One of my best life experiences ever. Past Review
By A student (International relations and Eurasian studies, Western Washington University) - abroad from 02/03/2014 to 05/16/2014 with
CIEE: St. Petersburg - Russian Area Studies
I improved my language skills, learned a lot of vital information that will help me with my major and future career goals, and I was able to learn the other point of view in U.S.-Russia relations. It was definitely worthwhile.
Review Photos
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 enjoyed my classes and felt like they did a good job of balances the homework out with our program schedule. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They were so helpful even outside of school. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I got along great with my host sister, but my host mom was sometimes hard to connect to. |
| * Food: |
I enjoyed most of the food my family prepared for me. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I wish there were more opportunities for us to have met up with Russian university students in the political science department. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had a dental emergency and my program advisor was able to find me a reliable and affordable dentist. I had a good experience there and was very grateful. |
| * Safety: |
They were very informative and prevented any dangerous situations that we might have gotten into otherwise. |
| 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) |
I was able to budget my money well and didn't run into any shortages throughout my trip. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 50-100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Pack a lunch rather than buying cafeteria food. |
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 |
There were many Americans in my program and they seemed to want to stick together and speak only english. I broke away from the crowd and forced myself to speak Russian as much as possible. |
| 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? | 201 |
| 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? | Meet locals, speak only the countries language at home with your host family, go into town and do activities that would require you to use the host 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? | I should have brought more clothing options. I expected it to only be cold in Russia and towards the end of the trip I was stuck wearing sweaters in the warm weather. |
