Rochelle Elegado
Degree: Bachelor of Nursing / Bachelor of Arts in International Studies
ICS University: Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Chile
I’ve always wanted to visit South America and I’ve always wanted to experience what it’s like to be an exchange student. With BAIS I get to do both at once!
Rochelle completed her ICS in Chile in 2018
Q&A with Rochelle
What was the highlight of your ICS in Chile?
It would definitely have to be the people that I met and the city that I chose. I went out of my comfort zone by choosing the least popular city and I can honestly say that it is majorly underrated. It’s a beautiful, refreshing region and small enough that everything was conveniently located. There were barely any tourists but that only meant thrar I was able to immerse myself into the culture rapidly especially thanks to all the people I would meet out and about and at the university. I would love to go back and see the lifelong friends that I made during my ICS.
How did your language and intercultural skills improve?
My skills definitely improved by pushing myself out of my comfort zone and living with locals and surrounding myself with locals. It helped that there were little-to-no tourists in my city so it was either speak Spanish or nothing at all. I made an active effort to make friends with the locals and tried not to be with other exchange students all the time.
What skills have you learned in the past year that you believe will benefit your personal life and future career?
Understanding Spanish will not only help me in such a multi-cultural country such as Australia, it will help me especially if I work with patients in the future who cannot speak English. Throughout my year of ICS, there were many times I had to communicate with others who weren’t fluent in English or even Spanish, but we always seemed to come to an understanding in the end. My communication skills have improved substantially.
How did university life in Chile differ to Australia? How did you adjust, if needed?
University life in Chile was more convenient in the sense that I only had to walk 10 minutes to get to campus whereas in Australia, I’d have to take a train for 30 minutes. My university in Concepción is quite small so it was very comforting that it was easy to make friends and everyone knew each other. It felt good to see familiar faces every now and then. There was a lot of support from the university that it was easy to settle in during the first few weeks.
How did you finance your ICS? (e.g. scholarships, loans, budgeting) Any advice?
I worked a lot with the intention of saving at least 50% of my pay each fortnight. I lived at home to not have to pay rent, I drove less to not pay for petrol and tried working whenever I could, favouring shifts with penalty rates. I took the OS Help loan to have some emergency funds and I set-up youth allowance with centrelink before I left.
What’s an assumption about your country that you found to be untrue? E.g. safety, expense etc.
There were a lot of assumptions made about South America in general. Many thought it was unsafe, underdeveloped, poor, etc. but what most didn’t know is that Chile in particular is considered the most developed country in the continent. Many thought that it would be cheaper than Australia but I found most prices to be the same among food, clothes, etc.
What was your research project and why did you choose it? What were the findings?
My research project focussed on the changing attitudes towards nutrition in Chile. There has been an urgent need to improve health and lifestyle among the people and the government has tried to tackle this by controlling the advertisement and sale of different foods. My findings showed that despite all the effort and action being taken to encourage healthier choices, most Chileans keep the same unhealthy mentalities.
If you could redo ICS, what are some things you would do differently?
I would plan ahead to see when and where to fit travelling in order to make the most of being in a different continent and visit the most that I could. Other than that, I wouldn’t have done anything else differently. I felt like I had an authentic experience by choosing to stick with locals instead of other exchange students.
Why should BAIS students choose Chile for their ICS?
Chile is considered one of the most developed countries in Latin America. With a country that has the longest coastline, it’s possible to go from seeing snowy mountains one day and sand dunes in a desert the next. It has everything from beaches, snow, sand, lakes and lively cities. I never ran out of places to visit and I wish I could’ve seen more. Transport was so affordable and so easy with so many options to choose from with luxury recliner buses or $10 flights to another city. Crossing borders into the neighbouring countries was a breeze. I have no regrets choosing Chile and I’m so glad that I did.
Blog #1 - Moving to Chile
In Country Study wasn’t always the plan for me.
While the idea of studying abroad has always been one of my dreams, I didn’t believe in myself to achieve the grades and score an ATAR high enough to be accepted into a double degree of Nursing with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies. This led me to leave the option out of my preferences when applying for universities after high school, which I regret it since I now know that I could have been accepted if I hadn’t set myself up for failure since the beginning.
