It was difficult, but taught me an unbelievable amount about myself and the world. Antananarivo - National Identity and Social Change Past Review
By Hannah S (International/Global Studies., Middlebury College) for
SIT Study Abroad: Reviews from Former Locations
Even though I have been back for almost two months, I still cant really wrap my head around everything that it meant. It was monumental - but not necessarily in a good way. It made me think - maybe too much.
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. |
host institution was basically american |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The academic director on the ground in Madagascar is amazing, as is the support staff. The US SIT staff were less than stellar. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
Its an impoverished country - don't expect a lot of variety |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Majunga was fantastic as were the national parks |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
tana is not very safe - but any other part of the country did feel so. health care was generally better than expected. SIT was great in dealing with sickness. you WILL have stomach issues. lots of vaccines necessary though I had all of them already. |
| 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) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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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? | Madagascar's a hard and bizarre place. It is difficult, you will be tested, nothing will really prepare you for the experience. You must be able to go with the flow. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
National Identity and Social Change |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Various/ academic director |
| Instruction Language: | French/English |
| Comments: | It was not challenging, but very interesting |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Malagasy |
| Course Department: | N/A |
| Instructor: | various |
| Instruction Language: | malagasy/french |
| Comments: | couldnt learn a lot but it was a great intro to the language |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Field Study Seminar |
| Course Department: | N/A |
| Instructor: | various |
| Instruction Language: | english |
| Comments: | helpful but not fascinating |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Independant Study Project |
| Course Department: | N/A |
| Instructor: | various |
| Instruction Language: | french |
| Comments: | fabulous. great opportunity to do individual research |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
| Course Name/Rating: |
French |
| Course Department: | N/A |
| Instructor: | various |
| Instruction Language: | french |
| Comments: | for the most part fabulous - really worked on oral french |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
