Go to Ghana! Past Review
By A student (Sociology., Cornell University) - abroad from 01/17/2012 to 05/28/2012 with
CIEE: Legon - Arts + Sciences
This trip was 10000% worth while. I loved every bit of it from the new friends, the nights spent dancing, classes, joining sports teams, meeting international students. It was a great experience. I learned to appreciate a different way of life, a slower pace which was very relaxing.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Though the University of Ghana classes aren't as rigorous or, I think a better way to put it is, as time consuming as classes in the United States, there are still a great deal of wonderful classes and wonderful things to learn. I can't stress enough what a valuable resource the staff at CIEE Ghana are. They made the transition over so smooth. A lot of students didn't have the support for their program that we did and if I had to go abroad again I would still choose CIEE. |
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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? |
The housing is not what you are used to as a student in the States and that's just something that I think students going will just have to grit their teeth and get over. On a whole, we had really nice housing, our program provided bed nets, bedding, and pillows. The facilities were cleaned every day by cleaning staff. There's no hot water but you get used to it and whenever there was a power outage we always had electricity (generator). |
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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: |
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| 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) |
It really depends what you want to eat. If you want to shell out for more fancy food, then you'll have a little less to spend on going out or fabric. But I'd say it was relatively manageable to live on a student budget. |
| * 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? | $70 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Know what you want to buy and hoe much you want to spend before you go anywhere. It's very easy to get sucked in by the salesmen/women. Learn how to say no and mean it when you don't want to buy something. It's not compulsory that you buy something. |
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 |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| 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? | Make a local friend and try for about an hour or so to just talk only in the language. |
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? | 10+ |
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? | That I would change in a way that I never knew was possible and that I would miss Ghana so much after coming back. |
