AMIDEAST Amman made me fall in love with the Middle East. Past Review
By Sara F (Politics and Legal Studies, Ithaca College) for
AMIDEAST Rabat - Area & Arabic Language Studies
YES! Amman can be an intimidating, yet amazing city. AMIDEAST took the intimidating out of the situation through excellent support networks, great communication, and excellent community connections.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The classes were amazing! The Arabic classes were between 2-6 people and were with professors from Qasid institute, which are known throughout the Amman community as the best professors. The intimate classroom environment allowed me to progress faster than my friends in similar programs (such as CIEE). The non-Arabic classes are focused around Arab society and are very well designed to enhance the entire Amman experience, and not hinder the students ability to get out and become a part of the community. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Because the program is small, there are 2 full time "friends" there to help at all hours of the day. Whether it is a class problem, or you are lost in a weird area of the city, there is always an amazing helper a phone call away. And the program even provides the phones! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Though we were in an apartment, we had to fend for ourselves in purchasing food and house stuff, unlike the other students in homestays, so we learned Arabic that way, and got to know the more common parts of the city. |
| * Food: |
There isn't a type of food you cannot find in Amman! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Amazing trips to the dead sea, petra, and the best of all... An overnight camping trip in Wadi Rum, a beautiful dessert area with amazing hiking and the brightest stars I have ever seen. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
There were many times that I had to visit the doctor. The program always sent a woman with me and the insurance covered EVERYTHING including medicine. No copay and no shortcuts. They took us to the best doctors that had been approved by previous students. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spent quite a bit. Jordan is in MANY ways more expensive than the US. Things like bread are dirt cheap, but other things are more expensive. Alcohol is very expensive, especially if you go out to bars. This is the quickest way to blow through money. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | . |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Completed intermediate course |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
The program arranged language partners who were members of the Amman community who had similar interests as the exchange student. The AMIDEAST office is full of native Arabic speakers who are happy to speak with students in Arabic and help with linguistic challenges. The students also get a lot of speaking time in class, as class sizes are VERY small. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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