Hands on Learning w/ KIIS Greece Past Review

By (History, Berea College) - abroad from 05/19/2015 to 06/25/2015 with

KIIS: Greece - Experience Greece, Summer Program

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
To be honest, the actual time spent in class was lackluster, at least with the classes I took, and the assignments were ridiculously easy. But the tours and on site lectures that the group had as a whole were really good, and there's a lot of opportunities to learn and do things on your own. The museums are amazing, and even if the classes I took were bad, I learned a lot from professors on tours and site visits and stuff. The museums and sites visits were actually like the high points of the program.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

We learned a lot about places by going there, seeing museums, what the Greeks thought were important, bus tours, etc. Best learning was hands on. Classroom lectures in the particular courses I took left something to be desired.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Things seemed relatively well organized, you could tell the professors had done the trip before -- one problem though -- they spent too much time lecturing at historical sites, and not enough time letting us explore those sites.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The hotels we were at were almost always very nice.

* Food:

We bought our own food mostly, except for hotel breakfast. The food we bought at restaurants was pretty good, and the hotel breakfasts were always passable.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

We were tourists, and I was pretty okay with that. We got to talk to Greek people some, but there wasn't a ton of that integrated into the program. I know I'm giving this a low rating, but I'm okay with that. The trip was a good trip for other reasons.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had food poisoning. I was kind of abandoned by a professor on the street after the first couple episodes of vomitting, and told to get a cab back to the hotel. I was helped to the cab by fellow student who found me later. Care improved drastically at the hotel, after first incident feeling sorta abandoned, I did not want for medical care.

* Safety:

Felt very safe, even during a riot taking place a few blocks from the museum we were at -- if anything, the professors were overly concerned with our safety, and unwilling to let us do things even remotely unsafe.

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)

The students liked to go out to eat for every meal, which gets expensive fast -- based my rating on doing that. Can be done much more cheaply buying food from convenience stores, eating mostly pita, and avoiding souvenirs. That said, not one person on the trip had the willpower to do that. Can be done cheaply, probably won't be.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? around a hundred euros.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Eat pita as much as possible, get convenience store snacks, avoid other students at meal times, don't be afraid to reject certain food options based on cost.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Hotel
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
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?
  • Variety of sites visited
* What could be improved?
  • Professor Lectures
  • Time usage on site
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? It gets cold and rains on the islands. It's windy on the ferries. Bring a jacket.

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 Avid Adventurer
The wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Day to Day in Ancient Greece

Course Department: Classics (?) / History
Instructor: Dr. Shea
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Teacher knew her stuff, but led unengaging class sessions -- it was hard to tell the point of her lectures, most of the time, and there wasn't a lot of student participation. I didn't know what she wanted from me for the few papers that we had.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Greek Myth in Context

Course Department: Religion
Instructor: Dr. King
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Dr. King didn't usually seem prepared for class, and repeated himself very often after a certain point. Not sure what the intended learning outcomes of the course were. It was enjoyable, and I liked him, but I dunno what he was trying to do in class. There was a lot of rambling.
Credit Transfer Issues: