Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Again, it was all experiential learning which was really great, but only if that's what you're expecting. A lot of students came in expecting rigorous academics like they were used to from American universities, and it was definitely a different pace and intensity. But I really enjoyed going out in the field and actually practicing research techniques as opposed to sitting in a classroom and talking about them.

On-site administration of your program

The academic director was an interim head, and had never run the program before. He was really well intentioned and had worked with the program as a lecturer, but as a result not everything ran as smoothly as hoped. But he spoke English, had been living and working in the country for many years, and was really accessible on a personal as well as academic level.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Every student was assigned a host family. Living arrangements varied, but my family (father, mother, three small children) lived in a small house about a 20 minute walk from school with limited electricity, water from a spigot out back, a flushing toilet, and a bucket shower. <br /><br />

Lots and lots of rice. But that comes with the country. Our host families provided breakfast and dinner, and we ate lunch at school. The program provided pretty good meals.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

When we were in Ft. Dauphin, there was not a lot of free time outside classes. We were in school all day, then would have limited time in the afternoon before we would have to be home with our families. However, we did a lot of traveling which was really fun and once we were on our independent study projects we were free to kind of keep our own hours, which was really liberating. We also went to an awesome music festival and did a lot of traveling the last week of the program, as a "vacation".

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Ft. Dauphin was pretty safe - I could walk around alone during the day and feel perfectly comfortable in most areas of the town. It was not a good idea to be out at night, especially alone, especially as a white woman. The program did a pretty good job during orientation addressing safety issues and precautions we could take. A couple students were mugged at machete-point the first week we were in Ft. Dauphin, but they were walking on a seedier road and there was a lot of help and support from the community (the students were unharmed, the guys were caught, and their stuff was returned). As for health, prepare to get sick as there are a lot of bugs that we have no immunity to. But the program was also really good about letting us know what was good to eat or not eat, and was really good about getting students to a doctor if something was really bad. The academic director worked in ethnobotany (medicinal plants) so he was good at helping out minor ailments. The healthcare system is a little sketchier than in the states, but healthcare is adequate and will help you out (one girl dislocated her shoulder, and got it set and was fine, for example).

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

My language skills improved more due to the fact that everyone spoke French (and not English) as opposed to specific instruction from the program. Lectures were conducted in French (as the lecturers themselves didn't speak English) but the director almost always communicated in English. Malagasy (the native language in Madagascar) instruction was good at first, then we were kind of left on our own to utilize it and learn more.

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• Host Family

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• Americans