Excellent for Travel and Exploration, Not Great for Language Learning Past Review

By A student (Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/22/2018 to 05/18/2018 with

CYA (College Year in Athens) - Semester/Academic Year Program

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I gained and learned a lot. It was definitely worthwhile; it's always worth it to put yourself in a new perspective and try to understand more of the world from a different view than you are used to. And of course, just going to new places you learn so much about the world around you.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	I would say that most of the awesome educational experience came from the field trips. There were several mandatory trips over the course of the semester, as well as several optional ones. Many classes also had "on-site" trips for day-to-day class. This is really the most valuable aspect of the education from this program, in my opinion. But I wouldn't say it was overly academically rigorous.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	They set us up in pre-furnished apartments. It was great housing, considering. I think they can afford to do it because of the state of Greece's economy right now, so actually we had better housing than most programs despite being on the more inexpensive side.
* Food:
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	We were kind of isolated. If you don't have a host family, you are really on your own to go out into the community and forge connections. None of your classes are with Greeks, so there is no interaction via school, really.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes I have already had other language immersion experiences, so that isn't necessarily what I needed to get out of this. I saw and experienced a lot of cool things that I never had before, and it had a great educational value to me. But, if language learning is important to you and one of your main goals, this is probably not the program for you.

Finances

* 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 mean, it sort of depends on what you did. The program provided lunch during week days, and if you were smart you could get pretty cheap meals either by cooking or eating street food. Textbooks were provided for you at the library, with the exception of the Greek textbooks. They even gave us this card that let us get into a lot of World Heritage sites for free, and several of the trips were included in the cost of the program. I would say that overall it was pretty affordable, and it mostly depended on how much traveling you decided to do. If you are really trying to save money though, I'd say living with a host family is slightly cheaper, so keep that in mind. Although, I heard a rumor that that is changing.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	100 euros, but only because I was buying a lot of more expensive groceries and not eating the provided lunches. It would definitely have been easy to spend less.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Cook for yourself. Eat the lunches they provide you, and get groceries for dinner. Eating out all the time adds up, unless you just stick to 2 euro gyros, I suppose.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language? 0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language	They did encourage us to have interactions outside of class, but there was zero necessity for it in our interactions in class, with the exception of Greek class.
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	None
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program?	Beginner
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure?	Beginner
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?	Take more intensive language courses if possible, put yourself in situations where you have to use the language, and if you have a host family, refuse to talk to them in English.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Apartment
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?	0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	The trips The resources they had available to students The housing
* What could be improved?	The food The rigor of classes cultural integration
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	That it was going to be very hard to find ways to culturally integrate yourself when surrounded by so many other Americans.

Reasons For Studying Abroad

To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you.	The Academic or Linguist You went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Modern Greek Language and Culture
Course Department:	Modern Greek
Instructor:	Angeliki
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	It was fine. We were given what we needed to know to learn the very basics of interacting on the street. But if you really want to learn the language, I highly recommend doing the accelerated course instead. I was still able to have a few limited conversations in Greek, though, so I can't say this course was unhelpful.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	The EU: Challenges and Strategic Choices
Course Department:
Instructor:	Ritsa
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Very interesting class, lots of information but basically provides students with a useful working understanding of how the EU came to be, how it works, and how it functions during today's political climate. Very informative, but it was a lot of memorization for sure. Definitely required analytical skills, as well. Ritsa was a fair grader and clearly knows her stuff.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Greek Jews
Course Department:	History
Instructor:	Alexander Kitroeff
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	I enjoyed this class, because it covered an interesting and specific subject that I had not known much about. The field trips were definitely relevant and interesting, and I was assessed fairly. The course was appropriately rigorous.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Practical Reason
Course Department:	Philosophy
Instructor:	Evgenia Mylonaki
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The course was sufficiently challenging. There were a lot of important readings, and quite a few presentations and papers. The class size was very small, so participation in class discussions was a huge aspect of the class and of my final grade.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I haven't yet tried to get the credit approved, so I don't know if I will have trouble. Hopefully not.