Quito: a challenge Past Review
By Anne R (Global Studies and Spanish, Providence College) for
IES Abroad: Quito - IES Abroad in Quito
I have gained important experiences here, but feel like I learned more about physical Ecuador (the countryside, mountains, etc.) than the people of Ecuador.
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. |
In the IES classes, the quality of classes was very low. Despite being told we were only to speak Spanish (which few students respected), professors often used English slides or English words throughout the presentation. I was very disappointed. The IES classes I took were elementary as well. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Despite telling us to speak Spanish all the time, they frequently try to speak English with us. There also has not been adequate housing options for students who have had problems with their host families. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My family has treated me very well here. My only complaint has been that I don't live near many other students in my program nor do I live close to the university. |
| * Food: |
Great! |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Galápagos! |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
Quito is very unsafe. I have had 4 incidences: 3 robberies and one assault, and I am not the exception nor have I not been cautious. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
|
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) |
|
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I spend a lot of time in cafés studying, so be prepared to buy coffee. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
| Language acquisition improvement? |
You have to speak the language all the time, even with other people who speak your own language. This is hard to maintain with other study abroad students, but the fact is that you will be with them for most of the time, so if you don't speak with them, you might be limited to just using the language in interactions in restaurants and class, which can be pretty limiting. |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Best suited for students with a low level of Spanish who want to do a lot of travelling and outdoor adventuring. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Service Learning Seminar |
| Course Department: | IES |
| Instructor: | Diego Quiroga |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | The class topics and discussion were erratic and very topical. There was mostly lecture that had no clear direction with sometimes discussion with the students. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Sociología Rural |
| Course Department: | Sociología |
| Instructor: | Fernando Guerrero |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Lecture based with a few discussions. This particular year of students does not respect the professor at all, though he is kind and knowledgable, if soft-spoken. He truly wants his students to learn the material and showing that you have put in the effort is very well looked upon. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Seminario electivo literatura española |
| Course Department: | Linguística |
| Instructor: | Mercedes Mafla |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Excellent! The reading is doable and the professor takes pop quizzes on it, but they are rather straight forward so that if you read well, you'll be fine. The professor is very enthusiastic about literature and how it speaks to the "meaning of life" in general and often makes suggestions for other ways students can enrich their learning. I absolutely love the class! |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Ecuador y Globalización |
| Course Department: | IES |
| Instructor: | Fernando Martín |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Incredibly elementary. It was constantly dumbed down for students in the class, very lecture based and with no work outside of class. The professor is entertaining but babies us throughout the course. The course itself, rather than being about the effects of globalization on Ecuador, has been a mix of history, basic macroeconomics, and the definition of globalization. Having taken economics classes before, it has rather been a waste of time and I have not learned anything new, aside from the history of Ecuador. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Género y migración |
| Course Department: | Economía |
| Instructor: | María de los Ángeles |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | I was hoping for a class that would look at migration with a gender-perspective, but rather, it treated the topic of gender, then separately migration. There is a heavy economics focus and focus on writing policy. It can be rather topical and limited by the economics perspective, but has also been beneficial in other ways. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
