Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I had three different teachers, one each week. My first two teachers, Lili and Maria Elena, were fantastic. They made sure everyone talked, were good at answering questions entirely in Spanish, and had interesting activities that filled the days. They seemed genuinely interested in the learning process, and also in the students. They taught a lot about the local culture, which was fun. The third teacher, Henry, was much less interested in teaching, and it really impacted the class. He liked to talk about politics and weird topics like the afterlife and deja vu, but seemed entirely uninterested in what the students said, so it was less of a discussion than a lecture. He had very few planned activities, and the ones he did plan were so boring -he- nearly fell asleep. I was glad I had three different teachers, so I didn´t think all of the Academia was that bad. Even with Henry teaching, and certainly with Lili and Maria Elena, the classes were far superior in amount learned than American classes could be. There were only two to three students in my classes (max four allowed, but I never had four in a class), so students had the opportunity to talk more, and the immersion experience continuing outside of class was invaluable.

On-site administration of your program

The administration really botched the credit thing, which was my main problem. I didn´t like the attitude of the Director, either - he seemed like he was mostly just interested in selling students more tours, etc. The staff (teachers) were mostly pretty good, and I liked the size, but overall the administration was uninspiring.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My family was fantastic, as I´ve already described.

Great local food, but the locals really need to up their veggie intake. The family went out of their way to make local specialty dishes, and the one time I didn´t feel well, they knew exactly what to feed me. But I did miss vegetables...

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The program advertises more than they actually do, but that may be because the bad economy has cut their number of students... Salsa class only happened once in three weeks, but the one time was great.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Sucre is very safe, and the school and family did a good job of explaining where was good and where wasn´t, although the school overdid the fear factor a bit. I didn´t have any big health problems.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Almost no one in Sucre, Bolivia speaks English, it seems. The only people I could speak English with were other students. The teachers only spoke Spanish with us, my homestay family didn´t know any English, and everywhere I went I spoke Spanish. It was less intimidating than it sounds - if you´re giving any effort, people will help you out. My homestay family was fantastic that way, as well - they really tried to help me practice.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family