46 reviews
4.20 / 5 based on 46 reviews
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1
Charlie C
Languages
Language of instruction: Spanish
Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish
How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
It is what you make of it. Live with a family, surround yourself with locals, read the paper and watch the news in the local language daily, and speak, speak, speak, and you will learn. If not, don't expect to walk away fluent without trying.
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0
Sean T
Housing
Type of housing: With a family
Arranged by: Home university
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
I had a 4 month agreement to live with the family and afterwards I decided to live on my own. The amount of money that I was paying to live with a host family was equal to the cost of living in a hostal, eating out three times a day and having enough left over for beer money at night. It was not a very economical arrangement by any means.
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Personal comments
I enjoyed living with the family, but I payed way too much to do so and I lived too far away from the University and everything.
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0
jbremer5
St. Petersburg College, Clearwater, United States
Language, Undergraduate, Independent
Housing
Type of housing: With a family
Arranged by: Independently - My choice
If returning, I would choose: With a family
Why?
My family is from Quito and I loved living with them and spending 2 months with them.
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Personal comments
Even though I did not live on campus the campus itself is nice. There is always something going on. I loved sitting outside in between classes
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0
Sean B
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Government assistance
Other sources of funding:
Personal savings
Work opportunities:
It was not legal for me to work
Personal spending habits
The introductiuon of the dollar has turned Ecuador from being one of the cheapest countries to Latin America to one of the most expensive. Foreigners are unfairly charged nearly double for charges like Hotels, Flights, Entry to National Parks.
Didn't save as much as I had hoped.
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Travel:
was more expensive than at home.
Housing, Telephone, Overall, Nightlife:
was the same price as at home.
Food:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
Make sure you apply for a student visa before you enter the country, which means you'll get a residence permit and you won't have to pay the foreigner rates.
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0
Sean B
Housing
Type of housing: With a family
Arranged by: Host university
If returning, I would choose: With a family
Why?
You are forced to practice your target language
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Personal comments
No complaints, it was all arranged by the International dept.
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0
jbremer5
St. Petersburg College, Clearwater, United States
Language, Undergraduate, Independent
Languages
Language of instruction: Spanish
Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish
How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: No problems in any areas (including slang)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
I knew how to speak before I came but my spanish did improve. I decided to take classes for college credit and to lean the grammatic aspect of the spanish language.
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