Living in China Past Review
By A student (Austin College) - abroad from 02/20/2012 to 06/04/2012 with
SIT Study Abroad: China - Health, Environment, and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Study abroad was definitely worthwhile. I think I grew, matured, and learned more about myself in that short 4 month period.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everyone was very helpful and caring. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I enjoyed that the program split our time in between urban cities and the agricultural countryside. I had the opportunity to live with a family in Kunming, a Bai minority family, and with my fellow American students in a dormitory. All housing experiences were enjoyable. |
| * Food: |
The food in China was fantastic, reasonably priced and very different. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The program allowed quite a bit of freedom. I traveled to another province and had to force myself to communicate and interact with people. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
My first week in China I had food poisoning. The program provided me with medicine and would regularly check on me. |
| * Safety: |
Besides the Chinese driving, I never felt unsafe in Kunming. |
| 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) |
Living within the budget in Kunming was very easy. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | less than $30 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Keep looking at other places, chances are that other shops will have a better bargain. |
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 |
Our professors only used English when we could not understand, otherwise we spoke Chinese. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Advanced Chinese |
| 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? | Study cards are fantastic tools that can help with memorizing all the different Chinese characters. |
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? | I wish I had been more prepared about the difference in living standards that China and America have. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Chinese Culture and History |
| Course Department: | Chinese |
| Instructor: | Lu Yuan |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | It was challenging, yet acceptable and quite enlightening. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
