Amazing Past Review
By Christopher L (Russian Language and Literature., Brigham Young University) - abroad from 04/30/2012 to 06/23/2012 with
Brigham Young University: Nizhny Novgorod - Russia Study Abroad
Learned that I love Russian and the Russian people. It was everything I had hoped for!
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Higher School of Economics |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Amazing teachers, all who cared about the students, and were genuinely excited to teach us and help us. Just amazing. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I didn't notice any flaws personally, and I worked very closely with the Professor Bown. She may have noticed some, but I didn't, not that I remember anyways. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
House mom was also amazing, food was great. She was caring, and respectful, and willing to talk and sit with us, and struggle with us! haha Loved her. Only complaint was the public transportation wasn't all that reliable, which caused problems. |
| * Food: |
Food was good, and authentic. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Unfortunately I felt that students stuck together, which makes it harder to really feel integrated. That being said, me and my roommate tried to play sports with locals, and get involved. I actually felt very integrated overall. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I didn't have any... |
| * Safety: |
I never felt at danger or at risk, and I stayed out late many nights, even walked the streets late at night. I always felt really safe. Obviously I didn't flaunt myself or that I was American, but I never felt threatened. |
| 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) |
You just have to be smart about your spending. We also had $25/day that we paid for housing and 2 meals, so I really only spent money on lunch. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Absolute Maximum of $100, and that's if you bought clothes or other things. On just food maybe $50. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Learn and do the money exchange calculation on everything. Always be looking for cheaper places to eat and do. |
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 |
We had assignments to speak outside of class, and the teachers almost always spoke in Russian, minus a politics class and our culture class. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Russian 202 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Just speak it, don't hang out with the other students much, and just throw yourself at it. |
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? | How much more I needed to work at getting out and speaking with natives on my own time. I feel like I did a good job of it, but it was harder at first than I had anticipated. |
