Ireland, I miss you! Past Review
By Hayley S (Woman, gender and sexuality studies, University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse) for
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse: Galway - National University of Ireland
It was just an all around great experience. It was really cool to be able to go to a different contry on my own basically relying on myself not on my mom. It was very freeing and showed me how strong I am.
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. |
Or profs were wonderful. It was so nice to get to know them on the personal level that we did. They expected us to do our work but also knew that much of the learning we would be doing would take place outside of the classroom. Due to this assignments we kept at a manageable degree. All of your profs stived to get to know us as people rather than just students. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Our faculty had a lot of knowledge about the area. When we got there our room situation was extremely messed up, we ended up having to figure it out on our own after barely sleeping for 24+hr. And having to sit in the parkinglot with all of our luggage.Internet was a hassel. Some things were lost during room cleanings and never returned. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Was not the cleanest place. It would have been much more beneficial if some food was provided for us. At least one meal a day. A lot of random things some rooms didnt have while some did... We had to buy, soap, towels, sponges, hand soap, |
| * Food: |
Dining out seemed like the best option more of the time. The food out was very good, but got a bit expensive. It was hard to carry a bunch of groceries back from the store. Or they would end up going bad due to day trips.... having a dining hall aspect I feel would have brought us all together more, rather than each eating alone in their home. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Bagpipe parade in the street! All of our feild trips were amazing, seriously, all of them! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
To me everything seemed very safe. I was never worried. |
| 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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spend sooo much money. Not sure how much a week, but about $3000 in all. On food, flights, fun things, needed personal items, ie: sanitary items. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Food gets really expensive. But honestly, dont think about the money. Money can be earned back the experience cant. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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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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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? | I think it was amazing going with profs and students from UWL. We all got to be very good friends because it was such a small group, and because almost all of us go to school in La Crosse, we can keep in touch easily. The profs were absolutely wonderful also. You get to know them on a very personal level, which is cool. |
