Most comfort-zone pushing, exhilarating, terrifying, rewarding experience. Past Review
By Melissa Loseff (Trinity University) - abroad from 08/29/2017 to 12/11/2017 with
SIT Study Abroad: Argentina - Social Movements and Human Rights
YES SO WORTHWHILE. Gained friends, stories, the ability to really just go for it and do so much out of my comfort zone, how to deal with myself, how to deal with awkward situations. I learned equally about me as an individual as I learned in terms of academic content and language development. Such a rewarding experience, I think everyone should go abroad if given the choice.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Great balance of experiential learning and learning in the classroom, awesome lectures and AMAZING guest speakers. Really learned so much from this experience from the academics, both in terms of language improvement and content. There is a big research paper that takes up the last month, and it is an awesome test of time management and how to deal with independence. A GREAT project, requires lots of effort but you will be so proud when you finish. Only downside to academics is that sometimes they failed to present both sides of a given argument, and we only learned about a very biased, one perspective story. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
AMAZING. Influential, energetic, inspiring, focused, smart, helpful, organized, friendly. Everything you could want in a administration staff. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was happy in my host family, but not everyone was. They were welcoming and I felt comfortable with them and very content, but they never wanted to do activities with me. |
| * Food: |
Food was great. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The academic directors did a great job of pushing us to really feel integrated in the cultural. I joined a track team and interacted often with my neighbors and local shop owners that I frequented, which also contributed to integration. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had strep throat but got it while traveling away from the program during one of our breaks, but the process was very easy and straightforward and didn't cost much, and worked very well. Healthcare was easy to use even for foreigners, much easier than in the US. |
| * Safety: |
Never felt unsafe in normal situations, obviously be careful at night and when you're alone in dark places. Don't have your phone out/flash anything of value, but overall its a very safe city. Never saw any serous crime, even in the so-called "dangerous areas" of the city. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Program was phenomenal in every way. Academics were awesome, country/city was awesome and allowed for traveling but also had so many of the benefits that come with a big city, people on the program were great, academic directors brought so much to the table, I felt so included and welcomed in my host family, I was able to join a running group and gain many local friends in that way. Only downfall to the program I think is that its kinda up to you to go out there and engage with locals your own age. Plenty of opportunities with the program to connect with individuals older and younger than the "university age" but not too many for people in college. |
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) |
Easy because our program paid for meals. That being said, I saved up quite a lot for the program but didn't spend anywhere near what I thought I would. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Unsure seeing as food is covered by the program, but very minimal. My main expenses were traveling outside of the program. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I would say try to splurge only on the big things, like traveling and fun events, and save everywhere else you can- ie, don't buy that extra drink/dessert for lunch unless the place is known for that dessert or something, don't buy the most expensive drink when you're at a bar, don't make small, dumb purchases, instead use your money for those big things. |
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 |
We were really pressed to never use english, even when just interacting between us. |
| 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 had lived in Ecuador for a year when I was 12 so I had completed school there in 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? | USE THE LANGUAGE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! It is truly the only way to get better. I would go out of my way to talk to people in the park, or go up to my professor after class, or start a discussion with the bus driver just to ensure I was using the language. In BA, the are also language socials which are great because you can go to bars and converse with the locals which forces you to speak. I also had a long quizlet of vocab words I would write down from class or interactions with locals and I would enter those in every week. The intention was to practice them after I entered them (which I never did), but now I have a huge quizlet of Argentine words which is awesome. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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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? | You need to take every opportunity as it is presented to you, you're only there for 4 months so really take advantage! I wish I hadn't waited so long to join a running group, hadn't waited so long to talk to that given person etc. |
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 BlazerCraving 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.' |
