Stress Past Review
By A student (Kenyon College) - abroad from 08/27/2018 to 12/21/2018 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Yaoundé
I learned a lot about myself and about global and economic relations
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. |
I only liked my Director (Ariane) as a professor. I didn’t like my history professor because he was very condescending and he didn’t act like a professor, ie he would try to rewrite my French essays instead of simply correct them because he thought my French wasn’t natural enough. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Program run very well |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I liked my host mother but not my host sister or father. They didn’t seem to like me either. Not a good match. |
| * Food: |
My many choices because there’s not much diversity in the city |
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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? |
It was very easy to access healthcare, but I had really bad anxiety about my health, so taking the medicines in Yaoundé (just imported from france) made me more anxious because nothing felt familiar to me. I wish I could’ve talked to a therapist while I was there. |
| * Safety: |
I never felt like I could go out alone, no matter what time of day, and not be harassed or followed. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I was too anxious to enjoy anything |
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) |
Everything was very cheap but I ended up spending a lot of money on healthcare |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Give yourself a budget and only spend that budget money |
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? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I’ve taken the highest levels available at Kenyon since Freshman Year |
| 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? | Talk as much as you can with actual language speakers because the other people on the program and you aren’t fluent, so when you only speak in the target language with each other, you start to make up your own very flawed version of 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?
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? | 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 didn’t need to worry so much, I just needed a therapist |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
