SALAMANCA: EVERYONE SHOULD GO THERE!! Best experience of my whole life <3 Past Review
By Mallory G (Spanish/Adolescent Education, Saint John Fisher College) for
AIFS: Salamanca - University of Salamanca
It was the most amazing beneficial experience of my life and I wish I could have stayed a year or more with my group and my family. I am much more open minded and tolerant of those around me. It was truly the best experience I have ever come across.
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. |
Light workload, good grading system. Some teachers were amazing and made a huge difference in my time abroad. Some teachers I was indifferent toward. Host university is WAY easier and more fun! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everything was great. They were very open and understanding and helpful. It was nice to know you could talk to them about literally anything and they would listen and help. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
MY HOST FAMILY WAS AMAZING! I love them and they are now considered my real family. They treated me like a daughter and I will never forget them...because I will be visiting! |
| * Food: |
My host mom was an amazing cook and cooked anything however we liked it and didn't cook whatever we didn't like. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Some of the tourist sites became a little boring and monotonous but it was worth it to see a new and different city. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Very safe. I had to go to the doctor once and my director came with me. It worked out great and was very easy. |
| 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 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
My host family, my peers, all around the city, my professor. Most people in Salamanca spoke Spanish. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I think Salamanca is an amazing city for students who want to actually speak Spanish. The people are amazing, including the directors who make your time there memorable. The group is small so you become a family by the end, no matter how different you are from each other. Your eyes will be opened permanently to new types of people and your life in general will have changed when you return home. My host family is now a part of my real family. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Phonetics |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Carlos Cabrera |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | IT WAS AMAZING!!! I loved the course. The professor made the content SO fun and exciting to learn. He was amazing and was one of the best parts of my experience abroad |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I was only allowed 3 classes to count toward my major and this made my senior year extremely difficult with a heavy course load. I would suggest to either take a lot of classes beforehand so you can risk studying abroad or talk to advisors before doing so. |
