The Best Thing I Ever Did Past Review
By A student (Environmental Science., Clark University - Worcester) - abroad from 01/30/2012 to 05/03/2012 with
The School for Field Studies / SFS: Australia – Rainforest studies
I gained a new perspective on my major, and life in general, and made lifelong friends! It was more than worthwhile!
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. |
You'll learn so much! I loved sitting in the classroom and getting a lecture on a topic, and then going into the field and experiencing it for ourselves, this is what education should be! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
How well the program runs depends largely on the Interns and SAM (Student Affairs Manager) my group was lucky to have amazing ones. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
If you're looking for privacy and modern amenities...you're not going to get it. You're living in a cabin with several people and the bathroom and showers are a fair walk away. However, you wake up every morning in a rainforest! That's worth 5 stars for me. |
| * Food: |
Iris is the best! Mealtime is an important part of Centre life, and Iris tries very hard to accommodate everyone. Vegetarians will have no problem. I would suggest purchasing your own snacks during trips to town as well. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Even though we're spending a large part of our time isolated in the middle of the rainforest, the staff made sure we got out to enjoy the local culture. I loved getting to spend time in the small town of Yungaburra, going to community TREAT plantings, and drinking at the local pub. You feel like you're part of a community at the end of it. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
No vaccines required to come to Australia. The staff do their best to address health concerns efficiently. There were a couple cases where some students had to be driven all the way to Cairns (nearest city, hour or so drive) to have their health issues addressed. |
| * Safety: |
The things to be concerned about in terms of safety are animals and not people. There are poisonous snakes and stinging trees, but the Centre has a very detailed safety plan for everything and the teach you how to spot things and avoid certain situations. |
| 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) |
The good thing about living in the rainforest is that you don't get out much and therefore can't spend money. This is a good thing because Australia is very expensive! |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Probably |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you want spend your money at the pub on the weekends, but my advice is to save it for weekends in Cairns and the Yungaburra market! |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Just how much time you're going to be spending with the group. You'll get very little time to yourself. |
