Where you stay makes all the difference in a city like Paris Past Review

By (Biology, General., SUNY - College at Geneseo) for

SUNY Geneseo: Paris - Humanities Course

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Yes, I definitely enjoyed it but I would recommend to the professors and the study abroad office that they find somewhere else to stay.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was fairly easy and spread out over many days. Very few days actually spent in the classroom but the test material seemed to come from no where since we spent so little time being taught directly.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Since we traveled with a French professor, the culture aspect was pretty well covered. However, when it came to the hotel in which we stayed we were very much left in the dark.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

We were placed in rooms of 3 or 4 of students that were all from our school in NY. So we did not have any interaction with the language in that aspect of the trip. The hotel was not very accommodating when it came to cleaning, changing sheets and towels, reasonable times to come into the room or even speaking English although they claimed to be an international establishment. We were provided with almost everything but wash cloths; however, we were not allowed to bring food upstairs and the restaurant was not open at convenient hours.

* Food:

Some days were better than others, but the system was not efficient and the servers did not know how to tell us what they were serving us.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Most of the sights of the city were amazing and very worth while, but the excursions that were built into the curriculum were by far the best part of the traveling experience.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

You had to use common sense and city smarts as you traveled throughout Paris, but the hotel was good about checking for room keys when you came in late at night.

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)

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Hotel
* Who did you live with?

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  • Americans
  • Other