Granada: A Journey Worth Taking Past Review
By Celeste A (Spanish Language and Literature., Illinois State University) for
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Granada, Spain
Yes, it was eye-opening to live away from home and be totally on my own. I learned to be more independent and to get out of my comfort zone.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Workload= very minimal. Some teachers better than others. Grading system= confusing. For most classes, our only grades were based off of attendance and one project, so it was hard to gage how we were doing in a particular class. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Strengths- Very helpful when it came to registering for classes, took us on many excursions Weaknesses- Would have liked more long-distance excursions. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
At first I didn't like the food, but I grew to like it. It also helped that for much of the time, I was the only student in the house, so my Senora only made food that she knew I liked. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The trip to Sevilla and Cordoba was fun, it was nice to able to get to know new people and have a lot of free time to wonder around different cities. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Granada is very safe, mainly because people stay up so late there that the streets are rarely empty. |
| 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? | If I would not have traveled, it would have been very easy to stay within budget. However, there were so many unexpected trips that I ended up taking. It would have helped to budget in advance for these trips. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Lan 244 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I was able to practice Spanish with my host mother almost every day. I needed to use Spanish on a daily basis in order to do most things. |
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 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? | Will really benefit your Spanish if you live with a host family. Also, try not to speak English as much as possible. |
