Live-changing. Past Review
By Samantha C (Economics., The College of William and Mary) - abroad from 06/20/2012 to 07/20/2012 with
IES Abroad: Cape Town - University of Cape Town
A first-hand perspective on poverty. Knowledge into the south african daily lifestyle. Apartheid specifics. Inspiration from the kids to be myself and be able to put on my game face no matter what problems I have.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The SHAWCO Lectures were very interesting. However, Professor Leah Glenn's class was very work intensive. I felt like I constantly had something to do and found myself thinking about assignments during the excursions. The service learning portion of the study abroad was my favorite. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Fabulous. Service learning was the best part of the trip, and the SHAWCO lectures were extremely interesting and very well rounded. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Too many people in one place. Barely got any sleep the entire trip. The house itself was very accommodating. |
| * Food: |
We did not have enough food from SHAWCO for breakfast or lunch, and lunch was not very good. The sandwiches were sub par. The food at the restaurants however, was exceptional. Very americanized surprisingly. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I very much enjoyed the company of the kids (8th/9th graders) and the adults for IT computer training. I became a lot closer with the kids as we spent two weeks tutoring them. I became almost too attached, it was hard to say goodbye. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
No health issues. I got shots for Hep A and typhoid prior to the trip. |
| * Safety: |
It was relatively safe, although I didn't feel comfortable leaving the confines of my home without at least one other person. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
I spent about 300$/week on mostly food and some personal expenses. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spent about $200 on food/week |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't feel the need to spend a lot of money at each places. A lot of the markets are the same so you will constantly be seeing similar souvenirs. |
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 |
At service learning we were taught the click song and to use some of the Xhosa clicks, however this was one or two days. |
| 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? | AP French |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 0 |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | No practice necessary. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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 weather conditions and how much school work we'd have. |
