Internship in a German Zoo! Past Review
By A student (Wildlife Conservation, Juniata College) - abroad from 03/02/2015 to 05/29/2015 with
Study Abroad in Germany! Programs and Reviews!
I definitely improved my German, which was great. Also, despite the handwork, it was worthwhile to be working in a German zoo to gain experience in my field and make connections.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Course work was pretty good. If there had been more it would have been too much on top of the internship hours. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Living with a host-mom was great. |
| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
There is basically no opportunity to make friends in this program because it is so small - in most instances the internship location is filled with older adults who aren't exactly interested in hanging out with young interns. That can make the program a little lonely. The cultural integration was great though. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I didn't have any experiences with healthcare in Germany. |
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| 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) |
When you budgeted everything it was easy. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Approximately 70-90€ |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Just watch how much you spend in the leading months up to when you plan to go abroad and put as much as you can to the side. |
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? | 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? | 399 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
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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| 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? |
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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? | That the program size would be so small and that there would be little to no opportunity to make friends there. |
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 LinguistYou 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! |
