Past Review

By (PSYCHOLOGY., University of New Hampshire) for

ISA Study Abroad in Port Elizabeth

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Absolutely! I gained a great deal of global knowledge. I found that America is not the best place, and I actually enjoyed their culture and things they do more. I would love to go back and am jealous of my friends that have and are still there. I liked that the program left us on our own and I was able to stay long to further experience the country.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I took a history class starting with the colonization of the country and going to about the 1900's. I learned a lot and had a great teacher. The same went with Afrikaans. The other classes I did not feel that I learned anything and remember none of it.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Other than Ouma, who was a big help, even from Cape Town, no one cared to help us, nor could help us. They had us running in circles to avoided answering our simple questions. They did not help us with classes nor did the have a particularly nice tone to them.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I loved Annie's Cove. It was very communal and the setup made it easy to get to know people. With only international students there and nearby, it gave us more of a global experience. There were South Africans living there as well.

* Food:

I went out for dinner and bought things to make in my little kitchen. It was nice to have "family dinners" too, like pot-luck to experience different foods.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

There were many attractions and our program arranged a nice excursion for us. I wish the program had done more. Most of our social outreaching was done on our own.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

Thankfully I didn't have any major health issues abroad, but the program just told us that we were covered under insurance if anything should happen.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

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)

Language

If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I enjoyed the program. It was what I was looking for, cost and experience-wise. There is only one excursion and you are pretty much on your own.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Psychology in Education and Training

Course Department: SP107
Instructor:
Instruction Language: English
Comments: I took away nothing. You received a booklet of the overhead pages and highlighted what she actually said and pointed out and the only grade was a final that was taken word for word from the book.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Intro to History of South Africa

Course Department: SSH103 & 104
Instructor: Dr. Herbst
Instruction Language: ENGLISH
Comments: It was challenging, writing papers and not having the same resources I was used to. The material was all very interesting and I enjoyed each and every class.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Community Service

Course Department: CLS100
Instructor:
Instruction Language: English
Comments: We only met about 3 times during the semester, but we picked a place to volunteer at twice a week. I went to a community center in Walmer Township where we taught 6th graders at an after-school program. It was one of the most enriching experiences I had abroad. There was one final paper written for the class.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Intro to Afrikaans

Course Department: LAB101 & 102
Instructor: Professor Otto
Instruction Language: English & Afrikaans
Comments: It was nice to learn another language. It didn't come in too much use because everyone speaks english. I found it to be an ugly language and would have preferred to have learned Xhosa.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Intro to Psychology of Change

Course Department: SP209
Instructor:
Instruction Language: English
Comments: They are very big on group assignments, we had one and that was pretty much our grade. I found no point to the class and would have actually like to learn.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

African Perspective in Psychology

Course Department: SP115
Instructor:
Instruction Language: ENGLISH
Comments: This class made me very angry. I didn;t like how it was taught, or the assignments. Half of our grade was a very hard test, the other a group paper. Coming from America, I find it very difficult to write an 8 page paper with 5 people. The material was very dry and they just kept referring to "Western Perspectives".
Credit Transfer Issues:

Comments

Hi Jen, It's great to hear how much you enjoyed your experience and that it was exactly what you wanted. We have changed our excursion program slightly to include two one day excursions and a farewell dinner in addition to the overnight one. While slightly different our students are still in Annie's Cove and we hope that more students will have a great experience like you at Nelson Mandela.

Interstudy August 18, 2010