Rwanda - no one perspective is true Past Review
By Alicia H (International Relations and Affairs., Austin College) for
SIT Study Abroad: Rwanda - Post-Genocide Restoration and Peacebuilding
It was incredibly worthwhile to me. It reminded me how much I love living abroad. It gave me a very nuanced understanding of a specific issue that interests me.
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. |
Workload compared to home university was not that much, but when balancing host family and language it was a challenge. Much more centered on learning for the sake of learning than on meeting teacher's expectations. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Our program was well organized. Our AD was a phd student at cornell so he held a pretty american view of academics, but firmly supported the idea of experiential learning. They were very supportive and available to us to discuss academics, our research and especially any cultural/personal struggles. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
NA |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
All of our excursions were noteable and greatly added to our learning experience |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Safest city I have ever been to |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I only spent my own money prior to and post-program. During the semester our program gave us food and transport stipends and I was able to live frugally and only use that money. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Our program took us to a game park and then we were expected to pay for excursions of which we were not told about before coming. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | none |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Practice with host family. There was not necessarily a need to use the host language everyday, but because I knew I did use it everyday. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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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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