A Down Under life changing experience Past Review
By molly m (undecided, Marshall University) for
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Sydney, Australia
It was completely worthwhile, it gave me a better global perspective on how my home country is viewed and also how other countries and cultures act, talk, and socialize. I went undecided in my major and it helped me realize what I do not want to do and helped me narrow down my list of possible majors. I would recommend going to Australia to anyone, but the next time I go I will not stay in Sydney and travel around the country because it is huge and there is so much to see and six weeks seems like a long time, but the time flies by !
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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Strengths were setting us up with the travel passes and the extremely nice apartments. The weaknesses were the food cards were barely enough for a week, and the class that we had to go to once a week was entirely pointless and was all information that we had learned prior to our departure or during our internship. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Loved how close the grocery store was to our apartments, not too far from the city, and everything was extremely nice and new. |
| * Food: |
Food is more expensive than expected, would have liked a warning on that before departure. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Would have liked to see more CAPA programs at times we could actually go instead of during the class we had to attend, but the surf trip was by far one of my best experiences, along with a group of people I met while there going to New Zealand one weekend. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I was sick for quite a bit of my trip so I recommend future students taking better care for their health, I went to the doctor at one point while there and was treated very well. |
| 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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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Take more money than you would ever imagine of needing, it adds up quick and things are slightly more expensive there. Definitely stay in the apartments, they are very nice and homey. Meet more people than just the ones in your particular program, go out alone and mix with the culture instead of just staying with other Americans at all times. |
