Interesting, Scary, Exciting, Disappointing, Worth it! Past Review
By Bethany P (Music, Psychology, Berea College) - abroad from 05/24/2013 to 06/27/2013 with
KIIS: Salzburg - Experience Salzburg (Summer)
I learned a lot about European culture and lifestyle. I learned a lot about Mozart and music history (which is my major). I learned some German phrases and how to travel a little bit in Europe. I gained a new appreciation for music in general. I learned how to be more independent.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The two classes I had were very excellent. I met a wonderful professor from EKU, as well as our own Dr. Bolster. I wish that we would've had more activities outside of the classroom for our entire group to participate in. It felt that we were just let out on our own in the city with very little direction. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program could have been a lot more organized, but on the whole I feel like I learned a lot. I felt like the staff could have been more involved with us and could have gotten us more engaged outside the classroom. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Some of the staff were rude to us simply because we were American. (We lived in a youth hostel). But the facilities were nice and we were fed well. |
| * Food: |
Austria has a lot of rich foods. I very much enjoyed traditional Austrian food. However, the only cheap food was fried food and the food going out to eat that was good was very expensive. We had to eat out for dinner every night as part of our program and this was sort of a problem for me because lots of fried food makes me sick. I actually lost weight during this program. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Austrians could speak English very well. Unfortunately the only exposure we had with locals our age were at clubs, or on the street in passing. Some of them treated us poorly because we were American, but most were friendly and helpful. I just felt like we didn't become friends with them. They just kind of helped us get around and of course they were in the clubs we went to. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Salzburg, Austria is a very safe and beautiful city! I lived there for five and a half weeks and I never really saw a bad part of the city. I felt very safe everywhere I went, and I even started riding the buses by myself towards the last week. With that in mind, I also traveled to Prague in the Czech Republic, Venice in Italy, and Vienna, the Austrian capitol. Each of these cities had some sort of potential danger. My advice would be to never go anywhere by yourself!! Stay in groups at all times, and always keep your purse or other personal items on you at all times and be aware of your surroundings. I would not advise going to a city like Paris with other students who have never traveled abroad before. Also, don't go to dangerous clubs. |
| 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) |
I brought almost 2,000 of my own spending money; I spent about 1,300. It was sort of difficult because we had to eat out every night, but I never worried that I was going to run out, I just couldn't go crazy on spending. I had enough for everything I needed, and I even had money to travel every weekend and buy souvenirs at the end. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | About 200 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you're planning to go abroad, start saving now! If you have a personal savings account that you haven't really used, dip into it. I would also say do not spend your money on stupid things while abroad if you don't have that much to bring. Make sure your food is taken care of first. With that being said, don't buy the most expensive thing on the menu every night! |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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? | 0 |
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? | That it was going to rain for two weeks straight! That I wouldn't learn much language or meet many locals |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
