Fun and incredible Past Review
By Karina Zyatitsky (Middlebury College) - abroad from 07/21/2018 to 12/15/2018 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Valdivia
Language skills and a lot about the culture. Very worthwhile.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Not as rigorous as Middlebury College, depending on the class you take. Classes offering geological field work are amazing and I would highly recommend it. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program offered a strong support network, but sometimes was a little too overprotective. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I loved my host family and had a great experience connecting with my mom and the family. |
| * Food: |
The food is different from what I normally eat-- a lot of bread and less veggies. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I only took 2 classes at the university, and I felt more would be better to feel integrated. The field work trips really helped me feel integrated. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
N/A |
| * Safety: |
Very safe, I could walk around alone at night |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
The program in Valdivia was perfect for me. I would highly recommend Valdivia for people that want to study abroad. |
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? | $20 or so |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | The dining hall has pretty cheap lunches |
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 |
I only really talked in Spanish and that really helped me feel immersed |
| 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? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I took a 300 language course at Middlebury |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | don't talk in English! |
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? | nothing really-- the journey is the fun part |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Volcanolgy |
| Course Department: | Geology |
| Instructor: | Gabriel Orozco |
| Instruction Language: | spanish |
| Comments: | The field trip of the course was amazing but the main problem of the class was that it was once every 3 weeks for 4 hours, which was a very difficult and unproductive way to learn. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
