"A Bailar, Todo El Mundo" Past Review
By Anna M (PSYCHOLOGY., SUNY - College at Geneseo) for
SUNY Geneseo: El Sauce - Humanities Course
Check out humniinicaragua.blogspot.com
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. |
Our professor had individual meetings with us about the papers, and it worked wonderfully! My writing improved greatly over the course of four weeks. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Kellan and Yacci were incredibly helpful in getting us situated with our host families. They also responded promptly to our questions, concerns, and needs. They were fantastic! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
It was great! We only had running water at nights, and I learned how to bucket flush a toilet, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. It was one of the best learning experiences of my life so far, and I would go back and stay with my host family in an instant. |
| * Food: |
A lot of rice and beans, but it was manageable. It took my body about a week to adjust to the food, but it was delicious. Immodium/Pepto Bismol were a great help at first! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The entire trip! There are so many--it would take me books to write. We went on four field trips to other areas of the country, and in addition to the experiences in El Sauce, there are too many to describe! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The administrators and professor responded quickly and urgently to all health concerns. Everyone looked out for each other, and I felt completely safe the entire time. |
| 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? | Maybe $30! MAYBE. Food is included in your host family, and things are pretty cheap! |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Bring cash, and there were no unanticipated expenses. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 102 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I was immersed in Spanish for the duration of my time spent with my host family. Our class was in English, but our professor encouraged our acquisition of Spanish through helping us form relationships with the people in El Sauce. |
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? | One with an open mind and an open heart who is willing to jump in and really, truly experience the meaning of a class with all of their thoughts and senses. |
