Salamanca is a Great Place to Study Abroad Past Review
By Lauren B (Government, Spanish, The University of Texas at Austin) for
AIFS: Salamanca - University of Salamanca
Yes it was completely worthwhile. It has definitely put Spanish at the forefront of my future plans, whatever they may be. My cultural awareness has definitely grown - I am more aware and appreciative of our differences and am more eager to learn about and from others.
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. |
The classes were good, but could have been much more challenging. Sometimes it felt like the professors expected little out of American students. All of the professors though were great, approachable, and very helpful. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Gaye and Julia were fantastic. Both were always available and friendly! Both have many years of experience and lots of words of wisdom to offer. They are fantastic on-site coordinators! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The neighborhood was very safe and had all of the normal amenities that we would have at home, except for internet. Everything was provided - sheets, laundry, and all meals. Our host family was great; we were always welcome and conversed lots! It was within about 15 min walk to class and the Plaza Mayor in the center of town. |
| * Food: |
The food overall was very good. Our host mom did a good job of providing us a good balance of things we would eat, but still local food, she just liked to serve us a lot of food! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Our program arranged a number of trips around Spain to Granada, Segovia, Madrid, etc. and provided weekly updates about cultural events going in Salamanca. We also went to a cooking class, tapas night, and a bull ranch. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The city felt about as safe as home. You mostly just used the same common safety sense you would use at home. There were not health issues in Spain, and my only interaction with the health system was great. I went to see the dentist once, which the program arranged, and it operated much like it would at home. The only major difference is that all meds are bought only at a pharmacy, not at a grocery store, etc. |
| 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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | No, the program was expensive, but included pretty much everything needed - airfare, transportation, meals, housing, laundry, etc |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | SPN 325K, 327W - upper division literature and grammar |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
My host family was key for my Spanish practice. Spanish was needed for most everyday interactions. |
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 do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Its a great program overall, but I would say really challenge yourself and take real university classes if you want to really improve your Spanish |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Fonetica Espanola (Spanish Phonetics) |
| Course Department: | SPN 346 |
| Instructor: | Carlos Cabrera |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | This course was great! Carlos was always well-prepared and lots of experience teaching American students. This allowed him to tailor the class to our needs and the general struggles English-speakers have with pronunciation in Spanish. This class definitely improved my speaking abilities! Carlos is fantastic and knows so much about the history of the language! |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Not with this course, comes back as SPN 346 Practical Phonetics |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Geografia de Espana (Geography of Spain) |
| Course Department: | SPN 319 |
| Instructor: | Teresa y Paki |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Course was basically an overview of all basic topics on Spain. Could have been good but we had a professor switch throughout that sort of through the class off a bit and changed the course of the class. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Yes, does not really return for credit, only as an elective Spanish course SPN 319 that is not needed to graduate. Take another course if you really need credit |
| Course Name/Rating: |
La Historia de Espana (History of Spain) |
| Course Department: | SPN 328K |
| Instructor: | Elena Natal |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Good overview of contemporary Spanish history. Not terribly challenging but a good introduction to Spanish history. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No, comes back as SPN 328 Spanish Civilization |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Literatura Contemporanea de Latinoamerica (Contemporary Latin American Literature) |
| Course Department: | SPN 325K |
| Instructor: | Juan Manuel Castillo |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Good course and good level of difficulty. Juanma knows a great deal about the topic and you learn a lot. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Yes, only because I expected it to come back as SPN 325L because of the title "contemporary," and instead came back as SPN 325K, which I had already taken. |
