A Trip I Will Never Forget!! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Barcelona International College offers an array of academic classes to enroll in. For Spanish language studies, they offer you a placement test in which you can study beginning, intermediate, and advanced/ intensive language Spanish Studies. I hadn't taken a Spanish grammar class in a few semesters, so I decided Intermediate Spanish was the best option for me. They also offer fun elective classes to take such as the Role of Futbol in Spain, Spanish Art History, Child Psychology, along with a few others. The Role of Futbol In Spain class was super fun. We went on a few field trips every week such as the FC Barcelona stadium and the 1992 World Olympics Stadium. My overall educational experience was great because while we were expected to take classes, our professors understood we were there to learn about the culture of Spain, so they did everything they could to immerse us into the city.

On-site administration of your program

The on- site administration team was awesome. They held a very informative orientation for us, and gave us emergency phone numbers, options to purchase cell phones to use in the country, and told us the do's and do not's of how to live in Spain. They told us how to avoid pick-pocketing and were very available for any questions or problems we had.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My living situation was the absolute best. I lived in a neighborhood called Gracia, which is very local and filled with cute restaurants, shops, and bars. I lived in apartment with 5 other girls. There were 5 bedrooms, so I was able to get my own room. We shared a kitchen, living room, and two bathrooms, one which had an awesome balcony. We also had a washer and dryer in our apartment, and our living room was very big and open with a lot of windows. It was a great place to live.

The CISabroad team made sure we got to try a lot of different local foods. They took us to a restaurant and we ate paella, patatas bravas, fish, pan con tomate, ensalada rusa, along with many other items. We also were able to attend a cooking class to learn how to create many of the local Spanish dishes. We were also able to cook in our kitchen in the apartment, so we didn't have to eat out every single meal which saves a lot of money.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Because I lived in Gracia, a local neighborhood, I felt very immersed in the culture. It was far enough away from the city center that tourists wouldn't frequent the area. I was able to speak in Spanish to the owners and waiters of restaurants, my apartment doorman, as well as people on the street when we were asking for directions. I was able to really immerse myself in the culture and speak Spanish, which was my whole purpose of studying abroad in Spain.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I was very sick my second week in Spain. I got gastroenteritis and had to go to the local clinic. When you study abroad with CIS, you automatically get health insurance with your program. My on- site director, Laura, gave me written instructions on how to take the metro to the clinic, and even said that she would get someone to go with me if I didn't want to go alone. Once I got to the clinic, I had a translator greet me immediately, and we were able to get everything straightened away with the doctor. I left the clinic with a prescription for antibiotics and I also left feeling very good about the service I was given.I would recommend that clinic to anyone in Barcelona.

I felt safer in Barcelona than I do my own college city. You should still always travel in groups, but being out late on your own isn't too scary because the night life is so prominent in Spain. People don't eat dinner until 9 or 10, so if you're out that late it's not like you're the only person on the road. I never felt unsafe riding the metro at night, but if one did, they would always have the option of riding a cab to wherever they needed to go.

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

Barcelona is a relatively cheap place to stay, especially compared to other European countries such as France. When I was there, the exchange rate was that 1 Euro equaled $1.40, so you would lose a little bit of money when you were there. Either way, there were so many local produce shops and grocery stores, and the food is relatively inexpensive. You also are not required to tip your servers at restaurants because the tip is already built in to the price, so that can save you some money as well.

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

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• Apartment

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• Americans

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• Americans

• The people I met in my program
• The food I ate
• The memories I will have forever

• More optional excursions for summer programs
• Longer summer programs (5 or 6 weeks)
• More cultural classes

The Outright Urbanite