Fantastic! January 05, 2022
By A student (Wellesley College) - abroad from 08/30/2021 to 12/17/2021 with
CYA (College Year in Athens) - Semester/Academic Year Program
I learned how I behave as a student and as a Roomate. I learned about other cultures and classes I enjoy. It was all very worthwhile as I feel like I am coming into the next semester well prepared and that I know myself better!
Review Photos
Personal Information
| 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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
For the most part very welcoming and helpful the only issue I had was with disability services there-it was hard to communicate. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We didn’t get to fully experience that integration, but of no fault to the program-it was just because of COVID. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
We went to a lab weekly for COVID testing and it was really easily accessible and the workers were very kind. |
| * Safety: |
Generally very safe, we did experience some issues with catcalling/harassment on the streets but there were a lot of warnings about this. (I felt there were more warnings than necessary because I experience behavior just as bad in my home state but others disagreed) I would tell the students about how many protests there are-that was shocking to me. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I would love to do this again and take different classes-I would sign up for more of the field studies as they were really informative and fun. |
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) |
Pretty well there was every once in a while were I splurged and then there wasn’t much left at the end of the monthly stipend. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Depends-on average maybe 30 euros? |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | It is really easy to find cheep and good produce at the farmers market! |
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 |
Not much, but I didn’t take the language class. Also as mentioned earlier there was less integration because of COVID so that was part of the reason. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | No Greek before this-I had taken Spanish IB classes. |
| 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? | I was very anxious about making mistakes-don’t worry about that the locals will help if you make a mistake and they are (usually) very kind about it. |
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? | 0 |
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? | I wish I knew more about how to be organized with my spending habits. |
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 NetworkerAn active student leader, it was important for you to network abroad as well. Once overseas, you sought out student clubs, volunteered with local organizations, or attended community events. You encouraged your friends join you, and often considered how you could reflect your international experiences in a resume. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Service Learning |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Aimee Placas |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | It was challenging but she made sure to give us individual help and general advice on how to handle the course/college work. She also always left the floor open for general questions about Greece and it made a really comfortable environment. We did field trips and volunteer hours with her which was a lot of fun. |
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