It was a valuable experience. Past Review
By Travis Eiswerth (Susquehanna University) - abroad from 09/26/2016 to 12/19/2016 with
University of Nicosia - Global Semesters: Nicosia - Semester in Cyprus
I learned a lot about other cultures regardless of if I liked them or not. I learned about the Greek Cypriot culture, but not only that, I learned a little about the cultures that I visited. That includes Switzerland, Germany, England, France, Romania, Belgium and Italy.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The work load in the University is very low compared to Susquehanna. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The Global Semesters Cyprus team was very helpful with anything that we needed. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The houses were disgustingly dirty, especially under the beds and were not very clean. The apartment also has a very musty smell, I believe from the air conditioner, and I could not get rid of it. Overall, disappointed with apartment. |
| * Food: |
The food was very enjoyable here, and very affordable. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Locals were pretty nice, but the biggest exposure we got from them is their little shops and such, and they wanted us to spend money, so of course they would be nice. The local students, (from Cyprus) not ERASMUS students, were very reserved and would not really talk to me or any of my friends. We tried in clubs and bars and even class, but they didn't really want anything to do with us. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not have an experience that the Global Semesters Cyprus team needed to assist me with, but I did get a mild cold, and when I went to get medicine, they really didn't have medicines at the Pharmacy that were effective. Anything that would have been an effective medicine has to get a prescription for which meant: An appointment, a taxi fee, an initial co-charge, paperwork to get the co-charge back weeks later at home, another taxi fee back (cause the bus system doesn't run on time), and then expense for the medicine. |
| * Safety: |
Everything was very safe. I did not feel unsafe once on this trip while in Cyprus. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
The thing that I enjoyed the most about being abroad was the ability to cheaply travel to other countries. This probably would have been much easier to do in a different part of Europe that wasn't an island. I loved being at the beach on the island, and thing that the GO-Short program to Cyprus would be great. But the GO-Long was a little to much for me to be in Cyprus. The culture did not mend with my personality, and the longer I was here, the more those differences stood out to me and were viewed of higher importance than the good things about Cyprus. |
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) |
Just for personal costs and food, the ability to live at minimal cost is extremely easy. If you plan on traveling on the island, its still very easy. If you plan on traveling off of the island, that's when it starts to get expensive. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | my most expensive weeks were maybe $70. Normally about $40-$50 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Buy a lot of produce! It is very cheap, and decent quality. Learn how to cook. Even if you would go out to get a gyro or other small meal once a day, you will still only spend $500-$700 if you can afford that. I did not do that, but I did the math. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spanish 100-level |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 0 |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Learn before you come. There is a reason for the saying, "its like its in Greek." If you want to learn it, start earlier, because even the students that took intro to Greek 101 do no know any Greek and they took a whole class on it. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? | That you were not allow to flush toilet paper, that the water would always be cold unless you flipped a switch and waited for an hour, that it was actually very, very dusty and dry. I readily make the connection that the island was very desert-like. There was so much emphasis on the "330 days of sunshine a year" and not much emphasis on the "shortage of water" part. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
