The title pretty much sums up my how I would describe my University Campus. It blends these three aspects together to create one amazing campus! The purpose of this article is to take you on a tour of the campus, as if to make you feel as if you could see it for yourself. This is a tricky task and can only be done in moderation, but I will do my best by going into spectacular examples of these three unique aspects of the campus to help paint a virtual picture in your minds of what I get to experience every day!
So let me start this article by telling you a bit about the environment! It is breath-taking! As you walk into the campus, you could not be greeted by a better backdrop - the snow-covered peaks of La Cordillera, the range of the Andes located to the East of Santiago. It is stunning, and when I find myself bored in a class, slowly giving up the will to live because the lecture is either extremely uninteresting or extremely early in the morning when any normal person would still be in bed, I find solace in looking at the Andes, they tend to wake me up and make me appreciate where I actually am, and how hard I have worked in my life to get the opportunity to be located in such a wonderful place!
I haven't actually taken a picture of the campus myself yet, something which I will be doing very soon, so you can make do with this one taken from Google images! It may not be current, but it sure as hell gives you a clear insight into what I get to see every day!
So let me start this article by telling you a bit about the environment! It is breath-taking! As you walk into the campus, you could not be greeted by a better backdrop - the snow-covered peaks of La Cordillera, the range of the Andes located to the East of Santiago. It is stunning, and when I find myself bored in a class, slowly giving up the will to live because the lecture is either extremely uninteresting or extremely early in the morning when any normal person would still be in bed, I find solace in looking at the Andes, they tend to wake me up and make me appreciate where I actually am, and how hard I have worked in my life to get the opportunity to be located in such a wonderful place!
I haven't actually taken a picture of the campus myself yet, something which I will be doing very soon, so you can make do with this one taken from Google images! It may not be current, but it sure as hell gives you a clear insight into what I get to see every day!
Once you see past this stunning scenery and take a walk through the gates of the campus, you come onto the main path, which stretches the majority of the campus, which is surrounded by tall buildings which mix modern and olden architecture so successfully! A perfect example of this is on the right side of the main path almost as soon as you walk in. This is quite a peculiar building, and for this reason I decided to do a bit of research on it. It is a building specifically made to house computers, and the technology faculty of the university, and it is shaped like a giant Y, as the tower splits into two heads at the 7th floor. Due to it's fascinating shape, it has become to be known as "The Siamese Towers". The shape came in response to the glass structure letting in a lot of light. The architects found that letting in excessive amounts of light would go against the aim of the building. The computer screens would be harder to read due to reflections caused by the natural light, so the only possible way to make a completely glass tower would be to reduce this level of light. To do this, inside the building are aluminium panels which reflect the light upwards, and the void in between the tower heads allows the light to escape a lot easier from the building, as it doesn't need to travel through so many layers of concrete structure to reach the top.
What further adds to this building was the architects refusal to accept that computers are the most effective way of learning. They were more traditionalists and believed the art of conversation was the best way to learn, and because of this, the architects created an olden-looking plaza around the perimeter of the building, as well as a few community spaces to encourage socialisation as a way to learn. The contrast between the very olden looking plaza and the fresh, modern looking Y-shaped tower provides for some great landscape!
Don't forget that this is only one example, out of the countless buildings on the campus, and it really shows how to university is committed to creating a unique campus and environment for its students!
What further adds to this building was the architects refusal to accept that computers are the most effective way of learning. They were more traditionalists and believed the art of conversation was the best way to learn, and because of this, the architects created an olden-looking plaza around the perimeter of the building, as well as a few community spaces to encourage socialisation as a way to learn. The contrast between the very olden looking plaza and the fresh, modern looking Y-shaped tower provides for some great landscape!
Don't forget that this is only one example, out of the countless buildings on the campus, and it really shows how to university is committed to creating a unique campus and environment for its students!
Now on to the facilities which for me, is what gives the campus it's charm! First of all, it has a Starbucks, living up to the stereotype that it is literally everywhere! I'm a bit of a weirdo in that I don't drink coffee or tea (feel free to criticise me all you want) but I don't care about that because their sandwiches and cakes are amazing! I won't go too much into that because I'm assuming they have the same sandwiches and cakes in the UK, but what made me laugh was when I went to the till with just a sandwich, the guy looked at me and said "No quiere algo más?" (Don't you want anything else?) with a very estranged look on his face. He then had to reassure himself by asking, are you sure you don't want a coffee or tea? I was happy enough with a bottle of water. Although, what I thought was normal, distilled water, actually turned out to be a horrible tasting Agua Con Gas (Bubbly Sodium Water). It tasted exactly like Lemonade, but without the lemon, and so wasn't very nice. I was looking for Agua Sin Gas, which is the other main type of water here, which is distilled and sodium free, but I didn't mind in the end. What the bubbly water lacked in taste, it made up for in presentation because it came in a wickedly shaped bottle!
