Great Food, Beer, and Sightseeing Opportunities Past Review
By A student (English and Communication Double Major, Trinity University) - abroad from 05/22/2012 to 07/14/2012 with
CIEE: Brussels - Summer Business, Communications and Culture
It was worthwhile! I had many opportunities to see myself grow as an individual and be challenged by living on my own. My homestay was slightly unusual in that my host father traveled a lot for work so I often had the place to myself, so I definitely got experience in living on my own and providing for myself.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Vesalius College |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I only took one course and an internship, but Vesalius was fairly rigorous and had higher expectations than some might anticipate for a study abroad experience. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I'm not sure how closely they looked at our surveys beyond whether we wanted homestays or apartments because I didn't particularly match up with my host family. |
| * Food: |
The food is fantastic in Belgium, and CIEE Brussels did a great job of taking us places where we could experience it. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Very well integrated, and I think CIEE Brussels had a lot to do with that. They showed us great restaurants and bars to hang out at as well as cool areas of the city. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
They were addressed well. I had to go to the hospital once and healthcare was comparable. My program directors were very helpful in this instance. |
| * Safety: |
Take care of yourself, be aware of your surroundings. Pickpocketing occurred and if you portray yourself as an obnoxious, drunken American, you will likely be spotted as an easy target. |
| 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) |
Not very easily. Brussels was pretty expensive unless you could cook for yourself. |
| * 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? | approximately $100/week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Live in an apartment where you have cooking resources. Food gets expensive. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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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| 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? | I probably should have stayed with students my own age, so that I would have always had a travel buddy when moving through the city later at night/when traveling to a new area. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Topics in European Film |
| Course Department: | Communications |
| Instructor: | Wauter Hessels |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | I took Topics in European Cinema, which was a history of European film from the beginning of film's history to today. It was fairly rigorous but not unmanageably so. As long as you attend classes and take good notes, you're well prepared for writing the paper, taking the quiz, and taking the final. It definitely offered relevant field trips as we went to the Cinematek to view the old films on several occasions. Teachers were well prepared and knowledgeable for sure. |
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