Cramped housing, lots of slow travel, but very worthwhile Past Review
By Allison E (PSYCHOLOGY., Valparaiso University) for
CGEE: Windhoek - Nation-Building, Globalization, and Decolonizing the Mind
It was worthwhile for me for personal reasons. I know it was worthwhile for many of my peers for academic reasons.
Personal Information
| The term and year this program took place: | Fall 2009 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
For the most part, the instructors seemed very well-informed on their topics. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Overall it seemed pretty well-organized and in the places where things were a bit scattered or confusing, the instructors showed dedication to making things clear. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
All of the students on this program (24, mostly american) lived in a large house in Windhoek. <br /><br /> The house was highly cramped; six people to a room with minimal shelf space and extremely little privacy. However, the location was very secure and close to class locations and local stores. |
| * Food: |
The cooks did the best they could with what they had. Unfortunately, food budgets seemed very small and extremely poor-managed, oftentimes there simply wasn't enough protein for everybody. Variety was very limited as well. However, the cooks always tried to have vegetarian options available and attempted to make what the students requested, or the Namibian equivalents. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
the faculty was always willing to take sick students to the clinic, and the location in Windhoek was always well-protected and guarded. However, you will be well advised not to walk around the city in groups of less than 3. Mugging is not particularly uncommon in Windhoek. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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 budgeted about $1200 for this trip and spent about $1000 US. This includes money for spring break trips, weekend trips across the country, and local expenditures (dinners out, general expenses like toiletries, etc). |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | -- |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
We required no previous foreign language experience because most people in Namibia (especially those under 30) speak English; it is a national language. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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