Challenging the Self: Not Always Rewarding, But Worthwhile Past Review
By A student (Middlebury College) - abroad from 09/06/2018 to 12/19/2018 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Bordeaux
Language improvement. One incredible French friend and several friends from the program. A better understanding of wine. Self-confidence.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Université Bordeaux Montaigne is not a particularly rigorous institution. My education was largely in developing language skills rather than skills needed or useful to my major. |
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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? |
I emphasized on the pre-departure housing survey that I would like to live with a family with kids/teens, but did not. |
| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Got very sick with a cold partway through and managed to take care of myself alright. |
| * Safety: |
Felt fine until the gilet jaune protests began. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
But I would have liked to live with a different host family and I would not have taken history classes - those were the two elements that caused me the most stress. |
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? | ~30 euros on a normal week |
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? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | A 300-level course at Middlebury College |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Yes!! Listen to music in the language as much as possible. Start finding music before you leave and continue to add to it while you're there - you'll be more motivated to listen to it if you have a variety. Same thing with TV shows and movies. Also try to journal in the language. There's no better way to find words/phrases that you don't know, because when you're writing you have the opportunity to look them up. |
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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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
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? | Most of the time I would not be having fun or enjoying myself. There were certainly moments, but the majority of the time is like a normal school semester, but with more stress and uncertainty due to the language. Like I mentioned earlier, I also would have liked to know that my classes would not be the stereotypical French style of one exam at the end of the semester. Finally, I was never told that even if some of our classes had January exams, Middlebury would make sure they were scheduled in December. Because I saw that the program was slated to go through January, my family and I made plans long in advance. When I arrived and was told that I would be done in December, I had to change my plane ticket, at great personal expense. PLEASE be explicit about this!! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Histoire comtemporaine |
| Course Department: | Histoire |
| Instructor: | Nicolas Champ |
| Instruction Language: | French |
| Comments: | M. Champ is obviously very knowledgeable, but his demeanor is extremely severe and frightening to a foreign language student. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No |
