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Chile: Student Comments
“Concepción definitely added to my life. I made lifelong friends and learned more Spanish then I ever could have in a classroom. Here you are forced to speak Spanish, it's not like Spain where everyone knows English.” —EAP Student “Excellent! I learned so much more than I expected from an academic, cultural, and streetwise perspective. I made some great friends and had an amazing time in general. By the end, Concepción felt like home.” —EAP Student “Studying in Chile was one of the most phenomenal experiences of my academic career thus far! While abroad, I not only improved my ability to read, write, and speak Castellano, but I had the opportunity to travel extensively through Chile and other beautiful places in Latin America. You never realize how much you do not know until you are forced to think, speak, and feel in another language. Through EAP I was able to integrate into another culture, language, and style of living. Even more important, I became a part of that culture, language, and style of living. Without this study abroad experience, this would not have been possible. Now I am left with wonderful memories and a plethora of academic and career opportunities for the future. I encourage all students to take part in EAP. It changes lives, opens eyes, and challenges minds. Through programs such as EAP, the world truly becomes a smaller, more intimate place.” —Amy Henson Badovinac, UC Davis “I had an internship in Chile; they are hard to transfer as classes but the experience was invaluable. I highly recommend it.” —Michelle Isenhouer, UC San Diego “My semester in Chile was a myriad of experiences. Daily classes with the eclectic professors at the University of Concepción infused my Spanish with history, idiom, and confidence. I read Chilean Nobel poets over coffee and chatted Latin politics with my host family over dinner. More than any South American country, Chile is the complex snapshot of globalization, where horse carts and Audis vie for city parking and native Mapuche Indians struggle against hydroelectric projects on ancestral lands. All of this is nestled with the memories of glacier-draped Torres del Paine, surfboards arcing across waves on countless beaches, and immense northern deserts whispering 'explore us' by bus, bike, and foot. Nothing quite describes how this country feels until you actually live in it!” —Eric Lohela, UC Santa Barbara “While on EAP I was able to submerge myself in the theater world in Santiago. Aside from being able to see many productions, I was able to meet and befriend many theater people. This experience would never be possible in the U.S.-at least not where I study, since the theater world is so spread out. In Santiago the people who do theater form a close community and so, once I began to meet a few people, I was able to really be a part of that community. Through EAP I was able to not only study Chilean theater, but also really live what the theater world is like.” —Daniela Martinez, UC Santa Cruz “My EAP experience abroad was simply amazing. I was able to experience another culture, take classes, make new friends, and in the process, I learned a little something about myself. The knowledge you acquire while studying abroad is practical, not stuffy classroom Spanish. And you learn out of necessity, and for that reason it stays in your mind-it's like magic. Plus, Chile is indeed the most beautiful country in the world; it has a little something for everyone: mountains, sea, cold, hot, dry, wet, you name it! You've got to see it all, so travel when you can!” —Sadie Nickelson, UC Los Angeles “First of all, you have to understand that the program is wonderful! Education abroad is one thing, but education abroad with UCEAP is incredible. Everything is beautifully organized; the coordinators are awesome; the ILP was great. It was good to already know people upon arriving in Santiago and now I have friends from almost every UC. Maybe we speak English a little bit more (some of us a lot more) but it's worth it to know all these amazing people. The orientation class is great (oops, I ran out of adjectives). I feel so privileged that we get the opportunity to talk to so may political and social figures! Also, having us find our own housing is a good plan. I think all of us have had quite interesting and unforgettable experiences in that department, and although a few crazy things have happened, it's great story mileage and nothing too terrible has gone on. I've talked to people from other exchange programs who got placed with families and I think they've missed out on a great experience. And of course, some of us from UC are living with families too, so we haven't lost that opportunity. Also, the Flying Slug is wonderful, though it could use a few more comic strips. Let me repeat that the coordinators have been extraordinarily helpful. The program is great. Of course it took some time to adjust at first, but now I am appreciating it very much. ” —Keiko O'Leary, UC Santa Cruz “One of the most bizarre and memorable thigns I did in Chile was climb up an enormous sand dune to watch the sunset over La Valle de la Luna in San Pedro de Atacama. Standing at the base of the dune, all of the other visitors looked like an ant colony slowly marching up to the apex. It was a magnificent display of colors and made the journey satisfying, albeit tiring.” —Stephanie Rabiner, UC Berkeley “Having the opportunity to take graduate seminars on Chilean foreign policy gave me an in-depth and critical perspective of Chilean relations that I couldn't have gotten anywhere else. I had the opportunity to speak with well known writers and important political and academic figures, including Raúl Zurita, Senador Zaldívar, Senador Larraín, Professor Miller, Professor Advis, and Professor Zalaquette.” —Emily Staats-Williams, UC Davis “I was able to join the basketball team for la Universidad de Chile, Facultad de Derecho, even though I went to a different facultad. It was a great experience to play a sport that I've played my whole life in a completely different setting. The other guys on my team were all Chilean but they weren't much different in personality than teammates I've had in the U.S. We were always joking and talking about girls and stuff. The only difference was that all the communication was in Spanish, so I was constantly learning new slang and I was always the last one to get a joke, but that's how I learned so fast.” —Greg White, UC Santa Barbara
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