Korea I Love You Seoooooooul Much Past Review
By Hannah4 (Plan II - Liberal Arts Honors, The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 02/14/2012 to 06/20/2012 with
CIEE: Seoul - Arts and Sciences
I gained a new perspective on the world and a newfound awareness and appreciation for Asian culture
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The program wasn't necessarily academically rigorous, but it was good enough that I felt that I learned a lot and still had plenty of time to explore Seoul - I wasn't overwhelmed with coursework |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
CIEE was great, took care of all my documents, and was a great resource to have while in Seoul |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Stayed in the international dorm, it was really great for making friends and was very close to the main part of Sinchon |
| * Food: |
The dorm food isn't great, but the dorm is only a 10 to 15 minute walk to Sinchon, so there are plenty of options |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
By the end of this trip I felt very much a part of Korean culture. I knew each neighborhood of Seoul like the back of my hand and would feel comfortable giving anyone a tour. |
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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) |
Seoul is like NYC, you can budget your money but in the end, there's going to be a lot of things that you want to see and experience and they're going to cost money |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
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 only spoke Korean in my Korean Language class |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| 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? | 3rd level |
| How many hours per day did you use 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? |
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 there are a lot of work opportunities for international (especially English speaking) students in Korea, so if you're looking to make some money while there, they're easy to find |