It's actually surprised me that Chileans find it weird that I drink so much water, as they are obsessed with their tea and coffee, to an even bigger extent than I would say people are in the UK. Unlike in my University in England, it is very rare to come across a water fountain here anywhere. I took a bottle with me yesterday, expecting to be able to find somewhere to fill it so I'd have something to drink at lunch, but I could literally not find a thing, so I have to buy a new bottle every time I get thirsty unless I take a plunge and fill it up in the toilets, an idea which I'm personally not too fond of...
Ok so the campus has more than a starbucks! It is huge! Firstly, it really puts an emphasis on sport, by offering a huge variety of different facilities. After having walked past the Starbucks and the library (which I haven't yet had to go to), you come towards the back of the campus where all these facilities are located. There are two outdoor basketball courts (as well as one inside), tennis courts (again with one being indoors), a football pitch, an indoor swimming pool and a gym. Sure, it is common to find these things in several universities in the UK, but what makes this university stand out is how it encourages you to participate. In the book I was handed which contained all the available modules for foreign students, there was a section of sport courses, all worth 5 credits each, ranging from running to basketball. The fact it is only worth 5 credits can encourage some people to take 2 to make it a more rounded 10 credits, in turn provoking a varied, active lifestyle. People are also free to book to courts and other facilities to play with their friends as a way of socialising, reflecting how a campus is to a large extent a community!
Another small, but pretty awesome feature which creates this community vibe is a giant chessboard located near the back of the campus. It is so big that you have to pick up a piece and walk across the board to put it in the space you want. Me and my friend from my university in England had a game last week, which I didn't just lose, but got completely annihilated in. What I loved about this was that people were genuinely interested in our game, and occasionally some random person would come over and stand by the board watching us (usually laughing at how awful I was at playing). It seems like it is a great way of getting the opportunity to talk to people and in turn, to make friends.
It's actually surprised me that Chileans find it weird that I drink so much water, as they are obsessed with their tea and coffee, to an even bigger extent than I would say people are in the UK. Unlike in my University in England, it is very rare to come across a water fountain here anywhere. I took a bottle with me yesterday, expecting to be able to find somewhere to fill it so I'd have something to drink at lunch, but I could literally not find a thing, so I have to buy a new bottle every time I get thirsty unless I take a plunge and fill it up in the toilets, an idea which I'm personally not too fond of...
Ok so the campus has more than a starbucks! It is huge! Firstly, it really puts an emphasis on sport, by offering a huge variety of different facilities. After having walked past the Starbucks and the library (which I haven't yet had to go to), you come towards the back of the campus where all these facilities are located. There are two outdoor basketball courts (as well as one inside), tennis courts (again with one being indoors), a football pitch, an indoor swimming pool and a gym. Sure, it is common to find these things in several universities in the UK, but what makes this university stand out is how it encourages you to participate. In the book I was handed which contained all the available modules for foreign students, there was a section of sport courses, all worth 5 credits each, ranging from running to basketball. The fact it is only worth 5 credits can encourage some people to take 2 to make it a more rounded 10 credits, in turn provoking a varied, active lifestyle. People are also free to book to courts and other facilities to play with their friends as a way of socialising, reflecting how a campus is to a large extent a community!
Another small, but pretty awesome feature which creates this community vibe is a giant chessboard located near the back of the campus. It is so big that you have to pick up a piece and walk across the board to put it in the space you want. Me and my friend from my university in England had a game last week, which I didn't just lose, but got completely annihilated in. What I loved about this was that people were genuinely interested in our game, and occasionally some random person would come over and stand by the board watching us (usually laughing at how awful I was at playing). It seems like it is a great way of getting the opportunity to talk to people and in turn, to make friends.
It was at this point in the game where it all went downhill for me, before it had even started!
You can see what I mean though, in that it is rare to find such unnecessary, but such a great and effective feature in a University campus. I will be going there again soon, hopefully for a rematch, and I vow to win this time!
That's it for this article, but I hope this gives you a feel for my campus, and if there's anything else you'd like to know about it, write in the comments! There's so much to it, and as well as I may have tried, it is difficult to even scratch the surface of what the campus!
You can see what I mean though, in that it is rare to find such unnecessary, but such a great and effective feature in a University campus. I will be going there again soon, hopefully for a rematch, and I vow to win this time!
That's it for this article, but I hope this gives you a feel for my campus, and if there's anything else you'd like to know about it, write in the comments! There's so much to it, and as well as I may have tried, it is difficult to even scratch the surface of what the campus!