Incredible and wild time in Madagascar January 20, 2023
By Lucy D (Conservation Biology, Middlebury College) - abroad from 09/04/2022 to 12/17/2022 with
SIT Study Abroad: Madagascar - Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management
I loved how to put myself into uncomfortable situations, or situations that I could be nervous about, and make the most out of it. I learned to not take myself so seriously.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I loved the classes, but they weren't really hard. It was very experiential so there wasn't a lot of sitting and memorizing, stuff that I find much more difficult. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Incredible!! They showed they really cared about us and are so well connected throughout the country and in their fields, so they helped us so much find research opportunities. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I loved my host family! |
| * Food: |
Lunch at the program center was incredible! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt much more comfortable during my ISP in a town in northern Madagascar than I did in Tana. As most of the students were white and we were mostly women, we got a lot of attention every day in the city. I felt much more at home and part of the day-to-day in the smaller towns were I was conducting research, but I don't think I could ever say I felt integrated, just because of how much I suck out. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
We were generally advised not to be out at night by the program admin and our host parents. Whenever we had to get home from somewhere with the school, the staff at the school would walk home with us or we'd take a cab with us home. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I met so many wonderful people and got to experience so many incredible locations. This program aligned perfectly with my interests of science and conservation and I loved how placed-based and hands-on the learning was. |
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 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
I was not very independent during this semester, my housing and most meals were taken care of, and because the cost of living is so much less in Madagascar, it was quite easy. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | around 20$, though very much depending on the week |
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 |
Our malagasy teacher encouraged us to speak with out host family in malagasy though most of that communication was in French. We spoke mostly in english around the school house |
| 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? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | French 209? |
| 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? | Speak to everyone you can in both french and malagasy! |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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 I had more help with the visa process but that's about it |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
French for natural sciences |
| Course Department: | french |
| Instructor: | |
| Instruction Language: | french |
| Comments: | In this class we mostly did grammar and worked from a textbook. We did some activities and turned some things in, but it wasn't clear on what or how we were being graded. I wouldn't say I learned much french for sciences in this class, though there were some days where I felt what we were doing was beneficial (Learned about local whale research). |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I am working on a grade appeal right now because i feel that I was unfairly graded. this class counted as a general french elective |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Biodiversity and Resource Management seminar |
| Course Department: | ENV |
| Instructor: | Many |
| Instruction Language: | French |
| Comments: | the seminar part of the course mostly consisted of lectures from people who worked for local conservation organisations or researchers in the field of conservation in Madagascar. I really enjoyed learning about what was going on in the field, but I felt the course lacked progression or analysis of what we had learned. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Environmental Research Methods and Ethics |
| Course Department: | ENV |
| Instructor: | many |
| Instruction Language: | English/French/Malagasy |
| Comments: | This course mostly consisted of a handful of field studies where we would travel to a special area, learn about the area, then conduct research based on what we had learned. Sometimes we were quantifying lemur behavior, or measuring forest composition. After the first, I think our feedback made the following studied go smoother and there was more clarity and understanding on what we were doing and what was expected of us. After each study we presented our findings. This was sometimes frustrating because we received inconsistant feedback in the moment and it wasn't clear if or how we were graded. Overall, I think the importance of the experiences outweighs the discomfort from grading. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | This counted as a field methods course |
