IES Abroad Santiago

Studying abroad in Santiago, Chile was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I feel extremely privileged and humbled to have been able to travel and live in another country for a full semester. I lived with an incredible host family that gave me cultural lessons every night during "Once" and reminded me of those universal family values that unite each and every one of us as human beings. I was able to explore the beautiful array of geographical wonders that Chile has to offer as well. I went sandboarding in the Atacama Desert, hiking in Patagonia, and surfing in Pichilemu. Those these sights were truly breathtaking, the thing I enjoyed most were the small moments with the various people I met in Chile. I met an amazing friend who worked in the IES building where I had my classes. Though I was still working on my Spanish, she was patient and so welcoming. We talked about our families, our pets, and our hopes and dreams. I also met my host-family's extended family who took me in like I was one of their own. We sat around all Saturday afternoon playing cards as I listened to old family memories and moments they had all shared together. Though I was in a country far from home, there was not much of a difference between the conversations at my dinner table in New Jersey and theirs that day in Val Paraíso. If anyone has the opportunity to study abroad in Santiago, I would 100% recommend it. I was challenged in the best way possible in daring to make relationships with different people from all walks of life and it made me realize how communication can really open up a whole new world.

My time in Chile was one I will never forget. The program was very comprehensive and formative for my career goals. I had the opportunity to observe a variety of healthcare professionals at work, which I had not done a lot of prior to my semester abroad. I had the opportunity to work with a community-based organization, which shaped the way I view the world and respond to health-related issues. Thus, I think that anyone interested in pursuing a career in healthcare and wants to learn medical Spanish should not overlook overlook this program.

The program center had recently undergone some renovations and I think that it provided my cohort with just the right resources and space. My group was small, so we got to know each other pretty quickly and often spent time together as a group. The staff was also very accommodating and planned a variety of field trips and experiences that really helped us engage with Chilean culture. Chile also has a very diverse terrain and I would encourage anyone who has the means to explore it to do so!

My study abroad experience was incredible and I would encourage any student looking for a pre-health and Spanish speaking program to consider this one. I was able to learn about the health care of Chile while learning many medical terms and health-related topics in Spanish. On top of this, I gained shadowing experience in a public hospital of Santiago where I saw many different fascinating medical cases and surgeries, something most people don´t get the chance to do here in the US.
Our group trips and personal trips around Chile were amazing and I experience things I had never done before such as canyoning, rafting, and holding a newborn lamb!
I will never forget the people I was able to meet in my program and Chile. The bonds that were created are some that I will never forget.
Overall, I could not have asked for a better experience abroad.

This program was more incredible than I could have imagined. I loved the life and energy in the city of Santiago, and lived a 5 minute walk from the IES center. My classes and professors were fantastic and taught me so much about culture, medicine, and helped me to improve my Spanish greatly. I loved being able to shadow medical professionals in the public hospital- I even befriended some surgeons and got to play tennis with them on the weekends! The program allowed a lot of weekend time so my friends and I took advantage of every opportunity to travel and explore all of the amazing nature and experiences Chile has to offer like surfing in Pichilemu, skiing in the Andes, sand boarding in the Atacama Desert, summiting a volcano in Pucón, and hiking through Patagonia after my program finished. I made some incredible friends, both from in my program and from the class I took at the local university with Chilean students. My abroad experience was the greatest experience of my life and I learned so much about culture, medicine, Spanish, travel, and about myself while in Chile with IES Abroad.

I learned so much on this program! I now know more about the Chilean health system than I do about the United States system. I got 60 hours of hospital observation, including seeing many surgeries and the birth of a baby! All of my experiences in the hospital were completely in Spanish, which made it very intimidating at first. However, by the end I could understand everything happening around me and I loved it! I also made friendships that I know will last for the rest of my life. The IES Abroad center staff was so kind and genuinely cared that we had a great time, and I loved my host family. The city of Santiago now feels like a second home to me, and I can't wait to go back some day. I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to improve their Spanish, learn about medicine, and have a summer full of adventure!

