Study Abroad in Uruguay
The Middlebury School in Uruguay is based in Montevideo. With very few American students, the capital city is an ideal location for linguistic and cultural immersion.
Study Abroad: Montevideo, Uruguay
My name’s Melissa Topic and I studied abroad at Montevideo, Uruguay. So when I walked out of my house, it felt almost like a little suburb. So like a street with a lot of cute little quaint houses on it, and a bakery around the corner. And then when you got onto the main street, you had little shops, the buses, and eventually you got to this huge park called El Prado.
I had the immersion both from the point that I was going to one of the local universities. So obviously, all the classes are taught in Spanish, the work was in Spanish. But also I was living with an Urguanian host family, which honestly completed the experience. They were such cool people.
The first person you talk to is in Spanish. And for the rest of the day, you’re just chatting away in Spanish with people or in class or in school. So the full immersion really taught me both new vocabulary, but also ways of interacting with various people in Spanish.
I think the most growth in my language came from being lost on a street corner with my phone not working, having to pin down strangers to ask them questions. The Middlebury program was helpful, because you were able to choose in doing three classes and an internship or four classes.
And if you chose to an internship, the Middlebury program helped prepare you with one that fitted your needs and interest. I actually did an internship while I was there. It was an NGO that works the immigrants. So, I got to learn a lot about the immigration situation in Uruguay in depth.
And, interact with really nice people and hear their experiences. I think one of the things I miss the most is just the warmth of the people and the culture. Everyday, you got greeted by a friendly face, and it was just a very relaxed environment, or as they would say.
Just studying abroad in any other nation or culture really helps both with cultural understanding and your own personal development because you see that there’s other ways people live. And then like your way is not necessarily the only way or the best way and I think it helps individuals develop an open mind.
And greater acceptance for one another when you see that there’s more ways of being and doing than what we just have here.
Students on the program come in at the intermediate-advanced level of Spanish and adhere to the Middlebury Language Pledge® to reap the benefits of linguistic immersion. By living and studying with Uruguayans and getting involved in the community through volunteer work, internships, and extracurricular activities, students can build authentic relationships and integrate fully into life in Uruguay.
While in Montevideo, students live in homestays and study with local students. They enroll directly alongside their Uruguayan peers at one of Middlebury’s three host institutions: the Universidad Católica del Uruguay, the Universidad de la República, or the Universidad ORT.
Special Tracks
In addition to our regular offerings, the School in Uruguay offers the following tracks of study:
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