An Adventure in the Balkans: one amazing semester abroad Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

It is not academically rigorous the way Brandeis is, but the program is thought provoking and the topics covered are challenging. The ISP seemed difficult at first, but ended up being one of my favorite parts of the program.

On-site administration of your program

Most of the time things were very well run, and usually when it wasn't it was due to the weather or just the way things run in the Balkans. No big deal. Orli and Nenad are fantastic and have a lot of great connections in the region.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I stayed with a family of 4 right behind the Parliament building in Belgrade. My host mom was probably in her early to mid-60's and i had a brother and 2 sisters, 18,19, and 21. During excursions we stayed in hotels since we were never in one place longer than 4 days. We stayed in hotels in Prishtine, Banja Luka, Sanski Most, Sarajevo, and Palic. During my ISP period I lived in an apartment in a neighborhood called Bistrik with three other people from my program.

Because this program doesn't involve living in a dorm, the food you eat depends a lot on the family you end up with. A lot of traditional food, which was great and when we traveled we tried things unique to whatever city we were in.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

A lot of people joined gyms (I joined a kickbox studio, some people joined a rock climbing gym and someone else joined a rugby team). The program also arranges meetings with local youth organizations and faculties in each city we go to which was a great way to meet people.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Pharmacies are located all over in major cities and there is usually a pharmacist that speaks English.

Yes! I felt safe everywhere I was, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. I felt safe at all times of the day, no matter who I was with. This region has such a bad reputation because of the violence of the 90's but everyone I interacted with was friendly and very very helpful. They wanted to talk to us tell us their stories and make sure we knew where we were going. The US Embassy always sent out these blasts around the elections in Belgrade and there really wasn't a problem at all. People do protest, but they're political not violent and I never felt uncomfortable or unsafe at all.

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

The program gives you a stipend for transportation and food, plus a great stipend for the ISP to cover transportation, food, housing, and other expenses. Most of the money I spent that was mine was on alcohol and gifts and that was really minimal. Don't worry about money here, food and drinks are really inexpensive and the program covers a lot. The cost of living in the Balkans is also really low compared to Boston or Western Europe.

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

One of the reasons for having a homestay is to use the language on a daily basis. There was constant encouragement to interact with locals and to speak in the local language, and they also gave us a lot of opportunity to do it.

Select all that apply

• Host Family
• Apartment
• Hostel

Select all that apply

• Americans
• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Americans

• the ISP
• getting to meet with with and learn from different people all over the region
• the "playdates" or meeting we had with local youth groups in each city

• the program starts off a little slow with a review of the history of the region
• Occassionally the structure is a little weird and there is not quite enough guidance from the staff
• for us, the group dynamic was a little rough

The Academic or Linguist