SIT Study Abroad: Chile: Cultural Identity, Social Justice

This program was very well-run. The faculty at the program site were amazing, kind, and caring. Almost all of the home stays were great fits for the students, and when anyone had a problem they could easily be moved. The best part of the program is the internship/independent study period. My internship was fantastic and important for making most of my Chilean friends.

I loved my time in Chile! The people I met definitely made the semester! The SIT staff was very friendly and supportive, and they did a great job assigning host families. I loved my host families both in Valparaiso and on the excursions. I felt very comfortable and got to know them very well despite the partial linguistic barrier. I also found many Chileans around my age to be really friendly, and I was able to make a few great friends who I still talk with every week. The group dynamics within the program weren't great, in part, because our homestays were so spread out that it encouraged cliques to form. The staff maybe could have done more to improve group dynamics especially during our first few days in Chile where we were all staying at a hotel together for orientation. I have mixed feelings about the program's academics. I appreciate that we weren't assigned much work, so we got to use our time outside of school to explore and spend time with our host families. I thought my Spanish class was interesting, and it helped me to learn Chilenismos and improve my grammar. The classes about cultural identity, social justice, and economics were disappointing though. They were taught by different guest lecturers every class, so there was no continuity or clear learning targets. Some of the classes/lecturers were great, but most were boring and didn't teach me much. The research methodologies class was a bit dry but did a good job of preparing us for our ISPs. I was not excited about doing an ISP as I don't like research, but ended up finding a topic I was excited about and got a lot out of it! The SIT staff did a great job supporting me through the ISP period, even as I traveled outside of Valparaiso for it. I loved Valpariso/Viña and Chile in general. The pace of life in Valpo/Viña (and its public transport) is a lot slower than where I'm from (MA), but once I got used to that I loved exploring the city (going to dance classes, bars, markets, ect.) I also went to visit friends in Santiago on the weekends and have touristy days with them. I also loved our excursion to the south. I loved getting to spend time outside in a rural area and go to family parties with my host family. Our trip to the north was kind of a wash since so many people got sick (largely due to the altitude). I would have loved to travel around Chile and the Southern Cone more, but we didn't have any breaks and weren't allowed to travel without the program. I didn't think the program's schedule, nor its policy that students can't travel on their own was made clear on the website which frustrated me.

I had a great time in Valparaiso! I was paired with the perfect host family, and we complemented each other well! I created a great relationship with my host mom and had the funniest host brothers. It was easy to find things to do on the weekends because they had an endless list of suggestions, and she was a pro since she had been hosting students for years. Valparaiso is such a beautiful city, and I say it is a realistic city to live in. Like all cities, certain areas are dangerous, but just be smart, and you'll be fine. The workload was never too overwhelming other than when I left things for the last minute, and there were many in-class field visits. The excursions were amazing, and you learn so much. I met the most amazing people in my program and was able to explore different parts of the city. I even got to go to Santiago. Through my internship I was able to experience such an amazing work culutre and learn of different social issues Chile has. The experience is what you make it!

My favorite things about this program were the location in Valparaiso and the week-long excursions we did in both the northern and southern regions of Chile. The opportunity to spend time with and learn from the Aymara people in the north of Chile and the Mapuche people in the south of Chile was what initially drew me to this program over other programs in South America. I believe that there is some room for improvement in the structure of some of the classes and the administration of the program, but overall I had a great experience. The program staff members were available and very helpful each of the 3 times that I required medical assistance and had to go to the clinic. The homestay coordinator is one of the sweetest people ever and is a great person to approach with any questions or concerns. The Spanish teachers are all really cool and helpful.

I learned a lot about myself and about Chile during study abroad. My Spanish clearly improved and the excursions that we went on during the trip were amazing. The majority of the students got along really well with their host families and the students that were doing the program were really open minded about what they did. Valparaíso is one of the coolest cities I know, and I feel extremely lucky to have had a program there. As for improvements, the rigor and intensity of Spanish classes could be increased. There additionally could have been more complicated topics for our lectures. However, I overall found the general program to be good. The program directors are incredibly kind and took in all of our feedback during our time there.

