Internships in Valparaiso, Chile

Dear Reader, I am Attila from Hungary who got a big help from Adelante Abroad. I went to Chile to accomplish my winery internship. This was not my first, nor my second studies abroad, but this was the most convenient one if we are talking about communication, organization, paperworks tasks and so on overall. They always helped me and they were kind all the time. And the winery Casas del Bosque, much more than I expected. Thank you!

Having studied in Madrid the previous semester I really wanted to come back and have a different type of work experience during the summer. I enjoyed the laid back environment of my internship with Fundación Tríangulo yet I gained valuable insight about public health and sexual health in Spain, among many other skills which will benefit my future career/studies. I did enjoy the centrality of our apartment but it was quite small, I know this is normal for Madrid, but I we did not exactly have private living spaces. I really love Madrid and the availability of outdoor activities, shopping, diverse food choices, the kind people, nightlife, and much more. It will stay in my heart forever, the memories, friends, education and work experience, and I hope to return soon.

I spent the summer in Barcelona shadowing psychologists at an assisted living residence. My coworkers were kind and helpful, and the patients were charming and sweet. The local program advisor was very helpful to me and my friends in the program anytime we needed anything. I also completed 2 weeks of Spanish classes prior to my internship. My Spanish improved tremendously, as did my professional skills. I feel that this program exceeded my expectations and helped to prepare me for a career in psychology. In addition to this, Barcelona was just an incredible city with so much life and character--I never ran out of things to do or places to see.

I had an incredible experience with Adelante Abroad in Barcelona. I did a gap year after high school and had the time of my life. The team gave me lots of support leading up to my departure. Someone came and picked me up from the airport and toke me to my accommodation which was in a very central, safe area! The Spanish school was great and I made lots of friends which I stayed close to for my whole time in Barcelona. My internship itself was better than I could have ever asked for. The office was incredible and I loved the team I worked with. I learned new skills and I met people that will become lifelong friends. Overall, I truly had the experience of a lifetime. Barcelona has become a second home to me and I could not be more grateful for my time there! 10/10 experience and highly recommend.

I enjoyed my time in Barcelona very much. I was ecstatic to get there and start. When I first started it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Nonetheless, I enjoyed every minute of it. I have made some dear friends. I can say I will be back in Barcelona. I would recommend Adelante. Without them, none of this would have been possible. Spain in general is beautiful, but Barcelona has to be my favorite. It has everything. From mountains, oceans, beaches, forests, etc. They have the cold, breezy weather and the hot, humid weather.

The internship abroad working for a non-profit organization in Valparaiso, Chile was an incredible experience. The Director, Pamela, was responsive and helpful if you have any questions regarding your concerns while you are abroad, changes to your homestay, and travel suggestions. However, I did not like taking the Spanish courses in Chile, coming in as a graduate Spanish major, because I thought it was not worth my time, for example, learning the greetings and grammar. If you're a beginner, I would recommend this. The professors were great, but I would have changed this if I had the chance to start over and started early with the internship. On the other hand, I liked the part about learning Chilean Spanish, the names of their food, and their culture. I thought it was helpful compared to grammar in Spanish. Overall, I enjoyed my time in Chile. I loved my time there!

First, I would like to start with verifying that Adelante is a legit agency, and I will do so because I was worried at the beginning that these opportunities were a fraud. But they weren't!! I'll leave this info just in case anyone else has the same doubts that I had. I took an internship on social work in Chile, and it turned out to be one magical experience after the other. I travelled to San Pedro de Atacama, Santiago, La Serena, huilo huilo, and Puerto Varas, and I can tell you that all of them are so beautiful that they must be on everyone's bucket list. My work environment was awesome, and my coworkers made feel welcomed all the time. Just watch out the chilenismos because some are very difficult to understand. Jokes aside, I am very glad I had the chance to take this opportunity because it was amazing and insightful. My internship allowed me to refine my social skills, but most importantly, I also learned a lot of things about myself. Things that I thought I was not going to be able to do, I did them anyway. I travelled around Chile almost very weekend as I mentioned, and for me, that had a huge impact because it was the first time I had to plan all the trip, search for hotels, and make the reservations by my own. Those experiences may seem trivial, but you will later see that you can apply every little thing you learn even in your work environment, as it happened to me. If you are planning to take an internship abroad, take it. You can only gain and learn more about the history of a country, its culture, and its people.

