Internship in Cusco & Urubamba, Peru Past Review
By dana w (Communication Studies, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo) for
Study Abroad Programs in Peru
Awesome and valuable experience. Humbling and inspiring.
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. |
workload too heavy because too much reading in a short time; also, not enough energy or hours in the day to do hw when we need to spend time with our family after a 10 hour day. spanish class was awesome no complaints |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
unorganized at times, but enthusiastic and fun. good spanish skills and knowledge of peru. proyectos were great, but also unorganized |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
felt safe, but was far from class and nightlife. had to take taxis alone at night sometimes which was uncomfortable. i only bought water because i felt bad for drinking so much. inside the house looked nice, outside the house was in a sketchy alley with scary dogs and constant construction. overall loved it! |
| * Food: |
stopped making things with milk when i told them it didnt sit well. too large portions, too much rice. pizza in cusco is excellent |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
the proworld dinners were great, loved the proyectos and the amazon and macchu piccu. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Dont walk around wearing headphones. Be cautious when taking taxis alone at night - wait for the ones with phone numbers on top. Ignore the dogs and they will ignore you. |
| 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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
i improved a lot but still struggle understanding people speak quickly. i spoke spanish every day with my family and people around town. one person in my family spoke very good english and babied me at times, which limited my growth. |
| 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?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Do it! Requires some physical fitness and a good attitude. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
humanities |
| Course Department: | hum 310 |
| Instructor: | blau |
| Instruction Language: | english |
| Comments: | content was not challenging, but he graded too hard and asked dumb and insignificant quiz questions. he assigned too much reading in a short amount of time. the class made use of the location but focused more on chile than peru, and on his own life story. knowledgeable yes. at times lack of preparation and laziness inconvenienced the class. i would have worked harder on the class if i was home because i would have had more time. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
ìntermediate spanish |
| Course Department: | 121 |
| Instructor: | sonya |
| Instruction Language: | spanish |
| Comments: | i learned exactly what i wanted: a review of the common tenses and some conversational spanish. sonya was very nice and supportive. at times she went on long tangents which seemed like a waste of time to me, but i don´t mind because i got everything out of the class that i wanted. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
geography of the caribbean and latin america |
| Course Department: | geog 370 |
| Instructor: | timms |
| Instruction Language: | english |
| Comments: | challenging yes because i have no background in geography but he taught as if we all did. church field trip during class was beneficial, as well as the bus rides and field trips because we could see what we were learning about. teacher knowledgeable and well prepared. i did not put as much into the class here as i would have at home because i did not have the time or energy. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
