Jordan: The Country of Many Cultures Past Review
By Avery Gonzales (Yale University) - abroad from 06/09/2017 to 08/11/2017 with
AMIDEAST: Amman - Intensive Arabic, Summer
I gained valuable experience with the Arabic language and even more valuable understanding of the Arab culture. It was worthwile, but also worth the money. It's an expensive program, but AMIDEAST did everything right.
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. |
Rigorous enough to cover the equivalent of one academic year's worth of material in nine weeks! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Great experience, but smoking is a part of almost every household, which negatively impacted my experience. |
| * Food: |
Kanaffa, shwarma, maqluba, all of it |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I recommend learning some safety words before travelling, such as "stop," "help," etc. |
| 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) |
Living is relatively cheap, but travelling gets very expensive. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | ~$120 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Learn about the bus routes in the city to avoid long (expensive) taxi rides. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| 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? | Arabic 2 |
| 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? | Converse with your teachers after class because they will always be patient with you. |
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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| 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? |
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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 wish I knew some more basic Jordanian dialect before travelling because I lived with a host family from day one. |
