#exchange programs

Story and photos by Jeremy Turley, spring 2018 travel writer at La Universidad de los Andes in Santiago, Chile

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Pardon the dateline, but I couldn’t resist. At the moment, I sit in my living room surrounded by packing lists, suitcases and freshly-laundered clothes. I leave tomorrow for what I hope will be the southern excursion of a lifetime. Only twelve hours in an airplane lie between me and Santiago de Chile.

In physical preparation, I am a procrastinator in the truest sense of the word. I have yet to pack what I need to take with me, and I have scrambled to get my finances and travel preparations in order. Though in mental preparation, I am already there.

Since early childhood, I have viewed a semester in Latin America as a rite of passage. My mother studied in Mexico City nearly 35 years ago, and the experience has formed her life philosophy and professional arc more than any other. She learned to speak Spanish, saw firsthand the challenges of living outside the U.S. and became an immigration lawyer upon returning home. Now, most of her clients come from Mexico. She has become one of the most trusted gringa lawyers for Latinos in the Chicagoland area.

When I was a little kid, my mom used to tell me about her time there. Even though college seemed so far away, I always knew I would make the pilgrimage south. Finally, I have gotten the chance to do so. You could say I’ve been waiting a long time for this.  

In the tradition of procrastination, I have waited until a few days before my departure to square away my housing situation and buy the things on my packing list. However, my preparation started, in earnest, about a month and a half ago.

I was warned by study abroad coordinators (and my mother) about the visa process, a thorn in the side of every exchange student. For me, it also served as a wake-up call. The documents I turned over to the Chilean consulate were official in nature: police background checks, good health certificates and proof of financial solvency. While acquiring these materials, it finally began to feel real — I would be willfully abandoning the comfort of my home, university and native language in a just few short weeks.

That realization probably should have scared the hell out of me. Instead, it generated an excitement within me. I have always enjoyed venturing into the unknown, whether it be an unfamiliar place or a new mental challenge. Chile is sure to be full of both.

Perhaps the greatest challenge will be the language. I have studied Spanish for many years in many classrooms, but 50 minutes a day of language courses cannot adequately prepare someone to interact with native speakers in a foreign country. In Chile, I will need the Spanish skills to earn more than just good grades. I hope to earn a spot as a functioning and communicative member of Chilean society. By the end of my time there, I want to be able to live as they do, and an inability to properly speak their language would certainly prevent this.

Since the Chilean semester doesn’t start until late February, I have been out of school for nearly two months. In December I felt somewhat confident in my Spanish-speaking abilities because I had just finished a fabulous course at Mizzou (Spanish in America with Asier Alcázar). Alas, my gains in that area have since abated, and a few weeks ago, I could barely express my most basic thoughts. In an attempt to be proactive, I recently started listening to Spanish-language podcasts (namely NPR’s Radio Ambulante) and speaking in Spanish with my mom. Hopefully, I’ll at least be able to ask the questions necessary to survive in Chile, though I still worry about how I will fare down there.

Since my main goal is to solidify Spanish fluency, I have opted to live with a Chilean family in Santiago. I was warned about the uncertainties of a family stay, but it seems I have lucked out.

From what I can tell through email communication, my host mother, Mariana, seems like a lovely person, and the living situation seems almost too ideal. She has two children, one of whom is my age and several pets (I suppose this could be very much not ideal for a person with allergies). In addition, the house is only a bus ride away from my university. I hope living with them will help me learn conversational Spanish in a way that I couldn’t, had I chosen to live with other foreign students.

I am very excited to meet them in two days, and I hope to form some strong relationships under their roof.

Finally, I would like to offer some practical advice to future exchange students. I suspect that most of the readers of this blog will be students looking to go abroad.

