European Council Bonn, Wouldn't do it again but glad that I got to once Past Review

By E L (Nursing, Georgia Southern University) for

Study Abroad in Germany! Programs and Reviews!

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I would say that I gained an understanding of how to get around Europe on your own with a train pass and how to use public transportation. I really did enjoy the class and being in Europe and that's why I rated it as many as 3 stars. If I was just rating it on how the program was run I think that it would have gotten a 1.5-2. Overall, I think it was worthwhile cause it gave me a chance to experience Europe while not being completely on my own but I do think that there might be better ways out there of doing it than this program.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The workload was acceptable, teaching methods were the same as at my home institution, and since everything was run by american faculty there wasn't any difference in the educational system.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Our program director was originally from Germany but she seemed to have no clue about how many things in Germany worked such as the transportation system or even where to buy certain things.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	We stayed in a small hotel that was German run but mostly just had us students there.
* Food:	For the most part the food offered by the hotel was satisfactory but there were some night when all they offered for dinner was cold cuts and since we were on our own for lunch most of the time that really didn't satisfy our needs and we would end up going down the street to one of the food places and get a Kebab or Pizza or a full meal.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	The field trips that were organized by the program (I.E. program director) were HORRIBLE. They were not planned out well and we ended being dropped off in a town on a Sunday (when nothing is open) for about four hours on a hot day and since no one had been told what we were doing no one was prepared to be outside for that long and no one had brought water or anything like that.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	I think that the overall safety of Germany was good. I would equate it with any large city in that there are some areas that you really don't want to go to alone or even at night but for the most part pretty safe. I never felt in danger while there. There are no special vaccinations needed to travel to Europe.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	No

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)

Language

If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Hotel
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans Other

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	Getting to experience Europe
* What could be improved?	The organization and planning of how things will work Letting students know what will be going on a head of time so that they are able to plan.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I would say that if you like doing things on your own without any guidance from the faculty and dealing with stupid people than this trip might fit you very well. Other than the class the best thing about this trip was that as soon as your classes were over on Thursday afternoon you were free to do whatever you wanted for the rest of the weekend and you just had to be back in time for classes on Monday morning.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Children of the Holocaust
Course Department:	All I remember is that it was a Psych class
Instructor:	Dr. Janice Kennedy
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	I loved the class. It was taught by a professor that also teaches here at Georgia Southern and she was really prepared with what she wanted to cover and even gave us all of our assignments about a month in advance so that we could get most of them done beforehand and have time to enjoy Germany while we were there.
Credit Transfer Issues:	Yes. It was worth 3 credits. It technically was a course that was through my home institution and was taught by a professor from my home institution just in Germany instead of on campus.