Cordoba, Argentina: I Had a Quite Rewarding Experience. Past Review
By Lindsay G (Psychology, Spanish, SUNY - College at Geneseo) for
SUNY Geneseo: Cordoba - Universidad Nacional de Cordoba
Absolutely. I lived in a foreign country and was forced to speak a foreign language. I learned that I can do it, I can live in a different hemisphere for four months without my family and friends and survive. It helped me become more independent and forced me to be more observant than I would be ordinarily.
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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
TELL US MORE ABOUT HOW THE UNIVERSITY RUNS AS WELL AS ITS GRADING SYSTEM. Run through important procedures (receiving VISA, getting student ID card) and make sure the students understand, especially because the students have just arrived and are not yet used to hearing/speaking fluent Spanish. Make sure we understand what's happening overall. For us not to know beforehand that the classes are annual is unacceptable. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $50-$100 USD. Spent more when I was traveling and staying in hostels, booking excursions, etc. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Set a weekly/monthly budget for yourself because it will make managing your money so much easier. You can easily adjust it if necessary once you see how much you feel you absolutely need to spend. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 300-level courses. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Not very many people spoke English, not even my host parents. I needed to speak in Spanish all the time, and I was instructed to speak in Spanish even with my American roommate (although we spoke more in English because her Spanish was poor). All of my classes were taught in Spanish and all of my classmates spoke Spanish, as I was enrolled directly into the university's classes with local Argentinians. Not very many people spoke English, so I was forced to speak Spanish all the time, even with my American friends when we were around others. |
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? | If you want a nice balance of work and play, this is a good program. If you feel left in the dark about anything, don't hesitate to ask for and DEMAND answers. Argentinians have a sort of lazy attitude about getting things done so you may need to help speed up the process a bit. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Lengua Castellana I |
| Course Department: | N/A |
| Instructor: | Martin T. Kwiecien |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | The class is a good class, and if I had enrolled in it in the beginning, I probably wouldn't have had so many problems. However, this is a course in which all the material builds upon what comes before it and it's important to know all the needed terms and concepts. This proved to be very difficult because I received very little help from my professor and was unsure of what I would be responsible for. He told me that he would take it easy on me and that I didn't need to worry too much, but he didn't tell me about some very important information regarding the final exam and I am still not sure if I passed it or not. All but one of the foreign students had identical issues in their respective Lengua Castellana I classes. I wish I could have taken this class from the beginning, and I wish the university knew better than to let me enroll in this difficult class halfway through. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I'm not sure; still haven't received credit yet. |
