Eye Opening and Worth It Past Review
By A student (Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations., University of Texas - San Antonio) - abroad from 05/16/2012 to 06/02/2012 with
University of Texas - San Antonio: UTSA Honors College in Italy
I learned how different life can be outside the USA, and how much more the world has to offer. It was definitely 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. |
Many on site lectures and lots of walking. Only 5 assignments through the program: 1 journal worked on throughout the program and 4 single assignments. |
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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? |
Nothing luxurious, but it was definitely adequate. |
| * Food: |
The local food was excellent! All the ingredients were fresh and tasted great. The food was healthier than it is here, even food like pizza. I enjoyed the food, just be careful with raw food like fish. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The Italians are very social and friendly (most of the time). However there were times when I felt like people were staring at me and labeling me as American, but you can't let that bother you. That's just mostly because of our big group. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Some people did get sick, but we had another adult on the trip specifically for this reason. She stayed back with all the people who were too sick to go out for class and kept on an eye on them. |
| * Safety: |
I felt very safe while abroad. There are people everywhere so you never feel like you're alone or vulnerable. Rome even has water fountains all over the city so you have safe, clean water for free. Also the tap water in Rome is safe to drink. The only thing to watch for is pick pockets, but that's only really a concern on public buses and trains. It didn't happen to anybody during my trip. The main thing is always have somebody with you, don't go out alone if you can help it. |
| 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) |
Food was a little expensive, but it's not too bad if you watch what you spend. Also keep in mind the euro is more powerful than the dollar, so you always spend more in US dollars than what the cost actually is. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $200 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Make a budget of what you're willing to spend and stick to it. Keep track of all your expenses and always remember to convert that to US dollars |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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? | 0 |
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? | How much free time we woud have during the trip and how much walking would be involved. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
UTSA Honors College in Italy |
| Course Department: | Honors, Architecture |
| Instructor: | Bob Baron, David Johnson |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | I wouldn't say the course was challenging, but it was definitely different for me. I had no previous exposure to architecture. The program made excellent use of the location. We visited, in person, every location included in our program. Both the teachers were extremely knowledgeable and they each offered different viewpoints on each topic. One professor would lecture on the architecture, purpose, and physical aspects of each location/building and the other would lecture on the significance of the location on the history of the city and how it came to be. We definitely participated in class more often than classes at the university. Some days would run 8+ hours of just walking and talking. We all came to know the professors on a personal basis, not just the usual student-teacher relationship, and I could tell they genuinely cared about us and that we learned the material. They wanted us to get the most out of the experience. The main project of the course was our journal. Every day we would write notes on location and transfer those notes into a formal journal that was graded at the end of the course. The journal was the only ongoing assignment. There was one final and one design assignment at the end of the program. The main thing the professors cared about was participation and effort. If you showed an honest effort through discussions and the journal writings that's all they really cared about. They understood that most of us had no background in the subject matter and were very understanding. Overall I loved the course. It was extremely eye opening and showed me that there is much more to see in this world than just the place I call home. The difference in cultures is something to experience. I would highly recommend everyone who's considering this to go through with it. It's a great experience and will change you for the better. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | None at all, Faculty led trip |
