An Educational Adventure! Past Review
By Ted D (International/Global Studies., Dickinson College) - abroad from 08/25/2012 to 05/10/2013 with
AMIDEAST: Amman - Area & Arabic Language Studies
Perspective into other points of life and cultures and Arabic language skills; certainly worth it.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Great Arabic instruction but the academic courses were disorganized and we did not have access to resources appropriate for our research. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Outstanding. The AMIDEAST Study Abroad staff is helpful and kind, the director of the abroad program is more competent than any college administrator I have dealt with before. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Great host-family experience |
| * Food: |
Budget extra money for food if you're a guy because the is less meat in Jordanian diets than ours and you will lose weight quickly. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The host-family experience got me more involved in Jordanian culture but course work got in the way of having more cultural interaction. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Never personally had an issue requiring medical attention. Friends did have issues and the staff took good care of them but they did have complaints about the Jordanian medical facilities. |
| * Safety: |
Felt very safe in West Amman; girls unfortunately did face harassment but in mild forms only. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
|
Finances
|
* 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) |
|
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | About $75 per week, not including travel outside Amman |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
|
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
|
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Intermediate |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Speak Arabic from day one and use it with your classmates |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Nature of the content courses |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
