Delhi: Love It or Hate It You Still Can't Live Without It! Past Review
By kkaintz (Anthropology (Physical), Tulane University) - abroad from 01/31/2012 to 05/14/2012 with
SIT Study Abroad: India: Public Health, Policy Advocacy, and Community
I gained a new perspective on the world, useful language skills, a whole group of great friends, and I fell absolutely in love with Delhi and India.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The SIT: Health and Human Rights Program was intense in certain academic aspects and not in others. It's all about what you put into it. The first thing I have to say is that I feel this was really a program for people will little to no public health experience, since I felt that myself and others who had previous public health experiences were often bored during lecture. Having said that, I didn't know anything about public health in India so the excursions were pretty informative. Hindi was much more intense than I expected. Living in Delhi and getting used to India takes a lot of time and energy so I wish that I had put more into Hindi class, a lot of people came out with quite good language skills. Although I was not expecting to learn so much Hindi it was a nice surprise. The best experience was the Independent Study Project at the end of the semester, since I did not have any previous fieldwork experience. Overall, I'd say the lectures could have been more interesting but I was happy with the experiences and the intense Hindi instruction. Go into the program knowing you are going to be in class for a large portion of your time in Delhi and you will be constantly busy, some people thought we would have more free time and it spoiled the experience for them. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The staff are the absolute best! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
It gets repetitive but it's always good. You can also find a plethora of western food in Delhi. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I feel like my time during the semester gave me the skills and confidence to integrate further during the summer internship I took in India, but during the program I felt like we were too busy to fully immerse ourselves within our home stays. I think I placed more priority on getting to know the people in our group too, so it's all about where you put your focus. I just wish we could have had time for both. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Everything was covered, all the precautions were taken. Sometimes you get some stomach problems in India, it's just life. I personally never got sick. |
| * Safety: |
Use your common sense, staying safe in Delhi is no different than any other major city anywhere else in the world. |
| 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) |
It is so easy to live on about $50 or less in Delhi, especially during the program. They cover all the food and give you a transportation stipend etc. I only spent money on more upscale establishments since everything else was so cheap! India is a great place to go if you're looking to avoid spending a lot of money. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $40-$50 but that was extravagant most of the time you could easily spend less. |
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 |
Constant encouragement but you have to push yourself to use the language in the home stay since most people in Delhi speak English and want to practice. I did not and I regret it. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Just get over the hesitation and any self consciousness and use it! It took me up until my internship in the summer to get to that point so I wasted a lot of time not using Hindi just because I was embarrassed. |
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? | Bring modest Western clothes, you don't have to dress dowdy in Delhi and I was upset I left my jeans among other clothes at home. Don't bring too much because you'll want to buy some Indian stuff. You can also get anything in Delhi so don't overpack. |
