Past Review
By Zoe D (Biology, General., SUNY - Binghamton) for
Ireland Study Abroad Reflections: Comprehensive Reviews of Past Programs
This program made me want to change my major to art. I learned a great deal simply from practicing painting everyday and I believe my skills have improved a great deal. Even though I'm not very satisfied with how the course was taught, I do believe it was beneficial for me because I chose to make it so. All the time spent alone while painting enabled me to learn more about myself and become more comfortable being on my own. I feel much more independent after this trip because of that, as well as all the traveling and responsibilities I had while I was there.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload seemed appropriate, but if the students did not have motivation they would not get any work done. The teacher was not present during the day, only the TA, who proved to be more helpful while painting. The professors time was not managed very efficiently or budgeted out fairly. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
not available |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Ballentaggart Holiday Homes- "cottages" that were very nicely furnished. However, we had to squeeze 8 people into a 6 person place because they did not reserve the extra cottage we needed. The half-sized fridge was way too small for 8 people <br /><br /> nice place, but we needed the extra cottage, we ended up being relatively cramped for a month. |
| * Food: |
there isn't enough room to have a lot in the fridge so we had to go grocery shopping as we needed things because it wasn't practical to eat out every day |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Everyone on the trip was really friendly and got along very well for the most part. I made a lot of friends while over there that I hope to keep in touch with. Trips to England/Spain/Dublin were coordinated between the students and everyone always enjoyed listening to the live music at the pubs in town and then dancing as it got later. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
The city was small and safe, all the locals knew each other which made me feel mcuh more secure. The only safety issue was the walk into town from our cottages- it was really winding and there was practically no shoulder, it was never safe to walk down at night and the teach had a small 5 person car and could not take us all into town at once, which is about a mile and a half away. Some students would always get rides from him while others would never get the opportunity |
| 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? | there is a cheap grocery store, but its not that great. the ones with a more diverse selection were way more expensive. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | since we were not able to walk down the road at night, unless we took the long backroad back way, we had to take taxis back, which were 2 Euros each time. |
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 do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | You need to have a great deal of motivation to get a decent amount of learning out of this program. You have to take notes during lecture, and when he lets you go out on your own every day you can't nap or make food all day, you need to get out there and paint because I know that I learned the most just by painting every day. You also have to seek out the professor and show him your work on a regular basis because unless he calls you in for a meeting (which was rare) he didn't see your pieces until the end. He wasn't even going to look at everyone's collection of paintings but changed his mind the last couple of days. I wasn't pleased with the how the course was instructed, but I got the most I could out of it because I was willing to put in the work every day. You will feel disappointed if you're not disciplined enough to get yourself out there and do the most you can. |
