An American Girl Abroad Past Review

By Bronte Joseph (Stetson University) - abroad from 06/06/2018 to 07/21/2018 with

IES Abroad: Amsterdam Summer – Society, Culture & Gender

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

I know everyone says this, but studying abroad changed my life. I was fortunate enough to spend summer 2018 (June - July) in the IES Abroad “Amsterdam Summer - Society, Culture & Gender in Amsterdam” program. Since I was about 8 months old, I have been travelling, but the Netherlands was never somewhere that happened to be on my radar of travel. Finding an opportunity to live in a city I had never visited and a program a discipline that wholly fascinated me was pure serendipity. Aside from loving the courses, the IES Abroad Amsterdam program offers trips to places such as Zaans Schans, Delft, and even Berlin. Amsterdam is also a in a perfect location for independent travel. With an easily accessible airport and train system, I travelled over the weekends and even had an opportunity to visit a friend’s hometown who was an exchange student at my home university. If you are interested in studying abroad, I recommend going through IES Abroad: the staff members are helpful; the classes are informative, and the experience is unbelievable.

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.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	My roommate and I initially got along, but the relationship crumbled, and I am still unsure as to why. However, the living arrangements were pretty nice. The only difficulty I faced was trying to contact the maintenance person, but the RAs helped me with my issue.
* Food:	Go out and try as much food as possible!
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	I had no health concerns, but 2 students on my program got sick, and they were able to access healthcare quickly.
* Safety:
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

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)	Amsterdam is expensive.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Put aside money early before you leave. Take spending cash (some places don't take card). And make sure you have a card that is accepted abroad. I recommend Charles Schwab, however set up your account at least 90 days before you leave.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	No

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?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	Independent travel Easily accessible staff
* What could be improved?	n/a
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Be prepared to be more broke than you realize, but you'll have a bank of experiences.

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 Outright Urbanite A social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Sex and Science: Dutch Medicine and Intersexuality
Course Department:	Gender Studies
Instructor:	Nina van den Berg
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	“Sex and Science” was a sort of medical ethics course, and what I enjoyed the most about that course is that Professor Van de Berg (Nina) was learning alongside us. As a self-proclaimed “fellow student”, Nina asked us to delve deeper than surface level with our answers and challenged us to consider our responses from not only from our typical perspective as Americans, but also as citizens of the world.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Art, gender, sexuality in seventeenth century Dutch art
Course Department:	Art History
Instructor:	Dr. Judith Noorman
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	As Creative Arts student at Stetson University, I'm required to take arts courses outside of my discipline (Theatre), but I had never taken any courses in Art History, so I was anxious coming into my course, but Dr. Judith Noorman took all of my worries away. Dr. Noorman, or Judith to her students, is an scholar in seventeenth century Dutch art, and she blessed us with her plethora of knowledge. Taking this class was like no other: every other day we would go to a museum and get to present on a piece of our choice as though we were art historians. Being surrounded by art for an entire summer not only made me appreciate paintings in a complex and nuanced manner, but it recharged my creative battery before the school year.
Credit Transfer Issues: