Adventure Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The outside classroom work was not extensive, but the in class time and effort was great, and the language made it more challenging.

On-site administration of your program

They were a great resource, and were there to answer any and all questions whenever you needed them! With them there, I felt like if I had any problems, I could talk to them, and they were easily accessible outside of school hours too.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I enjoyed living with a host family very much, and it was culturally rewarding. The language barrier forced me to speak, and being out of my comfort zone also encouraged me to try new food. My one complaint about housing within the program, is they do not tell you who your host family is until you arrive. Which did not allow me to research the area I would be living, or allow me to buy an appropriate thank you gift at the beginning. A few days prior to leaving the USA would have been a nice time to know the names and location of my host family.

I am not the biggest fan of Russian food, I did try a lot, and I did not starve, I definitely even found foods I loved!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

So much of the study abroad experience, was figuring things out on your own, and doing something wrong, and then learning to never do that again. Live and learn, experience and adventure, thats what study abroad is all about.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I luckily had no issues, besides a minor cold.

Saint Petersburg, Russia is a huge city, and the possibility of theft on the metro, was a daily concern. They warned us well about pickpocketers in our on site Orientation. They also let us know what places to avoid and that these places were unsafe. Overall they told good stories which may have scared some sense into us, but I never felt completely unsafe. Sometimes walking alone at night, I did not feel comfortable, but that was my own decision to walk alone. So overall, I felt safer than I expected to.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I think I managed well, I did not spend a lot of money on superfluous things. The bulk of my money was spent at the end when I bought souvenirs, however I waited until the end of the program to see how much money I had left for these souvenirs. I spent money at restaurants when need be, but definitely not nightly and often not weekly, I bought the necessary food, and paid for the activities I waned to participating in, The whole time I was there, I never had to ask my parents for extra money help, and I planned when I would go to the ATM, therefore I had to budget the money I had.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Often when asking a question, I would resort to English and they would make me repeat it in Russian. my host parents spoke no english, so that was also encouraging. So much of the experience was figuring things out on our own, therefore we were forced to speak the language often.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Americans

• The People
• The Country
• The Lifestyle

• Knowing our host families prior to arrival
• More Russia Encouraged to be Spoken

The Academic or Linguist