Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

It was a lonely semester with very little support from local staff. June 22, 2022

By (Anthropology, Middlebury College) - abroad from 02/22/2022 to 06/06/2022 with

SIT Study Abroad: Argentina: People, Environment, and Climate Change in Patagonia and Antarctica

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I learned I am capable of overcoming a lot of adversity.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

It was very rigorous--too rigorous. There was no time to actually explore the culture and connect with the community.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Terrible. They are not equipped to meet student needs, especially mental health needs. Lots of gaslighting.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Terrible. I was emotionally abused by my first host mom. Ultimately, I was made to find an Air BnB on my own and live alone when I specifically chose this program for the family homestay experience.

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Not at all. I was not given the chance.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had a very hard time accessing my academic accommodation for anxiety/depression and dealt with lots of ableist behavior.

* Safety:

Ushuaia is a very safe city.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

It was one of the most difficult few months of my life. The program was unreasonably rigorous, more so than Middlebury. There was very little time or focus on connecting with the host culture and making local friends.

Finances

* 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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? $30

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

The staff was more comfortable in Spanish than in English, so Spanish was very much encouraged.

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? 350
How many hours per day did you use the language?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • N/A
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
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?
  • The landscape was beautiful.
* What could be improved?
  • more mental health resources
  • more transparency upfront about what to expect in terms of day-to-day life
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? That the homestay families are not well-vetted, the workload is unreasonably large, there is very little opportunity to connect with the community and people our age (time constraint and also most people in their 20s go to Buenos Aires to study).

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 Nearly Native or Trail Blazer
Craving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.'

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Socio-Ecological Dynamics and Conservation in Southern Patagonia and Antarctica
Course Department:
Instructor: María Gowland
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: Like all classes for this program, it was hard to follow given that we had a visiting lecturer every class. I would have liked more stability so that it was easier to follow along. The two papers for this class were interesting, however, and allowed us to put the different lecturers in dialogue with one another.
Credit Transfer Issues: No. Using the transfer credit form is straightforward.
Course Name/Rating:

Climate Change and Marine Biology in Southern Patagonia and Antarctica
Course Department:
Instructor: María Gowland
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: There was far less fieldwork than anticipated. The T/F quiz had confusing wording and was therefore not a good test of our knowledge. We often had what felt like "busy work" that the staff used to check off boxes in order to prove they were giving innovative assignments that in reality were redundant and a waste of time (i.e. climate change podcast).
Credit Transfer Issues: No.
Course Name/Rating:

Spanish for the Natural Sciences
Course Department:
Instructor:
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: The professor had no syllabus or plan. It was very disorganized. The class is called "Spanish for the Natural Sciences," and we barely talked about relevant vocabulary for the natural sciences. The final exam was somewhat difficult given that we were not sufficiently prepared in class, so I had to do a lot of self-teaching.
Credit Transfer Issues: No.
Course Name/Rating:

Environmental Research Methods and Ethics
Course Department:
Instructor: María Gowland
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: This class was overall lacking. Statistics is usually a full semester course. Trying to teach statistics in just two classes is not realistic. We had just one big group paper in order to practice research methods and ethics. I think we could have benefitted from smaller, more frequent assignments.
Credit Transfer Issues: No.
Course Name/Rating:

Independent Study Project
Course Department:
Instructor:
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: It was very challenging because I had little guidance. We essentially wrote an entire thesis (50 pages) in 2 weeks. I do not think the expectations were reasonable.
Credit Transfer Issues: No.