China: Different and Insightful Past Review
By Dominick R (Biology, General., The University of Texas at Austin) for
SIT Study Abroad: China - Community Health and Traditional Chinese Medicine (Summer)
Gained greater insight and respect for Chinese culture.
Personal Information
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Strength: Gave a deep and insightful look into the Chinese culture. Traditional Chinese Medicine lectures were done by actual TCM practitioners. First hand experience was gained practicing Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques. Weaknesses: Sometimes there was a bit of language barrier with our instructors since they primarily spoke Chinese and English was their second language. |
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
|
* Food: |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
* Safety: |
The main way to stay safe, at least in my programs case, was to stay in groups and not walk alone at night. |
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
|
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) |
|
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | The program bought a lot of books for us that were included in our overall program tuition, we didn't really end up using these books. |
Language
* Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
Language acquisition improvement? |
I was able to practice the language with my class mates along with everyday interactions with the locals. |
Other Program Information
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I think any pre-med student would benefit greatly from this program. Also any students just interested in learning about a new culture. |