I enjoyed beginning my studies with just a Bachelor of Nursing, but throughout that first year, the travel bug in me was spreading and I’ve always known that studying abroad was one of my goals.
For me, travelling and going on holidays is a totally different experience whereas being a student in a foreign country can expose you to much more authenticity.
Unfortunately, as a nursing student, this opportunity was hard to come by due to the many hours and different blocks of clinical practice we need to undergo. Many times I got my hopes up for global exchange and quickly shattered after reading ‘not available for nursing or midwifery students’.
During the second semester of my first year, I came across the option of adding a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies to a current degree and I hopped on it straight away, wrote up an application and I’m so glad I did.
Once they saw my request to study Spanish and accepted my application, I was given a list of the remaining countries available for In-country Study. There were quite a few options left despite me joining the program a year late, and I decided on Chile. Many people I know and even the Chileans here ask me, “Why Chile?” and all I have to say to them is “Why not?”. It’s a narrow-shaped country with a massive coast that has everything from desert to snow with so much nature to explore.
Travelling within the country has been a breeze (quite affordable, too!) and the people have been so welcoming and nice, even during the first week when my Spanish was limited to “si” and nervous smiles. I’ve been here since the beginning of March and I already feel more confident. I’m excited to see how the rest of the year unravels.
Blog #2 - Becoming a local
Living away from home in a city that barely speaks English hasn’t been as overwhelming as I had originally expected. I live in Concepción, 500km or 6 hours south from the capital of Santiago and it’s rare to see any tourists around here. The only other foreigners I’ve noticed are just the other few exchange students sprinkled around the many universities. This has helped my Spanish improve immensely (even in just the first month), since it has forced me out of my comfort zone and helped me to pick up the language as fast as I can.
The whole time preparing for ICS, I had thought that living in the capital would be ideal and convenient, but over time and doing my research, the smaller city had attracted me more and more. It was all about asking Chileans for their own opinions and experiences before making my final decision on where I wanted to spend my year abroad. While there isn’t much to see here without having to road-trip a little, travelling within the country is quite easy when there are plenty of ways to reach wherever you would like. For example, I can rest in a bus overnight and start the day in a new city and environment. I’ve gone from sandboarding in las Dunas de Concón in Valparaíso to snowboarding on a volcano in the Andes in under a month.
I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to quite a few cities within the country and take my time to appreciate what this amazing country has to offer.
I can’t wait to take advantage of the winter holidays which start in just about a week, and hopefully cross a few borders and visit some of the neighbouring countries such as Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.
Blog #3 - My first semester of studying in Chile
I have officially survived my first semester of studying in Chile and I couldn’t be more relieved. Reflecting on this semester, there have been events that I’ve experienced that I would probably never see back home in Sydney. I’ve witnessed the national feminist movement in action with students closing down buildings of the universities, marching on the streets and striking to fight for women’s rights. Entire faculties stopped attending classes which left me and the other few exchange students some of the only ones at the university for almost a month straight. Our classes continued as normal, however many classroom changes had to be made since our regular buildings were locked from the inside by students as protest. It was unreal and I’m glad to say that it has made an impact, at least within my university.
Now, the winter break is finally here and I have the privilege of typing this while travelling outside of Concepción and crossing a few borders.
Blog #4 - Independence week
September has been the month every Chilean has been preparing me for. Everybody has always been talking about ‘el dieciocho’ (the 18th) since the day I arrived, which is the country’s Independence Day.
But Chileans are on another level, they don’t only celebrate the one day. Celebrations go on for the entire week. The universities take a break from classes and host festivals. I hadn’t seen that many people on campus until they brought out all the food stalls, typical drinks and even live bands. It was a great experience to jump into their culture and learn their dances and use the free days to do a little travelling.
They love their holidays and I can definitely see why.
Blog #5 - Learning another language
Learning Spanish was one of the greatest decisions I’ve made. The second was choosing somewhere in South America to practice it.
I can tell that this experience wouldn’t have been the same if I had chosen anywhere else. I’ve been able to visit different countries and not feel so vulnerable because I can understand what people are saying and I can make great friends for being able to speak their language. It is the most rewarding feeling when locals remind you of how good your Spanish is and how they’re glad they don’t need to force themselves to speak English just to be able to communicate with you. It’s definitely opened doors for me and helped make some lifelong friends.
