Culture experience like never before Past Review

By (Elizabethtown College) - abroad from 05/26/2018 to 07/27/2018 with

Study Abroad Programs in Argentina

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Learned about culture there and how different it is here and helped e to compare the two countries

Review Photos

Study Abroad Programs in Argentina Photo Study Abroad Programs in Argentina Photo

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.

All the profesors were very helpful and really wanted us to learn. I think they really made a the classes a good experience

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

They did not tell us about the heater for a week and we went right in the middle of winter and our room was freezing. My roommate almost went out and bought another blanket we were so cold. Said she only had 2 kids when she really had 4. The wifi did not work so I could not even call and talk to my parents on the phone some of the time. They had a maid come two days a week but would not change our sheets everyweek like they said they would. The mom would forget what we told her all the time and we would have to have the same conversations about when we were leaving to go home or when we were going on our weekend trips all the time. The kids did not seem interested in us nor want to talk to us at all most of the time and when on the rare occasion they showed some interest they would ask us the same questions they asked us the last time they showed interest in us and one time the daughter said to her mom right in front of my roommate and my face that we did not understand and they is why she does not want to talk to us. We could not do anything outside of our room and were not ever invited to do anything with the family other than eat dinner which we ate by ourselves in our room a few times too.

* Food:

the food is terrible- I have fotos, not a balanced diet almost no meat, reheated pasta with milk and hot dogs. Microwave food a lot of times. We did not even know what some of the food was, very little variety, we ate in our room by ourselves. They ate different food than us sometimes. The mom only put out breakfast when the kids had school otherwise we had to get it ourselves (which is fine but just shows she didnt care that much about us)

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

With the help of Raul and Rodrigo I was able to learn a lot about the culture as well as my professors

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

I would not go to argentina. I am glad I went but I would not want to do it again

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)

Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Pack lunch saves so much money

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

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Intermediate
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? Advanced
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? Spanish Grammar 315
How many hours per day did you use the language?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • Host Family
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? 0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Activities we went on
  • Profesors
  • my roommate was awesome
* What could be improved?
  • host family food
  • host family relationship
  • host family sharing their culture with us
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? To tell the director about problems with the host family even if they are small issues

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 Academic or Linguist
You went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you!