Take the visa application process more seriously than I did. I thought it would be easy to obtain a visa, when in fact, the bureaucracies that make it somewhat difficult. The hardest thing for me to find was the state police background report. It took me a 2-hour drive to Joliet, Illinois and more than a week in all to get this document. The consulates (which are usually located in big cities) cannot process a request until all the paperwork is filed, and because of the background report, I briefly panicked about not having my visa in time. Especially if you don’t have two months like I did, try to get it done as early as possible.

Don’t freak out about housing. Certainly be proactive about finding a place to live, but it’s not worth losing sleep over housing. In my group chat with other foreign students at La Universidad de los Andes, several people have found a place to live after arriving in Santiago. By my estimation, there are people in every city willing to rent out a room to you.

Go to Santiago! According to the folks in the MUJA office, I’m only the second journalism student from Mizzou (shoutout to the pioneer Taylor Twellman) to go on exchange in Santiago. I’m not there yet, but it seems like a really cool experience in an awesome city.

¡Hasta la próxima vez! 

do we need to speak the language of the country or can we get by with english? are the classes in english or in the language spoken? if so, what’s the recommended level? what about the costs of living? is it easy to find a student job?

i’m also seeking for testimonies about university of durham & university of essex (in the uk) university of sevilla (in spain) university of prague (r.ch) university of roma 3 (italy) and university of patras (greece).

Hello, my name is Tré Mata. I am a local coordinator with the Council for Educational Travel USA (CETUSA)

I help to find host families for foreign exchange students in the US.

If you have ever wanted to give a high school exchange student the opportunity of a lifetime by opening up your home to them, now is the time! Help a young student receive the unique experience that will enrich their lives for years to come and as well as your own, as you both participate in this cultural exchange.

All of our program participants, have great academic standing and receive letters of recommendation from their schools, and all are proficient in understanding English.

There are Full Academic Year programs and Semester long programs, but matter how long you welcome them into your home they will always remain in your heart.

If you're interested and have any questions, you can also check out the website at the link below

Or if you know anyone who may be interested, can also refer a host family. And anyone who refers a family that does receive a placement with an exchange student will earn $200 (occasionally even more depending on the time of the year).

Or if you live in the Los Angeles or Orange County areas and are interested, you can also contact me directly through my email: [email protected]

Or leave a message for me at my phone number:

Have you ever had dreams of working at the airport, on a cruise ship, or even at Disney World?

Get ready to lock in your 2026 plans and make it happen. Your future could look like this when you study with the International Travel College of New Zealand you gain real-world training that gets you job-ready. Enrolments now open for 2026 intakes. Make 2026 your year!

Everyone has classes in high school that are more fun than others. But perhaps you light up when you learn about travel, cultures, or planning dream holidays? What if you could spend every day studying the things that actually excite you? What if your fun subjects became your full-time study, leading you straight toward a career? That’s what’s on offer at the International Travel College (ITC).

Go check out the schools page by clicking the link

ok so first time treating my tumblr anon page as my personal journal to get this off my chest GO

SO FOR context. because I feel like summing it up too shortly makes it lose its essence. please guys im simping so bad what is this

I'm typically not a party person, not that I don't like them but I don't really have anyone to go with and I much prefer myself sober because I feel like I'm more in control. However, when I drink-drink, I go through all the stages of emotional drunk - overly giggly, suddenly sad, insanely... ahem... longing in ALL the ways

Out of all the brothers I've related to Ivan the most for most of my YA, preferring solitude to be able to analyze my thoughts and situations around me (mwah mwah Grand Inquisitor) but this was the closest experience I've had to feeling like Mitka for once

I went to Turkey for a 5 day uni exchange program (a week counting the days we spent on the way too) and our group had a drinking game night, where my loser ass downed 4 shots in a row besides the beer and my mind was an unholy mix of slight paranoia and "fuck it, we ball"

When we went to the club after I IMMEDIATELY managed to lose the rest in the crowd and ended up leaning at some point against a table and nodding to the music (which I couldn't understand since I'm not Turkish but I was vibing) wearing a button-up and black leather beneath in true futch fashion (i am afab)

