Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
TRAVEL REPORT
Universidad de Chile Fall 2014
Santiago de Chile
289711
2
Table of Contents
1. Preparing for the exchange ....................................................................................................... 3
1.1. Visa .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Host University ............................................................................................................................................................................ 4 1.3. Travelling to Chile ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4
2. Exchange studies ....................................................................................................................... 5 2.3. Selection of courses .................................................................................................................................................................. 5 ENNEG324 International management, Gerla van Breugel, 6 ECTS ........................................................................... 6 ENNEG335 Multinational Operations in Emerging Markets: Latin America, Gerla van Breugel, 6 ECTS .. 7 ENNEG362 Globalización, Tratados y Acuerdos Comerciales, Walter Sanchez, 6 ECTS .................................... 7 ENNEG34001 Diseño en los negocios, Giovanni Magnani, 6 ECTS ................................................................................ 7 ENNEG332 Gestión de Prevención de Riesgos en Equipos de Trabajo, 6 ECTS ....................................................... 8 Español para los negocios ............................................................................................................................................................... 8
3. Freetime and other information ................................................................................................ 9 3.1 Renting a room or an apartment ......................................................................................................................................... 9 3.2 Food and other costs of living ............................................................................................................................................... 9 3.3 Free time ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 3.4 Travelling ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 3.5 Weather ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 3.6 Cultural differences ................................................................................................................................................................. 11 4. Final comments ....................................................................................................................... 12
3
I have to start this report by saying that I have just spent amazing nine and a half months in
Chile and South America. After the exchange semester was over, I decided to stay and did an
internship for a local company. There are a lot of culture differences and things that you have
to get used to but all in all this experience has been amazing and I enjoyed my time very much.
I hope this report will help you to get an idea about Chile and exchange life in general. It is not
always easy to be a foreigner in a country far away from home but if you ask me, living in an
other country is an experience that makes you grow, changes your perspective and opens your
mind and thoughts.
I will try to give you some basic information but also share my own experiences and tips about
living and studying in Chile.
1. Preparing for the exchange
1.1. Visa
When studying in Chile you will be required to apply for a student visa. This visa will give you
an official status of a student, a RUT (Chilean ID-‐number) and 6 months permission to stay in
Chile. You can apply for the visa in Finland before you leave. It takes about three weeks to get
the visa so be sure to apply for it well in advance. I contacted the Chilean embassy in Helsinki
by email and they responded pretty quickly with information on what documents to send and
what is the price of the visa at the moment. More information about the Chilean embassy in
Helsinki and their contact information can be found from their website.
Technically applying for the student visa is the right way to do it but many people also enter
the country with a tourist visa. With a tourist visa you can stay in Chile for 90 days but the visa
can be renewed by leaving and returning to the country. As many exchange students will
anyway travel to the neighboring countries during their exchange semester this is a way to
avoid some paperwork and paying. Although you must keep in mind that with a tourist visa
you will not be able to receive a RUT (Chilean ID number). Without a RUT you for example are
4
not aloud to work in Chile and without the student visa you will not have access to the student
discount in public transportation. You must also be careful not to exceed the 90-‐day limit.
1.2 Host University
The international office of the business faculty of Universidad de Chile is very helping and kind.
Before your exchange you will start receiving information by email about necessary documents
that need to be sent to the university. In my opinion the emails were clear and you should not
have problems if you follow the information given by the university. In general the university is
also good in answering any question you might have. They will usually answer pretty fast but
for example during my semester there were about 130 exchange students at the faculty which
of course might delay answering to the emails a little.
The business faculty of Universidad de Chile has a good reputation and I heard that it has been
voted as the best business school in Chile. It is a public university and it is situated in the center
of Santiago.
1.3. Travelling to Chile
Travelling to Chile is a long trip from Finland but totally worth it. When you arrive to the
airport in Santiago you will have different options on how to travel to the center of the city,
which is about 30 to 45 minutes away from the airport depending on traffic and
transportation. The international office of the university will give you information before the
arrival on the different options (taxi, airport bus etc.). The university also offers an airport
pickup for those arriving just a few days before the start of the semester.
One thing to take in consideration, if you are travelling to a South American country with a
one-‐way ticket is that I have heard that it might cause problems due to questions with visa
issues. You might want to check this out but personally I had no problems even though I
travelled with a one-‐way ticket. Also if you do know, when and from where you will be
returning to Finland, buying a two-‐way ticket might safe you a lot of money.
5
2. Exchange studies
2.1. Starting and ending dates of the terms
There are two semesters in Chile. The first one starts in the end of February or the beginning of
March and ends in the beginning of July and the second stars in the end of July and ends in the
end of November. In the middle of the semester there is a two-‐week exam period. On most of
the courses that where taught in English the exams were arranged just before or after this
period, which allowed the exchange students to have a two week study break. Most of the
exchange students used this time to travel.
