Past Review
By Margaret B (Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication., The University of Texas at Austin) for
IES Abroad: Barcelona - Study Abroad with IES Abroad
I thought my study abroad experience was very worthwhile. I met many new people from all over and got to live in a city that is very different from Texas.
Personal Information
| 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. |
The workload was not too heavy considering I was taking two classes in a short amount of time. The classes were usually around 15 people so it was nice being in a small class where there was a lot of interaction. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I found the administration to be very helpful. They were very familiar with the country and its customs. The program was pretty small. This was nice because everyone got to know each other. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in the L'Exiample area which was close to the center of Barcelona, where IES is located. Great area of town, very safe! <br /><br /> Out host families apartment was in a great location! Very convenient to the center of the city. My senora and her daughter were very nice. My senora tried to cook food that she thought we would like (hamburgers, potatoes, bread, fried food). The food was okay and she would always make us eat a LOT. If we didn't eat everything she would immediately assume we didn't like it. No matter how full I was she insisted that I finish everything. We were very lucky and had a housekeeper come 5 days a week so the house was always very clean. There was no AC so it got really hot inside in July. |
| * Food: |
Spain has great food options. I ate at Starbucks a lot for lunch. They have really good sandwiches. There are tapas restaurants everywhere and nothing was too expensive. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
There is a mandatory IES field trip. We went to Costa Brava and really lucked out with the weather. We saw a lot of museums but they were very interesting and had a lot of free time. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Barcelona has a lot of pick pocketing. You should always be alert no matter what. Other than pick pocketing, Barcelona is pretty safe. |
| 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 would eliminate the dinners provided by IES on the field trip. They were not very good and inconvenient |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
We didn't practice actually speaking Spanish very much which would have been very helpful. We focused more on verb tenses and conjugations which I was already familiar with. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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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?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | It helps to know some Spanish! Barcelona is a very lively city so someone who has a lot of energy would like this program. Also, there is a lot of beautiful architecture so people interested in that would also love Barcelona. |
