Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

I was a fan Past Review

By (Middlebury College) - abroad from 02/14/2019 to 06/01/2019 with

Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Kunming

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
It was very worthwhile

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

All of the administrators are very helpful.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

I had a lot of fun there

Finances

* 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)

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

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? Don't spend a lot of time with the other Americans at the school. Spend time with your roommate or if you don't like your roommate (like me) then try to become friends with other people's roommates and if they invite you to something, regardless of if you really are interested or not, might as well go because then you can make friends.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Hotel
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
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?
  • People
  • City
  • Food
* What could be improved?
  • hard
  • to
  • say
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? It was cool enough that now I'm super bummed to be back at midd

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 Blazer
Craving 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.'

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Yunnan Studies
Course Department:
Instructor: Mo
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: It was an interesting and fairly comprehensive introduction to the Yunnan province
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Classical Chinese 2
Course Department:
Instructor: Zhang
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: Discussions were interesting and we did a decent amount of reading outside of the textbook
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Ethnic Minorities of Yunnan
Course Department:
Instructor: Wu
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: A very neat course, taught by a professor from one of the local universities. It gives an in-depth introduction to the ethnic minorities of Yunnan and the problems that they face in a rapidly-developing country. Would recommend
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

One on one - wild mushrooms of Yunnan
Course Department:
Instructor: Cui and Liu
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: This one is on me. The topic I chose was not very clear, and because we choose the direction of study in the one on one courses it ended up being a bit difficult to find material to look at. It was also the dry season, so there were no mushroom markets to go to or mushroom collectors to interview. Some neat material was provided by professor Liu about Lingzhi throughout Chinese history, but it was not enough material to study for an entire semester.
Credit Transfer Issues: