France...Better Than Yo' Pants!! Language, Community & Social Change Past Review
By Courtney K (Political Science And French, Austin College) - abroad from 01/23/2012 to 05/07/2012 with
SIT Study Abroad: Reviews from Former Locations
How to get by in a completely new environment and grow to love it..it's the most worthwhile thing I've done thus far in my life.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | L'institut Catholique |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The academic rigor of the program was not as hard as at Austin College, but hard enough when you are in a completely new environment. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They were great, Isabelle and Julia were always around to help if you needed it. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I loved my host mom and her family and friends, I still feel like I am apart of their family! |
| * Food: |
On excursions we had really good food and the Isabelle and Julia would always give great suggestions on what to eat. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
With my host mom, I probably met more French people in 3 months than I bargained for, but it was the best experience ever! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did get a cold while I was there and they thought I might have lice, and my host mother was wonderful, buying me treatments and making sure I got better ASAP. |
| * Safety: |
There were only a couple times I didn't feel completely safe, there was a terrorist situation in Toulouse while I was there that made all the American students, including myself, extremely nervous. |
| 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) |
Learned how to eat and do things within my means. |
| * 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? | $50.00 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Try and spend your money on experiences rather than just material objects. Buy some souvenirs of course, but try and limit them. |
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 |
From the very first day it was all French all the time. |
| 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? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Advanced |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Try and get all the Americans in your program to buy into using the language on a regular basis, everyday. It's so easy to speak English to your fellow American classmates, but it really doesn't have much benefit when you are trying to learn 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? |
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? | To take advantage of every opportunity to use the language and practice and get better at it. |
