The location was fantastic Past Review
By Laura C (Political Science and Government., Tulane University) for
CYA (College Year in Athens) - Semester/Academic Year Program
I'm glad I did it and would do it again, even though I missed my home institution greatly. I made amazing friends and had so many different interactions with different cultures that I would never have met otherwise. I have more confidence in myself and in different situations.
Personal Information
| The term and year this program took place: | Fall 2009 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Some of the courses were challenging but did not require the same level of attention as courses at my home university |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Some were not extremely helpful or often present, others were amazing and extremely helpful to student needs and questions. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The location was fantastic, internet in the apartments, especially given the distance from the apartments to the academic center was desirable. |
| * Food: |
What isn't there to love about Greek cuisine? |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I made friends from all over the world via my travels. I also made lots of Greek acquantances, one of whom I still keep in touch with. I also had the opprotunity to run the original marathon from the city of Marathon to Athens, go olive picking, and climb Mt. Olympus. I had a phenominal time. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Care was taken to put lots of hand sanitizer throughout the study center following the infection of several students with the H1-N1 virus. Administrators would help with ordering medicine, etc. if needed. However, the health checks to obtain a residence permit were poorly organized. |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Averaging in travel costs for weekend travels, I probably spent an average of 200 usd/week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | You can live very cheaply if you do not want to travel, but I spent more money becuase I wanted to travel throughout the surrounding area. I was able to get a tutoring job which paid for groceries and some other living expenses. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I knew no Greek before leaving, and at the end of the program, I could have had a short coversation with a Greek person |
Other Program Information
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Run the marathon, go olive picking, eat at Maria's, walk around and explore and find your own favorite places in the city. |
