Great, short language immersion program Past Review
By Hana C (Global Studies, Brandeis University) - abroad from 06/01/2019 to 07/12/2019 with
IFSA: Mérida - Language and Cultural Studies in the Yucatán
Studying abroad was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on my personal mental and physical health needs. I also had the opportunity to healthily push my comfort zones and develop my Spanish communication skills.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The instruction is taught entirely in Spanish and moves at a rigorous pace. Classes were interesting and exposed students to new ideas and topics through a local lens. Although the program states that only 2 semesters of Spanish is required I would really advise at least 4 semesters of (recent) language instruction prior to enrolling in this program. Students with less than 4 semesters of Spanish instruction really struggled in the classes. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Diana, the Merida IFSA program administrator is the sweetest person ever! All the on-site staff are kind, gracious, and comforting people. All staff are fluently English-Spanish bilingual and encourage students to communicate in Spanish but will speak in English with students as needed, and if students are having a hard time. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Living arrangements were comfortable and host families were incredibly kind and comforting. However, Merida is a very VERY hot and humid environment and air conditioning is not standard in most rooms. Water pressure is also not very hard in most of Merida because of the standard infrastructure. |
| * Food: |
I love Mexican food and was raised with many of the foods and therefore LOVED my food options in Merida. Definitely try the Cochinita Pibil and Salbutes! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Its hard to feel fully integrated in a culture when you are only there for 6 weeks, but the IFSA-Merida program does a good job of informing students of the regional, national, and local culture and history. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt incredibly safe my entire time in Merida, but I also behaved as I would in a normal American city: traveling with friends at night, being mindful of my surroundings, informing my host family of my plans. |
| 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) |
Host families provide housing and 3 meals a day, including packed lunches on excursions. The conversion rate and purchasing power in Mexico heavily favors American travelers and it is easy to live on less than $30 a week if you are spending mindfully. Things aimed at tourists, like tours, nightclubs, and English-centered events are often price-shifted to match standard US prices. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $80-$120 |
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 |
Professors, host parents, and administrators only spoke spanish to students (baring crisis/emergency/sensitive conversations) |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 6th semester university-level Spanish |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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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? | 0 |
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? | Just how hot and humid Merida is, and what my living situation would have looked like. |
