Academic Rigor and Full Immersion Past Review
By Grant Gebetsberger (Tufts University) - abroad from 09/02/2019 to 12/18/2019 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Paris
My experience abroad taught me so much about myself. Being removed from my fellow peers at my home university to get to know new friends in an entirely different linguistic and cultural context forced me to reflect on what makes me who I am - when all my familiar environments are taken away, what is left? This was invaluable. I also learned so much about France and the way that French language allows for expression in certain ways that English does not (and vice versa). I would highly recommend going abroad to Paris!
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. |
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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? |
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| * 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? |
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| * Safety: |
Middlebury gives important safety information entirely in French. While this allows us to be fully immersive, a part of the program I enjoyed and drew from greatly, this impeded my ability to feel safe during orientation week. Even though I speak fluent French, knowing my peers and I were not receiving crucial safety information about our host city in our most familiar language was unnerving to me. That being said, I felt very safe in Paris throughout the semester and knew I could always come to the program for help. I just felt uneasy at the beginning, as if I might have missed important information. |
| 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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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? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Advanced French Literature courses |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
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? |
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 they make you take 5 classes (I only take 4 at my home university, in English!) - taking 5 was not something I was used to, much less while being in a foreign country. |
