NZ & Sydney, Australia Best Month of My Life Past Review
By Ashley Z (Management, University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse) for
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse: New Zealand & Sydney: Humans, Business, and the Environment
I know have a better understanding and awareness on sustainability in the US and how much we are lacking in comparison to especially NZ. This trip has pushed me to want to travel much more than ever before. I also now appreciate how inexpensive the lifestyle is in the US
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
It was a bit difficult to complete all of the readings because we had so many activities scheduled in addition to wanting to site-see! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program size was great, about 35 in total. We were able to do activities together if need be without taking over (usually) yet break up into decent size groups as well. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
All arrangements included sheets, cookware, etc. Most didn't provide towels, but we all brought one. We felt very safe in all of the accommodations. Some were bigger and newer than others but that was the least of our concern! All of our host families were extremely nice and it was refreshing to be able to have room to spread out, feel 'at home' for a while and be provided with home-made food!!! |
| * Food: |
The only meal that was consistently provided for us was breakfast, which is the most inexpensive meal of the day. Although our program told us that about 50% of our meal were provided, there was not. Some days we would get lunch and only about 4 days we received dinner. Therefore, this resulted in more spending than I anticipated, I would recommend to everyone to go to the super-market as soon as you get there and buy sandwiches, granola bars, etc (its much cheaper than going out for every meal at ~$12-$20 a plate!) |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Swimming with the dolphins, kayaking, Weta Cave (Lord of the Rings Tour), hiking, meeting the Maori people, and the site visits were amazing! It was also nice to have free days so we could do what we pleased |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The insurance that we were provided with on the trip was incredible, if one of us were to need an ambulance,stitches, x-rays, etc if was all completely covered! And the faculty was very prompt if someone were to need assistance |
| 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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Language
| 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?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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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? | Although the packing list states to bring casual/dress clothes, don't bring very much! We rarely dressed up for a site visit. Although in Sydney many of the girls walking around always had dresses and heels on and guys had nice pants and button ups/polos on. Bring a towel, buy suntan lotion, makeup, etc all in the states as it is MUCH cheaper! Also splurge on the super market rather than going out for every meal, as it gets expensive very fast! |
