Interstudy Durban: Living life in the Rainbow Nation Past Review
By Arita B (Psychology, Bates College) for
University of KwaZulu-Natal / UKZN: Durban - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
This program gave me a greater understanding of global issues and how much power we have as college students in America to make a difference.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Workload was manageable, teaching methods and grading system were a bit different than in the American educational system. Larger classes, centered around lecturing rather than discussion, and most emphasis placed on final exam. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Interstudy was helpful not only with academic advising, but general advising. Anita and others in her office were helpful with course selection, adjusting to the academic workload, and was always there for advice whenever we needed it. Program size was small, so I had very close relationships with the leaders of my program. My expectations were exceeded. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Interstudy provided us with most of the essential items we needed to settle in. The dorms were very safe and close to campus. |
| * Food: |
As a vegetarian, the on-campus vendors provided a nice selection of different types of food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The program arranged for us to go to St.Lucia, Mozambique, and Khosi Bay throughout the year. These trips were very well planned and gave us the opportunity to see different parts of Southern Africa. We also had one-day excursions and a final dinner each semester. Outside of Interstudy-planned trips, we had outings as a group together often. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Durban is very safe as long as you use common sense in going out during the day, and especially at night. There are clinics on campus that are accessible and if I ever had a health problem, Interstudy was the first to come see me to see what they could do to help. |
| 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) |
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Language
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Any type of student that is open to a new experience and is interested in learning about multiculturalism would gain a great amount from studying in Durban. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Basic isiZulu Language Studies |
| Course Department: | Department of IsiZulu |
| Instructor: | Professor Bev Muller, Professor Shamila Naidoo |
| Instruction Language: | English, IsiZulu |
| Comments: | Was challenging, but professors were incredibly helpful to international students and basic understanding of Zulu helped me tremendously with living in Durban and interacting with locals. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
