AMAZING Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The classes I took were Spanish cinema, international finance, contemporary society and politics in the arab world, the internship class, and the mandatory 2 week intensive course. There wasn't too much homework or readings in general, but midterms and finals were pretty hellish because essentially the majority of your grades were determined by those 2 weeks. I really enjoyed Spanish cinema and the internship, but there were a lot of people who strongly disliked the internship because usually there isn't a lot of meaningful work for you to do and it does take A LOT of time each week (time that you could instead spend hanging out with friends or doing other cultural activities that CIEE plans, etc). However, I still felt that doing an internship was a good way to experience the culture. International finance was pretty boring/terrible. No one in the class enjoyed it (even those who generally speaking like finance). The intensive course was also pretty useless. Mostly you just cram a bunch of Spanish business vocab into your brain and then forget it after the test and hardly ever use it again.

On-site administration of your program

Overall, they were helpful.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My family was very nice to me. I didn't have any problems. You can live with a host family or in a dorm. If you live with a host family though, you'll probably gain a much better understanding of the Spanish culture and I highly recommend it. However, choosing to live with a host family does require you to be more considerate than if you lived in the dorms. For example, let your senora know ahead of time if you can't make it for dinner or be sure to keep your room clean/make your bed. If there is a problem with your host family, there are several times throughout the semester that you can switch host families.

As far as food goes, it really just depends on your host family. Some cook better than others. Going out for tapas is always fun!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

This really depends on the individual. YOU have to be the one to try to integrate yourself into the local culture. It can be hard at times because you will naturally want to hang out with other American students in the program. Breaking out of this bubble is difficult. I recommend living with a host family, joining a conversation group with local Spanish students, or taking the internship class where you work for a Spanish company. These things all helped me. If you have a high level of Spanish proficiency, you could also direct enroll in some university classes with other Spanish students.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had no issues with safety while in Sevilla, even if I was walking alone late at night (I am a woman btw). Some people got pickpocketted, but this usually only happens if you make yourself an easy target.

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

Well the exchange rate could be better, and Europe isn't cheap. So if you're really tight on budget and want to improve your Spanish I'd look into studying in Central or South American. However, it was still cheaper for me to study in Spain than at Trinity. Also Sevilla was much cheaper that living in Madrid, where I have also studied. You can save money by eating all three meals at home with your host family on most days.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Every class I took was in Spanish.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Americans

• Seville - it's a beautiful city

• the mandatory intensive course

The Academic or Linguist