Interning abroad with Adelante was the experience of a lifetime. I interned as a mechanical engineering student at a creative coworking lab called Makerspace where I got to collaborate on innovative projects using 3D printers, laser cutters, and other cool tools with my coworkers in the lab. I also had the wonderful experience of leading a workshop in Spanish on 3D design in SolidWorks. My coworkers were extremely welcoming and made a strong effort to help me navigate Chilean culture and traveling as well as spending time with me outside of work! COVID definitely had a negative impact on the experience, as it made travel difficult and made half of my time at the internship virtual. Also, there were very few participants in the program, so it was a struggle to find friends to do things with. Nonetheless, the experience was overall very rewarding, and I highly recommend this program.

I did a legal internship in Oaxaca for three months with Adelante and it exceeded my expectations. I met the best people and lived in a great location with a kind host family and the best internship placement. My spanish has definitely improved thanks to the spanish lessons at the beginning as well as all the other people I met including those at my internship who were very patient and taught me a lot of legal and complex terms. If you are independent and enjoy exploring the city and having great opportunities for cultural immersion and meeting new people this is definitely a great program and excellent value for money. It really helped with my university application and I will definitely be returning to Oaxaca!

I lived in Viña del Mar for four months and I wish I would have chosen to stay a full six months! I absolutely loved living in Chile and I will probably move back at some point. I was a little nervous before starting my program, because I didn't know what to expect in terms of my living situation, who I'd be living with, or what my internship would entail. When I arrived to the house, however, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the house and the amenities. My roommates changed throughout my stay due to the length and start dates of their stays, but I got along exceptionally well with all of them. The house is in a great location, only a few blocks from the beach and a beautiful muelle (pier), and about a 30 second walk to a supermarket. I always felt very safe in Viña. The spanish classes I took at the beginning did help me brush up on my vocabulary and grammar, and learn some of Chilean slang as there is a lot of it! My the professor even took me out of the classroom to explore Viña and Valparaíso. Valparaíso is just a short metro/bus ride away and it's a beautiful place to spend the day walking through the different colorful cerros (hills). It also has a very lively nightlife, however to stay safe I would recommend going with Chilean people who know the area and nightclubs! I did the medical internship and was placed in a kinesiology (physical therapy) office in the center of Viña, and it was walking distance from my house. It was difficult at first, however within a few weeks I was effectively communicating with patients, leading several patient sessions, and carrying out physiotherapy. My internship helped me so much with my spanish and confidence in communicating, and my coworkers were always eager to teach me. Overall I loved Chile and the people are very kind and welcoming. Be ready to eat the best bread of your life! Additionally, I felt this experience was very good for my resume as I've already been accepted into my top choice for graduate school.

I had a wonderful experience aboard in Chile. My Spanish most definitely improved, or I should say my Chilean Spanish since they use so much slang. I loved our teacher so much, in fact I am still in contact with her. My internship placement also was great, I was an assistant to a professor who had other architecture projects as well. Very nice, welcoming, patient, and open minded. I did start out in a host family but I was not a great fit for me. Adalante though was wonderful in responding quickly and positively in helping find a new housing situation which I was so impressed by. I do recommend if you do the Viña Del Mar program to go during the summer there (winter in the states). I went when it was there fall going into winter, so it got a little boring in Viña itself since it was cold and the low season. This just means we went to Santiago and Mendoza more. During the summer though there would be a lot more to do and you can actually go in the ocean. Overall an awesome experience, I met some wonderful people, learned a little bit about a new culture, improved my Spanish, and my architecture. I also suggest if you can, schedule your flights so you have time to explore Chile itself before or after your internship. It’s such a unique county with its ranging landscapes, and places like Patagonia deserve more than just a weekend trip!

I lived in Viña del Mar and worked in Valparaíso for 3 months. I thoroughly enjoyed where I worked - I had great coworkers, learned quite a bit about Chilean business law, was able to see how a business incubator works, and put my Spanish to use daily. It was really a fantastic work opportunity, and I am happy to have done it. The only negatives regarding this program that come to mind are the housing. I was placed in a 3 person house in a quiet neighbourhood and that was great. While the house was incredibly cold (no central heat), the real problem was the bathroom. It did not ventilate well, so after taking a shower the room would be full of condensation. I mean the ceiling would be covered in water, which would proceed to drip on the ground for hours, leaving the floor wet and dirty. This also caused the ceiling in the bathroom to sag significantly, and it was covered in what looked to be mold. I think the housing used could be better scouted, and if these are residences the program uses frequently (as opposed to finding new ones each time applicants arrive), they should be better maintained. Furthermore, I was not given a key to lock my bedroom door, and as there were no safes in any of the rooms, this would have been appreciated. I found the three weeks of Spanish class at the beginning of the program to be only slightly helpful. We spent most of the classes walking around, which was a fantastic way to learn the area and practice conversational Spanish with my teacher. The problem was this dynamic made it very easy to stay within my comfort zone of the language. I think classroom activities are helpful because they are focused and often force conversation on topics otherwise avoided (politics, history, the environment, uncommon situations) as they are difficult or are beyond the scope of what is immediately comfortable. As such, it was easy to stick to things like food or scenery, but difficult to branch into more challenging areas. Overall I had a very enjoyable time in Chile. I enjoyed my work and feel much more confident in my Spanish abilities.

