Business Administration students can use the courses currently offered to map the main subjects “International Marketing” and “International Management”. I decided to focus on “International Management” and took the courses “Negotiation Strategies”, “Management Skills” and “Business Communication Skills”. I can highly recommend all three courses if you want a relaxed semester in which you improve your general knowledge a lot. For the TOPSIM module, I also took the “International Marketing Strategies” course. The Spanish course was the most complex course of my semester, which improved my Spanish a lot and was still always fun.
Leisure and travel
At the UVM there is a compulsory attendance of 80% and there are no English-language courses on Fridays. This gives you enough time during the semester to get to know the culture and to travel to other countries.
At the beginning of the semester you have the opportunity to join the “International Club”, which I can highly recommend. He often organizes excursions that you can take part in, but also afternoon meetings or parties. Entry to clubs is often free for members, but country-specific events are also organized in which one evening a home country of the foreign students is presented with music, food and games. In addition, you get a Chilean Hermano / a (brother / sister) from the International Club, with whom you can do something, who can answer questions and help you get used to the new environment.
The “Mañana Fitness” takes place every Saturday at the “Reloj del Sol”. These are free Zumba and Body Combat courses that you can take without registering.
During the semester it is of course a good idea to get to know something about South America. The Atacama Desert was my first destination and it was really beautiful. There is a lot to discover there and the landscape always impresses you with its different sides. This also applies to Patagonia in the south of Chile and Argentina. There you can hike the Torres del Paine and the Fritz Roy massif, as well as see huge glaciers. Valle de Elqui is a beautiful wine-growing region that can also be reached by bus. You can go on great bike rides and admire the starry sky, as there is particularly little light pollution in this region.
Since the semester ends at the beginning of December, it was clear to me that I would take the opportunity and continue traveling around South America. So after my semester I have planned to visit the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil for two more months.
Conclusion
All in all, I can only encourage everyone to do a semester abroad. The experiences you have in this semester are worth more than what you could learn in a lecture. You get to know other cultures and other people and with them you also get to know that many things work differently than we are used to in Germany. It expands your horizon and enables you to see so many things from a different perspective.
I can recommend Chile in particular as a country for a semester abroad, as it is very safe thanks to its economic stability. In addition, Chile and especially Viña del Mar have strong western traits, so you don’t suffer directly from a culture shock and you can find your way around relatively easily. Of course, traveling and exploring the country is also important this semester, and Chile has so much to offer. There are many different landscapes that always fascinate you in a different way. Thanks to the well-developed bus system, you can reach many places without an airplane and therefore very cheaply.
For information about Chile and South America, please visit zipcodesexplorer.
Viña del Mar was the perfect size and location for me. It was a great new experience living by the ocean for a semester and preparing for exams or presentations on the beach. Valparaíso is a 10-minute bus ride from Viña del Mar and is an impressive city of artists. I could have spent days walking the colorful streets here and spending the afternoons in small cafes.
The UVM made getting used to it very easy. In the introductory week you got to know all the new international students and the students of the International Club directly, so that you could make friends from the start. The first two weeks you could watch the lectures before you had to make a final choice of course. This enabled you to take exactly the courses that interest you and advance you most. Carlos Torres was always at our side and supported us with all questions. You could reach him at any time for emergencies, for example which hospital you have to go to when you are sick.
Because of the people I got to know this semester and traveling through South America, this half year has become an unforgettable experience for me. I will always fondly remember this time and hope that many other students will have the courage to have the same positive experiences.
