Barceloca Past Review
By James M (Economics., Tufts University) - abroad from 01/02/2012 to 04/18/2012 with
CIEE: Barcelona - Business & Culture
I would recommend this program to anyone, as annoying as study abroad cliches are: it really was life-changing.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | UPF - ESCI |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The classes were not very challenging compared to my home university, however the educational experience encompasses much more than a lecture plan: taking classes at a local university with Spanish students was a unique opportunity for me. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The CIEE staff were extremely helpful in all aspects of the program from helping with the home university course approval and transfer of credit process to program-sponsored weekend trips across Spain. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I chose to stay with a Catalonian family in a home-stay. I requested a shared home-stay option with a large family, but ended up with a single mother and 30+ "host brother." The family was very cold and treated me as an unwanted guest in their home. They were reluctant to speak Spanish in the house, which was my main reason for opting out of apartment style housing. However, many of my friends on the program had favorable situations with their host families, and I would still recommend a home-stay. CIEE is always willing to help switch students to new families if they have a bad experience. |
| * Food: |
The food prepared by my host family was meager and low in quality, but outside of my home-stay the food in Catalonia and Spain is great: tapas, paella, andn of course, sangria! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Living in a home-stay, taking classes at a local university, and being immersed in a foreign language were all crucial to my integration. From the first day of the program until the last day I saw a massive improvement in my Spanish speaking and felt like a local citizen of the city. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not have many problems with health abroad. I would be cautious of the local system though. It is difficult to find many of the same prescription drugs or medication in Spain as back home, and the one time I went to the doctor's office the equipment looked like it was from a museum. |
| * Safety: |
Safety is not a major issue in Barcelona, or Europe, for the most part. Because of strict laws their are virtually no violent crimes in the city. A few of my friends abroad were robbed by pick-pockets, but only in popular crowded areas like clubs and tourist attractions. |
| 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) |
This obviously depends on how you decide to spend your time abroad. For me, I spent a lot of money over my semester. But I was travelling all over Europe on weekends and going out almost every night. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I probably spent 50 euros/wk on food (My home-stay provided breakfast and dinner). The other expenses depended on the week, but could range from 50 euros to stay in Barcelona, or 300 euros to go skiing in the French Alps. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Use low cost airlines, stay in hostels, eat at cheaper restaurants. |
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 |
We were required to take classes in Spanish, study at the local university, and I stayed in a home-stay. |
| 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 4 (4th semester college Spanish) |
| 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? | Studying abroad in Barcelona was definitely an added challenge to learning Spanish. If your main focus is to learn the language Madrid or Sevilla is probably a safer bet, because it is easy to get confused by the Catalan, but I was still able to learn a lot through classes and living in the city. |
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? | The Spanish language is really the second language in the region to Catalan |
