If your cease the day then this was the most rewarding experience ever. June 18, 2021
By Zoe Puertas (Wellesley College) - abroad from 04/19/2021 to 05/28/2021 with
CYA (College Year in Athens) - Summer Program
I learned that if you open yourself to a new culture it will be more inviting of you and your experience becomes better.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The teachers made sure whatever we learned could be applied outside the classroom. They were fun to listen to and my classes were so interesting |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
CYA was very helpful with any confusions we had. They don’t respond quickly on weekends but there overall performance and welcoming nature trumped that. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My apartment was very cute but we did have broken AC which was hard during the warmer times. (Amynta2) |
| * Food: |
The portions were so large that we always had leftovers and it was delicious. I would say we had to throw Away so much bread cause they gave such a huge amount. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Cya facilitated a lot of local exposure by recommending us local places like Kekos bakeries that are used to study abroad students. Other than that I can’t blame them for the lack of integration because of Covid-19. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Greece is just beautiful. The people are great. I feel at home here. |
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? | 70 Euros |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | For food, try reinventing the free food given so it can have a different taste and you don’t have to throw away food. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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 the value of objects because there is a lot of dwindling in Greece. |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
