Chinese Study Abroad Program Past Review
By Daniel E (International Relations, Economics, Tufts University) for
Tufts Programs Abroad: Tufts in China
Definitely worth while, but I wish I had taken more time to interact with Chinese people and been a little more focused on learning Chinese. The travel and the people were great though.
Personal Information
| The term and year this program took place: | Fall 2008 |
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 |
Most aspects were well planned, but the quality of one of the teachers that was hired was poor. Trips were generally we planned and executed. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Small but comfortable single. <br /><br /> Facilities were very good but it would have been nice to live with Chinese students, or at least more separated from other Tufts students. |
| * Food: |
Alternative dinning halls had pretty good food. Also lots of good restaurants surrounding campus |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
It was really fun getting to know the other Tufts students well, but because we spent so much time together it was hard to get to know Chinese and other foreign students well. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Overall felt safe, except when crossing or riding in traffic. Had one experience at the on campus hospital that, while the administrative practices seemed unconventional, didn't present any major problems. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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 US $100, including most traveling. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Was able to cover almost all expenses with "settling in money" and "food allowance," provided by the program. Only spent extra money for one trip that involved plane travel. |
Language
| Language acquisition improvement? |
My speaking and listening skills improved significantly, but I would have liked to have more opportunities to speak Chinese more regularly. It was easy to fall back into English with friends and hard to meet Chinese students. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? | Take the extra effort to make Chinese friends. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Chinese Law |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Yongxin Song |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Very basic, slow paced, teacher injected too much of his own opinion, not enough of the material was on topic or backed up with facts & quality readings. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Peasant Studies |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Jay Yang |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | A little basic, but learned a lot none-the-less. The course had a fun and engaging learning environment. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
