ALA Sevilla: difficult but fun Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This program directly enrolls you in the University. CIEE didn't provide much guidance when enrolling, so the first week of finding classes and teachers you could understand and who would let you take the final early was extremely stressful. The educational system and the teaching methods are really different. Classes are all lecture-based and fairly boring. There aren't any textbooks, the teachers just give a list of about 20 books that contain some relevant information that you can read on your own time. For most classes there aren't any grades except the one final exam. So during the regular semester there really isn't any work to be done unless you brave the library and find the optional readings. It is nice not having work until the finals start approaching because then there is an impossible amount of information to cover in very little time. Some teachers had us cover the material they would be teaching in class after we returned to the US, so that information we had to teach ourselves. Although it was horribly stressful at the time, especially since I had no idea what my grade would be (I still don't know what half of them are), all the people in my program survived.

On-site administration of your program

For me the program administration was very friendly, but pretty frustrating because it would take forever to receive responses from administrators, if we needed anything done we would probably have to ask at least 3 times and then wait weeks for a response, and we were pretty much left without guidance. However, I wouldn't say this is necessarily a fault of the administration as much as it is a cultural difference. In general people (program administrators, tutors, teachers) aren't checking their email often and aren't particularly proactive.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

All students in the Advanced Liberal Arts program were in the Centro of Sevilla which is, in my opinion, the best place to be. This area is close to all the restaurants, la Universidad de Sevilla, the main tourist sites, and it is the prettiest. Overall I felt safe, but I never would walk around at night alone. Each girl in my program including me experienced some form of harassment or was followed home and scared. My host family treated me very well and the program offered numerous times to switch families if that isn't the case.

I usually only eat fish (no meat) in the US and that pretty much isn't an option/isn't easy in Spain. We ate a lot of pork, lots of fried food, and lots of potatoes. I was fine with the change in my diet since it was only a few months, and overall I really enjoyed what I ate, but by the end I was ready for some fruit and vegetables.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The program arranges a few trips for the advanced liberal arts program and I loved all the ones I went on! This program is probably less social than others because our academics are considerably harder and we had to spend more time working for class.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Very safe. The only health issues was an American student died from meningitis, but it was an isolated case.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I practiced the language with all the program staff, my host family, the Spanish students, teachers, and in daily interactions on the street. I tried to use Spanish as much as I could in everyday interactions, but many people, once noticing I was American, would immediately switch to speaking English. In most cases I tried to continue speaking in Spanish anyways just to get the practice.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

• Language level
• Location
• People (students in the program)

• Academics
• More guidance from administrators