Elias Eduard Kobelt explains why he's glad he chose a university in Colombia for his undergraduate degree - and why 'disorder' can sometimes be a good thing.
Studying abroad is above all about immersing yourself in a new culture – just ask Swiss student Elias Kobalt, who swapped the 'orderly calm' of Switzerland for the 'vibrant disorder' of Colombian capital Bogota.
“Life in Colombia is absolutely the opposite of life in Switzerland”, he says. “In Switzerland life is ordered and you can plan everything, whereas here you plan nothing – it’s a very spontaneous culture. I have no routine, it doesn’t exist!”
Flexibility and diversity
Elias is currently in the second year of his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and psychology, at Colombia’s top-ranked university, Universidad de los Andes.
Has the more rapid pace of life in Bogota impacted on his studies? “I’m very impressed by the quality of the education”, he enthuses, “I don’t have any bad teachers.”
In fact, it seems a more flexible approach carries academic benefits of its own compared to the more regimented system employed back home. “The university also has a very open system, so you can change around and choose classes from other faculties, which is great,” Elias says.
He adds that one of the defining features of the Universidad de los Andes is the diversity of the student body, both in terms of demographics and age. “In Colombia they start to study at 17, so they are young and have very little experience."
“It’s a strange social mix because kids from the upper classes are very dominant, but there is also around 10% of the students who are on university scholarships, and so are some of the very brightest students in the entire country.”
Social context
So was the change of lifestyle a change for the better or for the worse? As with most things in life, it turns out it was a bit of both.
“It’s an incredible experience because it’s so different to what I am used to and what I expected,” says Elias. “The best thing about being a student in Columbia is that people are more joyful. Life is more spontaneous, and also more intense - but this can be both a positive and a negative.”
Like anywhere, life in Colombia isn’t without its drawbacks. “When you arrive everything is fantastic, but after a year or so you begin to see the bad sides of things. The worst thing is probably the level of poverty that you see.
"Even middle-class people with good jobs, such as university professors, are sometimes on the limit and finish the month with no money, which is very hard to see because it should not be like that. Even people with good jobs don’t have money to get them through the month, and you don’t see that elsewhere – it isn’t fair.”
A common concern among some international students in relation to Colombia – and particularly Bogota - is that the crime rate will be far higher than that at home. While Elias does not deny that personal security is an issue for international students, he says that the perception of Bogota as a dangerous city is misguided.
International students welcomed
“Crime is always present, but it is mostly just stealing”, he says. “It can be frightening to walk around the city alone at night, and you have to be careful – but at the same time, it isn’t physically dangerous. There are lots of cities in the world that are worse than Bogota.”
Besides, Elias believes the concerns of local people about the international reputation of Colombia can have their own benefits for international students. “Colombians love international people”, he says. “They are always very keen to improve the reputation of their country by being hospitable, so as a foreigner it’s great.”
Still relatively off the beaten track as a study destination for international undergraduate students, Elias says this has also turned out to be one of the more positive aspects of his experience.
“There are almost no international students, although there are some interchange students, maybe around 100 or so” he says. “It’s actually great to be in a place with so few international students because it makes you integrate far more.”
So with its many intriguing contrasts and contradictions, is the Colombia study-abroad experience one that Elias would recommend to other prospective international students?
He answers without hesitation: “I would absolutely recommend studying abroad in Columbia. My only advice is to spend as much time here as possible! And remember - it’s not as dangerous as people say it is.”