So much for the general things, now I will try to give you a few tips and tell you a few things, just to make the start easier for you. First of all, starting with the buses, which are called micros in Chile. They are the cheapest way to get from A to B when you are not walking or cycling. The prices are in the lower double-digit cents range if you have a bus card issued by the university. If it is not there yet: Go to Carlos immediately and annoy him until he personally takes care of it several times. In general, you really have to drop your first cautious politeness here, otherwise nothing will happen in most places. It can happen that a document lies on the desk of someone for 2 to 3 weeks although they only have to sign it once or copy it. Just annoy over and over again until it suddenly goes faster. You just have to get used to it. In general, the work ethic in Chile is different. They work almost as long as people in other countries, only much less productively. But back to the means of transport: if you want to go somewhere faster at night, you can also take a Collectivo. They’re like collective taxes, and not really expensive either. With both the Collectivos and the Micros you can get anywhere in the city and the surrounding area cheaply. Looking for an apartment: if you arrive in Viña without having a flat-share beforehand, you should simply ask the OIIE whether they still know someone who has a free space. Many of the exchange students (almost all Americans, actually, of whom there were very many) also live with host families. Depending on what you want, you can ask the OIIE beforehand. For example, I lived in a hostel for the first week and then found a flat share with two Chileans. The prices are a bit cheaper than in Germany, but unfortunately nothing more is given in Chile. In general, the cost of living is a bit lower, but still cannot be compared with countries like Peru or Bolivia. So now something about traveling in Chile: DO !!! I skipped a few trips because I wanted to save money for a longer trip afterwards, but in retrospect I should have made a few € minus, because most places are simply not that easy to get to. In the end I was in Pichilemu (south of Viña), La Serena (north), San Pedro de Atacama (desert in the north, definitely there) and Torres del Paine (national park in the south and one of the most beautiful places I have seen so far in my life). Most of the time you can find others who come with you, but in an emergency you can also travel alone, I wouldn’t consider it extremely dangerous.
Learn more information about Chile and South America on picktrue.
Okay, now I can’t think of anything else that I can tell you in a structured way, so just knock it out as it comes, without structure and without context (best to read only when you’re already on the plane):
Clubs in Viña: Scratch: a lot of reggaeton, young crowd, loud and relatively small
Goose: largest shop, mixed music and lots of students
Kamikaze: actually a chic bar, but also with music and dance floors in the evenings
Journal: every Wednesday (it feels like) the whole city goes here, otherwise Pub,
clubs in Valpo: Huevo: huge shop, many dance floors, mixed audience
La Sala: somewhat smaller shop with mixed music and a student audience
Weigh bread, vegetables and fruits in the supermarket before going to the checkout !!
Always have change in your pocket for buses and micros If you don’t want to take on the risk of a dispute, you avoid the subject of politics.
The Chilean pisco is 1000 times better than the one from Peru – never question it!
Leave a German cell phone in the apartment, buy a Chilean one. With a kind of prepaid card at Entel, a cell phone and 10,000 credits cost just 12,000 pesos, so less than 20 €. Better than losing
your good German cell phone sometime at night = (If you are on time you always have to wait (ALWAYS !!!!).
At night it always gets really cold, no matter how warm the day was.
Never have valuables with you on the beach Chile a professional business.
Whoever looks at the stray dogs will be accompanied by them for the rest of the way, no matter where.
The Chileans don’t speak Spanish, they speak Chileno. There are so many exceptions and your own words and pronunciations that you could easily speak of your own language. Also, most Chileans don’t really bother to speak slowly, or they just can’t do it better.
Always trade in the markets, but not in stores.
If you like fruit, you should buy it fresh at the market. They are cheaper there and much better than in the supermarket.
There are no frisbee discs to buy in all of Viña (at least I didn’t find one), so if you like to play a little on the beach you should take one with you.
So now I really can’t think of anything anymore. I hope that at least some of your open questions could be answered. If I have forgotten something important, you can also ask MicroEDU, they will certainly send me any questions.
I wish you a nice stay, no matter whether you decide to go to the UVM or not.
