Exploring Europe Was Wonderful! Past Review
By Amy L (HISTORY., Illinois State University) for
Study Abroad Programs Worldwide
Absolutely worth every single penny I spent. I learned that I need to be patient with foreigners who come to America. The experience has made me realize I want to travel a lot more and have warm, welcoming interactions with foreigners who come to America.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was more than what all of the students had expected and felt that it was unnecessary to assign so much work to the class, but the experience was phenomenal. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Our tour guide was absolutely phenomenal. My expectations were definitely met, and the tour guide's knowledge about each country was astounding. She was amazing and I would highly recommend her to anyone who uses EF Tours as their study abroad experience. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The only place that was very disturbing was the hotel in Rome. It was set in a strange neighborhood where none of us felt very safe. Some places were located close to nightlife, while others were not. We were also told that most of the hotels had free wireless internet access, and many of the hotels either did not have the internet or it was a struggle to connect to it. |
| * Food: |
My biggest complaint about the food is that where EF had chosen for us to eat dinner at was sometimes not authentic cooking to the country. For example, we had Mediterranean food in London. Most of us were expecting to eat dishes that countries were known for, such as Weinerschnitzel in Germany. The food, at times, was very disappointing. I would rather have EF set up local restaurants that specialized in the country's customary cooking than what they scheduled for us. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The entire trip was a great time, and we made the best out of all of our nights out as we possibly could. Even the nights that we had to or wanted to stay in, we still got used to being in the city we were in by wandering around for a bit. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
There was an E. Coli breakout in Germany and London while we were in Venice after we had left Germany. Some of us had nasty colds, but the tour guide was helpful in getting us to pharmacies. |
| 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? | about 400 euros per week |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | don't be afraid to splurge on food a bit so you stay full for a long period of time. be prepared to have extra money on you for food, water, pop, souvenirs, etc. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| 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?
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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 do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | The student to most benefit from this program is a very curious student who wants to see as much as they possibly can. My words of wisdom are to bring a travel pillow, bring an international phone, and bring lots of extra money. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Topic in European History |
| Course Department: | History 308 |
| Instructor: | Hughes |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | The course was well organized, but there was far too much work assigned to the class. 4 out of 8 research kits would have sufficed for the workload. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No |
