Reunion: learning outside a classroom Past Review
By Rebecca A (Global Studies and French, University of the Pacific) for
ISEP Exchange: St. Denis - Exchange Program at Université de la Réunion
The one thing that I realized on Reunion was how much things just don't matter. It seemed like the attitude of everyone there. You're on an island in the middle of the ocean that half the world probably doesn't know exists and they survive just fine. Just go with it.
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. |
By the end of the semester the academics seemed for the most part to be a joke. Classes took place once a week for two hours a piece. There was no homework assigned and all grades were completely based on one or two tests. The students in the classes were very unconcentrated, to them it seemed ok to talk and text and do whatever else they wanted to do whenever they wanted to. Teachers did not have high expectations from their students, and some of the teachers on finding out that we were Americans had even lower expectations as far as our levels of french, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program really needs to work with communication between staff and students. There were too many times that we did not receive emails that were supposedly sent to us. There is no communication between the international office and the housing department of the school and there were many issues that came up with that including making it so that we could not get our housing deposits back before leaving. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
We had to buy everything to settle in cookware, sheets, blankets, towels, pillows absolutely everything. Also for some reason of the five americans on the program they put four of us right next to eachother making it harder to branch out and meet new people. Also very few natives lived on campus and it was making it more difficult to meet them. Finally we were also living in a ghetto area and it was dangerous to walk alone or in small groups at night and the busses stopped running at eight. |
| * Food: |
get fresh fruit and veggies at the markets |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
HIKING go hiking! It is amazing to be on top of a mountain above the clouds to watch the sunrise. Also if you ever have the opportunity to attend a sunday meal at a locals house do it. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
There was a healthcare center on campus. But the city is not incredibly safe. On reunion it has one of the highest crime rates, but if your careful you should be okay. The biggest problems that we came accross were the large numbers of drunk males that thought it was okay to talk, touch and otherwise interact with you. |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | We received a stipend of about 280 euros each month for food and personal expenses and that was fine to live on. There is a market every wednesday and sunday with fresh fruits and vegetables for good prices and that is one of the best places to buy your food. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Plan to spend alot in the first week you are there. Immediately upon arrival you must pay a 240 euro housing deposit, and then you must buy everything that you need for your room (sheets, pillows, etc) |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Over 100 level |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
All of the classes we attended were taught in French. One of the classes taught specifically for foreign students was French as a foreign language which ended up being a complete joke and waste of time teaching us nothing. Around the island it was necessary to speak French as english was not incredibly common. |
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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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? | For this program you must be flexible and willing to adapt. If class gets cancelled when you get there go with it. If the teacher doesn't show up two weeks in a row go with it. |
