London: Dream Come True with History All Around Me Past Review
By Anne B (HISTORY., Hope College) for
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: London, England
this time abroad has further solidified my love of cultures, traveling and of living in new places. it was exactly as i wanted it to be! i loved london for it's history, it's modernity, it's culture, it's mulit-culturalism and it's city feel!
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. |
the lectures were much longer but were less often, which was nice. the work load was less than my american school but there were a lot less grades thus the graded items were weighted heavily. midterms meant a lot more in the host university as well as papers and finals. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
the staff was always very helpful and seemed to genuinely love their jobs. they were young which made me feel more comfortable with chatting with them about life in general and how my adjustment was going. my expectations were met. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
our rooms were very small but we lived a very safe part of london. i never felt scared or afraid while walking home at night by myself or walking around near our building. the kitchen was well supplied. the distance to classes was about 45minutes which was fine as the earliest class was at 10am. housing overall was good but i would have preferred to live in a flat or apartment. |
| * Food: |
there was no food provided which was fine. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
the times the british students took us out were fun and good to know where to go and such. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
i felt very safe in london. my program required us to get cell phones in order to text us if something was going to happen or to check where we were if something in the city did happen. we were also emailed when rallies or demonstrations were suppose to happen. |
| 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 between 20 and 30GBP on groceries every week; that's about 30-45USD. going out to eat was pretty expensive so i tried to cook a lot more than going out. during the week i would spend about 150USD on personal expenses which included transport, shopping, laundry, or going out. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | don't think that you have to spend money. there are so many free things in the city of london! free shows, free offers or discounted things! |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
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 do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | if you are an out going person that loves to travel, do this program. you learn so much in the classroom but it involves being outside of the classroom! you get to really dive into the city you are in and learn about it's history, it's people, and it's uniqueness. |