Adelante Abroad responded to this reviewAugust 20, 2018

Such great news that your Legal Internship taught you much about business law abroad and also that your Spanish language level has increased – these are really our top goals and what will resonate on your Resume for years to come. The housing you lived in is a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house in the Garden District of Vina del Mar, Chile, one of the safest and most desirable, two blocks from a large grocery store, plus cafes and gyms nearby and about 5 short blocks to the beach. We LOVE this snug little house and use it regularly. Your comments about it are disturbing,

Fue una experiencia linda! La gente es muy acogedora y conocí muchos lugares. Me hubiera gustado poder contactar a la persona con la que iba a vivir antes para poder planificar mejor los viajes. Todo fue 10/10, el equipo del international center está atento de ayudarnos siempre. Hay muchos viajes cortos que se pueden hacer por el fin de semana. Uno de los lugares que más nos gustó fue el embalse Puclaro donde pueden hacer kitesurf. Dentro de Viña, no dejen de conocer Reñaca, Concon (playa la boca y las dunas), el jardín botánico es PRECIOSO, conocer los palacios, tomar un helado en Mo o Coletti y salir a correr por la avenida Perú. Además, en cuanto al trabajo, aprendí mil cosas nuevas, formas de trabajar en Chile distintas a mi país. Me voy de Chile con los mejores recuerdos!

Valparaíso, Chile is a city filled with colorful historical buildings and graffiti by artists from around the world. Every day while walking around town, to school, or to my internship, I would see something new everyday. It took a few months, but I became an expert in the nooks and crannies of this wonderful quirky, historical city. I fell in love with the dancing, the drinks, the families, the people, and the strays that wandered the city. If I need an American refresher, I would head to neighboring city Viña del Mar that was filled with American brands such as Starbucks and architecture that resembled the United States. I worked in a public school meant for the impoverished of the city. My students were sixth to eighth graders. This experience became one of the most challenging for me, but it is my proudest moment by far. I traveled a lot and felt completely safe as a woman in South America. Just be street smart and you'll be fine. This country is great for hiking and outdoor activities and is cheaper to European countries. I chose to take tougher academic classes to really challenge me, so don't expect classes with locals to be easy. But it was manageable and it improved my Spanish greatly! Great experience and I am dying to go back to see all the friends I miss!!

My most memorable experience with respect to the Adelante program would undoubtedly be the opportunity to work at Chrysalis (start-up company development program) at a major university in Valparaíso (a short commute by subway). Americans used to the sort of sort, file and collate internships that unfortunately are typical of so many domestic positions would be amazed by the quality and importance of assignments you'll be offered in a program like this. Working with active Chilean lawyers and legal professionals I got to translate real contracts and internal documents while contributing research to ongoing investigations to ongoing research at the university. For me the chance to participate in this kind of important work was an experience I won't soon forget. I chose my program because I wanted to continue living and studying in Chile. I had previously studied abroad there twice and have enjoyed every minute of living in this wonderful country. I ended up choosing Adelante because of two critical options that really set them apart. First Adelante offers internships in the legal field (amongst a catalog of other options). Quality legal internships can be notoriously difficult to find for students not already enrolled in law school. Taking the international route, with Adelante's support is a great option for those looking to boost their legal resume early on in their career. Secondly Adelante offers internships in Viña del Mar. In Chile the vast majority of internships, jobs, school and human activity in general tend revolve around Santiago but I am a Viñamarino at heart and I implore all international intern candidates to consider the benefits of living in this beautiful, costal (and manageably sized) city. Once you've done so you will see that Viña and Adelante is by far your best option! I lived independently of Adelante, with a host family I met during my first semester abroad in Chile. It is worth noting that if you choose this (or a similar) option, Adelante will automatically refund you the portion of their fee that is allotted for accommodations, a degree of flexibility that does not exist in just every program.

