Terrible experience Past Review

By (University of Ottawa) - abroad from 07/04/2016 to 07/29/2016 with

EF - LEARN A LANGUAGE ABROAD

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I learned how to cope with a difficult situation a 14 hour flight from home.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? None

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

As I went for the summer program, its was busy, too busy. They placed more students in classes than chairs, leaving the excess students to stand in the back, unable to take notes.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The staff did nothing to the blatent bullying done by the American students, but were rather kind to me when I expressed interest in returning home early.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I stayed in a small dorm, in Yokohama about 20-30 minutes away from Tokyo. It was small but that's to be expected

* Food:

I bought all of my own food, and Japanese food is delicious.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

They did absolutely nothing to integrate me into the culture. There were "activities" that one could sign up for on the EF website, but those activites never came to fruition.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

Japan is a safe country

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

The program was clearly overbooked, there were far too many arrogant American students who did not want to study, but watch anime during class, and there was little to no support from the staff.

Finances

* 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)

Tokyo is an expensive city.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? around 200$
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Don't eat out too much, it adds up

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

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

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Beginner
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 studying whatsoever
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? Do not take this program, there are better ones out there

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • N/A
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • International Students
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?
  • nothing
* What could be improved?
  • Better organization
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? The sheer amount of rude students that were free to roam and make the experience terrible for everyone around them.