International Office - Universidad de Viña del Mar - OIIE-UVM: Orientation Week

SEMANA DE ORIENTACIÓN

The week of March 2, the International Office introduced about 50 new students from the US, Germany, Spain and France to the Universidad de Viña del Mar. On Monday, the students met the International Office staff and took written and oral Spanish placement tests. On Tuesday, the students attended seminars on daily life in Chile, living with a Chilean family and an overview of the semester’s activities. On Wednesday and Thursday, the students registered for visas, received information about academics at UVM, and chose their courses with the assistance of International Student Coordinator, Meredith Denton. The students generally register for Spanish classes, and those with a more advanced level of Spanish can take general university classes in other fields such as architecture, business and graphic design.

On Friday, the students toured the two campuses of UVM. They were shown where the various departments hold classes, the two casinos (the Chilean word for cafeteria), the gym where they can participate in exercise classes such as yoga and aerobox, and they were given the schedule for the free buses that run between the two campuses. The week was ended with a trip to Valparaiso on Saturday to see the ascensors that run up the hillside and the old, colorful buildings that make Valparaiso a city unlike any other in Chile.