Eye opening and life changing the best experience any individual could ask for! Love One Love All - LOLA Past Review
By Zac S (St. Michael's High School, Santa Fe) - abroad from 08/20/2013 to 12/19/2014 with
Study Abroad Programs in South Africa
There are so many things an individual will gain. One of which is the thirst to see more, to be greater, it will fuel your ambitions and of course it was worthwhile
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The Love One Love All program provided me with education both in and outside the typical classroom. My class's were not too challenging but not too easy |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The mentors of the program are all smart educated and relatable people. They all have tons of travel experience and are very good at handling any type of emergency situation |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
From family stays, hostels, to camping living arrangements were never a problem for us |
| * Food: |
The program provided me with more than enough food. From local street vendors to ceviche in Peru. What's i found amazing was food is include in the program cost |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The integration of culture was fairly easy for me as individual. I think a large reason why is because of the Spanish courses we took at the beginning of the trip |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I experienced a small accident where i cut my foot. The mentor was calm and collective he handled the situation very well. The healthcare was provided to me immediately at a local hospital and i was in and out in less then an hour |
| * Safety: |
There was never really an issue on safety all locations we went too felt rather secure and welcoming to travelers |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
|
Finances
|
* 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) |
Living was easy because the price of food is included in the initial cost of the program |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spent maybe $50 a week on personal items from snacks to souvenirs |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I highly recommend students look into and take advantage of the many scholar ships available to students. Also just setting money aside a little at a time |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
|
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
The program required me to take a two week intensive Spanish language course. This really gave me a good solid foundation for traveling through these spanish speaking countries. With this program you are emerged in Spanish and are forced to learn at times. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I had done three years of Spanish at my high school. But in all honesty i did not learn much if anything about Spanish. |
| 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? | The best way to learn Spanish is to have someone speak it with you. It is easy to study words and conjugations but putting a sentence together in a real life situation is much more difficult. I would try as much as possible to communicate with someone who is fluent |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
| 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? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | The less you take in your backpack the happier you will be |
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 Avid AdventurerThe wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal. |
