Past Review
By Kathleen L (Comparative Literature and Chinese, SUNY - Binghamton) for
National Taiwan University: Taipei - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
It was very worthwhile. I have improved my language skills, which was my entire goal. I also learned a lot about how different the world can be and how people are really all the same as much as they want to believe that culture makes them inherently different.
Personal Information
| The term and year this program took place: | Fall 2009 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I think I've written enough above. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The advisers were very approachable and helpful in person, but sometimes the e-mails were lacking in clarity. A little more assistance in course selection would have been welcome. I didn't make much use of them, so I can't say very much. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
It was enormous with monastic bedrooms and thin walls. It has no heating, so was both moist and freezing during the winter months. It was rife with rules about visitors and quiet hours. There really was no comfortable common room and the kitchen was negligible. It was inexpensive, but were I to stay another semester, I would find alternate housing. <br /><br /> See housing description. |
| * Food: |
Like I said, the food was tasty, but it got really old eating out three times a day. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Travel was fun since the country has so many geological wonders. I pretty much arranged my own travel. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Be careful. Traffic is a monster and people aren't watching where they're going. |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I really don't know. It varied week to week. I think I spent about $50 a week on average, but with traveling it often got bumped up significantly. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | For the dormitory, you have to pay in cash most likely and it's hard to find places that take credit cards. The food is usually very cheap and transportation is as well. Unless you're planning on buying a lot of electronics and clothing, it's not an expensive trip to make. |
Language
| Language acquisition improvement? |
No. My responses should be adequate in their length and depth. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Join a club. Try to practice speaking as much as possible. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Chinese level 3 |
| Course Department: | N/A |
| Instructor: | Youping Gao |
| Instruction Language: | Chinese |
| Comments: | This course was perfectly tailored to students of our age bracket. We spoke only Chinese in class (except for the Korean and French students, who decided that this rule was not applicable to them) and discussed highly relevant topics, practically abandoning the text book all together, which was fine by me. We learned grammatical structures and new vocabulary on a daily basis. The tests were rigorous and the homework sporadic, but the course was adequately challenging. The teacher was a warm-hearted woman close to our age and at the end of the semester, she took us all out for tea. She was enthusiastic and well-informed. Due to the small size of the class, I was able to participate in class quite a bit. Furthermore, since all students were non-native speakers, I was a lot more comfortable than in my home university. The pressure was a lot less than in my prior Chinese classes. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Not available. |
