A Life-Changing Experience Abroad! Past Review

By (Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/28/2016 to 05/11/2016 with

SIT Study Abroad: Madagascar - Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I gained a new perspective on social justice, environmentalism and on life in general beyond what I knew at home or even at school. I had travelled abroad before, but immersing myself in a culture that was so completely different from anything I had ever experienced before was both challenging and extremely valuable. Life is hard in Madagascar for many people, and the difficulties that many of the people go through there is something you will not forget easily. I think this program has made me more aware in so many different ways and I have grown a lot from the experience.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The academics were definitely challenging in some aspects and easy in other ways. For example, we were expected to write up entire lab reports and 10+ page papers in only a few days or a few hours, but we also didn't get very much homework or reading assignments and almost no tests. Some classes could have been taught better. Language courses in particular I did not find to be that valuable, mostly because I think I was used to a different teaching style compared to my Malagasy professor. I think they could have given us more chance for review and structured the class better.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Administration was very friendly and I definitely felt closer to them than I have to other professors at my home college. They were in other ways, however, extremely unsupportive and unprofessional. I wish that their communication with us could have been better and that they had checked in with us more to see how were were doing.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I loved my host family, they were definitely one of the best parts of the program. They were a little out of the ordinary in terms of how a typical Malagasy family lives (they had a refrigerator, two maids and a very nice house) but that was ok. The only difficulty was that they lived very far away from the main town and transportation was tough.

* Food:

We ate a LOT of rice and beans so be prepared for that. Food with my host family and in Fort Dauphin was good, it became not as good sometimes once we started traveling and we were on the road a lot. The professors could have tried to provide us with more snacks because we were frequently hungry between meals.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Living with a host family both in Fort Dauphin and during the village stay definitely helped me feel more integrated with the local culture. Otherwise, we got to do a lot of projects where we interacted with Malagasy people and tried to understand their culture. We also lived and worked with Malagasy University students for about 3 weeks.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Administration could have handled health issues better. Many of the students felt frustrated about the fact that they tended to either invalidate our concerns or did not provide very helpful advice about the actions we should take when we felt ill. Local healthcare was also not the greatest. Other students were GREAT with supporting each other during sicknesses. Overall, no one got extremely sick but there were frequent minor illnesses. Stomach/diarrhea issues were the most common.

* Safety:

The host city (Fort Dauphin) was a very safe city and I never really felt too unsafe while walking around on my own there. Other cities we travelled to were less safe and I definitely felt like I had to keep my guard up more in certain places (I did not feel particularly safe in Antananarivo, for example). Our program administrators were not always great about maintaining our sense of safety, especially during our ISP program. We had an incident of stealing during the program in one city.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

I know a lot of minor things could have been improved on in the program, but overall, this study abroad program was amazing. It was amazing for the people I met in Madagascar, my friends I made on the program, and most of all, the new perspective that you gain when immersing yourself in a world so unlike your own at home. I highly recommend this experience!

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)

Things in Madagascar are very cheap and overall, I spent my own money but very little of it (about $35/10days or so). During the ISP though, the budget money they give you will most likely be not enough and you will have to spend a considerable amount of your own money.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? About $15.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Don't take taxis if you don't need to, buy food from stands on the street instead of fancy restaurants for foreigners, and buy clothes from the market and not "boutiques".

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

French skills varied among students in the program so some students were better about using it than others. Our program tried to encourage us through classwork and through activities to use our french.

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? French 210
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? Read some easy books in French, try to take a class where you practice writing essays and things in French beforehand. Also, while abroad, don't be afraid to make mistakes and just talk out loud anyways! You learn through talking.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
  • Hotel
  • Hostel
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • Host Family
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
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?
  • The "experiential learning" approach
  • The other students
  • My host family
* What could be improved?
  • Classes
  • Communication
  • Support
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? The packing list is very outdated! Contact former students for real advice.

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:

French for the Natural Sciences

Course Department: Language
Instructor: Nadya
Instruction Language: French
Comments:
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management

Course Department: Science/Environmental Studies
Instructor: Barry Ferguson
Instruction Language: English
Comments:
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Environmental Research Methods and Ethics

Course Department: Sociology/Antropology
Instructor: Barry Ferguson
Instruction Language: English
Comments:
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Independent Study Program

Course Department:
Instructor: Barry Ferguson
Instruction Language: English
Comments:
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Malagasy

Course Department: Lanugage
Instructor: N'Aina/Sôsony
Instruction Language: Malagasy
Comments:
Credit Transfer Issues: