4 Months, But a Lifetime of Adventures

If there is any doubt in your mind about studying abroad in South America, I'd like to start off this review by telling you, GO DO IT!!! South America was an amazing place to study abroad, and Chile is perfect as a home base. Each weekend, I traveled to the mountains or the ocean or the deserts or the huge metropolitan hub of Santiago and experienced a new/vibrant/wildly different cultural immersion in the many communities and landscapes Chile has to offer. Although I did thoroughly enjoy studying with USAC, most of my cultural immersion experiences were of my own volition. USAC is an amazing stepping stone into the Chilean culture, but they also won't hold your hand (which I appreciated). USAC was, for me, the perfect balance of provided opportunities and freedom. I had amazing peers around me who were ready to travel at the drop of a hat, a program supervisor (shout-out to Jorge, Brenda, and Isabel!!) who was eager to act as a cultural liaison, and a homestay I was excited to get back to after a long trip.

If I can offer any advice for a student getting ready to go on this trip, it is to say "yes" as much as you possibly can. Say yes to a 12-hour overnight bus ride to a small surf town, say yes to going out with locals you may meet, say yes to taking part in as much "ordinary" life as you can while you are there. Explore markets with the same curiosity as museums, make friends with the Chileans you meet in hostels, and maybe deprive yourself of a little sleep if there is an asado (Chilean bbq) the night before you have a test.
Studying abroad is about so much more than what you experience in the classroom, and although USAC will give you incredible teachers for that portion of your experience, it's up to you to take the extra step in stepping out of the extranjero bubble.