A semester of exploring, learning, and growth Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The classes on this program were super interesting, and not too difficult. The topics we read about and discussed were relevant to what we were learning, and we saw direct examples of what we were learning in class when we went on site visits and heard from guest speakers. The program requires a lot from you, but it’s super rewarding and I learned more from this semester than any other semester of college.

On-site administration of your program

The country teams in each country were amazing. They have contacts all across the country in many different fields and their knowledge of the program is immense. They were a great resource for anything, from guest speakers to research projects to just being a great person to talk to. We also had the BEST program director, who was with us in our launch city and then came to meet us and travel with us a couple of times throughout the program. He was an amazing director and was super interesting to talk to as well, and incredibly kind. In addition, on my program we were supposed to go to Bolivia but there was a coup, so the country team in Morocco and Bolivia had to scramble to change the program. We stayed an extra two weeks in Morocco, and the country team there built a brand new program in less than a week, and it was super rewarding and interesting. The Bolivia team had to completely scratch their programming when we ended up going to Peru instead, and they did an incredible job of finding guest speakers and site visits for us to do in a country they were not used to working in. That situation really proved just how good the program administration is - country coordinators, traveling faculty, and administrators.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

We lived in one homestay in each country, and the rest was mostly hotels. You room with everyone on the program at least once, even if it’s in a room with more people, and it’s a really cool experience. You get to know people very very well.

The food on this program was incredible. We always had enough to eat, and the food was an amazing way to learn about each culture. In some of the homestays, it was a bit difficult because the cultures emphasize eating more than I was used to, but our fellow did a great job of helping us with that and giving us some strategies to avoid the stress surrounding overeating.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

We had survival language classes in each country, which was super cool. While it’s not the same as living in one place for four months, the country teams do a good job of trying to show you the local culture. I think one great thing was the weekend travel we did to learn more about the cultures. We went to beautiful cities, old palaces, a national park, and some other cool locations and learned more about the countries we were in. The program also builds in some guest speakers and site visits that aren’t exactly related to climate change but they just give you a sense of the country you’re living in, which was amazing.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

No complaints here! I got sick once and I was able to talk to the health care provider on the phone, and they were great.

The country teams did a great job of orienting us to the countries and giving us safety tips right when we got there. I never felt unsafe on the program. For fall break, I ended up traveling alone and even then I didn’t really feel unsafe. The traveling faculty does a great job of making sure we are all making the right decisions when it comes to safety, and they are a great resource if you ever have any issues.

(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 in each country. It was definitely enough, or even too much in Vietnam, just enough in Morocco, but not as good in Peru. Budgeting definitely changed as the exchange rates changed. Planning is important on this front.

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

We had survival language in each country. The lessons were pretty good, and I definitely had chances to use the language in all countries. It was definitely hard because a lot of people in these countries don't speak English, but the survival language teachers were good. Knowing French (Morocco) and Spanish (Peru) were helpful for those students that had that knowledge.

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• Host Family
• Hotel

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• Host Family
• Other

Select all that apply

• Other

• Travel
• Discussion/analytical thinking
• Group dynamic

• Food
• Opportunities to interact with locals

The Avid Adventurer