Switzerland: Its not just about chocolate and cheese! Past Review
By Umme L (International Relations and Affairs., Austin College) for
SIT Study Abroad: Switzerland - International Studies and Multilateral Diplomacy
It was worthwhile because I want to work here in the future, I fell in love with Geneva and I hope I can work for the ICRC or UNHCR one day. I met some amazing people and made lifelong friendships; I have a Swiss family that I plan on visiting sometime again next year; I learned about my capabilities through the experiences I had with my ISP, oh and I fell in love with the Swiss way of life.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload is heavy, but it is the same as the work load at Austin College which was nice; however, the way European professors teach and grade is a lot different and I appreciate the american educational system more now. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The two Academic Directors were great but we had another professor for our Cultural Drop-Off class who was ignorant and did not particularly care about us. He was the only frustrating part of this program and I wish he had actually been interested in teaching us. The assistant to our Academic Directors was working part-time this semester because she just had a baby and wasn't really as involved as she has been in the past, so I felt that if that was different from the past programs. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The program placed us with host families near neighboring towns in Geneva. I lived in Nyon and it was perfect. My host family was the best family I could have asked for and I learned so much from them. They treated me as if I was a member of their family and I really miss them ! My french drastically improved and I was able to get a "real" Swiss immersion experience. The home stay was the best part of this program. |
| * Food: |
You can decide what you eat for lunch because the program gives you a stipend. But you eat breakfast and dinner with your home stay. My host mom knew how to cook really well so I got to eat traditional & delicous swiss and italian food everyday. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We went to Paris and Brussels for a week to attend lectures which was a nice break. Our program ended in Croatia and the program had special events like thanksgiving dinner, fondue at a mountain top etc. I made day trips on the weekends in Switzerland which was nice because each city is different and I got exposed to a lot of different cultural aspects. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Health insurance came with the program, if you had to see the doctor you would pay them with your own money, keep the receipt and the program reimbursed you. They accommodated to every one's needs and the Academic Directors were really nice and helpful. |
| 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? | We got three stipends which totaled to about 1100 to 1200 francs (it was was lunch) ---but I didn't spend all of it on food, I usually ate a cheap lunches so I could use the rest of the money for traveling. The program tells you to bring about $2000 to $3000 dollars with you but it depends on how much you're planning on traveling on your own. I spend $800 of my own money while at this program. If you budget correctly, you can spend less than 40 francs on food per week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | It all depends on how much you're planning on traveling, Switzerland is really expensive so be mindful of that because the dollar isn't worth as much. so that was difficult, I just had a budget. I didn't travel as much because this program is rigorous educationally, but I did go to Barcelona for a weekend, spend an extra weekend in Paris, and Spend a weekend in Mulhouse France, as well as some day trips around Switzerland. so just budget and use the stipend they give you wisely and you will be good. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | FR 202 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I was at a home stay and my host mom only knew french, so I spoke french at home everyday. Whenever I would get stuck my host dad would help me out since he knew English. We also had intensive french classes and my friends and I spoke to each other in French to get more practice. |
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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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | This program is what you make of it. Some students didn't like it because they thought it was too broad, some students came here so they could travel everywhere and you can't have that mindset for this particular program. Its rigorous and the Academic Directors expect a lot out of you. So this isn't a program to have a break from your college and to have fun/party it just isn't sorry!. But if you do want to learn, if you want to meet people who work at the UN, and get exposure to that this program is perfect. For your independent study project you get to interview people that can help you with your research and I had the opportunity to go to the Permanent mission of Pakistan and interview the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN! So it is possible to interview ambassadors, meet the President of the Geneva School of Diplomacy and just learn about Switzerland. |
