Studying the Self in India Past Review
By A student (Peace And Justice Studies, Middlebury College) - abroad from 08/27/2012 to 12/14/2012 with
Carleton Global Engagement: Buddhist Studies in Bodh Gaya, India
Wow, that is difficult. As Suzuku Roshi says, "To study Buddhism is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self." I guess I have gotten to know my self a bit more intimately and thereby have learned to stop clinging to the idea of a self. I learned how to rationally prove that nothing neither exists nor doesn't exist, and I have learned how to travel India on very little money. This semester was absurd, but very enlightening!
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. |
This program was definitely challenging in ways that are difficult to explain. Meditating on death is not typically a part of one's study abroad experience and there are real effects of that sort of practice, of coming back to one's fragility, of sitting day in and day out with one's own mind. That is probably the most challenging part of all, though the other courses were certainly rigorous as well. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Robert Pryor, the current director of the program, is a very frustrating individual who has no understanding of privilege and power dynamics and will often say things that have offended people with marginalized identities (e.g., women, people of color, trans people, etc.). He is inaccessible because of this. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
They were great! We live in a monastery. There are fans and running water and a newly constructed 'yoga room' and everything you need to deal with the heat of fall in India. |
| * Food: |
Great! I was a vegan and almost always had good options. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
This was something that the program could definitely work on. They frame people in the town of Bodh Gaya as after our money, as crooks, as people who are not to be trusted when in reality there are some amazing people. Many people in our group were able to befriend many people in town without any support from the program, the administrators of which would often talk to the students (women specifically, which is problematic) about their 'reputation' when they were seen around town with the locals. Though some of us were able to connect with the locals, the program could do much more to build connections with the community. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I got pretty sick a few times over the course of the program and my health advisor (who was also one of my teachers) helped me through it. I give four stars because while the local doctor is helpful, he didn't necessarily give me the right diagnosis of prescription most of the time. |
| * Safety: |
I always felt safe. |
| 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? | n/a |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
The program cared very little if we applied our language skills. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | That I would not be able to integrate other topics into the program very well. This is very clearly a BUDDHIST studies program. There is very little space to discuss what that means for identity politics or international politics or sociology or whatnot. That can be frustrating, but I think knowing that beforehand would have helped me to let go of that a bit. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Buddhist Philosophy |
| Course Department: | Philosophy |
| Instructor: | Arthur McKeown |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This course was quite challenging because Arthur was so knowledgeable. That is to say, he could push you on literally anything that you said until you absolutely had to create new neural pathways because your brain had never been forced to think in that way before. Pretty special. The midterm was pretty difficult, but the final exam and the group projects were reasonable while still challenging. Overal this was a fantastic course. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
