Arrive open minded, and you'll leave a better person Past Review
By Jeremy Linch (Portland State University) - abroad from 08/10/2018 to 12/07/2018 with
IFSA: Mérida - Language and Cultural Studies in the Yucatán
I greatly improved my Spanish and learned about the Mexican/Yucatecan culture. I also had a lot of time to look back at how I was living my life and make decisions on if I was going in the direction that I truly wanted, as opposed to what I thought I wanted based on what society convinced me I wanted.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Classes were easier than they were at my home university. However part of this could have been because I was taking classes at varying levels and in varying programs while I was abroad. There were a lot of resources available for students to use. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The on-site administration was great. They were always keeping us up to date on what was occurring in the city and were always available to help students. They sometimes gave us too much information which made it difficult to digest. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Living with a host family was amazing and I'm glad that I chose a program that had this option. I had a great family that adapted to me and allowed me to be myself while I was there. |
| * Food: |
The food provided by my host family and at restaurants in Merida were amazing. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt as integrated I think I could have. Being a white person from the US in Mexico I was able to spend time with people and learn about the Mexican people, but I definitely felt a little separated in such a racially homogeneous culture. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something that people should be aware of when they are studying abroad. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Super easily accessible, honestly I preferred it to our health system. When you get a prescription you can go to any pharmacy in town, it doesn't have to be a singular specific pharmacy. Another time when I was too sick to even leave the house a doctor made a house call, which was the easiest medical experience I've ever had. |
| * Safety: |
The city is incredible safe, I've seen facts that Merida is one of the safest cities in North America. However when traveling outside of Merida students should be a little more cautious. When I was in a touristy area in Chiapas someone recognized I was from the US and tried to pickpocket me. |
| 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) |
The cost of living in Mexico is significantly more affordable than living in the US. That being said the daily minimum wage is even lower. All international students are going to have more spending money than the students at the public university and international students |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Outside of the weekends when we took trips and I bought sovereigns I probably only spent around $50 a week. That was for going out to bars and restaurants. Both of those things are more of fun add-ons no necessities. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | You're already paying for food with your host family, eat that instead of going out to eat all the time. In Mexico the costs of things are a lot less, so students needs to be careful that they aren't buying a lot more, just because the per item is cheaper. Also be careful at bars and restaurants for people that will over charge you because they know you're from the US. |
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 |
We used Spanish in all of our classes and were encouraged to use it with each other. I personally didn't use Spanish with other English speakers because I didn't want to pick up their bad habits, and it's nice to have an occasional break from constantly speaking your second language. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 300 level classes |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Start watching tv/netflix shows for the country you're going to with subtitles. That way you can learn a lot of the slang and grammar that is specific to that region of the world. |
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? |
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 information that I was given before showing up was great. I wish I would have learned a little more local slang and grammar before arriving. Additionally I wish I would have known to be more careful paying for things at bars and restaurants. But other than that there aren't things that I wish I knew before hand, because part of the experience is learning while you're there and making mistakes. |
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 Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
