Amazing! I'm so glad I studied abroad and I recommend everyone do so too! Past Review
By A student (PSYCHOLOGY., St. Mary's College of Maryland) - abroad from 01/08/2013 to 05/15/2013 with
St. Mary's College of Maryland: Traveling - Gambia Field Study Program
It was absolutely worthwhile! I learned a lot about my values and what I consider to be most important. I gained a lot of perspective and met a lot of amazing people!
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Personally, I did not find my classes at the University of The Gambia very rigorous, but I did find them interesting, most of all because of how different they were from classes I have taken at my home college. The language and culture class that I took, however, I enjoyed very much. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
All of our teachers and the administration was very caring and nice. However we were often not given detailed information about what the activities we were to be a part of would consist of, which sometimes kept us from being prepared. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Our house was extremely comfortable and the solar panels made it so we could easily access the internet and have power most of the time |
| * Food: |
The food we had catered for meals was average, sometimes it was very good and other times it wasn't great. Eating out was a lot of fun, and even if the food wasn't something I was used to it was always an adventure! |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We made friends and had a Gambian family that we could visit and they always made us feel at home. I went to the market often, where I was treated as a tourist but still learned a lot and met a lot of great people |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I was sick one day-we contacted the head of our program and she arranged for a driver to take me to a clinic to get tested for malaria (which I did not have), and afterwards I was taken to another clinic to be diagnosed and given medicine. I had to take malaria medicine the entire time I was abroad, and before I needed to get typhoid and yellow fever vaccinations |
| * Safety: |
I felt very safe in our neighborhood. Everyone was very friendly, and I would go out at night alone to run to the shop and never felt unsafe |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
|
Finances
|
* 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) |
Shopping in the markets was extremely cheap! Dinner was provided during the week and we received a stipend for weekend meals and lunches, so the only money spent out of pocket on food was for snacks |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Bring cash in large bills because the transfer rate is better than with small bills ($50s) |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
|
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
I loved learning Wolof! I used it in my neighborhood and in the markets all the time, which made people realize that I wasn't just a tourist. I also used it during our short trip to Senegal |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| 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? | Spanish 102 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Ask your teachers lots of questions! At first it was hard to learn because Wolof is very different from English, and it is a spoken language while I learn by writing, but putting in effort definitely pays off, and the locals love seeing you speak the language, and will help you learn it too! |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
| 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? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I was informed before hand about the lack of time management Gambians tend to have, but not to the full extent. It was often very frustrating coming from America, where everything is time-sensitive and people always have places to be, to Gambia where time is not the most important thing and is often overlooked |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
