3 months of Salzburg changed everything Past Review
By Veronica L (Sociology / Anthropology, Illinois State University) for
Salzburg College: Semester Study Abroad in Austria
Yes. Not long enough though.
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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Program was great. Phoebe Mayer handled us all pretty much single handedly without much trouble. It was really nice because she lives in Portland and Salzburg so she can help us figure out how to adjust if we're uncomfortable. Also, we had such a small class we felt like a family... a very interesting family. Great class trips were organized that were educational and exciting. Towards the end though I thought we did a little too many trips together maybe. Expectations were highly met! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my host mommy Sissi Kloss. Wonderful woman. She was just the perfect match for me. Anyway a nice 35 minutes from school a beautiful walk, sweet little house that gives you a really homey feel and Sissi is the most hospitable woman! BUT do not recommend for people allergic to smoke. She smokes in the house. |
| * Food: |
vegetarians, good luck. They take that as you don't eat ALOT of meat. Also, forget about Mexican. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
mauthausen concentration camp. Best and most intense experience. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
No gangs. No violence. We had a joke that the gangs of Salzburg were the J-walkers. |
| 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? | 6 euros a day. We had to by our own lunch. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | pay attention to your spending. Forget presents for friends at home. They'd rather here the stories than get a clock from Prague. Also, don't limit yourself so much that you don't have experiences that you will remember for the rest of your life! |
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? | n/a |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Most people spoke English in Salzburg so it was hard to motivate yourself to speak German when they knew you were American by the way you talk. I mostly practiced in restaurants and checkout counters. It was nice because they taught the beginners only things important for survival while living here. We got right to the things like ordering in a restaurant or making small talk with our host families. This made it easy to grow into the language. |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
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? | I think any student will benefit the most in Salzburg. It is so clean, safe and beautiful it is a nice home base. Also, it is so central its easy to take a train to Prague, Paris, Florence, Munich and many other popular sight seeing places. Don't spend your time online on Facebook. Go out and get lost on a bike ride through the sights you can recognize from sound of Music. Go climb a mountain you can see from your bedroom window. Take a bus into town and find a nice pub. Do It All! |
