Learning Humility, Resurrection, and the Responsibility of Knowledge in Bolivia Past Review
By Chester J (Anthropology, Trinity University) for
SIT Study Abroad: Bolivia - Multiculturalism, Globalization, and Social Change
Yes, of course it was worthwhile. I gained an increased passion for learning the Spanish language. I gained an understanding of life in that I learned that I cannot and never should stop learning new ways of doing and thinking about things. I gained an appreciation for the amazing hospitality and warmth of the Bolivian people and, more specifically, my host family. I was affirmed in my understanding of the need for community within my life and anyone's life. I was affirmed in my understanding that self-reliance is not the only way to approach life and certainly isn't the most effective way to approach life. I learned anew that there really are loving, kind, caring, and generous families out there who are seeking after G-d. I have come away from this experience with an increased desire to seek out friendship with Spanish-speakers, with the understanding that he/she and I will probably have to put forth more effort than with two native speakers and that there will be some awkward moments, but that the relationship is worth it. I learned anew the import of being able to laugh at oneself. I was affirmed in my current desire to pursue a career in international or cross-cultural Christian missions.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Though I would have preferred a less rigorous reading schedule during the lecture portion of the program, I thought the workload wasn't too much, but was challenging. I thought that the grading system was very fair. I would have preferred a more interactive structure to our lectures. I thought that the Field Studies seminar could have improved structure-wise through more in-depth guidance on assignments and more class discussion. Overall, I felt I learned far more outside of the classroom than inside, which I think was the purpose of the structure of our program. Overall, I had a very good academic experience with SIT. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Okay, to try this again because this ridiculous site didn't save my work... All that stuff was good. My expectations were in the vast majority exceeded. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
All that stuff was good. The few items that I needed to buy in addition to all the stuff I had already paid for through the program and were already provided were minimal. The treatment of my host family couldn't have been more kind, generous, and caring. I love them a lot. |
| * Food: |
The food was very good. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
My most memorable event was our excursion to Brazil in which we visited an MST protest settlement and met the people there who had left everything they had in order to fight for the right to own land. I think it was a powerful experience for the whole group to be able to meet these courageous individuals and families. Most of my more memorable experiences were on vacations with my host family. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I always felt safe everywhere we went and the program did a very good job of creating the safest possible situation in every instance. Yes, there is a lot of street crime in La Paz, but that is mostly at night when people are walking alone. Though I would have preferred more of an emphasis on petty street crime during orientation, I thought that overall the program did a good job of preparing us to be aware of ourselves and our surroundings. Yes, I did get robbed. But that is something that was out of my control. My only advice is that if you're close to home and you start to feel uncomfortable in any sort of situation, simply run home or to a place where there are more people. Don't mess around with your cell phone or anything. Just jet. And most of all, just don't carry your iPod around. When I had food poisoning, I felt I received the very same quality of care that I would have received in the U.S. I felt that it was accessible. The program was very good in that the academic director stopped by that night to see that I was doing well, and then some of my peers later, the day after, as well. I did get the rabies, yellow fever, and some other inoculation before I left. Malaria is a problem in the tropical parts of Bolivia, but we were there only on excursions. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I don't know. It wasn't very much at all. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't spend more than $15 or $20 bucks per night anywhere in Bolivia. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
The Spanish professors Montse and Denise as well as my host family, of course. I was using Spanish everyday including within interactions outside of the classroom or home. Though a significant amount of people with whom I interacted everyday spoke English, I always used Spanish in all of my interactions. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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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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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? | The most helpful thing one can do before going abroad anywhere is learn to maintain an open mind about other ways of thinking about and doing things and not judging people because they're different. As long as one can learn to take others out of the box, act humbly, and invite one's own assumptions to be challenged, they will thrive wherever they go abroad. If one cannot, then one might as well stay at home. If said student can do these things, he/she will benefit greatly from it. Oh, and don't get into the car of someone you don't know, even they do claim to be police. Bolivian police will never, NEVER bother a U.S. citizen. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Spanish |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Montse and Denise |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | I just wanted to be sure that although many of my peers in the program might evaluate Montse very negatively as a professor, I feel that she is an excellent teacher/instructor and was significantly hampered by the negative attitudes of my peers more than anything else throughout the semester and is more than capable to continue being an effective and compassionate professor there in the future. One thing: I would've preferred less worksheets. I think that some of the students, including myself, often felt insulted by fill in the blank type assignments at our college level of academic achievement. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No, not yet. |
