Invading Canada: U.S. style Past Review
By Prix B (History And Political Science, Stephen F. Austin State University) for
Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA): Traveling - Explore Canada
The experience was worthwhile. I have a better understanding of how the Canadian Government operates. I also learned a little bit of french in the process.
Personal Information
| 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 teaching methods was more hands on and direct versus being in a classroom setting. I learned alot more about the Canadian views of the U.S. and the rest of the world. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The accessobility went smooth for such a large group especially when we had to use the public transportation. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
In Montreal we pretty much were housed in a shady area, aka the "red light district" is what I called it; however, I did not feel as if I was unsafe. In Ottawa, the housing was much better as well as the location was within walking distance of the Parliament, Supreme Court, etc... |
| * Food: |
If you have special accommodations tell the professors before. Sometimes it can be hard to accommodate everyone, which is why its probably not a good idea for the entire group to eat at one place, but rather let everyone find food on their own and meet back up at a designated time. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We actually got to hang out with students from the University of Montreal and established future contacts with them. We did the same thing with the students from the University of Ottawa, we sat down and had a "student only" dinner with the students from Ottawa and got to know them more as well as learned alot about the Canadian culture that we would have never learned in a classroom setting. Also most students were not originally from Canada and it was pretty cool to hear about their native countries. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
None. |
| 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? | The food prices are identical to those in the US, I would say I spent about $10 or less per day on food and personal expenses. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Its better to set aside emergency money in case you forget to pack something such as batteries or whatever. Also depending on the person you can set a budget for meals like if you go into a restaurant you can say " I will not spend no more than $5 on a meal", but at the same time it can be problematic if everyone in your group decides to each at this one place, where most of the food costs a minimum of $8. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
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| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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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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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? | Look at the broad prospectrum of the program and not just a one sided view of only french or only politics, embrace both sides and further enhance your knowledge in both areas. |
