La Mejor Experienca de Mi Vida Past Review
By A student (Spanish Language Teacher Education., Illinois State University) - abroad from 08/28/2012 to 12/21/2012 with
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Granada, Spain
I gained a whole new perspective on the world. It was cool seeing how other people live. I became a more open, non judgmental person. Granada was 100% worth my time, and I wish more than anything that I could go back.
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host mom, Maria Gloria Ruiz, was the BEST! She was so nice and just like my real mom. |
| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| 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) |
My host mom cooked me 3 meals a day which was great because I rarely spent money on food. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $30-40 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Live with a host family like I did who cooks so you don't spend money on food! |
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 |
CEA should have made us talk in Spanish more to each other (peers to peers), and enforced that as a rule on our activities and trips. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spanish 215-Linguistics |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Talk with your host families a lot and spend time with them! Make Spanish friends to help practice your speaking abilities and go to language exchange meetings. |
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? |
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 wish I knew how hard it was going to be coming back. I still am experiencing reverse culture shock, and it is kind of hard to deal with. I wish they gave us more insight on how to deal with coming back, because it is really tough. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
