American bubble Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I liked, at least on a personal basis, almost every single professor I came into contact with. The Hebrew language professors (I had three or four throughout winter intensive and the semester) in particular were excellently trained and did a great job. That being said, the general quality of education -- lectures, materials, "homework" and assessments -- was very, very low, especially in comparison to Middlebury college. This is a program for students looking to party while abroad...

On-site administration of your program

My "advisor" was a joke. The only real administration present to invest energy and to whom students could go to, doubled as the social events coordinator. He did a good job with the social events and worked hard. Certain issues I had were dealt with efficiently, but on a few occasions, the emergency phone lines were not answered!

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

We lived in an American bubble - a disaster if you had any interest in actually getting to know Israelis/Palestinians. I had requested to be housed with local students and was told there was no room.

We cooked for ourselves - perfectly fine except for the fact that the school provided no cooking equipment whatsoever. Apparently, it's a policy that you cannot leave things in the apartment for future students, God knows why. Inefficient, expensive and idiotic. There is a fridge and a stovetop.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

not. See housing. The administration also made zero effort to integrate us with the rest of the university. The International school has its own building in which all of the classes are held so we had few opportunities to venture to the rest of campus or meet local students.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The healthcare was excellent. I used it on many occasions. However, I dealt with all issues by myself, because my program administrators were totally clueless about the healthcare process. I did not need any vaccines.

Perfectly safe, despite the fact that the school goes to pains to stress that we were located in East Jerusalem, and not to stray into Palestinian neighborhoods. (absolute bullshit). The most threatened I felt was when, on two separate occasions, two different American students with whom I lived, made displays of islamophobic hatred.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Israel is very expensive, particularly food. I also had to buy all of my cooking equipment, which was a massive blow to my bank account, because my flatmates were not interested in sharing.....

Select all that apply

• Dorm
• Apartment

Select all that apply

• Americans
• International Students

Select all that apply

• Americans
• International Students

• learning to cook for myself
• the view of Isawiyya
• Hebrew language courses

• Everything
• racism
• housing

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