Exhausting and overwhelming, but illuminating, impactful, and real. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

On-site administration of your program

In India, on site administration was not as strong. It was rather disorganized and hard to adjust to the program. South African administrators were fantastic. They were organized and clear about scheduling and assignments. The Brazil administrators were organized but not very understanding of us as students; we were exhausted mentally and physically, but they kept pushing us over the edge with a packed schedule and lots of work.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The homestays were fantastic!

For the most part, food was fine. There were times, however, when we went long periods of time without eating just because of travel schedules. That's rough with a group of 30. Also, I think they should have given us more stipend money for buying ourselves meals when they weren't provided by the program. Oftentimes I found myself spending a lot of my personal money on food, which was no fair considering the tuition cost was supposed to cover three meals each day.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt as integrated as I could have, mostly thanks to the generosity and warmth of my host families.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Luckily I never had any health issues, but I had friends who did and they felt under-cared for. I think that was because our fellow was not the most mature person when it came to attending to each of our needs. I got the typhoid vaccine for the program.

In India, I didn't feel safe a lot of the time. Due to disorganized scheduling, I found myself needing to take rickshaws and trains home alone a lot of the time, which is not safe as a foreign woman in Delhi. In South Africa, I didn't feel safe walking home alone, but still had to. I felt safest in Brazil.

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

For the most part it was easy, except for when they gave us small amounts of stipend money for meals.

Select all that apply

• Host Family
• Hotel
• Hostel

Select all that apply

• Americans
• International Students
• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Americans

• New friends
• Host families
• Free time exploring each country

• Class assignments (they were monotonous)
• Safety
• Picking a responsible and competent fellow

The Avid Adventurer