At least I learned a lot Past Review
By A student (Brandeis University) - abroad from 02/03/2019 to 05/18/2019 with
SIT Study Abroad: Jordan - Refugees, Health, and Humanitarian Action
Learning about refugees while in Jordan, which has such a unique relationship to so many different refugees, was priceless.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I learned a lot about refugees and humanitarian action, but I would not describe the coursework as being academically rigorous. My semester was not very academically intense, but I was able to learn without stressing about grades. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I did not love my host family experience, however I was always kept safe and learned a little about Jordanian culture through my time with the family. |
| * Food: |
This is easily what I miss most about Jordan - between 50 cent falafel, 1 dollar shawarma, and all kinds of delicious meals, the food in Jordan was fantastic. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The SIT program doesn't allow much opportunity to meet Jordanian students. Depending on individual host families, this might be an area that they can help with, although my host family did not. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not personally have an experience with this, but the experiences I heard about sufficiently addressed issues. |
| * Safety: |
It's disappointing that this program enforces a 10 pm curfew, because Amman is incredibly safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
This program gave us a stipend of 50 JOD/week which I had not been expecting and made budgeting very easy. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Learn how to get to where you need to go so you can take taxis frequently! |
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 |
Outside of our 2 Arabic classes a week, I feel like there was little encouragement to practice Arabic. |
| 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? | 4 semesters |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? | 0 |
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 am much more informed on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and I have a deeper understanding of the work done by many humanitarian organizations. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
