Exploring a new lifestyle Past Review
By Liza L (The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 01/15/2012 to 05/11/2012 with
IES Abroad: Paris - Business & International Affairs
Fluency in a new language and a whole new insight on life
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | IES Abroad Paris Business International Affairs (BIA) IES Abroad Paris French Studies Intitut Catholic |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Not very rigorous, but I felt like my time was occupied enough by academics |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
All of us got to know administrators on a personal level, they were all very invested in our personal experiences |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I believe my housing situation was the best in the program, I got very lucky with an incredible host family |
| * Food: |
My host mom fed me amazing meals 7 days a week and lunch on weekends, most students did not get this. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I had a host family, an internship at a French company, and took external classes at a French institute, so I had more integration than most of my classmates, but I still would have liked to integrate with French youths more. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Hard for me to say, I never really had any health issues while abroad. |
| * Safety: |
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| 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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| * Was housing included in your program cost? | No |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $150 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Eat at home/with host family whenever possible |
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 |
It was all optional, you could have a lot of none. I took the most possible. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | my 6th semester |
| 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? | Interact with as many people as possible, don't be afraid to really use the language. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
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? | That I wouldn't be very integrated into French youth culture |