The semester started of with an orientation day. During the orientation day we had an info
session and a tour around the school and we were able to meet the other exchange students. If
you wish to do a Spanish language course during your semester you can also take a language
test during the orientation day, which will determine your group for the Spanish classes.
In the orientation day we were told that the lectures would start a couple days later than
informed, which gave us a chance to organize a small snowboarding and skiing trip with the
other students before classes started.
2.3. Selection of courses
In my opinion the selection of courses is sufficient. There are about 15 courses that are taught
in English and a wide range of courses taught in Spanish. You can also choose sport courses or
other electives but they are not counted as credits back in Aalto.
Before your arrival you are asked to fill a registration form for the courses you wish to take
during the semester. The semester starts with an add-‐and-‐drop period during which you are
able to attend any classes and choose which courses you want to take. This was very nice since
you can visit different classes and get a better understanding of what the courses are about.
You can also visit the courses taught in Spanish, which is a nice way to see if you have the
courage to take courses also in Spanish. Before the add-‐and-‐drop period ends, you must hand
in a form with the courses you have chosen for the semester.
6
Bare in mind though that the course assignments and attendance count do start right in the
beginning and all assignment etc. must be done even if you are not sure which courses you
want to take. Some courses also have compulsory attendance and you must attend the lectures
right from the beginning. The way I recommend to do it is to preselect courses you think you
want to take, attend their lectures and in addition see the first lectures of some other
interesting courses in case you might want to switch. Courses that are already full can also be
harder to take so try to do your pre-‐selection well.
If you have any background in Spanish studies I recommend taking at least some of the courses
in Spanish. I started my Spanish studies in Aalto and had only read couple courses, but I chose
to take half of my courses in Spanish. This is a great way to learn the language and to interact
with local students. If you are hesitating, try to choose courses that are electives for the local
students and considered as easier or more fun courses. This might mean more group work and
more flexible assignments. Also do not panic if you feel that you don’t understand anything
during the first lectures (been there :D), it will get easier during the semester.
The courses that I selected where:
ENNEG324 International management, Gerla van Breugel, 6 ECTS
I really liked the international management course. The course was taught in English by a
Dutch professor. She was probably one of the most organized professors of the university and I
feel that she put effort in the planning of the classes. The objective or the course is to study
management in international environments.
There were several aspects that affected the grading of the course. These were attendance and
participation, written individual assignments, written group assignment, pitch presentation
and an exam.
7
ENNEG335 Multinational Operations in Emerging Markets: Latin America, Gerla van Breugel, 6 ECTS
This course was also taught in English by the same professor as the course above. It was a very
interesting course and the fact that all the students had different backgrounds in business
enabled interesting conversations. It deals with emerging markets with an emphasis on Latin
America. We studied for example how Latin American multinationals operate, what business
models they use, how they are organized and how they deal with innovation and social
responsibility.
The course was graded with attendance and participation, group presentations and written
reports and an exam.
ENNEG362 Globalización, Tratados y Acuerdos Comerciales, Walter Sanchez, 6 ECTS
This course had an interesting subject and the course readings provide valuable information.
Despite the name, the course is taught in English. The professor is a nice older gentleman but
the execution of the classes is somewhat unorganized. The slides do not support the learning
very well and the lectures consist of the professor talking about the subject in story telling
manner.
This course is one of the easier ones though and it is graded with two smaller exams, a group
presentation and group presentation report.
ENNEG34001 Diseño en los negocios, Giovanni Magnani, 6 ECTS
This course is taught in Spanish and we were only three exchange students on the course since
the course was very full and the professor did not accept more exchange students.
The course is interesting and it is a great way to practice your Spanish. The lectures consist
mostly of group work and presentations so you are able to work a lot with local students. The
course might be hard at first, due to the language, but you can really see your language skills
develop during the course.
8
The course is graded with group assignments, individual essays and several smaller tests that
are based on readings.
ENNEG332 Gestión de Prevención de Riesgos en Equipos de Trabajo, 6 ECTS
This course is also taught in Spanish by a very nice Brazilian professor. I had a hard time
understanding the vocabulary of the course at first but the professor is really understanding
and he was happy to have exchange students participating in the course. This is also a good
course to interact with local students.
The course was graded based on individual and group assignments as well as few
presentations in groups.
Español para los negocios
This is a language course for foreign students. There are different levels and the students are
put in groups based on a language test taken during the orientation day. You are able to change
groups though if you feel that the level of the group is too easy or hard.
I must admit though that I don’t feel that this course was extremely useful. We learned
business Spanish vocabulary and some grammar but in my opinion the course was not
structured very well. With this being said I do still recommend taking the course if you are still
lacking skills in Spanish. It is not too much work and practicing the language is always a good
idea.
The course is graded with individual and group assignments, a group presentation and an
exam. The attendance and submitting of the assignments is pretty flexible.
