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AIFS Stellenbosch South Africa: The best decision I've ever made!!!

A Study Abroad Program Review of AIFS: Stellenbosch - Stellenbosch University

Submitted by Samantha Stern (Communications, PR and Adversiting,University of Hartford) on May 23rd, 2011

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Academics
Language
Housing & Food
Culture & Health
Final Opinion

Personal Information

Start Date:

Jan 17, 2011

End Date:

May 19, 2011

International exposure prior to program?

6 months+

Academics Overall

**Overall educational experience:

**Comment:

The work load was almost non-existent, I had about 4 assignments the whole semester.

Course

**Course Title:

Jewelery Design and Metal Tequniques

**Course Department and Number:

Arts

**Instructor:

Net Netelle

**Language of Instruction:

English

**Please comment on the course:

This class was my least favorite but I'd still give it 4 stars because we made such cool pieces that we were able to take home with us. It was my least favorite class because I found the pace to be almost unbearable. The instructor took about 5 times longer than it was necessary to explain the steps but she was very nice and allowed us to be very creative with our designs.

**Please rate the course overall:

**Did you have any credit transfer issues upon return to your home institution? If so, what would you suggest to other students?

No issues

Course

**Course Title:

Intro to Afrikaans

**Course Department and Number:

Other

**Instructor:

Amanda DeVilliers

**Language of Instruction:

Afrikaans, English

**Please comment on the course:

Great class! This instrustor made learning the language not only fun but we actually looked forward to comng to class because she was so passionate about teaching us her culture and language. She always has us doing fun activities, for example we went to lunch at an Afrikaans restaurant and were only allowed to speak Afrikaans to enhance our vocabulary. This was challenging as is any new language class but I felt it wasn't terribly difficult because Afrikaas is so simular to English.

**Please rate the course overall:

**Did you have any credit transfer issues upon return to your home institution? If so, what would you suggest to other students?

Not yet (I've only been home for 3 days)

Course

**Course Title:

Introduction to Wine

**Course Department and Number:

Arts

**Instructor:

Cape Wine Academy

**Language of Instruction:

English

**Please comment on the course:

Great class! I have a new appreciation for wine after learning the many steps it takes to produce it. We went on a field trip to a vineyard, learned the proper tasting techniques and tried different wines paired with food.

**Please rate the course overall:

**Did you have any credit transfer issues upon return to your home institution? If so, what would you suggest to other students?

No issues

Course

**Course Title:

Theology: A South African Perspective

**Course Department and Number:

Other

**Instructor:

Dr. Clint Le Bryns

**Language of Instruction:

English

**Please comment on the course:

Another of my favorites! Not only did we learn about current and past issues relating to religion and politics from a South African perspective but my class was made up of mostly international students so I got the oppurtunity to hear their thoughts relating to issues such as apartheid, the Israeli Palistenean conflict, the war in Iraq as well as many other topics.

**Please rate the course overall:

**Did you have any credit transfer issues upon return to your home institution? If so, what would you suggest to other students?

No issues

Course

**Course Title:

HIV and Aids: A South African Perspective

**Course Department and Number:

Other

**Instructor:

Jaco Brink and Michelle Munro

**Language of Instruction:

English

**Please comment on the course:

This class was one of my favorites because not only did we have the normal lectures and power points but we also had many out of class room experiences in ever day township communities. This immersion into the communities really impacted us because you could see first hand how HIV and Aids is really effecting a great amount of people and made us appreciate how lucky we are to have our health. We learned so much about HIV, Aids, and STI's, as well as and prevention techniques to these viruses.

**Please rate the course overall:

**Did you have any credit transfer issues upon return to your home institution? If so, what would you suggest to other students?

No issues

Language Overall

Foreign language component?

Yes

**Language acquisition improvement?

**Comment:

We practiced the language of Afrikaans with pretty much everyone who wasn't an American in the program. Almost everyone in South Africa speaks Afrikaans besides the Africans who live in the townships so we didn't really have a lot of daily interactions with them like we did with the Afrikaans speaking students on campus. Everyone also spoke English so communication was never an issue.

Host Country Program Administration Overall

**On-site administration of your program:

**Please explain the program's strengths and weaknesses:

My program was very small compared to others. I think there was only about 40 students in AIFS so the program was able to give us their undivided attention and address issues that we needed to be taken care of in an extremely timely fashion. Whenever I had a minor issue I simply emailed our resident director (Hestea De Wet) and she took care of it, usually that day. My expectations were not only met but I was very impressed at how speedy the international office was at taking care of what needed to be addressed.

Housing Overall

Living arrangements? (all that apply):

Apartment

Dorm

Who did you live with?

Americans

If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

**Housing satisfaction:

**Comment:

My housing was in a large apartment which they call "flats" in South Africa. We each had our own rooms and bathrooms connected to a main living room and kitchen. I lived with 3 other Americans in my program and the flat came with everything we needed, including bedding. Condordia, the building where we lived was about a 5 minute walk to campus and a 10 minute walk to downtown, very do-able.

Food Overall

**Food satisfaction:

**Comment:

I came here a strict vegetarian for the past 7 years and left a carnivore. I do not recommend studying in South Africa as a vegetarian because a large part of their diet is meat. They also eat a great deal of avocado and feta cheese but other than that the food isn't much different than American food unless you go to a specialty African food restaurant.

Safety and Health Overall

**How well were health issues addressed through your program?

**Safety:

**Comment:

Again Stellenbosch is like a little bubble of perfection within South Africa. The was many minor crimes like burglaries and such but I did not hear of any major issues in the area when I was there. I know that in Cape Town as well as in the townships right outside of Stellenbosch there is a lot of rape and murder but I felt very safe in our building where we lived as well as walking on campus. I did not need any vaccines for this trip because I was up to date on mine but the prevalent health issue in South Africa is HIV and Aids so we were lectured on prevention tactics in our orientation in the beginning the program.

Money Overall

**How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?

General Assessment Overall

Review Title:

AIFS Stellenbosch South Africa: The best decision I've ever made!!!

**Words of wisdom:

GO ABROAD! I can't stress enough how amazing my abroad experience is an I wish every student would have the same. In order to flourish abroad you need to have few characteristics, you need to be friendly, independent, nd open to new foods, religions, and cultures. If you have these than your guaranteed to have an amazing experience.

**If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same program?

Yes

**Overall satisfaction with your study abroad experience:

**Was your study abroad experience worthwhile?

Yes! I've gained so much from my time abroad, for example I'm much more independent than I was when I left. I traveled across South Africa with two girlfriends and when I got back we all just looked at each other were so proud of ourselves because we successfully traveled a foreign country and that's a huge thing! I've been abroad before but not that I've actually spent time immersed in a different culture it inspires me to travel more and really spend time with people from other cultures.

Go abroad again!:

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AIFS Stellenbosch South Africa: The best decision I've ever made!!!

A Study Abroad Program Review of AIFS: Stellenbosch - Stellenbosch University

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