Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

All of the classes I took were conducted in Spanish. It gave me a chance to completely immerse myself in the language and soon I was able to think and respond in Spanish. I had a great academic experience.

On-site administration of your program

I was thoroughly pleased with CEA's administration. They were always there to help, they answered all of my questions, and left me without any doubts pre-departure. I did not feel overwhelmed or nervous.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in an apartment in the middle of the city with 2 American roommates. <br /><br /> The one thing I was unhappy with was the size of the bedrooms. One bedroom was a master suite with a big bed and a bathroom attached to the bedroom. The second bedroom was a normal size with a smaller-than-single bed and the third bedroom almost didn't even fit a bed. It was so small. It wasn't fair that the bedrooms varied in size to such an extent. Also, we didn't have any oven or a bbq so it was impossible to cook and grill things. We pretty much had to buy prepared food and microwave it or just make things on the stove. Our neighborhood was amazing. We lived in a great, trendy, part of town a few blocks from the beach. It was close to everything and it felt so safe.

Spanish food in general is pretty bland. You have to get pretty creative.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Alicante was such a great place, culturally speaking, because there were things going on every weekend in the city center. There were countless parades, fairs, etc. Also, my program organized so many events. We went to museums, visited all of the historic places, went to all of the cities and towns surrounding Alicante and we also travelled as far as Granada and Toledo.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

My roommate has a sever nut allergy and one day she accidentally ate a nut in her cereal. We rushed to the hospital and we had no problems. They treated her right away and after everything was ok, they told her that they would take care of everything. We were provided insurance and they just needed the number on her card and everything was all set.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

My mother was born in Cuba so I am Cuban-American. I have grown up around a Spanish speaking family my whole life so my Spanish speaking skills were sufficient before I travelled abroad. I have only taken one Spanish course at Providence College because I am already advanced, so-to-speak, in that area of study. I was already an advanced speaker compared to the other students in my program but I can say that the other students, whom did not speak Spanish as well, improved greatly in their time abroad.

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• Apartment

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• International Students