My summer in Santiago, Chile as part of the IES Abroad Summer Health Studies Program was the most amazing summer of my life. There are several options for how/where to do your observations, and I chose to do them at the public hospital in Santiago. I got to shadow doctors of many different specialties and even got to see a few surgeries. I gained so much experience in the medical field and learned a ton of medical terminology in Spanish, a vital skill in our changing cultural landscape. The staff at the IES Abroad Center were so welcoming and more than willing to help you with anything, whether that was help with academics, travel safety tips, or just finding the best place to buy an empanada. Also, Chile is such an amazing and diverse country with amazing opportunity to travel on the weekends to places like the Atacama Desert or Easter Island. This program is PERFECT for those wanting to enter the health field AND learn medical Spanish that will be vital in your career. If you are wanting the most fun, challenging, and life-changing summer of your life while ALSO boosting your resume for medical school/career, this is the place to go. ¡Viva Chile!

The location of Santiago is just incredible. It's a cosmopolitan city between mountains with so much to see and do- whether you want to hike or go to a museum, eat Peruvian, Thai, or traditional Chilean food, spend a day in the park or be a real Santiaguino and venture to the markets- everything is accessible through public transportation. Just an hour and a half from the Pacific coast where you can relax on the beach or explore the grungy and colorful Valparaíso, it feels as though whatever you could want is within reach. I loved Santiago as a city and Chile as a country. As long as the U.S. is wide, the varying landscapes were unlike anything I had ever seen. From glaciers to deserts, Chile has it all.

The IES program that I participated in gave me the opportunity to not just experience this beautiful place, but make the most out of my time there in each and every sphere of my life. I had the time and encouragement to travel and get to know not just the city, but the region. I was challenged in my academic courses, from understanding the political and social role of the arts in Latin America to the radical traditions that define the nation today. I went into my study abroad experience knowing next to nothing about Chile and Latin America, and leaving with a true connection to the region that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Besides the hard skills that I developed through my critical courses and hands-on internship experience, I also developed a higher social awareness, deepened my sense of empathy, and left with a level of confidence I didn't know I could have.

This program is great for people who are adventurous and curious, who want to learn and be challenged, and have a less traditional study abroad experience. I chose this program because I didn't want to go to Europe and I wanted to learn Spanish. I know a lot of people go to Europe because it's easy to travel around, but I was lucky to travel around a lot- around Chile, in Peru, and to Argentina twice- for comparable if not less expense. The things I saw were unlike any Roman cathedral or Grecian cave, but they put me in awe at the world we live in. Hiking through Valley de la Luna in the driest desert in the world made me feel like I was hiking through an episode of Planet Earth and the cities of Buenos Aires and Lima are equally as astonishing as Santiago. I can't stress enough how much I recommend this program and how badly I wish I was still a part of it every day.

Studying abroad in Santiago, Chile was one of the best choices I have made in my life. I am a neuroscience major, but have always had a desire to become fluent in Spanish. For that reason, I decided to study in the Health Studies Program, to learn more about the health system in Chile, but also to fully immerse myself into a Spanish-speaking culture. This program allows students to take a seminar where they can choose between shadowing in hospitals and clinics, or intern at a Public Health organization in an underserved community. I decided to intern at the Public Health organization, and through that experience, was very inspired by the theory of Popular Education, and experienced first-hand the power and importance of community health. This experience for sure inspired me so much, and made me think a lot more about the type of career I would like in the future.

In addition to the educational aspect of the program, Chile was a great country to study in with the goal to learn Spanish. Even living in the capital city of Santiago, it was rare that you would enter a restaurant or mall and find someone who could, and would, speak english to you. Santiago is also a wonderful city to live in, which many beautiful parks, restaurants, and hills to hike. I also loved the nature that Chile has to offer, and simply by traveling outside of Santiago to these natural environments were very inspiring as they are beautiful settings to both challenge yourself and reflect on life.