Mali Ka Di: A Rich Experience Abroad Past Review
By Lily S (HISTORY., Carleton College) for
Carleton Global Engagement: Arts and Culture in Cameroon
For me, the program was perfect and I couldn't have asked for better structure or a more dually challenging and rewarding experience.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was quite manageable in comparison to my home university, but it was the experiential piece of the program that made the majority of the learning possible, and this was very successful. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
For the first three weeks we lived all together in a group residence, and the remainder of the time we were in separate homestays. I loved my family and the neighborhood I was located in. I spent a lot of my time in and around my family's home, so I got to know my neighbors and immediate surroundings fairly well. The experience of living with a host family was by far the strongest aspect of the trip's ability to serve me educationally. |
| * Food: |
There were many restrictions that came with adapting to a new diet, many foods to which we were accustomed that people simply didn't eat or purchase or have available. I was fascinated by the cooking processes, though, and for one of my final projects I wrote an extensive Malian cookbook. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I was taken care of extremely well the two times I was very ill abroad. I had lots of support from the staff and my family. |
| 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? | My biggest expense was probably transportation and occasionally food items if I was learning to cook something that cost more money (feeding 25 people is no small feat). |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | The payment for transportation was more than I expected and I wish we had worked out a better system earlier on in my homestay. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I arrived in Mali with no Bamanankan skills at all and left feeling fairly conversant. Everyone in the country speaks it, essentially no one speaks English, and I spoke no French. Using the native language was the only way I could interact, which I did daily with teachers, friends, and my very large host family. |
| 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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