Spanish Study Abroad Programs in Vina del Mar, Chile

As a Norwegian student of political science, I had the opportunity to study something entirely different for one semester. I decided to do an exchange semester in a Spanish-speaking country as I wanted to improve my Spanish, and chose Chile mainly because of its stunning nature and its safety. After almost 6 months in Chile I have indeed had some wonderful experiences in the mighty Andes mountains, the magical Atacama desert and along the beautiful beaches of Víña del Mar, where my exchange university, Universidad Viña del Mar, is situated. Furthermore, despite some saying that Chile is no longer as safe as it used to be, I have never once felt unsafe, and I haven’t had any bad experiences. Still, my favorite part about Chile is the warmth of the Chilean people. I elected to stay with a Chilean host family, with which I couldn’t be happier. They helped me practice my Spanish and included me in family celebrations, such as when we celebrated the National day of Chile on September 18th. At University I felt very welcome, and thanks to the International Club at UVM in particular, I made lots of friends from Chile and various other countries, and had loads of fun. With regards to my classes and professors, they far exceeded my expectations, across the board. I’ve learnt a lot about Chilean culture and society, and vastly improved my Spanish thanks to them. I truly could not be more pleased. I must also express my gratitude to the administrative section of UVM for making this a very smooth experience. To conclude, I would strongly recommend the Spanish Semester Program at UVM to anyone interested in improving their Spanish and going on and adventure that they’ll cherish for life.

I lived in Viña del Mar, Chile, a lovely city on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, from July-December 2019 as part of API's study abroad program that's focused on Business and Spanish at the Universidad Adolfo Ibañez. I lived in a comfortable, centrally-located apartment with a retired Chilean grandmother as my host mom and took classes with other international students in both English and Spanish, and it was fantastic. I loved my host mom and my fellow API students, and came out of Chile with deep friendships. The courses were also generally fun and engaging, with skilled professors, but were not particularly challenging and certainly met every student at their Spanish level. API's immersive program also made it possible for me to improve my Spanish to a professional level I had never been able to achieve in the classroom in the US, a highly useful skill in the business world. It allowed me to connect with business professionals in Latin America and learn from them firsthand - I interviewed for an internship in Santiago while I was living in Viña! - as well as let me live the impact of Latin America's economic problems and continuing development. API also provides a program that is incredibly well-supported - the resident on-site coordinator for the program is the nicest, most helpful, and knowledgeable person on the planet, and she genuinely cares about each and every student. She helped me navigate the Chilean health system when I was sick, even to the point of taking me to the doctor herself. She led many fantastic excursions for the whole API group, from a long weekend in the gorgeous Atacama desert up north to a local vineyard tour and lunch. Even when there was some political unrest in Chile and public protests threw a wrench in the semester, she and API were proactive, responsive, and reassuring, and I never felt unsafe. All in all, an amazing program. I highly recommend it.