Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

30 days in the most incredible place with the most incredible people Past Review

By (History and American Studies, The College of William and Mary) - abroad from 06/21/2012 to 07/21/2012 with

CIEE: Cape Town - Service Learning

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I met so many fantastic people, and learned so much about the South African culture and myself.

Review Photos

CIEE: Cape Town - Service Learning Photo CIEE: Cape Town - Service Learning Photo

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: University of Cape Town
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

Breakfast was supposed to be provided, but there was never enough food for us, if there was food at all. It was a little frustrating because I did not budget money to pay for extra food. The lunch was pretty good though, and I loved getting an allowance for dinners.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* 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)

While things were generally pretty inexpensive, I spent a lot more money than expected on extra food and cab fares.

* 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? $150
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Make a budget! If you don't plan out how much money you will use for different activities, you will run out of money much quicker than expected.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Other
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
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?
  • Working with kids in Khayelitsha
  • Dancing with the Jazzart Dance Company
  • Going on amazing excursions
* What could be improved?
  • I wish more breakfast food would have been provided, or at least that we knew that we would have to provide our own.
  • I wish that we could have made our own sandwiches for lunch. We often ended up not eating the sandwiches made for it, so it was a waste of food.
  • The SHAWCO students running the program could have been much more organized and transparent.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I wish I had done more research on townships before I went.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Social Enterprise
Course Department: SHAWCO
Instructor: Stian Olderkjaer
Instruction Language: English
Comments: This course was fantastic. It was so informative and entertaining at the same time. This professor was amazing.
Credit Transfer Issues: