SIT Study Abroad: Chile: Cultural Identity, Social Justice, and Community Development

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.

My time in Chile with SIT was truly amazing. We stayed with host families, which gave me an unparalleled understanding of Chilean culture. The best part of the program was that we got to travel to the north and south of Chile, which gave me a more in-depth understanding of Chile than I would have gotten just staying in central Chile. The program team was absolutely incredible, and I felt really supported during the independent study period for the last month of the program. Valparaíso is a very hilly city, though, so be ready to walk up a lot of hills lol.

My time in Valparaiso was amazing and exactly what I needed. I felt so at peace and comfortable there. The program paired me with the perfect host family for me and they are a big part of why my experience was so amazing. I created a great relationship with my host family and had the funniest host brothers ever. The food was pretty good and things in Chile are a lot cheaper than the U.S. I will say I had an advantage in the language as a native Spanish speaker and did not really feel out of place.

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 room for improvement in the structure of some of the classes and the administration of the program, but overall I had a great experience.

I had a wonderful time! Valpo and Viña are beautiful cities with a lot to do. There are museums, nightclubs, artisan bars, national parks, and even the National Congress.

The SIT team is responsive, patient, and compassionate. I needed medical attention two separate times and each time, each team member checked on me multiple times and helped me navigate the local medical system. I'm also a celiac and finding gluten-free food was hard - but when we traveled, the team always had food I could eat and I could tell that lots of attention and detail had been given to our accommodations and itinerary.

This is an excellent program for folks who are looking to practice Spanish in a safe environment, explore and develop their academic skills in a different language, and conduct research. My host families are wonderful and I'm still in contact with them. Take advantage of whatever you can!!

Before studying abroad, I had no idea what to expect. I knew very little about Chile or what it would be like to live and study in a country I'd never been to before. That being said, I think this program was the best one I could have chosen for where I was. It gave me the knowledge I needed to be aware, the support system I needed to feel comfortable, and the uncertainty I needed to be more empathetic. Experiential learning is a big part of this program's academic approach, and it made the experience of learning that much more memorable and meaningful for me. I know that the friends, lessons, and memories that I took away from this program will stay with me long into the future.

The experimental learning offered by SIT gave me a wonderful and rewarding educational experience. The classes and excursions helped me learn about the neoliberal system, non-western perspectives into the social, cultural, and economic situations, and indigenous communities. I learned about the unity and power of the people to resist oppression in the country and the fight for equality and justice. was able to go out of the country for the first time and learn so much more about Chile. I feel like I really learned about myself and was able to get a non-western perspective of life and social conflicts. I'm so grateful for this opportunity.

The educational experience with SIT is so special and unique! I loved learning through experiences and field work. The last month is set apart for internships or independent research projects. I loved stepping outside my normal learning setting (a university) and taking more responsibility for what I was learning and how my Spanish was progressing. My host family was also so precious and a perfect fit! Valparaíso is also so special, living next to the ocean was amazing! If you are Christian, there are lots of great options for churches and Christian community- check out Union Church in Viña Del Mar if you choose this program!