Learning a little about Spanish, and a lot about me. Past Review
By Joseph O (Spanish Teacher Education, Illinois State University) for
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Granada, Spain
I dramatically improved my Spanish and was able to experience a new culture and meet plenty of great people. I am very fortunate to have received this opportunity.
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. |
I loved the program and the professors. I learned more in the grammar and oral speaking classes than the culture and literature classes. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Using an agency like CEA is completely unnecessary. I am sure most students would prefer to enroll themselves and take care of their own applications and transcripts rather than pay an extra $2000. I was very, very unhappy with the decision to purchase CEA. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Host family needs to provide more food. I recommend that the family is given more money from the agency to use on food. |
| * Food: |
MORE! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Unsatisfied with the excursions that CEA had to offer. |
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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? |
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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Traveling is much more expensive than simply the airfare and the hotel/hostels. You also have to account for transportation (buses/trains/taxis), food, drinks, souvenirs, spending money. |
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? | 213. Advanced Spanish grammar. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
My host family, people at the gym, spanish friends that I had met. The frustrating part was that the other Americans, especially from Illinois State, did not want to use Spanish. |
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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