9
3. Freetime and other information
3.1 Renting a room or an apartment
Chile is not the cheapest country in Latin America and it is more expensive then the
neighboring countries. Still in total the cost of living is less than in Finland. Renting a room or a
flat is usually between 180 000 – 280 000 Chilean pesos depending on the location, type of
accommodation and condition of the house/apartment. During the semester I recommend to
live chose to the university, as it is nice that to be able to walk to campus. Taking the metro or
the bus in the morning and after noon might be very crowded. Some of my exchange friends
also chose to buy a bike and ride it to school. I also recommend renting a room from a shared
apartment or house since this is a great way to get to know people.
In Santiago, Providencia and Las Condes are better living areas. During the exchange though, I
lived in Santiago Centro, five to ten minutes walk away from campus. Living in the center is
different than living in Las Condes, but if you are careful especially during nighttime you
should not have any problems. A popular party district for exchange student, Bellavista, is also
located closer to the center and to the University.
3.2 Food and other costs of living There are some foods that are significantly cheaper in Chile than in Finland but in general
shopping in a supermarket is relatively similar. Eating out is cheape depending on the location.
I also recommend visiting markets where you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables cheaper and
with better quality.
One thing to know is that Santiago has many different areas. I didn’t even discover all the
better living areas of Santiago during the exchange but only later. The cost of living,
restaurants, clubs and shops as well as safety are also different in different parts of the city.
10
3.3 Free time
There are some activities organized by the school or active students but the exchange students
themselves organize most of the free time activities. The school has also a gym and sport
courses as well as other clubs. During the weekends many exchange students travel around
Chile.
3.4 Travelling
In South America distances are very long. This is why I recommend doing shorter trips during
the weekends and trying to arrange longer trips during the study break or before and after the
semester. Chile is an amazing country with desert in the North, ice glaciers in the South,
mountains in the east and beach in the west. This means that there is plenty of travelling to do
inside the country. In addition to this, you can also visit other South American countries. In
general travelling by bus is a lot cheaper than taking the airplane but it might surprise you that
distances in South America are very long and bus rides can last more then 24 hours.
Some nice places to visit close to Santiago are the vineyards, the beaches of Viña del Mar,
Valparaiso, Reñaca and Concon, the Andes Mountains and Cajon del Maipu. In the north of Chile
I recommend to visit the San Pedro de Atacama, the desert and Valle de Elquí, the place where
pisco (Chilean drink) is produced. If you have time I definitely recommend to go almost all the
way south and visit the Patagonia. You can do a 4-‐day hike in the Patagonia (the W), which is
challenging but in my opinion definitely worth it. In the South you can also visit for example
Chiloe and Pucon and if you like surfing Pichilemu.
As a mentioned earlier there is a lot to see in Chile so the above are only some suggestions. I do
recommend travelling to the south more close to the summer months, as it gets cold. During
the winter you can travel more north or visit the mountains for snowboarding or skiing.
11
3.5 Weather
Since Chile is situated on the southern side of the equator, the seasons are reversed compared
to Finland. I arrived to Santiago in July and was surprised on how cold it gets, not during the
day, but during the night. The houses are not warmed and the cold enters the houses trough
the walls and windows.
During the spring the weather might be very warm and sunny during the day but temperates
drop for the night so you might go from wearing a T-‐shirt during the day to being cold in a
jacket during the night.
The weather gets warmer though and the summer months from December and March are
warm and sunny with no rain. These are definitely some nice months to enjoy in Chile.
3.6 Cultural differences
As mentioned earlier there are cultural differences between Finland and Chile. I think the more
I got to know the culture, the more I was able to notice big differences in the way people act
and think.
In general people are a lot more relaxed, social and stress free. Time is more an estimate (not
at the university though) and talking to strangers is not considered weird. You get used to
things not working how you planned them or how you would expect them to and letting go of
the Finnish way of trying to control everything. I do recommend keeping your eyes open
though and to be more careful than in Finland, especially during nighttime.
Something to mention as well is that Chile is not as latin as some other Latin American
countries. Making real friends might not always be easy and cultural differences might effect
the interaction. Also a brief “Hey, let’s hang out during the weekend” does not mean that the
meeting is scheduled. You get used to the different way of communicating.
12
4. Final comments
As I mentioned already in the beginning, I enjoyed my time in Chile very must and had a hard
time leaving. I do recommend Chile and Latin America in general as an exchange location since
it gives you a new perspective in life. One thing that I love about the Latin culture is that people
tend to live in the moment and enjoy life. People are less stressed and happier. Also if you love
dancing, Latin America is the place to be.
If you have any questions or would like to hear more about my experience, I would be happy to
help. You can ask for my email address from the exchange office.
Living in another country gives you a lot of perspective, and I truly do recommend taking the
chance and spending at least one semester of you studies abroad.
