Life changing and life saving Past Review
By Julie D (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS., St. Mary's College of Maryland) - abroad from 01/19/2013 to 05/13/2013 with
St. Mary's College of Maryland: Traveling - Gambia Field Study Program
I gained everything. Yes.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The overall experience was the best thing I could have ever asked for. I only wish there was more freedom for the students and encouragement to spend time hanging out with locals. I also wish the program, especially the language classes, were a little more organized. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The professor with us was only critical and mean, never helpful. The staff at Happy Camp was wonderful, helpful, and supportive. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Was good, but almost too good. It's easy to only stay in Happy Camp and miss out on better experiences. |
| * Food: |
The Gambian food was okay, but the caterer Americanized things far too much. By the end I was sick of eating the food to the point that I hardly ate. The food would have been much better if it was cooked in a traditional Gambian fashion. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
After hanging out with one of the locals for months, I felt very integrated into the culture. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
The local healthcare was not the best, but the staff was always supportive in seeing that students were well cared after and got to the doctors okay. |
| * Safety: |
As a woman I felt slightly less safe than the men, but overall I had no fear of violent crime. |
| 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? | Maybe 10 dollars a week, MAYBE |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Never take town trips. Try to find cheap restaurants and grocery stores. Take advantage of the cheap street food available. |
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 |
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| 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? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | French in high school |
| 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? | Sit down and talk to locals. |
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? | Not sure |
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.' |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Seminar in Math Educatoin |
| Course Department: | Education |
| Instructor: | Sandy Ganzell |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | The teacher knew almost nothing of the subject. Each class we sat and talked about the same things over and over again. The idea of the class and the project was confusing, vague, etc. The premise of the class was morally wrong. We were to come into The Gambia without any experience in the country and begin to hilight negative things with the math education system. In fact, we were to assume that there were deficiencies in the system, when this was not always the case. We were to come in as the "Westerners" and help and fix things instead of learning from the culture. This course disgusted me. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No |
