Page 1, Q3. Major 1 ECLS Jun 27, 2012 6:39 PM Page 1, Q4. Program (City, Country, Program Sponsor) 1 St. Petersburg, Russia, CIEE Jun 27, 2012 6:39 PM Page 2, Q1. How much did the accessibility of Occidental College s study abroad program influence your decision to attend Oxy? 1 The fact that Oxy made it so clear they were big proponents of studying abroad was nice, but I would have made Study Abroad happen for myself anywhere I went. Jun 27, 2012 6:52 PM Page 2, Q2. How did you first hear about Occidental College s Off Campus Study Program? 1 I can't remember. I think I always assumed it existed. Jun 27, 2012 6:52 PM Page 2, Q4. To what extent did you succeed in accomplishing your goals? Why did you succeed or not? 1 I certainly improved my Russian significantly, and greatly expanded my knowledge about Russia. Living with my host family was an excellent experience, and I think I grew personally to a degree. Jun 27, 2012 6:52 PM 23 of 29
Page 3, Q1. How many students were on the program? 1 Approx. 60 Jun 27, 2012 6:56 PM Page 3, Q2. How many Oxy students? 1 Just me. Jun 27, 2012 6:56 PM Page 3, Q3. Please comment on the goals and academic abilities of your fellow students. How were they similar/dissimilar to yours? 1 Many of my fellow students were much more interested in the political side of Russia, and the possibility of working with Russia diplomatically. At the same time, everyone wanted to improve their Russian, and everyone was interested in the literature and history of the country. Jun 27, 2012 6:56 PM Page 3, Q4. Describe the background of your classmates, e.g., all Americans, all Oxy students. 1 All Americans, some first generation. Jun 27, 2012 6:56 PM Page 3, Q5. Describe your housing situation. 1 I lived with a woman and her two 20-something sons. they all spoke quite good English, and were overall wonderful people. Jun 27, 2012 6:56 PM Page 4, Q2. In which of the following did you participate: 1 I helped to teach English at courses for university students and adults who simply wished to learn the language. Jun 27, 2012 7:01 PM Page 4, Q3. List any courses and/or professors you would recommend. 1 Leonid Loshenkov Any course. Leonid's perspective is wry, fascinating, and Jun 27, 2012 7:01 PM 24 of 29
Page 4, Q3. List any courses and/or professors you would recommend. invaluable for understanding a Russian's approach to Russia. Page 4, Q4. List any courses and/or professors you would suggest avoiding. 1 Irina Efimovna Makoveeva Russian Cinema. Irina takes this class far too seriously, and the workload becomes an obstacle in terms of the overall Study Abroad experience. Jun 27, 2012 7:01 PM Page 4, Q5. Did you experience academic problems? 1 I had many major issues with the way the academic program was run by CIEE. I talked to various staff members about the massive workload, the schedule, the professors whom I found lacking, etc. Ultimately, very little was resolved, or changed at all. Mostly I simply received the response that there wasn't really anything to be done, this was simply the situation, and they were sorry I felt this way. For these reasons, I have trouble recommending the otherwise excellent program to future students. Jun 27, 2012 7:01 PM Page 6, Q1. How much interaction did you have with people of the host country; other international students; other Americans? 1 Locals: A good deal. Aside from my host family, I had several Russian friends with whom I spent time, and most of my professors were Russians. Other Int'l Students: None. Other Americans: Only really the ones on my program. Jun 27, 2012 7:11 PM Page 6, Q2. Did you contact Oxy alum living abroad as part of the Alumni and Study Abroad Partnership Program (ASAPP)? 1 No. Jun 27, 2012 7:11 PM Page 6, Q3. What strategies can you recommend for meeting locals and making friends? 1 Volunteer teaching English, hang out in bars and clubs, appear American. Jun 27, 2012 7:11 PM 25 of 29
Page 6, Q4. Were there aspects of the culture with which you were not comfortable? 1 Not particularly. Jun 27, 2012 7:11 PM Page 6, Q5. What suggestions do you have for future participants for engaging with the culture? 1 Roll with the punches. Russians tend to have different ways of looking at things. Let them. They can frequently be quite pushy in these situations, you actually can refuse. Women will have more difficulty, but this is true in most places, unfortunately. Jun 27, 2012 7:11 PM Page 7, Q1. How much did you spend on airfare to/from your program? 1 Approx. $1,500 Page 7, Q3. What was the approximate exchange rate during your stay? 1 $1:33 Rubles Page 7, Q4. How much did you spend on books and supplies? 1 Approx. $50. Page 7, Q5. How much did you spend on local transportation to/from daily class? 1 Approx. $150 Page 7, Q6. How much did you spend on personal travel during your time abroad? Please specify length and nature of your personal travel. 1 Approx. $600. I went by train from Moscow (where the program had taken us), to Riga, Latvia, then by bus to Tallinn, Estonia, and by bus back to St. Petersburg. I 26 of 29
