American student planning to study abroad in Chile. Any Tips?

Hi I'm an American student planning to spend summer of 2008 studying abroad at Universidad de Vi帽a del Mar in Chile. If anyone has been to Chile or this particular university, I'd appreciate any type of advice! Thanks in advance.

Bring a coat, and warm clothes. It is winter down there while we are in summer.

amazing place. beautiful country and nice ppl. just .. u must know the language.. else u r lost

vi帽a del mar is one of my favorite cities in Chile. It is absolutely breathtaking. The only thing is, are you spending the US summer (june july august) in chile, or chilean summer (december, january, february)? Because it will be COLD here in june and july, actualy up until mid to late september. So bring warm winter clothes.

Also the beach not be too inviting. Its cold in the summer here, in the winter, unless you're a penguin, you wont enjoy it. It is pretty to look at, however.

Visit valparaiso on the weekends if you can. they have nice museums and if you like seafood, they have awesome restaurants.

Santiago, the capital (where I live) is only about 2 hours away by bus. I also recommend coming to the city, and im sure you will if you guys are in a group.

The spanish is rough here, we use a lot of slang and "modisimos" (words indigenous to a specific country) and the accent is a bit lazy, depending on who you talk to. We also have a tendency to speak quite fast. But foreigners are very much welcomed here, especially americans(and if you are a girl, (i cant tell, no pic and no profile) and blonde, get prepared for the "piropos" in the streets....flirting. The men here LOVE blondes, redheads, etc.

If you have any other questions, comments, concerns, etc, write to me. I live here and love it.

good luck.