The Best Semester of My College Experience Abroad with CIEE Paris, France October 12, 2022
By Hannah B (Hotel Administration, Cornell University) - abroad from 01/03/2022 to 05/07/2022 with
CIEE: Paris - Open Campus Block
I learned honestly a lot about what it means to truly live life. It is 100% a worthwhile would not recommend passing up on this once in a lifetime opportunity
Personal Information
| 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. |
Great courses in unique fields of study and interactive learning experiences in the host city. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Amazing, supportive staff that were on call for any academic or personal issues related to the program. Created a safe, welcoming space for all students. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housed in a clean, newly renovated ApartHotel that was in walking vicinity of major areas of Paris. Amazing location in terms of safety and surrounding restaurants, boulangeries, and grocery stores |
| * Food: |
Not only was the local food impeccable, weekly excursions and out-of-city trips featured amazing local cuisine and three-course meals funded by the program fees |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Culutral immersion started the day we arrived at the program and continued to flourish. Local Parisians and industry experts hosted the program and taught classes allowing for diverse information and language flow. Language emersion diners/happy hours were hosted on a regular basis to meet real community members and integrate into the local society. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Health issues and covid-19 concerns were addressed quickly and respectfully. Antigen testing was affordable and provided weekly on-site at CIEE campus. Other health concerns were addressed when needed to accommodate student needs with their academic schedules. |
| * Safety: |
The host city was one of the cleanest cities I found across Europe and has an elite metro system that is safe for solo travelers even at night. The streets are well kept and there is a minimal houseless population and I witnessed no crime activity except for the occasional pick pocket |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I would absolutely go and do it all again with CIEE - the staff, program benefits, housing, and education. |
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) |
Easy to buy local produce and eat out on a budget - food is much more reasonably priced than say NYC. Obviously more expenditures happened for tourism but local living was reasonably affordable |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $80 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you are going to eat out go to boulangeries which have amazing sandwiches for only 5 eur. Don't eat around the touristy spots or it will be more expensive |
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 |
Frequent encouragement to use the language if you are studying the language but they didn't pressure those not wanting to immerse themselves in the language |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Highschool IB language course |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? | 0 |
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? | The only thing I wish I knew was the cultural norms of the host city but all of those are taught by CIEE staff and everyone goes through the learning curve. |
