A Semester in Cape Town Past Review
By Taaj Maddox (Bucknell University) - abroad from 08/23/2019 to 12/05/2020 with
SIT Study Abroad: South Africa - Multiculturalism and Human Rights
I learned a lot about myself and how to advocate for myself. I had a few issues with the program that I had to learn how to cope with and alter on my own or with my classmates. I appreciated greatly the opportunities this program presented that allowed me to actually explore and learn on my own and so I fee like I personally really grew from the experience. It was absolutely worthwhile.
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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I feel like the people that I met in my program and a lot of the experiences I had I wouldn't trade. Of course there were issues and things I would change but ultimately I would go back to Cape Town and visit my program advisors and I'm still close with some of the people from my program. |
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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 50 |
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 |
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| 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? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | N/A |
| 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? | Study it, use it with your homestay families, especially the kids |
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? | I wish I had been more prepared for how intense the first few month are. I went in expecting the same amount of freedom I had on my home campus and with a program like this one, It just wasn't really possible until the last month when we were doing independent study. |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
