IES Cape Town Study Abroad Program Past Review

By Austin H (Environmental Studies., Middlebury College) - abroad from 07/07/2013 to 11/04/2013 with

IES Abroad: Cape Town - University of Cape Town

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

Cape Town is an amazing, beautiful, interesting place, especially if you have the opportunity to explore all parts of the city and learn about it's complicated political and social history. The classes I took at UCT really added to my understanding of South Africa as well as my experience in Cape Town but they were definitely demanding and it was hard to find a balance between work and play. A huge part of my experience was volunteering at a school in one of the townships and working in an informal settlement outside the city. If I hadn't had those opportunities I would have only experienced a small part of Cape Town.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	My classes at UCT were great but the IES program course was disappointing.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?
* Food:
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	I didn't have any experience with healthcare but IES provided us with the information we needed to contact a doctor.
* Safety:	We had a full-time security guard at our house and a number we could call anytime.
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)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	$60
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Take the minibuses whenever you can, they're perfectly safe during the day.

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	Local Students Americans
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Local Students Americans International Students
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?	Small size Great housing Organized trips
* What could be improved?	Administration
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	There is a huge community of Americans studying in Cape Town and it takes some effort to break out of that bubble.

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 Avid Adventurer The wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Environment, Geography and Development
Course Department:	EGS
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The course was divided into 3 sections that covered the regional dynamics of development, the global economic environment, and climate change justice. The first section was slow but the next two were more fast-paced and interesting. There was one paper and one test per section, as well as a final exam that required an essay for each section.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Contemporary Urban Challenges in the South African City
Course Department:	EGS
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	I highly recommend this course. It was extremely challenging but very rewarding. It was divided into 3 sections: historical geography, urban food security, and water sanitation and drainage. The teachers were very knowledgeable and the material was really interesting especially because it was applied specifically within the South African context. The first two sections required papers and the third was evaluated with a series of GIS projects.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	African Dance
Course Department:	Music
Instructor:	Maxwell Xolani Rani
Instruction Language:
Comments:	If you like to dance and don't mind making a fool of yourself I highly recommend this class. It was challenging but Maxwell was a great teacher and he had a lot of interesting things to say during lectures.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	African Literature and Language Studies II
Course Department:	ALL
Instructor:
Instruction Language:
Comments:	The lectures for this course could have been more interesting and were sometimes frustrating but I really enjoyed the seminar I chose. The books assigned for lecture were interesting but we hardly discussed them in class. My seminar was African American women's literature and we read great books and had interesting discussions.
Credit Transfer Issues: