Past Review
By Maddie D (Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication., The University of Texas at Austin) for
IES Abroad: Barcelona - Study Abroad with IES Abroad
I had a great experience. I would love to move to Barcelona someday. It was very enlightening and has opened up my mind to different interests and ideas.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | IES Barcelona |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Had classes from 1 pm to $:45 pm Mon - Thurs. This made it hard to be able to do any sight seeing etc. at all during these days, especially with such an intense workload from my Spanish class. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Did not come in to contact with administration much, so I don't really know. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived near the Lesseps Metro station -- Albigesos 1. <br /><br /> I was assigned the host family by IES. It was near the metro so that was nice, but never once did a cab driver know how to get to my apartment complex after a night out, so that was a problem at first. It seemed like a nice, safe neighborhood. Not much night life. It was just a lady around 55 and her dog. She was supposed to make us breakfast and dinner everyday, but never made us breakfast. And the dinners were tiny (and usually the same -- consisting of some lettuce, some chooped up tomato, some balsalmic dressing on the side, and a small piece of turkey) because she was on a diet. And she didn't allow us to eat anything else she had. She never changed our sheets during the whole 6 weeks and I started getting bites and had to strip the sheets and sleep on a blanket I brought with me for the rest of the time. She was also very rude to me. |
| * Food: |
At my homestay there was not enough food, and not very good quality/variety. Although when I ate out food was typically very good. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
My most valuable memories are of exploring the city -- just wandering around and getting to know Barcelona. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt pretty safe there. Make sure you know how to give directions to a taxi driver about where you live. A ton of my friends got pick-pocketed so be careful with your purses/backpacks. |
| 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? | N/A |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| 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? | Third year Spanish |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I lived with a host mother so I could practice with her. Although since my Spanish class was too difficult for me I feel like I didn't really learn much at all, because I still didn't understand a lot of basic language construction. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Be open. Get out and see as much as you can. Try to immerse yourself in the culture. A student that just wants a taste of another culture -- not immersion -- would like this program. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Great 20th Century Painters: Dali, Miro and Picasso |
| Course Department: | AH 223 |
| Instructor: | Matthew Clear |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Really enjoyed the course. Learned a lot. Great teacher. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Unsure |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Intermediate Spanish in Context II (A, B) |
| Course Department: | SP 202 |
| Instructor: | Nuria Plaza |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Too difficult. Teaching methods not helpful. Do not feel like I learned much. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Unsure. |
