Past Review
By Thomas R (Mechanical Engineering/ French, Valparaiso University) for
Valparaiso University: La Rochelle - La Rochelle Engineering School - EIGSI
I am not sure how much my understanding of engineering has improved over the last few months but I feel that I understand management and teamwork better now.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Valparaiso University |
| The term and year this program took place: | Full-Year 2009 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Although some of the courses seemed important they method of instruction (powerpoint) made learning a math based class difficult |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Mme. Millet helps us with whatever problem that we encounter and is very helpful. A few times she has been referred to as being our mom which means helpful but strict and always looking out for our best interests. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
(Les Argonautes) It was close to campus and the size was ok for a college student living alone. It would have been nice to have a larger kitchen than the two burners, mini fridge, and sink that it consisted of. <br /><br /> I wanted a larger kitchen. |
| * Food: |
French food was good but you can't eat out all the time (expensive) and with a limited kitchen space I couldn't cook all of what I wanted. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We went to an open air market and tried all the things that are from this region and it was something that I wouldn't have done by myself because of the lack of knowledge of what was what. |
| * Safety: |
Haven't dealt with health issues but I have felt safe the whole time while over here. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I have been fairly skimpy on what I buy and watching prices to limit the amount of debt that I am incurring but I spent about 20 euros every week to week and a half. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Check and see if additional charges (building heat, trash...) are included or excluded from your housing cost and don't forget about electricity, cell phone and internet costs. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
How can they not improve greatly when spending 4 months (so far) speaking nothing but French and the occasional English with my family on the computer. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | You will fail some classes, be utterly bewildered, meet people from around the world and at multiple points in time want to go home but in the end you will deem it worthwhile. |
