Unforgettable! Past Review

By (Utah Valley University) - abroad from 06/08/2012 to 06/23/2012 with

Utah Valley University: Traveling - Community Health & Nursing

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I gained valuable experience listening to children's hearts and learned what is normal and abnormal. It was worth it, no question!

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.

This was one of the most amazing experiences I have had in my life. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a lot of hard work and fun.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Everything went smoothly and was well planned in getting to the schools and teaching the children.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The housing was wonderful and the staff that cared for us was awesome

* Food:

The food was pretty good, although there were somethings I didn't like, such as tarrow

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt pretty integrated with the culture and the people were amazing, welcoming us with open arms.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

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)

It was a very expensive program to pay for, then we had the plane ticket to pay for along with our food expenses and personal expenses, so it would have been nicer if the program hadn't been quite as much.

* Was housing included in your program cost? Yes
* Was food included in your program cost? No
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? about $50-$100, we had to buy all our own drinks, including water when we were on Savaii
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Make sure you get a bunch of bottled water packed onto the crate that they send over, and make sure you bring plenty (read send on the crate) of snacks and breakfast foods. We sent a box over but ran out after the first week.

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

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? Beginner
How many hours per day did you use the language?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
  • Hotel
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? 0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • I loved working with the kids in both teaching them and the one on one time we spend with them listening to their hearts
* What could be improved?
  • As a nursing student I wish I had gotten more experience with listening. I understand the community health students were there to learn too, but I feel like it was more beneficial to the nursing students to listen to the children's hearts
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? That we would be buying all our own drinks.