"America is my country, but Paris is my hometown" -Gertrude Stein Past Review
By Hannah K (Art History and English, Wellesley College) for
New York University: Paris - NYU in Paris
Superb! I fell in love with the French culture and language. I miss it everyday and plan to live there for an extended period of time in the next 5 years.
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. |
While the classes were only average the overall experience was wonderful because we really used the city and its museums to our advantage. My academic experience outside of class made it a wonderful experience. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration at NYU in Paris was excellent. They were friendly and helpful and truly enjoyed helping students enjoy their abroad experience. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Wonderful. I lived with a lovely French woman who allowed me to come and go as I pleased and assisted my learning of the language. I was required to cook and purchase my own food. |
| * Food: |
My resources were limited so I didn't always eat as well as I would have liked, BUT when I did have funds to eat out the food was AMAZING...it is Paris, afterall. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Wonderful day-trips, free tickets to ballets and operas, Thanksgiving on the Eiffel Tower--VERY ENJOYABLE! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
They emphasized our health throughout the program and during orientation. |
| 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? | 50 Euros |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Cell Phone minutes really add up...Everything is generally expensive in France and the exchange rate adds more to that expensive culture. Some host families require a security deposit; I didn't know this when I got there and was not immediately prepared to pay the sec. deposit. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Seminar |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I started with little-No French and was able to test into the 200 intermediate intensive French course at Wellesley after only one semester. |
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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Don't plan to travel to other cities EVERY weekend. You should enjoy being in Paris and do things that you will only be able to do while abroad in the City of Lights. On this note, please do not go to the chain restaurants that are available everywhere (McDs, Starbucks, etc). Soak up French culture and food; don't live like an American in Paris--live like a Parisian from America. |
