Granada Spain: There's No Place Like Home Past Review
By Caroline D (Business/Corporate Communications., The University of Texas at Austin) for
AIFS: Granada - University of Granada and Internship Program
Exceeded my expectations. My only regret is that I wish I would have done a year.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The spanish education system is very different from America, and the workload is extremely light in comparison. However, I took all my courses in spanish so even though the outside of class work amount was very low, I still was getting a lot of practice with the language, which was of the utmost importance for me. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I cannot express how amazing my program and its directors were. They have inspired me to look for a career in this field as well. They have been doing it for so many years that they know every in and out of the system and know exactly how to get things done and the best way to go about things. The program has so many activities and excursions throughout the semester because they are very insistent on you getting the absolute best experience possible. They offer many cultural experiences so we really got to know the city we lived in and everything it had to offer. They were always throwing a million suggestions at us the entire semester, it was literally impossible to be bored. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
No I did not need to buy anything extra. I was most definitely treated like another family member by my host family, I absolutely loved them. I was in a great location. Granada is a small city so you are able to walk everywhere, I absolutely loved it. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| 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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I lived with a host family so I had to speak spanish every single day. And as I previously mentioned, I took all my courses in spanish as well so that definitely helped. I also lived in a much smaller city than other ones that were offered so english speaking citizens were at a minimum. I enjoyed this because I truly felt immersed and felt more like a local than a tourist at any given time. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | No matter how terrified you think you are, the leap of faith you will take will provide you with the most amazing experience of your entire life. |