By my title I mean that this program and experience in Chile is one that if you allow it will challenge you to fully explore your sense of adventure and ability to truly sit and revel in the moments that make up the fullness of life. It allows you to, in the opposite sense of the phrase sit back, jump in and engage and let your mind and curiosity wander wherever they are drawn. SIT provides you with the the kind of rigor whose rewards are invaluable and everlasting. This program is structured in such a way that you very much make of your experience what you want. You have the ability to take your time abroad in whatever directions you feel. But the other incredible part of this program is it surrounds you with so many invaluable resources and such support that you can take leaps and bounds if you are driven to. It also is such that simply being in Chile, immersed in the beauty of the countryside, the rich history and the vibrant and incredible culture, provides you with such inspiration that the passion you enter with, if allowed to, will simply grow and multiply in ways you didn't know it could. Interpret it as you wish, but I came out of my abroad experience with more questions than I did answers to the questions I posed to myself when first entering into the experience. As far as specifics: On Education: Education happens outside of the classroom and that education is fantastic. The education that happens inside the classroom is, yes very much on interesting and relevant topics, but is the traditional lecture at students and in this way not as engaging and eventful as experiential and other types of education that nurtures more dialogue. Nonetheless constant classes in Spanish do very much help your language skills. Outside of the traditional classroom the learning experience is very much boundless. You are the decision maker in how much you want to challenge yourself to think and grow in new ways and how much you want to explore and come to understand. Through these lessons you learn an invaluable perspective and way of living. On the Administration of the Program: The administration, the director and people who make this happen that you see from day to day, are some of the most kind hearted and thoughtful people. They truly make your experience. They also understand you as an individual and a student. They recognize that the experience of being in Chile and exploring it is where the real learning is and for this they support you in those kinds of activities and don't expect you to spend 100% of your time sitting in a library studying. On Housing: Host family experience: I made such a strong connection with my host mom. She truly became a very special person to me. She also helped so much with making my experience a meaningful one. She gave value and depth to my time in Chile. You simply have to be upfront about any needs but also be flexible and understand that you will miss somethings and just have to wait till you return to enjoy them. On the Food: Nooot my favorite. In general Chilean food does not know what spicy natural flavor is. I missed the burritos and tacos from back home in Southern California and just in general a more balanced diet. Lots of carbs and not many vitamins and minerals through those leafy friends. So just get ready you might leave the country looking a little more like a pillow than when you came. Although empanadas are near and dear to my heart heart after living in Chile and the best news is you can't walk longer than a minute without finding one to buy. On Social and Cultural Integration: This program is incredible in the sense that you spend a significant portion of it traveling and living with different groups of Chileans. This within itself gives you so much cultural integration. You have to try a little harder to break through into social culture with Chilean youth though if that's what you are intending to do, since you aren't around them all the time in classes or anything like that. Make an effort to join clubs and do things that would draw the people you would like to get to know in Chile, but go to the locations and events where you would be able to talk and meet people. It for sure is possible, but it is also somewhat up to you. On Safety: Use your head and follow your gut and don't let anything else hold you back. That was my mentality throughout my time in Chile. I never had any problems safety wise. Listen to people who have experience on what areas are ok and which are not. There very much are areas where it is unsafe to go where you will most likely be robbed. But don't go there or leave everything of value in a safe place. I would say the administration is very aware of both your safety and your independence and desire for adventures and cares for you with all in mind. Keep your head on straight, while still dancing around in the clouds and discovering things you never knew you'd would and all will be well.

This program was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I met such amazing people – host family, program staff, other students, etc. Valparaíso is such a fun and vibrant city, and I had a great time living in the city and learning about Chilean culture and history. Definite highlights were the trip to a Mapuche community, improving my Spanish, and getting to explore Valpo with the friends I made. My experience in Chile surpassed any expectations I had going into it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. My advice is to be willing to roll with the punches and allow yourself to adjust and adapt to Chilean culture, and you will be able to get SO much out of this experience.

Living in Valparaiso, Chile is an unexplainable experience. The city is by far the most colorful I've ever seen; every wall is covered with murals and graffiti, complemented by the bluest sea and multicolored houses. The program spends the majority of its time in Valpo, with students attending classes during the day and having the entire night to wander and explore the beautiful vistas Valpo has to offer. I made such worthwhile, life-long friends within the steep neighborhood streets and there isn't a day I don't miss the friendly street dogs that would accompany us everywhere. While I loved Valparaiso, I absolutely LOVED living in a Mapuche community outside of Temuco, in the Southern part of Chile. Living with the Mapuche, I was able to experience a culture so distinct from my own, really engage my Spanish full time and become fully connected to a family, which quickly became my own. Returning to live with my Mapuche family during my ISP period, I was able to fully experience a different way of life, making Sopapillas and eating endless amounts of avocado daily with my mom and playing futbol and Palin with my dad and brothers. Those moments are the ones I will never forget and I still talk to my brother almost daily. Chile changed my life, and SIT definitely set up a great foundation for it to do so.