There were at least ~3 people vibing to my right and I kept spying them in the corner of my eye until one of the girls whom I will call G made eye contact with me and started smiling like crazy. and i smiled back like crazy. and I scooted closer to her because she was really really pretty and my drunk ass mind went "oh god shes like a fucking angel that came down from the skies :wilted_rose:"

And not only her but HER FRIEND AS WELL (which we will call N) started uhh dancing up against me which I'd say is a typical club experience if we (me and G) didn't end up making eye contact for 2 seconds too long and then kissing and making out for 2 hours straight immediately after

It happened so fast I don't even know how it happened I was just attracted to G like a magnet specifically and I just wanted to be stuck there with her forever

What pissed me off a little (not exactly pissed... just mildly disappointed) is that there was this guy around her whom she'd sometimes switch things up with a little and kiss him instead of me for 10-20 seconds which I was a little jealous of but feared that maybe they're one of those "couples looking for a third" So since the music was too loud to hear anything (and, hey! can't have voice dysphoria if you don't speak!) I asked her explicitly if they are together and she said no so that was a relief

Although she made herself clear she didn't speak english TOO well so we mostly just relied on. exchanging gazes. and that somehow worked?? like bro this is the stuff out of fiction :wilted_rose:

BUT I HAD TO GO BEFORE LIKE 3 AM LIKE FREAKING CINDERELLA BECAUSE MY FLAT MATE HAD TO PICK ME UP SO WE COULD ARRIVE EARLY IN THE MORNING TO A GROUP ACTIVITY WE HAD PLANNED THE NEXT DAY AND SHE WAS GENUINELY SAD AND WE KEPT PUTTING IT OFF AND STAYING "JUST ONE MINUTE MORE" AND GOING "ONE LAST HUG" (i really hope this won't get flagged god)

BUT I DID GET HER INSTA RIGHT BEFORE LEAVING SO THAT MUST'VE BEEN A WIN... RIGHT??

WRONG!!!!!!!

SOMEHOW ALL HER REPLIES AFTERWARDS WERE DRY AS FUCK which confirmed to me that maybe that's all she saw me as. one little thing to mess with on one random night and that's all. when my dumb ass somehow managed to fall so hard like an idiot like seriously from my knowledge most people who go clubbing just look for temporary entertainment and thats it so WHAT WAS I THINKING?? BUT I COULDN'T THINK!! I SERIOUSLY COULDNT THINK RAHHH this aint rational

I kept suggesting we meet before I leave the country to which she gave some evasive responses and on yet another sleep deprived day I went to the frickin biggest mall in the entirety of Istanbul and hAD THE SOB OF MY LIFE IN THE BATHROOM WHILE THE JANITOR LADY WAS MOPPING THE SQUEAKY CLEAN WHITE FLOORS OUTSIDE THE STALL

THEN THE JANITOR LADY ASKED ME SOMETHING IN TURKISH AND ALL I COULD DO WAS STUTTER "i-i don't u-understand" and after a few minutes walked out past her fresh as if nothing happened

The night after the party when I went home the entirely of those few 3-4 hours I kept dreaming of her hoping "god please let me remember her face at least please let me remember her face" where she was right there next to me and calling out my name and when the calling got louder I woke up my eyes and THERE WAS MY FLAT MATE IRL STANDING IN THE DOOR YELLING MY NAME AT ME TO GET UP SO WE WOULDN'T END UP LATE LMAO I SWEAR THIS IS THE SHII OUTTA COMEDIES OUGHHHHH

And what hurts even more is knowing that even if she actually wanted something more with me we. we couldn't have made it work because I wouldn't return there in a long long time and I do not have the mental sanity to handle a long distance relationship but i still really really wished to relive those moments with her one more time just one more time please that would be beautiful thank you and now I keep seeing her post stories with her other friends and I just. I miss her a little extra when I see her smiling and having fun with her friends and even a little jealous when it's those people who were there with her at the club