Vihar in Bihar rocks your socks Past Review
By Jonathan W (Religious Studies, University of Iowa) for
Carleton Global Engagement: Buddhist Studies in Bodh Gaya, India
I gained an awesome insight into Buddhism, had a great research opportunity, met awesome people, did awesome things, and ate awesome food.
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. |
I felt that this was a challenging but rewarding academic experience. I worked hard and felt like I really understood the material. Coming from a state school, I found it refreshingly challenging. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Strengths: Challenging, gives a thorough insight into Buddhism, supportive, sets up many unique activities. Weaknesses: Frustrating academically, I heard others were starting to tire of Buddhism, at times a bit overprotective. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Living in the Vihar is great. Power goes out, sure, but that's to be expected. It's on the edge of town, so you can still hear a lot of noise (it's not an idyllic forest monastery) but you get used to that. Comes to feel like home. |
| * Food: |
Very accommodating. They had healthy and amazing meals, plus a stipend for dinner. Absolutely awesome. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I loved the people I met on the program. Coming from a state school, it's nice to meet a lot of people interested in liberal arts. The weekend excursions, etc. were great. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Bring a good two or three squeeze bottles of hand sanitizer. Bring plenty of powdered gatorade. |
| 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
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Being in Bodh Gaya meant that most everyone could speak English, and are usually able to help you out. The locals appreciated it when I spoke Hindi, but conversations quickly went beyond my skill level. I enjoyed the Hindi course that I took, and heard that Tibetan was fairly challenging. |
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? | Open yourself to new things. |
