Spending the semester under the sea Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

In general the classes weren't particularly hard, but there were a few points in the semester where we had assignments due for all courses at the same time, which made it difficult. The Directed Research part of the semester was amazing, and intense in just the right way. The professors were very supportive and I felt like I learned so much.

On-site administration of your program

The center director was great and always there to talk/help when needed. The SAM at the time was not fantastic, and could have done more to help us get to know her/the island/the rest of the group. She treated us like we were much younger than we actually were.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

We were on a tiny island. They weren't fantastic or anything, but we had our own bathroom which was nice. There's also more storage space based on what you would think from the program manual. The room is pretty small and there are bunk beds, but you spend so little time in there it doesn't matter.

Considering the food comes on a boat once every two weeks (ideally) the cooks do a fantastic job with it. It gets repetitive after awhile, but none of it is actively bad. They're really great at accommodating vegetarians. There are very few options for getting food outside of the center on the island.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

We had community engagement twice a week throughout the entire semester. A lot of it depended on how much effort you put into it. Some students got to know locals a lot better than others. We talked about the culture a lot in class, which was interesting

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

There was a doctor on the island, and the clinic had hours every weekday. If there was ever an emergency (which there was not while I was there) the doctor could be called, or worst case the person could be med-vaced to the main island. They were always good about dealing with small things like ear infections that inevitably came up.

They kept us very safe. But at the same time, it felt like they were trying to put too many safety measures in place, considering most of us were 20+ years old. It was all with good intentions, but could get frustrating at times.

Even though there were frustrations during the program with rules and professors and other students (as is expected when you're only interacting with about 40 people for an entire semester), I got to spend time almost every single day in the water. I became a much better diver than I was before going. In addition, I learned field techniques, and got to research coral bleaching. South is a very particular place, and it's not for everyone. But, my goal when going abroad was to spend time on/in the ocean, and gain experience in that field, which I definitely did

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

There was very little to spend money on here. If you chose to buy snacks/personal items that could get expensive (as everything is shipped from Miami and costs much more than it would in the states). The only thing people really spent money on was drinks during the weekend.

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• Dorm

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• Americans

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• Americans

• Recreational dives about twice a week
• The directed research portion of the program
• field exercises that involved snorkeling

• Staff should treat students more like adults, not like they expect us to do something wrong
• Having curfew doesn't make for a better relationship between us and the locals, it just makes the locals amused with us.
• Personally, I wish the program had been more academically challenging, but that may not be the view everyone has.

The Avid Adventurer