Barcelona: Best summer of my life Past Review
By Lauren W (Business/Corporate Communications., The University of Texas at Austin) for
IES Abroad: Barcelona - Study Abroad with IES Abroad
About to enter my senior year of college I felt pretty concrete and set in my ways. However, studying abroad showed a side of me i didn't even know existed and was able to expand my personal perception and beliefs even further. It has taught me that I am someone who needs to constantly be traveling and experiencing new cultures and meeting new people. I plan to travel more after i graduate because of the positive experience i had studying in Barcelona.
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 spanish improved greatly not only from the class i took but the submergence into the Spanish culture. Being able to balance a language class with a food and culture class gave me a well rounded experience of living in Spain |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I believe the administration prepared me for what to expect but at the same time gave me the freedom to be an adult and make my own decisions. They offered support throughout the program so i knew if i had a problem or question i would know exactly where to turn to |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I loved my roommates however i was not aware that an RA would be living in the apartment as well. If i had known ahead of time that i would be living with an RA i maybe would have chosen to do a home stay instead. Our RA was not very helpful and made it seem that she did not want to be living with a group of American girls studying abroad. |
| * Food: |
I really enjoyed the spanish food and felt that i got to truly experience the spanish lifestyle and culture by changing my eating habits and expanding my taste to trying new things |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The friends i made from the IES program are now some of my best friends. It is a great bonding experience and allows you to meet people from all over the world that you would never imagine meeting anywhere else. The friendships i made were the best part of my entire study abraod experience. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I got a sinus infection while studying and immediately IES was able to make me a doctors appointment and get me the medicine i needed. I felt taken care of and safe through the IES program. |
| 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? | It is easy to overspend on meals and drinks when you first get there so to go with a budget in mind would be the smartest tip |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | none |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I would speak spanish to the cab drivers and locals as much as i could, I would recommend staying in a host family to get the full submergence and constant spanish speaking experience but i would say i spoke spanish every day even though everyone mostly spoke english. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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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? | This is a great first experience to trvael the world but still feel the comfort of a school and program to rely on. I would recoomend it to students who haven't travelled much but is ready for an experience that will test their boundaries and help them grow. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
FOOD AS AN EXPRESSION OF CULTURE |
| Course Department: | CU351 |
| Instructor: | Camila Loew |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | It was a challenging class, and the teacher was a hard grader but it was interesting material and i really enjoyed the hands on participation. The treading prepared us well for the mid term along with the papers we were assessed on. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I havent recieved my credit for these courses yet and now am registering as a year younger because of the delayed credit transfer. I would recommend making sure credit is received right after your return home |
| Course Name/Rating: |
ADVANCED GRAMMAR AND USAGE I |
| Course Department: | SP301 |
| Instructor: | Nieves |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | I really enjoyed the teacher as well as this class. It was challenging but at the same time small enough to where i was able to get the one on one attention i needed to do well in the course. I enjoyed the group work we participated in however the only complaint i have was the length of the course and time of day. It was right in the middle of the day which made it hard to find time ti explore spain during the day time |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | None |
