El Nuevo Madrileño - How you can become Spanish in 4 months Past Review
By Christian S (Spanish and Biology, Providence College) for
CIEE: Madrid - Liberal Arts
Yes, I learned a lot about myself, as well as both Spanish and American cultures. I have become much more aware of what is happening in the world and I want to continue to use my ability to speak Spanish back in the United States.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Universidad de Carlos III de Madrid |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Workload was lighter. The only work I had was to do readings for my literature classes as well as a few exercises for my language class. 1 of my classes was entirely lecture for the hour and a half. The others has a class participation component. Like I mentioned above, The majority of the grade came down to a final project and final exam. The final project was most likely a research paper. Therefore, although there wasn't much work during the semester, it was assumed that you were working on your final project. The teachers were amazing and knew their information frontwards and backwards and none used notes as a guide. They were very versed in their field. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The directors has office hours but they were very limited, if I needed something during the week it was sometimes hard to get in contact with them. They were not available from Thursday-Sunday. Program was the perfect size, about 30 kids. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Lived in a great part of town (San Bernardo metro stop) which was safe and aesthetically pleasing. My house was about 45 minutes from school and less than 10 minutes to go out. I walked everywhere, even at night and never had a problem all semester. I don't think any of the students in my program has a problem. No I did not need to by sheets or anything. I brought bathroom items like soap and shampoo that I would have otherwise had to purchase. I was treated as a member of the family and I am still in contact with them. |
| * Food: |
The program let the host families know of any dietary restrictions and they were more and willing to accommodate. Food was great and I did not have a problem getting accustomed. It was harder coming back and eating American food, although I did miss eating big breakfasts. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Trip to the Canary Islands |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Safety is not a problem. At times I did hear about a student running into a problem with a gypsy or a small incident with a pick pocket. However, these were small and isolated incidents. Overall the city is safe and no one was worried about walking through the city at any time of day. The main thing is to just be smart and not to lend yourself to be easily targeted. |
| 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? | I had to pay for "textbooks" (claves) at the university and printing is not free. Aside from that, if you want to travel, plan early. If you want to go out look for deals or discoteca promoters who will be able to get you in most places for free, or at least with a good discount. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Teachers in school and host family. Yes, VERY few people in Spain speak English so you need to use it in everyday activities. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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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? | Try and speak Spanish all the time, even though it wil be a lot easier to speak English. Get involved, volunteer, make spanish friends, take some classes that are direct enroll, get to know Madrid, but also take some time to see the sites of Europe and Spain. |
