Part 2: Mexico City – Rachel Griffiths

As a joint-honours French and Spanish student, I split a year’s worth of study abroad into two halves, and after a fairly close to home six months in Lyon, I ended up going away further than I’d ever been before – Mexico. This semester was my you-have-to-do-it-or-you’ll-regret-it-forever choice, as I’d never been to Latin America before, had no experience with Latin American Spanish and had never been so far away for so long before. However, I had the opportunity to go and study at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México along with a couple of other people from King’s and so I didn’t feel too scared to go too far. Continue reading “Part 2: Mexico City – Rachel Griffiths”

A Semester in the Pacific, Cassy Grant

I arrived in Lima on the 4th of March at 6pm and immediately discovered two of the most typical characteristics of the city. As soon as I stepped out of the airport, I was hit by a wave of humidity. Indeed, the Peruvian capital’s level of humidity reaches 80% during the summer and up to a 100% during the winter. It felt as if I had landed in the middle of the Amazon forest.

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Anna Grimaldi, 2012-2013 at University of Minas Gerais

Top ten things

Belo Horizonte offers an extensive list of museums and galleries which will no doubt be on the top of your cultural to-do list, but in case you’re looking for something a little less generic, here is a list of the local gems which can offer a more personal experience of the city.

The campus: Although it might sound silly, spending a few hours between classes getting lost around campus is actually highly entertaining. The grounds seem never ending, and wandering around you will find students practising at a drumming jam session, learning how to tightrope walk, or having a debate in an abandoned courtyard. It’s also a great idea to check out each department eatery – Music, for example, may treat you to some live samba while you eat your omelette. Also – check out the hundreds of cats in Letras.

Praça do Papa and Parque Mangabeiras: Praca do Papa is a great day out – Continue reading “Anna Grimaldi, 2012-2013 at University of Minas Gerais”

Oriana Knight, 2014-2015 at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Accommodation

I arrived in Santiago with one suitcase and no idea of where I was going to stay. I arrived in July 2014 and my first thought was “It is freezing!”. Of course, I knew it would be winter in South America when I arrived, but I certainly never thought it was going to be so cold. Make sure you take some warm clothes, as the temperature really drops during the winter months! I had reserved a hostel for the first three nights so I went there before attempting to find accommodation. I was quite lucky in that I found some on my first day of searching. I stayed in a student house called Casa Suecia, which is a house of 32 students in Providencia, Santiago. Most students in Santiago stay in the areas Bellavista, Providencia or Irarrazaval, as they are convenient for most of the universities in the city and are also pretty central for exploring the city both by day and by night! An average rent in Santiago can be as little as 180.000 Chilean pesos a month (around £180 in GBP), although of course there are a lot more expensive also.

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