Barcelona: Everything you could imagine and more Past Review
By Alex H (Civil Engineering, University of Virginia) for
Internships in Barcelona
Besides improving my language skills, I learned a great deal about the culture of somewhere other than the US. On top of that I met some awesome people and made some new friends. As far as cultural awareness, the experience definitely made me want to go abroad more and experience even more.
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. |
N/A |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Program Coordinator (Mario) was awesome! The program helped to get acclimated to being abroad and there were plenty of fun excursions pre-planned events. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The apartment building itself was good. We moved around quite a bit so some were better than others. The location, however, was great for night life and proximity to a lot of stuff (food, tourist attractions, etc). |
| * Food: |
The food was awesome at most places (some were not so great but thats anywhere you go). As far as adjusting to being away there were plenty of american places nearby. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Trip to Pamplona and Logrono were great! The Costa Brava trip at the end was really fun too and a relaxing way to end the trip. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
No vaccines needed. Safety was the same as any city (have to pay attention to your surroundings) but certainly not dangerous place (never felt unsafe). Plenty of pharmacies around but I brought my own meds (tylenol, advil etc.) from the states so never had a problem with that. |
| 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
| 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?
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? | If you're even on the fence considering it and are able to do it then go for it. There's nothing that compares to this experience (or international experiences in general). You'll learn things you never even considered or thought about and in the end it'll be an experiences you'll always remember and never want to forget. |
