the Balkans blew my mind Past Review
By Claire G (Political Science, Grinnell College) for
SIT Study Abroad: Belgrade, Budapest, and Vienna - Comparative European Perspectives on Conflict and Democracy
I just applied for a teaching assistanship program in Macedonia because I want to go back to the Balkans soon!
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. |
My final paper was a 60 pg paper based off of a month of conducting field work in Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program is very student focused--we had a lot of opportunity to direct our own research, and a lot of the responsibility of the coursework was placed on our shoulders. The program has a strong experiential learning component, involving travel (within the city and regionally) which was important in developing multiple perspectives on the material we were approaching. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I had two host families--one that spoke primarily in English to me (my host mother taught English) and I learned less Serbian. But my second host family, in Bosnia, my language skills increased dramatically. I had a wonderful time living with both my families--I changed families because I wanted to conduct field work in Bosnia, not Belgrade. |
| * Food: |
Serbia is not an easy place to be a vegetarian, and I decided before I left to begin eating meat for my stay there. It was difficult for the vegetarian in our group, but she managed. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We spent two weeks traveling through Bosnia and a week in Prishtina (Kosovo), which were amazing experiences. In addition, we were encouraged to explore Belgrade on our own, and I developed a really wonderful relationship with the city. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt so safe in Belgrade--walking alone at night as a woman was not a problem. While it took a while to get used to how Serbian men interacted with women, I never felt threatened or in danger. |
| 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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Language
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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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? | The program demands self motivation, and passion. But do it! The program has the flexibility to meet the interests of students from a wide variety of backgrounds, and was an amazing experience for me. |
