It's funny what you learn abroad. Past Review
By Robert M (English, University of Massachusetts - Lowell) for
ISA Study Abroad in Paris, France
Well, to be honest: I didn't enjoy Paris very much at all. I love taking the classes and meeting new people, but I found it very difficult to make friends with Parisians. The food was delicious at first, but the richness got to me after a while, and it's just a very expensive city. Okay... so, what did I like about it? Studying abroad was definately the experience of a lifetime, but not for the reasons I expected. I met so many people from so many different places, and I got to learn about the whole world; not just Paris, France. I had several friends from England, and Brazil, Korea, Japan, China, Spain, Germany etc. etc. I still keep in touch with nearly all of them and I wound up moving to Korea to be closer to my friends from there. I learned so much and had an absolutely wonderful time in Paris because of my friends. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I could.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host nearly always spoke English, and she was awfully strict on somethings (that I thought was quite silly eg: only 10 litres of water to do everything you need to do over the course of a day) but amazing lax on others (no curfew). They could be a bit gruff about things and barely provided breakfast. I didn't spend much time at the house in response. |
| * Food: |
French food was far to rich for my taste. It was absolutely delicious at first, but eating it three meals a day (and not to mention snacks as well) for months on end was way to much for me. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The stuff arranged by the program was cool and everything, but like I said earlier, almost all of my friends were Korean. I wound up learning more Korean than French, and I'm living in Korea today, quite hapilly, because of it. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I was mugged once, but that's expected in a city the magnitude of Paris. |
| 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) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Most of my friends were Korean or Japaneese, who had very little English ability, thus we had to use our French to communicate. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | The absolute important thing to do when studying abroad is keeping an open mind. Easier said than done at times, but if you do that you'll be absolutely amazed by what you learn and what you come across. You might fall in love with something that you didn't expect to. And who knows; you might learn something to implament back home as well. |
