dual-ness July 30, 2022
By Bobbie N (Brandeis University) - abroad from 02/07/2022 to 05/23/2022 with
SIT Study Abroad Nepal: Development, Gender, and Social Change in the Himalaya
I learned a lot about myself, both through the people's eyes and through introspection. Of course I learned a great deal about Nepal- things that are amazing already, things that people are working to improve- and that was also awesome
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. |
overall very good program. loved my instructors and love Nepal |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
welcoming & helpful |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
loved my homestays and the few hotels we visited. Clean rooms, friendly people, good food |
| * Food: |
loved it. spicy and very similar to what I'm accustomed to |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
while i won't pretend that i ever stopped feeling like a foreigner, i rarely was made to feel like that was a bad thing and was always encouraged to take part in the culture to a degree with which i was comfortable |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
things like diarrhea, motion sickness, altitude sickness, vomiting, and bug bites, were all things that we were susceptible to and sometimes experienced. our program staff tried to prevent this issues as best as they could and helped us when these issues could not be avoided |
| * Safety: |
was always safe |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
i felt at home in a way that I never felt on my university campus. I was alone but not lonely and I didn't expect that |
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 mostly spent money because I could and wanted to. It wasn't necessary to spend much money after my initial program fees |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | i could spend no money if i wanted to. i spent about 10-20 dollars on snacks every 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 |
language classes were intensive and involved assignments that required you to start conversations with people in Nepali only |
| 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 |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 7th semester Mandarin |
| 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? | don't be shy. practice speaking as much as you can. don't try to compare it to the language(s) you already know. |
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? | n/a |
