The most enriching time of my life! Past Review
By A student (PSYCHOLOGY., Brigham Young University) - abroad from 06/18/2012 to 08/13/2012 with
Study Abroad Programs in Austria
My experience was extremely worthwhile and I would recommend it to everyone! I learned about culture and history and about accepting other cultural beliefs and differences. I actually gained insight into American culture as well.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I LOVED my humanities course and the professor. She was amazing and helped me appreciate the art that we were surrounded with. I enjoyed going to all the museums and getting to apply the things she taught us. As for the German class goes, I was quite underwhelmed and disappointed. I learned hardly anything, which is frustrating to me because I paid to learn German and expected to. It's a shame that I wasn't even taught basic survival terms or phrases. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I loved my directors and thought they did a fantastic job. I didn't really like the institute that we worked with there, however...I didn't learn any german. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I really enjoyed living with host families because it provided an invaluable experience of the culture--how they speak, live, act, and eat. I loved it. I loved dinners with my hosts. |
| * Food: |
Hooray for food! My host mom was an excellent cook. I also loved the hot dogs, happy noodles, and ice cream. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
After living there for two months, we didn't consider ourselves tourists anymore. Although we couldn't speak German, we still blended in well with the other city people, making us feel like we were indeed a part of the local culture. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Having traveled to other countries during and after the program, I have found that Vienna is a very safe place to be. It's clean, well lit, relatively crime free. Of course, taking appropriate measures also increases safety. Never go out alone, especially at night. Stay away from less crowded areas at night, and keep your eyes open for shady characters or places and be sure to avoid them. Always know where you're going and how to get there before you leave to avoid becoming a target and getting lost. |
| 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) |
I had a hard time getting into the swing of things and deciding how I wanted to spend my money, but it really wasn't that hard at all to live on a student's budget. Looking back, I could have spent my money more wisely and saved a lot. Once you figure out the best places to buy food, or what you want to eat, it's quite cheap. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spent about 50 euro a week |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Establish a budget for yourself before you leave, but don't let it restrict the things you want to do. Try ethnic/local foods at least once. Don't spend too much on eating out, that just sucks up money. If you live in an apartment with kitchen access, go food shopping. However, European culture is different; don't buy a week's worth of food at once, it'll go bad before you get to it. Buy one or two things at the grocery store--you'll have to go frequently. But trust me, buying stuff to make a sandwich, or buying a drink at the grocery store instead of a street vendor saves you so much money. |
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 |
This program was a little different because students were not required to have taken the language course before leaving. My difficulties were compounded by the fact that my German teacher was lax and didn't encourage or promote German speaking in the class and that I didn't learn anything anyway. So I wasn't very encouraged to speak and consequently left the country with no knowledge of it's language. |
| 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? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | none |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 0 |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Take a foreign language class before you leave and get into the habit of using it in everyday life. Be confident in your skills and don't be afraid to use it. Practice everyday and look at words in your surroundings to build your vocabulary. |
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 can't think of anything...I liked how I learned things while I was there. |
