Stuent Exchange in SA
HiI am in the process of organising a semester exchange through my university to somewhere in SA for between July - December 2013 and am having trouble deciding on where i would like to go. I was wondering if could give me your opinion on where i may like, heres a bit about me to help :)
Im an 21 yr old aussie female and hate the cold so will have to be somewhere sunny and preferably close to a beach. Ive been learning Spanish for 4-5 yrs now and will be studying law when there so would prefer a reputable uni with a good law school. Would really like to see alot of the SA culture as well and not just be around english speakers all the time. I want to travel as much as possible while over there so would like a good base where i can easily make small trips to other countries. (BUT i also plan to travel for 2 -3 months after the semester so this is not essential).
At the moment i am thinking either Buenos Aires, Montevideo or Santiago (although i do have doubts about whether i could deal with the Chilean accent). I would also LOVE to go to Rio de Janeiro but don't know any Portugeuse.
I would appreciate any comments/ideas.
Thanks!!
1
I've met a lot of Australians who was studying in Santiago - they seemed to enjoy it. If you're after a beach destination, South America may not be the best place as the only good ones are in Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay.The accent in Argentina is pretty hard to understand - probably more so than the Chilean one.
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Go for the university with the best image and the best standing. The university will probably be in Argentina or Colombia.Get good contacts to the Chamber of Commerce of your country while being there. And try to get an internship of 6 weeks in the Chamber of Commerce after finishing your studies. In other words connect yourself in an intelligent way.
With just studying a few month abroad you are a Nobody. With an internship in the Chamber of Commerce you are a person which top companies want and are looking for.
Suerte.
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"The accent in Argentina is pretty hard to understand - probably more so than the Chilean one."I am pretty sure 98% of the posters here would say the reverse is true. Even Chileans make fun of how fast and weird they speak.
Valparaiso Chile, Santiago, Montevideo and BA ( a few hours bus ride to some pretty good beaches) all have good law schools and big law firms. Of course, the beach weather will not be available until November, and pretty cool and clammy before then.
Edited by: mendocinateacher
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Hey Thanks everyone so much for the suggestions i really do appreciate it!Plata_o_palmo - From uni ranks i can find in SA, Brazil pretty much dominates. From the Spanish speaking countries that then puts Chilli on top. But i do know someone studying law in Colombia at a very small uni who has a had a great experience and the opportunity to study some really interesting subjects. It's difficult because apart from Brazil, few of the SA uni's really rate on the worlds scale.
Would Chilli be a good base for further traveling to other countries? I'd like to do a few small trips throughout the semester and would like something nice and central.
And yeh, i realise now am going to be there in winter so beach not that important cause can do the beach thing after the semester when i have time to travel and see more.
Any more ideas/opinions are greatly appreciated so please keep going :)
