Everything in Spain was entirely different from America Past Review
By Tulane T (Political Science, Tulane University) for
Complutense University of Madrid: Madrid - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
From my study abroad experience, I took away the experience of independence as well as a greater appreciation for America and my friends and family. I believe my Spanish did improve but not as much as I had hoped it would. Spain is not a country I would like to visit again or live in. My cultural awareness has changed from all the different countries I was able to visit while abroad. It was very interesting and life changing to experience such different cultures in such a different part of the world. I am thankful for the opportunity to travel but I am disappointed in the program.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
My educational experience was very negative for various reasons including the workload was very intensive, the grading system was very difficult to follow and difficult on American students due to the experience level required for the classes with all Spanish students, the teaching methods were horrible in part due to the language barrier but also because the Spanish teachers were not involved or interested in whether the student improved or learned the material in his or her class. Also, the educational system in Spain was so vastly different from the American system that it was extremely difficult to adjust to during just a semester's worth of time. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I did not think that the program's on-site administration was very helpful. Although they were all nice people, at times some of them were difficult to approach and also difficult to get a hold of due to the fact that their office hours were very limited and many times when you went to find them they were on break. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I really enjoyed my host family and I believe my Spanish improved the most when I was staying with them for the first month. The only downside was that their apartment was an hour away from school. After my stay with the host family I had to move to an apartment with three other Spanish students and one American student. The three Spanish students were very unwelcoming and kept to themselves so my Spanish did not improve at all. When they did try to talk to us they only spoke in broken English. The housing process was very difficult because the program was set up in a way that the student is forced to find their own housing with extremely little help from the administration. I believe that from a security and safety perspective this was very poorly done. |
| * Food: |
Spanish food was very bland and repetitive with not much variation or choices. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
It was very difficult to balance the amount of work and free time. |
| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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? | My advice for spending would be to try and save as much money as possible for traveling because that was the best part of the experience. My main unanticipated expense was the monthly 30 euros I had to spend on my Metro and transportation pass. If you are over the age of 21 the monthly price goes up to 50 euros a month. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 400 level Spanish |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
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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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Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Conflictos Armados (Armed Conflicts) |
| Course Department: | History Department |
| Instructor: | Pereira |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | It was a very challenging course because it was difficult to understand the teacher because he mumbled so much and trailed off at the ends of his sentences while also speaking very quickly in Spanish. Although the teacher was very knowledgeable, being a foreign student taking his class was quite difficult. I had to prepare much more than I would have ever prepared for a class at Tulane. In addition to all of this, I do not feel as though I took away anything from the class. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Historia de las relaciones internacionales (History of International Relations) |
| Course Department: | History Department |
| Instructor: | Pereira |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | I do not feel as though I learned anything from the class that has improved my understanding or knowledge of International Relations or Political Science. It was a very difficult class due to some language barrier issues as well as the level of difficulty of the class in general. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
