Astronomy Observation & Research in Chile

“Work at the office is going great. A few of my co-workers are going to take me out for lunch tomorrow. And we are going to try some more Chilean dishes. I have also made some friends and I enjoy my weekends with them (since they have classes during the weekdays). I’m sad to leave Chile because I don’t know when I’ll see them again. I know one of my new friends said she will try to do her exchange in France so we can see each other again. Before I head back to France, my friend has invited me to visit her hometown in the south of Chile! I’m going to treasure every moment we have together. As for traveling, I am actually going to Peru this coming weekend. I will definitely send more photos after my trip. I also hope to visit the Atacama desert and some cities in the south soon!”

I truly loved my experience in the program. I’m still kind of astonished at the amount of software development knowledge I gained in just over 3 months. Learning how to speak technical jargon in Spanish also made me confident that I can work in the software industry in any Spanish-speaking country in the future. I’m grateful to Adelante for creating such an awesome internship abroad program, and I think the experience beat studying abroad by miles.

I did the medical internship in Viña del Mar, Chile. First of all, it is a beautiful city to live in, with lots to do and with Valparaiso just a 20 minute metro/bus ride away. The location of the house is perfect and in a safe place, just a few blocks from the beach and about a 30 second walk from a supermarket. I lived with other Adelante candidates and got along with all of them exceptionally well. The staff at the language school are welcoming, and my classes really helped me get accustomed to living in my new city. I learned about the unique spanish spoken in Chile, and my professor also took me out of the classroom to explore Viña as well as Valparaíso and learn about their history and culture. In order to meet new people, I recommend going to language exchanges in Viña or Valparaíso – these can be found through MeetUp online, and it’s a great way to meet natives and practice spanish! Living in a new city with no familiar faces and a language barrier can be daunting, so these really helped me at first! When I started my internship at a local physical therapy (kinesiology) office, it was challenging of course due to the new environment and the language. Within a few weeks, however, I was effectively communicating with patients, leading several patient sessions, and carrying out physiotherapy. My spanish improved dramatically and I also learned technical vocabulary that will help me in my future career. The employees were great teachers and always made sure I understood what was happening, the patient’s affliction, and what techniques they were using and why. The last month of my stay, there was political unrest in Chile but Adelante staff made sure we stayed safe, and maintained communication with us. I would not change anything about my experience in Chile, as it helped me grow as a person and greatly increased my skills and confidence in Spanish. The people in Chile are very welcoming and kind, even though Chilean spanish can be hard to understand at first! I’ve come to love Chile so much and I will definitely be coming back! I could’t recommend this Adelante program more.

I was an English-teaching intern in Viña Del Mar, Chile for a month. The city was an amazing and beautiful place to be and I felt quite safe. It was relatively expensive to live during the month I was there as my roommate and I had to provide our own food and transportation. However, the work that we were during was great. I had never taught English before until this internship, and I learned a lot about myself; how well I work in a position of authority, and my planning skills. The program had a lack of guidelines on what we were supposed to be teaching, and although that was a challenge, it provided us with the opportunity to create an entirely new lesson plan that catered to the needs of the students. We taught four amazing adults who were eager to learn from us and it felt great! I’d encourage future interns to take as many weekend outings as they can in Chile. The city has so many amazing activities and sights that will keep you busy in between your working hours. The only downside of the program was that I had to find my own transportation back to the airport at the end of the program which was expensive and difficult to navigate. But my experience in teaching in Chile outweighed any cons that arose!

I had a wonderful experience abroad 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. Overall an awesome experience, I met some wonderful people, learned a little bit about a new culture, improved my Spanish, and my architecture.