Food, Wine, and Friendship---How I gained weight abroad and didnt care whatsoever Past Review
By Shannon B (Political Science and Government., Trinity University) for
Arcadia: ISI Perugia - The Umbra Institute
Yes. I feel stronger as a person because of it, more aware of the world, and better able to make friends that are different than me.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Workload was managable. Lectures could get boring and were long sometimes, but the subject matter was usually interesting. All the professors were expert in their fields---you could tell they knew a lot. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Really helpful and nice staff. Always willing to help. All had lived in Perugia for a decent if not extensive period of time and were all fluent in Italian and embraced the Italian way of life which was cool. Program size was perfect, small enough to meet a lot of people but big enough to where you could avoid the creeps. Just kidding there wern't many creeps |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I loved living in an apartment. We were a 10-15min walk from the school, nightlife, and main piazza, but that was OK. Everything we needed was there----utensils, sheets, pans. Although our host school bought us a new pan when we told them ours was old and dented. We had to buy towels. |
| * Food: |
The food was phenominal. Best. Pizza. Ever. Not much lean protein when you are eating out, but a few trips to the deli in the grocery store and you'll figure out how to ask for what you need. Basically, the food situation is what you make of it in Italy. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Went on a field trip to Florence with an art history class that was great |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt pretty safe during my semester. I did get sick a few weeks after arriving, but my program sent me with directions to the doctor and she prescribed me medicine and I was feeling loads better the next day. |
| 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? | 80 dollars if we arent including traveling on the weekends |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Dont forget you are going to want to travel! Save money for that |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I practiced the langauge in class and with local people everyday. I definitely needed the language for everyday interactions, but some people did speek English, but not all. |
| 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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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? | Keep an open mind! It can be rough for some in the beginning that are very dependent on home support/internet/significant other. Let yourself be free from worrying about those things and you'll have a better experience. |
