Loved my experience in HCMC! Past Review
By Phung (Wellesley College) - abroad from 02/12/2019 to 06/02/2019 with
CET Vietnam
I learned that I could maybe work in an international setting and that I like to schedule my own days.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The program did a good job on the balancing exploration with in-class learning. I thought the courses were manageable. The lectures can be a bit dry and not as interesting as my courses back home. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everyone within the program were really helpful, especially as I navigate the health system in Vietnam. I had a really great time in the program. However, I do find that the program staffs are a little overbearing in regards to attendance..I know that this has to do with CET's policies (which they definitely need to address.) But I think that the attendance policy is a bit ridiculous (on your first absence, they email you; second one, they email you and your home institution and the third one, you're out.) Given that there are no *serious* consequence until the third absence then if we take the first two absences, no questions should be asked. Excused absences do exist but that sort of makes you reveal your situation (especially if its related to your health) to people you don't yet trust. For me that gets kind of tricky and I know other people in my program struggle with this quite a bit. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I loved the living arrangements of this program. Each American student got to room with a local Vietnamese roommate. All the roommates in the program were super helpful and welcoming. We all became friends pretty quickly. The apartment is located in district 1, super clean and convenient. |
| * Food: |
I eat out for every meal. A cheap meal is about $1 and my most expensive meal is probably $15. It's really easy to sustain yourself on a small meal budget in Vietnam. The food is wonderful and HCMC has food from many different regions in Vietnam. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I'm Vietnamese and speak fluent Vietnamese so Vietnam feels like home. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
The health insurance we had in the program is called GeoBlue and gives really good coverage. With this insurance, you have access to really good international hospitals and clinic within the city (probably the best services Vietnam has to offer.) I received mental health treatment through private practice and the insurance company were responsive and helpful and fully reimbursed me for those services. The program staffs are also good resources and will help you navigate hospitals and insurance. |
| * Safety: |
Vietnam, especially HCMC district 1 is really foreigner-friendly. A lot of people will speak English (even a little bit.) Upon arrival, know that you should only take taxis from companies like Vinasun, Mailinh or Grab (app like Uber) to avoid being scammed or other possible dangers. And these taxis are cheaper than U.S priced taxis/ride share services, so if you plan to go out, use the buddy system and take one of these taxis to get home. Generally, you should be fine if you just use common sense. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Great location, lovely people and really really really good food. |
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) |
Super easily. I wasn't super frugal but came back spending under what I had budgeted for the trip. Being frugal, you can spend like $3/day for meals and arrive at less than $90 for a month. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spend maybe about $80 per week on food and maybe $10 on rides. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Take the motorbike, it's fun and not dangerous bc no one is actually going that fast. You save money and a lot of time (riding in a car means a lot of traffic...) |
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 |
I spent 10.5 hours a week in my intensive Vietnamese class as a native speaker. So, I spoke a lot of Vietnamese. Beginner students can take way less of course but I know that people have a good time learning Vietnamese, especially in the everyday sense of navigating the city, ordering food etc. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 0 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | 10.5 hours in class is a lot. If your priority is not learning language, don't do it...But if it is, you should take the 10.5 hours and maybe ask to change up the schedule a little. I didn't know that I can request to change my class times (obviously as long as it doesn't interfere with other classes) so I ended up waking up at 8:30am every morning and leaving class at 12pm. I felt like language classes could have been easier on me if they started later..and if I split the hours up a little more. So I would recommend just asking if you can change up the schedule to suit your needs. I would also ask for more field trips during language classes because the program that CET collaborates with for language is called VLS in HCMC and they do have a small budget for outings from CET. |
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? | That you should just ask for what you need. People are likely to help you get what suits your needs and they want you to have a good time so just ask. |
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! |
