Not the experience I was expecting, but definitely an experience. Past Review
By Alexis Karagas (Trinity University) - abroad from 01/04/2016 to 04/07/2016 with
Arcadia: Barcelona- Arcadia in Barcelona
I learned a lot about myself during the three months I was abroad.
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 classes were for the most part interesting but extremely easy. I had maybe 30 minutes of homework a night. Compared to my home university, it was about the level of high school courses. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The women at Arcadia Barcelona were so helpful and nice! It was nice always knowing there was someone who genuinely cared about you. It made being so far away from home a little more bearable. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in an apartment with 8 other people. Two girls were from Arcadia, one other girl was American, and then we had a girl from Belgium, France, Iceland, Mexico..and then three guys moved in and out from Germany during my three month stay. It was hard living with so many people, especially at night because my room was right off of the living area so many nights people were in there being really loud and I had a hard time sleeping (and i'm usually not one to complain about things like that). Also, the people I lived with were savages..they never cleaned up after themselves in the kitchen so the kitchen was constantly filthy. Leaving dirty pots and pans overnight (mind you we had to share the pots and pans so that meant whoever wanted to use it next had to clean up after others) |
| * Food: |
I didn't really like traditional Catalan and Spanish food. However, they have the freshest fruits and vegetables there so that was definitely a plus! and the fresh food is much cheaper in Spain than it is back here in the States. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I didn't really immerse myself. Everyone from my program stayed with each other and went to American clubs and bars. I could do that at home so unfortunately, there wasn't a huge component of integrating with the culture and the locals. Or at least not that I experienced. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I never had any problems so I can't really answer this, the people I knew were usually helped quickly. |
| * Safety: |
I always felt safe in Barcelona. There are always people out and about. I lived in Exiample neighborhood which is near tourist attractions and is a nice part of the city. I would go running in the mornings by myself at the Parc de la Ciutadella and never felt threatened. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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 |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
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? | That most of the students were from the same two universities so if you weren't from there, it was a little harder to connect and feel included. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Rags to Riches |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Matthew Clear |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | A lot of students in my program did not like this class because they criticized the instructor and the workload. I thought it was an excellent class and really immersed us into the culture of Barcelona. We had one lecture and one corresponding field trip each week and typically a short reflection paper due each week. I loved this class and all of the information and history I learned about Barcelona. Whenever I had friends and family come visit, I was able to tell them so about so much of the history and facts. (I even knew more about the city than our Barcelona Bike tour guide!) |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
