Cuenca: Step Outside Your Comfort Zone Past Review
By Alexandra S (Bilingual Elementary Education, Illinois State University) for
CEDEI: Cuenca - Semester in the Andes
Yes. I feel more confident with my Spanish and feel more well-rounded and educated about the world. Although five weeks was not long enough to become completely fluent, it definitely helped 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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The orientations were very helpful and all the staff at CEDEI were always willing and ready to help us. I very much enjoyed the weekend excursions we took. In the end, the classes were okay, but I would have liked to seen less lecture and more participation/discussion, although one class was better than the other in that aspect. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
My host mother always fed me more than enough and I pretty much liked everything she gave me. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
My group was great and I loved the weekend excursions. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
My mother always made sure I had a way to get places safely, as well as CEDEI |
| 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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Always have more money that you think you'll need. Even if you don't use it, its good to have. I could have saved a lot of money if I didn't shop as much, but there were many nice things that I wanted to buy. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| 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 do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Just go with it. |
