Exchange Report

Before my exchange at Universidad de los Andes, I traveled to Rio de Janeiro with friends for Carnival. Since it was cheaper, I booked a round trip flight directly to Rio instead of booking a separate flight to Santiago. In hindsight, I would plan this differently: the return flight from Rio meant I had to travel back and forth after the semester ended, instead of flying home or continuing my trip directly from Santiago. My tip: book flights separately or plan your route so you don't end up with unnecessary detours at the end of your exchange, even if a direct round trip looks cheaper at first.

I booked my accommodation through the agency RUMI. I lived in a house with 12 other exchange students, which was a great experience but definitely not for everyone since it's a lot of people under one roof. The house was located in Barrio Italia, which I'd recommend to anyone, it's the nicest area in the city and relatively safe. There are safer neighborhoods outside the city center, but within the city itself, it's about as safe as it gets. The downside was that it was always about an hour away from my university by public transport. Still, for me it was worth living in the cooler area over being close to campus.

The university itself is really beautiful, but I wasn't happy with the organization. We were supposed to be able to select our courses in advance, but once we arrived, the courses listed turned out to be from the previous semester and weren't actually available. That was disappointing, since it left us with a very limited selection, most of the courses I ended up taking weren't ones I would have chosen otherwise. That said, the professors were generally very nice and accommodating toward exchange students. Most courses had an attendance requirement of around 60%, but combined with the fact that there was almost a test every week in every course, it was hard to skip class, which made exploring the country a bit more difficult at times. The courses themselves were fairly easy, since our selection was limited to first-semester courses, the material was often stuff I already knew from WU. The teaching style is fairly similar to WU, I'd say.

Public transport is good, but really packed during rush hour. I'd say the city is relatively safe, but you shouldn't walk long distances alone at night. In Barrio Italia, where I lived, there's a huge number of bars, restaurants, cafes, etc., it's a really nice area, and there's plenty to do around Santiago in general. By bus, it's about 1.5 hours to the coast and maybe 2 hours in the other direction into the mountains. My university had a gym and paddle and football courts, which I used a lot, and Santiago also has a pretty solid party scene.

My exchange was so much more than just studying, it was about the people and the places. Living in a house with 12 other exchange students was a highlight in itself, we grilled together constantly and spent hours in the kitchen cooking and just talking. Traveling was easily the best part: Patagonia was an absolutely insane experience, the wineries around Mendoza in Argentina blew me away, and weekend trips to the coast were the perfect way to unwind. After the semester ended, I spent another month traveling through Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia, honestly one of the best months of my life.