Incredible Belize Past Review
By Loretta T (Anthropology., SUNY - College at Geneseo) for
SUNY Geneseo: Traveling - Belize Biodiversity
It was great, and I might seek future employment or field experience in Belize with the people I met there.
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. |
I learned so much about archaeological practice, as well as historical details about the Belize Valley and Mayan anthropology. The instructors were incredible. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The instructors were extremely helpful and able to adjust for each student's needs. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was put in different hotels and hostels. In San Ignacio, we were switched several times between hotels. For a week we lived at Lower Dover, an amazing camp run by a farmer couple and their son, where we lived in cabins, swam in the creek, and got to tour their farm to learn about special tropical plants. For the last week, my professor and I went to Indian Church, a very poor town, where I was given a hotel room. |
| * Food: |
Aimers was right... beans, rice and chicken does get hard to eat after a while. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We went on a trip to Tikal, Guatemala, which was incredible and I will never forget it. Besides that, just hanging out and going to bars with the other students each night was a well earned treat and an amazing experience |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
It was a bit scary to hear about recent muggings, with weapons, that had happened in San Ignacio. Luckily we had some big intimidating male students to escort us through the city. There was a murder while we were there, too, but it was over a personal feud between two local people and did not involve any students. |
| 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? | I spent a lot of money on souvenirs. I did buy plenty of food/alcohol, too, but things are relatively cheap in Belize |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | At the end of the three weeks, we decided to take a two day trip the island of San Pedro. I hadn't accounted for the cost of travel/hotel/food/etc., but it turned out to not break the bank. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
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? | An archaeology student. |
