Cultural Immersion in Thailand Past Review
By A student (The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 08/08/2011 to 12/12/2011 with
CIEE: Khon Kaen - Community Public Health
I gained a more global perspective on everyday experiences.It was very worthwhile. I learned so much about Asian culture and cannot wait to return to Thailand and the surrounding countries.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Khon Kaen University |
| 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. |
The classes were not very challenging in material, but were made difficult due to the language barrier. The translation that we received was only decent after we made several complaints. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration in Khon Kaen was great. They were very open to feedback and were willing to go above and beyond to meet any need we had. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
For Thailand, it was great. AC, shower and lights. There were a bunch of bugs, but that was expected. |
| * Food: |
We did not have a meal plan and were responsible for purchasing our own food. It was delicious! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The university students really sought us out and tried to show us around. There were times when we felt very isolated and struggled due to the language barrier. The programs set in place helped us to understand more about Thai culture so we would know how to act and react in certain situations. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
The CIEE staff was very attentive to health concerns. |
| * Safety: |
I always felt safe in Khon Kaen. |
| 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) |
The food was very inexpensive, but we found ourselves shopping and doing extra things often that hiked up the cost of living. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Use the language that you learn to help bring down cost of taxis and tuk tuks. If you can speak some of the language, you are likely to get a better price. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
We used the language a lot and had one on one tutoring with Thai students. That was very helpful! |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Use it whenever you can. It was essential in Thailand because most of the locals did not speak English. |
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? | It would have been nice to know that there were only 4 people in the program. I would have preferred to have been in a larger group, though there were some perks to having a small group. |
