Balázs Tháler : My CEMS exchange semester in Chile

For me CEMS not only means an opportunity to study abroad or a prestigious management program, but a community of bright talents as well. Spending a semester in Chile was a once in a lifetime opportunity on its own, but it was even better having a great community like the CEMSies you can share your experience with. Thanks to the CEMS programme I now had the opportunity to learn more about South America and the Chilean culture and simultaneously study & spend time with a close knit multinational community.

Chile is a really special country: at first Santiago can be easily mistaken for a European city with its glass skyscrapers and busy nightlife. You can take an Uber to go to a shopping mall and find the same brands as in Europe. You need some time to find those Latin American details, but then you will love this country even more, as it is a great mix of two really different worlds. As practically almost nobody speaks English in Chile (and I didn’t speak Spanish at the beginning of the semester), you would think language can be an issue here: but Chileans are really nice to foreigners (or at least this was my experience). This helps a lot especially during travelling, as Chilean Spanish is considered to be one of the most difficult ones to understand.

All the way from the chilly Atacama desert in northern Chile through the volcanoes of the Lake District to the wonders of Patagonia (not to mention the Easter Island!) my semester was full of adventures – and thanks to CEMS I had the chance to explore all these wonders.