My Life as a Muscovite Past Review
By Michael S (Criminology., Truman State University) for
College Consortium for International Studies (CCIS): Moscow - Grint Centre for Education and Culture
I gained a new experience of how others view Americans and how i can disprove their thinking.
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The academic classes were helpful but for my learning experience they went to fast. I understand that it was an accelerated program but at one point it seemed like they just left me in the dust as soon as i feel behind. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The had a lot of stuff planned and great ideas but sometimes it seemed like there was a lack of communication between people and the organization at the beginning was a little rough but worked itself out in the middle and by the end it was great. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I like the housing situation, especially since all of us got our own rooms but the beds were a bit uncomfortable and housing with all Americans did hinder your ability to practice the language. |
| * Food: |
food was authentic and good even though it was bland sometimes and repetitive. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
the field trips to Saint Petersburg and Kazan were amazing and i wish that i could have stayed longer in Saint Petersburg. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Moscow was the same as any big city in the world safety wise. Nothing was more or less unusual for a city of 15 million people. |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I think i spent around $40 on food at the store each week and another $30-$40 on social expenses. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | watch out for internationl fees when you go to ATM's and don't carry a lot of money with you all the time. I wouldn't even carry any debit/credit cards in Russia because it is still mainly a cash economy. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | none |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I practiced with students my age as well as teachers and then I had to use it in everyday activities such as going to the store. With the exception of some students we meet, the majority of Russians did not speak English or they spoke very little. |
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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