Gaga changed my life. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This rating is tricky because the highs were incredibly high, but the lows were incredibly low. Highs included incredible dance professors, Hebrew Ulpan Professors, access to professional dance companies, weekend workshops, and a brilliant dance history guru. Lows included social isolation, university fabricated experiences, lack of studio space, lack of flexibility in the Hebrew department, and living quarters.

On-site administration of your program

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The roommate pairing worked really well for my four roommates and me. Other than this, the housing was a disaster. Every year, residents must purchase new kitchen equipment, cleaning supplies, etc. This adds up to an incredibly high and unexpected upfront cost as well as a disrespectful waste of supplies at the end of the year when students are moving out and are forced to throw away or give away all of the items accumulated throughout the year. The village is often littered with trash and other residents leave trash in the hallways and elevators to infuse the atmosphere with an retched smell. The village is also incredibly far away from any social life one might have in Jerusalem which makes meeting the local population difficult. The isolation especially became a problem on Shabbat when all public transportation shut down. It was at least an hour walk to anywhere I would consider happy and vibrant. These barriers often led to sluggishness and gloom. The housing was the most frustrating and difficult experience I had during my experience here.

We had to provide our own food, and I cook well.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I really had to go out of my way to experience anything Israeli that was not a safe fabrication of the university. I feel that many students did not get a grasp of what it means to be Israeli let alone Palestinian. There is never any reference to Palestinian culture, and I think this was an intentional choice by the university. The Palestinian conflict does not fit into the rose colored fabricated ideal of Israel that the university promotes. Also frustrating. Luckily my language skills and friends pulled me out into the real world.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Maybe too safe...

There is no other place on earth where I could have the experience of intensely studying Gaga. I would do this program again if the only redeeming quality were my studies in Gaga.

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

You can survive on $75 per week for food and transportation, even a dance performance or two. Food is relatively cheap if you know where to look.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

The only class taught in Hebrew was Hebrew. Every other class was shared between English and Hebrew. Immersion was not encouraged.

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• Dorm

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• Americans
• International Students

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• Gaga
• Accessibility to Dance
• Food

• Housing
• Political Reality
• Local Immersion

The Academic or Linguist