Page 7, Q6. How much did you spend on personal travel during your time abroad? Please specify length and nature of your personal travel. went with three friends. We stayed in relatively cheap hostels. Page 7, Q7. Describe how you took your meals, e.g., groceries prepared in kitchen, dining hall etc., and how much you spent on meals weekly, not including, bars, clubs etc.? 1 I ate breakfast and dinner at home almost every weekday, and lunch typically in the dining hall, occasionally at the business center nearby. Weekends I typically ate out. I spent around $40 on meals every week. Page 7, Q8. What would you recommend as a minimum monthly budget for incidental expenses, excluding travel? Please include recommendations for such items as: local transportation to/from daily class, telephone calls, internet, laundry, museums, concerts, movies, cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs. 1 Approx. $40 for transportation, $200 for cafes/restaurants, $100 for bars, etc. $50-100 for cultural experiences. Page 7, Q9. How do you recommend taking your money abroad? Did you open a local bank account? 1 Cash is very good to have, though ATMs will take most debit cards without charging you more than what your home bank charges. Page 8, Q1. What sort of items or clothing did you take along and then find you did not need? 1 Reflective strips for clothes. My suit was arguably not necessary. Jun 27, 2012 7:57 PM Page 8, Q2. What did you take that you found most useful? 1 Warm clothing, boots, LONGJOHNS. Jun 27, 2012 7:57 PM Page 8, Q3. What do you wish you had brought along? 1 Nothing I didn't bring. Jun 27, 2012 7:57 PM 27 of 29
Page 8, Q3. What do you wish you had brought along? Page 8, Q4. Were there any items you wanted that you were unable to obtain? 1 Not really. Hot sauce. Jun 27, 2012 7:57 PM Page 8, Q5. In general, how would you describe the weather in the area in which your program was based? 1 Overall fairly miserable, especially Spring semester, as February and March are extremely cold. Unfortunately, though it's cold, it doesn't actually snow that much, so you end up with a lot of wet, nasty streets, black ice, etc. but no pretty snow. By mid-april, it started getting sunny, and sunny days in St. Petersburg are fantastic. But it still wasn't warm, and probably didn't get above 70 F while I was there. Jun 27, 2012 7:57 PM Page 8, Q6. Did you have access to computers and/or email? If so, please describe what type of computer services you used. Did you use your Oxy email? 1 I brought my laptop and had wi-fi in my homestay. There was also wi-fi at school. I used my Oxy email. Jun 27, 2012 7:57 PM Page 10, Q1. Any suggestions to the IPO for improving Occidental s on-campus orientation or other services? 1 Make it more evident that programs OTHER than those sponsored by Oxy are available. Page 10, Q2. What information about your program could be emphasized more to prospective applicants? 1 Pretty much everything. I learned hardly anything from Oxy about my program, it all came from CIEE. 28 of 29
Page 10, Q3. Describe the overall strengths and weaknesses of the program. 1 Strengths: Housing, other participants, cultural opportunities, travel to other parts of Russia. Weaknesses: CIEE St. Petersburg seems to have a great deal of difficulty deciding whether it wants to treat students like children or adults. This waffling became horribly obnoxious. The academic program, as mentioned above, was largely terrible, with vast amounts of time spent commuting and sitting around doing very little of value while waiting for classes to start. These classes the frequently provided me with nothing useful, and all the while I could have been out experiencing the city/country on my own. Many cultural programs were available, and this was good, but the way CIEE staff treats them as "mandatory" is problematic, especially when we took weekend trips out of town our time was so managed that we couldn't actually see much of Moscow for ourselves, for example. Page 10, Q4. Do you have any suggestions for the program director(s) and/or staff off-campus? 1 Look into alternative programs for Russia. Page 10, Q5. For what sorts of students, if any, would you recommend this program? 1 I have trouble recommending this program because of its academic weaknesses. However, if someone is truly passionate about Russia and the Russian language, this will probably not dissuade them, and they'll probably make the best of it. Students should be resilient and flexible. Page 10, Q6. Are there students you would especially recommend not enrolling in this program? 1 Overly sensitive to racial/ethnic prejudice, sickly, have trouble adapting. Certain people on my program had serious difficulties with Russia simply because they had the wrong temperaments for it. It really requires a lot of patience and resilience. You will find yourself frustrated very often, and you need to be able to deal with this. Page 10, Q7. Would you select the same program, if you had it to do again? 1 I haven't done any research into other programs, but I'd imagine a better alternative exists. 29 of 29