Blog #6 - Exploring the hidden beauties
If there’s something I love about being overseas to study, it’s exploring the hidden beauties far from the city and far from comfort. A little hike or a getaway in the countryside never fails to make me more appreciative of my life and what I have. Often I get too caught up with studies and travelling that I forget to stop and realise how lucky I am to be able to do what I do, to have the liberty to see what I want to see.
One of the main reasons I chose Chile as my In-Country Study destination was for its large coast that runs 4270 kilometres long. It has everything from the desert, to snow, to beaches and mountains. It’s quite possible to go from the sandy deserts of Atacama to playing on a field of snow within a few hours (especially during winter). While it’s good to visit new cities and explore typical tourist hotspots to learn about history, nothing beats seeing what mother nature has to offer even if it means having to struggle to do so. To me, it’s so worth it.
Blog #7 - Saying ‘yes’ to more opportunities
I have always lived my life carefully-sceptical about giving things a try so that I could maintain a sense of security and familiarity in my life. I quickly came to realise that In-Country Study has not only thrown me outside of my comfort zone, but has really forced me to be more comfortable with myself.
I’ve been saying ‘yes’ to more opportunities and I’ve been asking ‘why not?’ to others.
Although travelling is one of the perks of being an exchange student, I know I came here to study and live a university experience. I didn’t come here to be a tourist because I could’ve done that in my own time with my own money. I can tell you now, that immersing yourself into that student-being is an incomparable experience to any other. You make friends with the locals who show you an authentic side of Chile that you can’t get by closing yourself in or limiting your circle to other English-speakers.
Pushing myself to learn and surround myself with Chileans has skyrocketed my proficiency in Spanish. I could barely speak when I arrived but now I’m cracking jokes and hanging out with my Chilean classmates even outside of classes/the university.
Choosing subjects that interested me was another push in the right direction to finding other like-minded people. I’m glad to have these people in my life and it does make it harder to end the academic year knowing I’ll have to leave, but at least I know I’ll have friends who would happily welcome me when I come back.
Blog # 8 - Giving back to the Chilean community
It’s finally December, and my last semester as an international student is wrapping up way too quickly. I’m torn between having to leave all the amazing people I’ve met here and wanting to run back into the arms of my family and friends in Sydney. Throughout the year, I’ve realised how fortunate I am to have had an opportunity like this come my way.
Towards the end of the year is when everything I’ve accomplished so far starts to settle in and everyone slowly gets into the holiday spirit. This is the first time having to spend such a long time away from friends and family and it’s easy to start missing home a little more around the festive season. This month I’ve decided to take advantage of the end of the semester and my remaining time overseas by trying something I’ve always wanted to do— volunteering.
As a nursing student, going on clinical placements has been what most of my semester breaks have been spent on. The reason why I chose to add International Studies to my degree was to be able to speak another language and be able to help more by having that under my belt.
I just finished 3 weeks helping out the elderly in a little rural town which gave me so many opportunities to learn and practice so many skills both in nursing and Spanish. I spent Christmas and New Years by the sides of those who no longer have families that visit them or who have gone before them. It was one of the most heartwarming and eye-opening experiences to-date. I’ve also finally gotten my head around the kind of Spanish nursing vocabulary that would help me in my future role as a nurse- which would have never come up in a casual conversation.
Blog #9 - Reflecting on my ICS experience
In Country Study is a challenge.
It’s not always about travelling and living the perfect exchange life. There have been major ups and downs throughout the year and missing loved ones has definitely been one of the biggest struggles thus far. Homesickness is a real thing but with the convenience of video-calling and social media, it hasn’t been as hard.
It’s easy to feel alone in a country on the opposite side of the world, but thanks to the lovely people I’ve met along the way and the people back at home who continue to push and support me, I’ve managed to survive and make it out as a better version of myself. This experience has been one of a kind in teaching me so many lessons in life and more about myself than I could have ever imagined. I’m more independent, street-smart, much more culturally aware and I’ve managed to travel around Chile and its neighbouring countries with ease just by knowing both English and Spanish.
Coming to the end of my exchange, I’m torn between having to leave all the friends I’ve made behind and running back into the arms of loved ones in Sydney.
More information about ICS
- Read about the Bachelor of Arts in International Studies
- Read about In-country study in the UTS Handbook