Tapas, Fiestas & Siestas: an amazing experience Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Amazing classes. I found I learned so much more here than in my university courses because they only speak to you in Spanish and really encourage conversation. I hadn’t had as much experience with this beforehand.

On-site administration of your program

First the program administrator for Adelante in Madrid doesn’t speak any English. This would have been a problem if my roommate in my apartment, who was completely fluent in Spanish, was not there most of the time to assist me with understanding and speaking with him. He is a nice enough man. However, we did have one incident when he called my roommate and I ungrateful for not wanting to work 40 hours a week, when it actually is against Spanish working laws and not what we agreed to do coming into this program. Overall he was very nice though and he told us to think of him as our grandpa abroad, which was sweet.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

They were reasonably nice apartments; however the landlord and his mother who lived across the hall from me during my first month had a lot of confrontation with one of my roommates which ultimately cause me to have a lot of mishaps with them just by association. Also, they pretty much enter the apartments whenever they want. After I moved things were a lot better. There is no AC in the apartments though and in the summer they can be unbearably hot depending on where your room is in the building. Also, because they are in the center of Madrid they can be very loud at night; to me this was a fair trade-off because they really are located in a prime spot in the city.

I do not eat red meat, and I am not a fan of a lot of meat in general. Spanish people love ham and meat so it was difficult for me to find Spanish dishes that I like. My favorite is paella, but that’s about the only food I particularly care for. If you are a vegan or vegetarian keep this in mind that a lot of the food here has meat. Also, I found Spanish food quite bland and lacking a lot of flavor.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I feel like I was able to completely immerse into the culture. From siestas in the day to staying up until the sunrise partying the night away with the locals. I do enjoy Spain´s relaxed culture. However if you’re looking for efficiency, or excellent customer service you won’t find it here. Everyone is so chill and nobody is in a rush. Most of the time this is a great thing, until you’re lost or in a rush to do something. Overall I would say that I loved the culture here and the wonderful people I met.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had no health care issues.

I felt extremely safe here. Besides from pickpockets, which come with every major city, I never felt I was in any imminent danger.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

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• Host Family
• Apartment

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• Americans
• International Students

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• Americans
• International Students

• Supportive Adelante Staff in America
• My internship experience
• Spanish classes

• Housing

The Outright Urbanite