An internship abroad with Adelante is quite simply and experience and an opportunity for which there is no substitute. The chance to gain real work experience abroad, in the country and job sector of your choice is, I think, is invaluable to any ambitious, internationally minded student or young professional. Despite the inherently complicated nature of such an undertaking (coordinating travel, accommodations, placements etc.) Adelante makes it as easy as possible with their friendly and supportive staff of hardworking professionals both on site and in their state-side office. I highly recommend this program to anyone looking to study or work in Chile. For me personally it was one of the better decisions I have made.

Memorable experience was the fireworks on the beach of Viña during NYE 2014. I chose the program because I found them the most reliable and easy to communicate with. Single bedroom in a three bedroom house with two other housemates. Gas powered stoves and showered, don't use too much hot water or you'll have to shower cold and no one likes a cold shower-well most people don't.

Hi. I'm Jonathan. I was taking part in the adelante program from december 2013-May 2014. I graduated from Uni in June of 2013. I'm half Chilean though I was born in the US and never had a chance to visit Chile and it's something I've always wanted to do. I knew that I wanted to continue working in PR and advertising as it's something I became truly passionate about over the past 2 years. So after my interview with the program's director Kimberly she had just the right place in mind. She told me about my internship placement in Valparaiso with a small but hustling business incubator called Chrysalis. When I met the staff there in December I felt a vibe that would keep me motivated to get as much work done as possible. The staff at Chrysalis are all young and most are post grads while some are still finishing their thesis as Uni for a student in Chile can take up to 7 years to complete. I specialized in Audiovisual production. Which at the end of the day meant that I would be working with the businesses that had been incubated and make videos for them. From a simple 30 second product demo to a 5 minute video over a biomechanics product used by a bioengineering team named Infratec to detect the level of Parkinsons in a patient. I loved the work environment and after I finished my classes at the International Center I decided to intern full time. True this limited my overall travel experiences in Chile but for me it was incredibly important that I begin to pump up my resume and portfolio. I don't regret going full time at my internship one bit, when you do something you enjoy the hours you spend in it shouldn't matter right? At the end of my work I had become close friends with the office and I still keep in contact with them. Especially now that the world cup is going on! Aside from the working aspect is the social aspect, everything not related to work. Vina del Mar is wonderful, the better beaches are further north going towards Renaca and Concon. It's very easy to get between the cities in Valparaiso bay. 20 minute bus rides from central Vina and you're in the heart of Valpo or the coast of Concon. Traffic though can be a little crazy as it seems that everyone enjoys speeding.. The food everywhere is delicious. I never found a bad restaurant. The quality of the vegetables are top, the same goes for the seafood and meat (at least until you have an asado in Argentina...) but there are plenty of supermarkets and fairly cheap to buy good produce on the corners outside the supermarkets. New Years was amazing, spending it on the beach with friends and thousands of others who come from all over Chile and South America to enjoy one of the best firework shows in South America. It's memories like that that last a life time and I have plenty of those from Chile. Remember how I said I'm half Chilean? Well guess what. I got to see an uncle and his family who I've never met before who live in Limache which is the last metro stop leaving Vina going towards Limache (duh!) and my time with my family there was precious as I learned and experienced a lot of what it feels like to be a part of a real Chilean family. Chileans are incredibly loving people and they will care for you if you treat them with respect and have an open heart and mind to their culture. I would recommend this program for anyone, especially because Chile is a growing nation and has a strong economy and it shows as there is construction nearly every kilometer in any direction haha. I love Chile and I hope you consider it too because it'll be an abroad experience like nothing you would expect.

Taking a road trip up the coast to the small fishing village of Horcón, eating the most delicious crab empanadas and sitting on the beach. I chose this program because of the cost, the area, and the internship offered. The apartment was 2 blocks from the beach. My own room, kitchen, bathroom, living room with television, dining area. 2 housemates: one local, and another program participant.

This was a great experience. From the moment I left the airport in the transfer that was scheduled for me to the moment I walked out of the apartment for the last time, my 4 months in Viña del Mar/Valparaiso were worthwhile. The intensive Spanish courses at the beginning of my time there were extremely helpful. The apartment was comfortable enough for my liking. Maybe it wouldn´t suffice if you are used to being pampered, but I believe it is perfect for time spent living abroad in a country that is on the rise. The internship that I had with a local accounting company was interesting to say the least. I received first hand knowledge of the small business environment and had plenty of time to practice my second language. I do wish the program was a little more involved in the social aspect of your stay, maybe organize some more social events or something. I do know there were some other people who came into the program at different times and were staying in other areas, but I did not once meet the people or know how to contact them. I do recommend this program for anyone looking for a vibrant, new experience outside of their bubble.