Mexico: Personally Rewarding Past Review
By Jeremy R (English, Spanish, Humanities, Valparaiso University) for
Universidad de las Americas - Puebla / UDLAP : Puebla - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I have come to learn a lot more about myself in my time there and my language skills did improve, but I wish I would have been able to take advantage of more of the opportunities that were available to me while I was there.
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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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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? |
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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Well, we had been told that some in-country travel costs, trips to other cities for example, would be covered by our tuition and they were not. So some of my travel costs were definitely unexpected and the loss of money early in the trip made it hard to deal with later in the trip. I would definitely plan for $500 more than you think you will need. I know Mexico is very cheap, and that's true, but traveling and going out with friends will take up large chunks of your budget. |
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? | 230 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I did use the host country language every day to some degree, but mostly practiced the language when I was in classes/doing homework or interacting with people outside of campus. The higher economic class of the students at UDLAP meant that most of them knew how to speak English and were quite forward about expecting to just speak to you in English. Also, most of my friends were fellow international students and so my experience of Spanish speaking in normal conversations was also lower than some other people. |
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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