Waking up in La República Dominicana Past Review
By Keturah Walker (Brandeis University) - abroad from 01/03/2017 to 04/28/2017 with
CIEE: Santiago - Liberal Arts
I honestly do not have enough words to articulate everything that I learned while abroad. It touched me on both a spiritual and individual level. I had to be alone in a country for 4 months and figure it out. I had to figure me out in order to survive. I use the word survive because instinctually as human beings, we respond to our stimuli and being there showed me the amount of internal strength that I have and my ability to adapt to situations that before traveling abroad I wouldnt have thought I could do.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I would love to say that CIEE Santiago and the staff pushed me to my academic limits. I once went to one of the academic coaches and said that I thought that I wasnt ready for the Spanish class that I tested into, but they encouraged me to stay which I feel positively impacted my overall linguistic growth. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
My host parents were extremely accommodating and made me feel as though they were my actual parents. We had a few disagreements, as any family does, but if it were all sunshine and rainbows, I feel the experience would have been altered. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was extremely satisfied with my living situations, being in the center of the city and having access to most things. |
| * Food: |
The food was beyond amazing to say the least. I may be bias, being that my host mom was a homemaker, but I was feed 3 times a day faithfully. I didnt have to buy food if I didnt want to. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt completely integrated into the culture being that most people did not speak Spanish and recognized me as being american (sometimes I was mistaken as Haitian). My identity as a Black woman made me feel hyper-visible but understanding that visibility opened my awareness ro the culture. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Health care was addressed in english on the first day of orientation and expectations and procedures were clear. |
| * Safety: |
Safety was was addressed in english on the first day of orientation and expectations and procedures were clear. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I grew so much on an individual level as well as met some people who helped me through the things that I thought I would have never been able to get through. Along the way I met friends in my program that to this day (5 months later) I have been in touch with and plan on meeting up with. |
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) |
I feel like a student budget is easy to steer away from being that DR prices are so much less than US prices but with proper budgeting and thinking more like a Dominican when it comes to prices than an American, budgeting can become easier. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spent about 500 pesos on a good week and 700-800 if I wanted to explore the finer things in life . |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Think of prices like a Dominican rather than an American |
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 were encouraged to use Spanish as much as we could with the other students in our program so we could learn 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? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 104a |
| 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? | I suggest changing your phone's language to the language of the city , download duo lingo, befriend natives who maybe know some english and travel! |
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? |
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 know know that I am able to do anything that I put my mind to and that being open to growth is hard but being present is easier and the growth will come from being present. |
