Sleepy city with vibrant culture January 04, 2022
By milk123 (Wellesley College) - abroad from 09/23/2021 to 12/18/2021 with
IFSA: Mérida - Language and Cultural Studies in the Yucatán
I learned how to chart my own course and do what made me happy, even if I had to do it alone which I think was a valuable thing to learn.
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. |
Easy classes but the classrooms and class times were not conducive to learning. Two hours per class is too long, especially when I had three classes a day. The classrooms are dark and the windows are frosted which makes everything feel a little gloomy. I'm sure these issues wouldn't be as big of a problem if we had the opportunity to take classes at the local university but we took all classes at the IFSA center due to the pandemic. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Very kind |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $60 |
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 |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Fluent |
| 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? | SPAN 241 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
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? | How sleepy the town is! |
