding. I loved upping my Spanish and I felt like I could have spent another semester on this study abroad program. I enjoyed the classes I took at Universidad Catolica in Santiago, but I loved the people, the hiking and the city-exploring even more. My host family was welcoming and always helping me find my way through the new environment and experiences. The gorgeous views were really the images that stuck with me. On sunny clear days, walking to the metro, I could see the Andes in the distance. I went on hikes almost weekly with other international students. It was always worth it to make time to hike and there were a variety of trails right outside the city. We would go to cafes and bars find green spaces to study or just hang out in the city. The public transportation was really useful.

IFSA helped me to connect with an after-school program, and volunteering there was one of the most impactful experiences I have ever had. Working with Chilean students of all ages was fun and rewarding, and I knew I was making a difference in the kids' lives.

The trips I got to take outside Santiago were also amazing. I recommend Valparaiso, the Atacama Desert, and La Campana.

Five months is a lot to cover in one review, so I guess I'll start off with just that: the length of the program was nice, as it allowed a lot of the work to be spread out. In addition, it gave a good amount of time to get to know the city and host family. One of my favorite parts of the trip was my host family: I had a sister about my age, and a little two year old nephew who lived at home and was so much fun to play with. It was a very vibrant experience, and it really added a lot to my time.
Although the city of Santiago isn't the most charismatic place, there is a LOT to see and do. Five months isn't even enough to scratch the surface. It was nice that classes were located on different campuses in different regions of the city, which forces you to get out and about. I really enjoyed that the program has a set office location, which is in a very good central location. Also a highlight was Isa, the program director, who was one of my favorite people I met in Chile. Overall, I do have some unfulfilled wishes for my study abroad experience, but I'm really happy with the opportunity that IFSA provided.

Santiago is an interesting city! As a Latina from the U.S the culture is definitely different then what I was used to. Nonetheless, there are warm people who will be willing to help you. I found this in my host mom who is an amazing woman that I still remain in contact with today. The city itself can be a little overwhelming to get used to with all the bus routes and subway system but once you master the systems you can travel to different parts of Santiago with ease.

If the city life doesn't appeal to you have no worries because there are a number of parks and hiking trails close by. One of the things I enjoyed the most about my time in Santiago, Chile was ironically leaving the city and exploring different parts of Chile and South America as a whole.

A tip I have is to do your research on pre-paid phones when abroad as I know this was a challenge for many students on my trip. When I was abroad WOM was the most economical and reliable for phone service.

Where do I even begin? I want to be completely transparent and not romanticize study abroad. Overall, I really enjoyed my time while in Santiago. I loved my host family and the other people on my program. Also Isa, the resident director, is an absolute gem! Get to know her and go to the office to chat with her!

I was fortunate enough to have a good support system, but I can definitely see how my time could've been drastically different if I didn't have that. I felt that living in Santiago was fairly affordable and overall the people were really nice. The Atacama Trip with IFSA was incredible!! Definitely one of the highlights of my time there. I also had the opportunity to travel throughout the country. I recommend taking the time to get outside of the city to see another side of the country. If you do have a desire to travel, plan that out as soon as possible because your time in country will fly by!

One thing I wish I had known was how difficult Chilean Spanish would be to understand. It's vastly different from other Spanish accents and dialects and there are a ton of "Chilenismos" that likely won't make sense to you. Give it some time and don't be too hard on yourself if it doesn't click at first. You just have to give it some time.

This program is great for people who want to be challenged with their Spanish and who are comfortable with change. I would absolutely recommend.

Studying abroad in Valparaíso, Chile through IFSA-Butler was a fantastic experience! Even thought I was there during the student protests of 2011 and my university was closed, I received a lot of support from IFSA-Butler staff in Valparaíso to ensure that my semester abroad was everything I intended for it to be. Although I was not able to take classes with Chilean university students, as was originally expected, my classes were still taught by Chilean professors and they were challenging. In addition, I had a wonderful experience living with my host family and I was able to meet other Chilean students. I also volunteered for a local organization, which was overseen by the IFSA-Butler staff. This allowed me to meet new people and add a unique, meaningful experience to my semester abroad. The city is a lot of fun and there are ample opportunities for cultural and language immersion, as well as travel within the country and the rest of the continent.

I would definitely recommend this program. There were some safety concerns while I was there- Student education protests (I accidentally got tear-gassed!). My host family was incredible however and the city of Santiago is unique in that there are all different types of barrios depending on what you want to do/what you are looking to do. The metro takes you everywhere and the taxis are well priced and bus travel to other cities is CHEAP. So many different types of experiences made it so special. I did feel like the staff could have provided a lot more support- we basically had to figure everything out on our own but that did make it so we knew what we were doing by the end of my stay!