New City, New Girl Past Review
By catherine.moreno (History and Spanish, The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 02/28/2013 to 07/14/2013 with
CIEE: Lima - Liberal Arts
I gained so much confidence in myself. The situation forced me to be more proactive in every aspect of my life. I traveled across the country, made awesome friends, and improved my Spanish so much. Best of all, I gained a family, and will definitely go back to see them sometime. I already can't wait to go back!
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The direct enrollment courses were quite rigorous, but I expected that from PUCP. My CIEE classes were challenged my ability to speak and write in Spanish, but were not extremely difficult. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Marion and Melvin were fantastic advisers and directors. They were helpful in every sense and way they could be. Melvin really knows about the campus, courses, and professors. Marion knows all the families and schedules the excursions inside and outside of Lima, which I thoroughly enjoyed. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Living with a host family helped me learn so much, and I loved my family. Though, every person in my program really got along with their families, so I recommend all of them. |
| * Food: |
I loved the food. I miss it so much now! The only thing against the food is the lack of vegetables and fruit sometimes, but that's normal over there. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt very integrated into the culture. My Peruvian friends from school showed me so much about Lima and young Peruvian culture. It also helped that I'm Catholic so I integrated myself into the church community. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I didn't have any problems. Yet, one girl in my program got parasites and Marion helped her out a lot. For this program, I had to get a ton of vaccines. Tdap, some sort of Hepatitis booster shot, Yellow Fever, and a couple others. |
| * Safety: |
Lima is not a very safe city for a young, white looking girl. Since I'm Hispanic, I could blend in somewhat, but my blonde friends were definitely harassed by whistles and puckering noises. Moreover, during my time Lima begun to experience some political riots and protests in the plaza de armas. But then again, the plaza de armas in Lima is never really that safe. Future students should just be aware of where they are and what time it is. Choose your taxi wisely. Trust your gut. Make sure you have a general plan of who you're going home with. Never go home alone. |
| 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) |
It was easy to live off of a student's budget until you factor in traveling. But you should travel - hay que aprovechar. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Change money with the cambistas instead of in the bank. |
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 |
My host family, class, and my daily life all made me use the language. |
| 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? | Spanish Phonetics, maybe |
| 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? | Make local friends fast. |
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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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 10+ |
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? | How easy it is to travel and how much it's worth going out to see what's there |
