Living with a host family was very beneficial Past Review
By Dennis K (Philosophy., City College of San Francisco) for
City College of San Francisco: Oaxaca- Summer in Oaxaca
I came to know a lot of people: the students within the ccsf group, the mexicans I met in Oaxaca, the teachers, the host family---besides the language skills obtained---I will remember them forever.If I should want to return, I would have no hesitation to do so.
Personal Information
| The term and year this program took place: | Summer 2009 |
Review Your Program
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I don't see any weaknesses since the student had the flexibility to change anything he/she didn't like. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I decided to eat evenings with my host family since the food was excellent and I could speak Spanish while eating. |
| * Food: |
My host family was a married couple. The woman actually took cooking instructions from a chef. The meals she served were excellent. I paid by the week for my evening meals. I don't think I could have had a better meal at a restaurant. Also, the meal that was served was never the same. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
One student sort of got the other students together. Without his incentive, I would not have seen a baseball game or gone to the astronomy building. There were various tours offered. I thought they were rather expensive. but I was lucky. I went one Sunday to the botanical gardens and a tour bus was parked nearby. I was ablt to get a tour for the entire Sunday at a much lower price than was posted at the language school. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I ate and slept well so I didn't worry too much about getting sick. I did have diarreha but I brought some pills along that kept it within bounds. I had diarreha when I got off the plane so it didn't have anything to do with the water or the food in Oaxaca. I ate some nuts that I brought and I think that might have been the problem. |
| 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) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I took traveler checks and the exchange rate varied considerably between banks. Also, the banks were open only certain times and this often conflicted with my classes but I managed. |
Language
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Living with a host family also was very beneficial. During the meals, we often discussed things in Spanish and the host family helped us with our Spanish language difficulties. |
A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Bring pills for any diarreha problem, and travelling with a group has its benefits. I met students at the house of my host family who travelled solo. They paid less for air fare but they seemed isolated and unable to figure out what to do with themselves. |
