Barcelona Fiesta Past Review
By Laura N (Urban Studies/Affairs., The University of Texas at Austin) for
IES Abroad: Barcelona - Study Abroad with IES Abroad
definitely worth while. i like traveling and i have done it before so i already sort of knew what to expect. however, staying in one place for 7 weeks proved to be a slightly different situation. i definitely earned a lot more independence. which is what i wanted. i also had enough time to really get to know some people from spain. it was cool and we still keep in contact.
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
teachers were awesome, interested in students and learning was actually fun with all the field trips. workload was appropriate for a study abroad |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
they tried to be helpful, but i didnt really get the feeling that they could solve many administrative problems. they were very welcoming. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
i didnt know that living in an apartment would cost me $800 more!! i requested a residence hall but was given an apartment as my second choice. it turned out fine because i made friends with my room mates and could have friends over whenever i wanted. my RA was super awesome but i missed an american kitchen often whenever i had to cook. there werent really sufficient cooking utensils, pots, pans, etc. |
| * Food: |
i had to buy all my food and found that very expensive. i had already paid $1500 for housing and upon arriving, really wished that included food, as it did for home stays and residence halls. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
i learned a lot about barcelona. it was awesome. the very best parts of traveling, and more. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
they notified us when there was something going on in the city and made sure we were safe often. it was very comfortable to know there was someone watching out for us. |
| 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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
you could get by with english if you really had to but it would make things difficult. if you want to practice more spanish stay with a host family. i didnt but my spanish was greatly immproved anyway, mostly because i chose not to speak english often except with my american friends. |
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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | do more research into whats going on with the program. IES seems kind of hard to work with but try to figure out whats going on and stay on top of your game. talk to other students who have gone in the past so you dont repeat there mistakes. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
20th centrury painters-picasso, dali and miro |
| Course Department: | art |
| Instructor: | mathew clear |
| Instruction Language: | english |
| Comments: | a really interesting class. talked about the intriguing parts of paintings and the painters' lives. really enjoyable. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Intermediate Spanish II |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Nuria Plaza |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | she was very fun to see everyday, encouraged us to speak spanish-one of the best ways to learn. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | i possibly will. make sure you get everything in writing. |
