Past Review
By Natalie M (Sociology., Providence College) for
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Rome, Italy
DEspite not having the study abroad experience I had wanted, I would still do it the same way not knowing, although if I knew I would change it. I'm glad I had the chance to get out there in the world and have the time to explore for more time than a two week vacation. I see the world in a much bigger picture and see how unique America is. I appreciate my freedom much more than I ever thought and realized that America does in fact have culture. I would do the whole thing again in a heartbeat and I can't believe it's over. I'm looking into graduate programs abroad, but this time in English speaking countries. As an e-mail that was addressed to us from PC said, it can take years before we can put our experience into words. I'm thankful almost all my best friends were abroad because it has made the transition easier, but I still cannot put into words how it has changed me.
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 think I learned much more on a real life basis that wasn't assessed academically on midterms and finals. Although I did well grade wise, I do not feel that is was accurate about how much I actually learned while abroad |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration was very helpful and always available. They encouraged us to form a strong bond with them. The weakness was that they did not facilitate a strong group bond among the students studying through their program; given that it was such a small group of individuals and we were spread out around the entire city of Rome it would have been appreciated if they had made more of an effort to 'break the ice' as most students in this program were not very outgoing. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in Rome on Via Nomentana [in the Piazza Regina Magherita regiong]. It was a peculiar mixture because we were located in very residential Italy but my entire apartment was American students. <br /><br /> The location of housing was ideal for classes but next to impossible for nightlife. We needed items to settle in but there were no stores to buy affordable things, such as pans, that were in reachable distance through public transportation. Almost all other American students lived in the area of Rome called Trastevere, close to their campus and nightlife and a fair balance between American students and locals. |
| * Food: |
Everything was just delicious and we had excellent local restaurants right by our apartment. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I loved my trip to Umbria, it's a place I wouldn't have planned to visit on my own but was glad it was included in my program cost, so most people went from my group. I wish they had had more trips that were included in cost that forced the students in my program to bond more. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
My program did an efficient job of telling us about safety precautions. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Be aware of scam airline websites and triple check the date and time you are arranging. If you mess up, no one speaks english over the phone and it can be quite costly to blow airline tickets that you don't actually use. Food on weekend travel trips can also add up if you don't get a hostel with a kitchen. |
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? |
I wish my program had required a more demanding language class with more emphasis on vocubulary |
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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I would recommend a different program with more students. My program was too small and I didn't meet as many Americans with similar world beliefs or curiosities as myself. I was also in a program with a lot of people who lived at home while attending college, which made it difficult to be with people who were homesick all the time. Most people in my program were just interested in partying instead of having a decent mixture between learning about the culture, the nightlife, and traveling. Although my program director ensured that this was the first group of students that were this cliquey, my experience would not allow me to choose this program again. |
