Great Hands on Study Abroad May 10, 2023
By August T (Environmental Science, University of Montana-Missoula) - abroad from 02/01/2023 to 04/26/2023 with
Round River Conservation Studies - Botswana Program
I gained resume builders, lessons about life, and cultural knowledge.
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. |
Round River does a great job making a study abroad experience that is more than classes. Every day will be filled with work that is applicable to future jobs and you will grow as a person. You will be doing academic work every day but it will not feel that way. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The instructors do a good job preparing the program and making it go as smoothly as possible. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
At the end you can say you slept in a tent for 84 days! |
| * Food: |
When you go out to eat the food is amazing. When you are cooking for yourself get creative it makes the program so much better. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Focused on the culture and all classes were related to the area we are in. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
The instructors have medical training and Round River can contact 24 hour doctors. |
| * Safety: |
Very safe country and we did not make any unsafe decisions regarding wildlife |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
This was what I wanted out of my study abroad and I felt supported the whole time. |
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) |
If you wanted to you could spend no money during the whole program. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | less than $50 a week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I do not. |
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 wish we front-loaded the Setswana classes so we could use it more as the program happened. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | two years of high school spanish |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Ask Round River for language packet before program starts. |
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? | What adapter you need in Botswana |
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 Avid AdventurerThe wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal. |
