The best place to learn Hebrew Past Review
By A student (University of California - Riverside) - abroad from 01/23/2019 to 02/18/2019 with
Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Rothberg International School: Hebrew Language Instruction – Ulpan
The Hebrew Ulpan was a fun and exciting time for me. I had an excellent teacher and a small class with several interesting people in it. I liked that there were several adults (not college-age students) in my class.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I didn't have administrative issues but I knew several other students who did |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I didn't feel that the program assisted me in integrating with local cultures. I had to do that on my own. The student activities organization did provide some information on public gatherings in the city that students could attend |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
There was a lot of information provided for us at orientation, and it was confusing. They tried their best to make it as clear as possible. When I had a health issue, I contacted the people I was told to contact but they could not help me very much. Their recommendation was to go to a clinic that was a 30 minute train ride away. I was very sick and it was difficult for me to get there. They had no other suggestions. When I did go to this clinic, I did not receive a solution to my ailment and spent 7 hours waiting for my blood test results |
| * Safety: |
I felt very safe except sometimes around the IDF. We were constantly updated on safety issues that occured throughout the country. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I would choose the Ulpan program to learn Hebrew. This was a required part of my time abroad, and it lasted 4 weeks. It was a pre-semester course. During the semester, I was in a different program, the Arabic Immersion Program |
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) |
I'm an extremely frugal person, so I spent very little money on my personal expenses. I only ate out once or twice in the whole semester. If I did not have a restrictive diet and a more prodigal attitudes towards money, I'm sure I would have spent much more, and maybe would make this four stars |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 15 USD |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Make your own food. Don't buy things. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| 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? | Aleph+ |
| 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? | Say everything you know how to say. Only say "thank you" "please" "hello," etc. in the language you are learning. If you can say it in the language you are learning, don't say it in English. Talk to merchants in their language. I had a 20 minute conversation with a stranger 3 weeks into my program that was entirely in Hebrew because he asked me what time it was and I tried to answer in Hebrew |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | The Ulpan set-up is a great opportunity to explore the country during your first month there. The fact that there is only one class that meets at the same time each day helps structure your time better; there is a great opportunity to spend afternoons out and about as a way of jumping directly into local life |
