Fun because I made it fun September 15, 2024
By Tula C (Psycholodgy, Sarah Lawrence College) - abroad from 02/01/2024 to 05/31/2024 with
Middlebury Language Schools: Italian Language School
I definitely learned a lot, mostly from my personal travel. It was definitely worthwhile and I am so grateful to have given this opportunity.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I loved my language teacher and that class but everything else felt pretty unhelpful and frustrating because a lot of the time it felt like I was putting more effort into making the class valuable then my teachers. There also wasn't very good resources considering how much money it was. |
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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 housing was really far from the central city and I had to end up paying a lot of money to get a pass that wasn't covered by the school and I wasn't informed would be a necessary expense. They also attempted to not give me back my security deposit and I had to get multiple separate parties to even get them to respond to my messages. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
It was very hard to integrate yourself because the culture was very separate from the study abroad students and the program did only 2 trips where there was a chance to explore other cultural experiences. |
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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
I loved being in Italy but I think Florence isn't the easiest place to be a foreign exchange student because of the sheer number of other exchange students there, I found it very hard to get a feel for local culture and experience as well as improve my language skills because almost everyone I met and was open to talking was American or spoke english. Rightfully so I think a lot of locals feel fed up with how overtaken the city is with international students who are disrespectful of the local environment. I also found the Middlebury program frustrating. I loved my language teacher Eliza but my other classes felt just like fluff and besides that it really felt as though we were left in the dark when it came to most everything else. For the amount of money I was paying I expected more trips and guided experiences but there was almost none of that and sometimes I wondered where exactly my money was going. I will say Patrizia was incredibly helpful and so sweet. |
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) |
It was do-able but definitely took a lot of planning and cuts on my end to make sure I wasn't spending extra. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | about $100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Make sure you plan for committing expenses if you live far away, fly with cheapflights.com if you wanna travel, and use Monzo as your credit card because it breaks down all your expenses really clearly and allows you to see what you have spent money on. |
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? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | intermediate spanish class |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | make your friends have allotted times in the day where you only speak the language. |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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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? | I wish I knew more about Florences social climate before attending. If I had known how populated with study abroad students it was I think I would have been more prepped. |
