The Best Summer Yet Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

On-site administration of your program

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

There were no times where I did not feel safe, and if you took good care of your stuff, you wouldn’t lose anything or get anything stolen. As long as you don't go anywhere alone and were smart with your things, you were fine.

The IES Abroad summer program in Cape Town, South Africa was so amazing, it was almost impossible to leave. It helps that Cape Town is a wonderful city, full of things to do and places to explore, and that the program helped you to explore every bit of it. The program had just enough planned activities to keep us constantly moving, while still allowing us enough free time to squeeze in a huge bucket-list of things to do. Planned activities included touring the Garden Route, the Winelands, whale watching, gardens, and much more. This is all outside of the course and service-learning portion of the trip. I am a public health major, and global health minor, so the course was not only fit to my interests but counted as course credit for my minor at my home university. For those who had other majors, which there were many, the summer is a great way to get extra credit in between the regular school year. The course was an excellent way to study South African history and culture, in the context of health. The service-learning portion allowed you to experience what you were learning in class in the context of the health system. The research project was the best way to interact with the community, and potentially give back with recommendations based on the new research. The housing was within walking distance of the IES center, grocery stores, and restaurants. We could easily take a cab or Uber into other areas of Cape Town. Cape Town as a whole had the most amazing food, all extremely affordable. You could get so many different types of food, all excellent. The people I met, both in the program and locals, were all great. I learned so much just from conversations with people around the city and in our placements. The housing was nice and felt safe. There were multiple doors with locks before getting into the room, and a security guard outside 24/7. I hope others will be inspired by this experience as I have been.

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

This was kind of up to you. There were people who spent very little money, and some of us spent quite a bit.

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• Apartment

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• Americans

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• Americans

• Opportunities
• Environment
• Activities

• Doing more for the community
• Better packing list
• Spending more time with local students (they were on holiday most of the time)

The Avid Adventurer