A sometimes challenging but extremely rewarding cultural exchange Past Review
By Juliet Walsh (Middlebury College) - abroad from 08/27/2017 to 12/22/2017 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Yaoundé
I learned about Cameroonian cultural as well as American culture. I was often pushed outside of my comfort zone but it was always very rewarding at the end of the day.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Ariane was very helpful throughout the experience and was always available. We saw her everyday and checked in on us as much as she could. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I had several cultural experiences with my host parents and one of my host sisters and I always felt safe while I was at home. However, I did have some cultural misunderstandings with my host parents that became difficult to deal with and my second host was very aggressive towards me which made for some very uncomfortable situations. |
| * Food: |
My host family made many different types of food and tried to expose me to as many new foods as possible. |
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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? |
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| * 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 30 US dollars |
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 |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 230 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
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 wish that I knew a bit more about how to find extra curricular activities. I also wish I had been told a bit more about culture shock. |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
African Politics |
| Course Department: | UCAC |
| Instructor: | |
| Instruction Language: | French |
| Comments: | I participated about as much as do in my home country and we were assessed with a group paper. The classes were pretty unorganized and the lectures weren't interactive. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
