LOVED Salvador, Bahia, and Brasil. Past Review
By Caitlin R (Latin American Studies, Tulane University) for
CIEE: Salvador- Liberal Arts
YES
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Universidade Federal da Bahia and Universidade Catolica do Salvador |
| 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. |
The workload is fairly easy coming from an American standpoint. The grading system, similar, from 0-10 instead of 0-100. The process of picking out classes and then figuring out where they are all a little tricky in itself, and at many times frustrating. However the Professors here are generally more understanding about real life, and focus their teaching on what the students what to learn, and what will be useful after the class ends. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
OUTSTANDING. With both American and Brazilian staff, this CIEE program is definitely keyed into what is best for the students. The staff is always accessible, not matter what. My expectations were more than meet. With 4 official staff members, and less than 40 students, the staff student ratio is above and beyond, not even including all of the college aged Brazilian assistants. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Everything was wonderful, safe, and close to classes and other main parts of town. My Host Family is wonderful |
| * Food: |
Sometimes it is necessary to ask your host family to please buy more veggies or fruits, as Brazilians mainly eat rice, beans and meat. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We went to a ton of different programs. A Ballet, Classical music concert, Theatre, local music, MPB, tour of the historic center, local wildlife preserve, a historic castle, and much much more. Plus we took a weekend trip to Rio de Janeiro. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Basically, don't be a stupid gringo and you will not find yourself in an uneasy situation. CIEE was wonderful helping people to find doctors, taking them to appointments, ect. |
| 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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Bring soap, shampoo if you can, because that stuff is super expensive here. Ladies that also means hair products, and tampons. Tampons here are much more expensive, and the american kind are basically non-existent. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
My program has a language pledge, and that is to use the local language as much as possible, if not the only thing we speak. Therefore, we are placed in host families, local university classes, ect. Using the language everyday, speaking to local Brazilians and even using Portuguese with other american students have helped a lot. Additionally, Salvador does not have many English speaking tourists, nor English speakers. This forces one to speak the local language, and not English. A great benefit. |
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 did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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