Provence: Cheap wine and snootiness Past Review
By Laura D (Linguistics., Wellesley College) for
Wellesley College: Aix-en-Provence - Wellesley-in-Aix
It was absolutely worthwhile. Although one of the things I learned from it was that I don't want to live in France again, I learned a lot about myself and was able to evaluate my culture and other cultures from a new viewpoint.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I'm a linguistics major and the University of Provence has a pretty big linguistics program. It was really cool to take classes on my major in another language and another country. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They knew a lot about both American and French high education, and they were very helpful. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
We lived in pretty nice apartments. I didn't live in a host family, but those who did had good experiences (expect one family). |
| * Food: |
I ate at home. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We had several day trips through Provence. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Aix is very safe. |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | We got 500 euro a month from our program (those in host families got 300 euro a month) and it was more than enough for food and personal expenses. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Contact solution is very expensive. Wine is very cheap. So are baguettes. Everything else is more expensive than home. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | A 200-level course (medium, but studying literature; Wellesley has 100-200-300 levels) |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
A lot of people spoke limited English, but my everyday interactions were all in French. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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