A good experience Past Review
By A student (Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography., Salem State College) - abroad from 02/03/2012 to 05/08/2012 with
ISA Study Abroad in Bangkok, Thailand
I never realized how much I like travel. I plan to travel again for a year or so once I graduate.
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. |
The classes were much easier than the ones I was used to at home. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Part of the program fee I paid to Globalinks included electricity for my room's air conditioning so that I could use it as much as I needed to and would never receive a bill for it. However, I was given a roommate who wasn't in the same program as me and did have to pay for the air conditioning in our room, and since it was so expensive for her we didn't use it much despite the fact that I already paid a fee for it. Thailand is HOT, so this was a big inconvenience! It would make more sense to house students with people from similar programs so they don't run into this problem. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
My friend had difficulty finding an English speaking doctor after she came down with a severe ear infection. None of the local doctors even had the equipment to examine her inner ear, and the only reason she was able to eventually go to a specialist was that she became friends with a Thai student who happened to remember the name of an ear specialist in Bangkok he had been treated by several years before. |
| * Safety: |
There were a lot of car and motor bike accidents in and around Bangkok. There was also a terrorist attack involving grenades and a separate bomb-related explosion on the train line in Bangkok during my stay in Thailand. |
| 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? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $30 |
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? |
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 would have packed lighter |
