Studying abroad in Barcelona was the most amazing time of my life! Past Review
By Sabrina F (Finance and Financial Management Services., Trinity University) for
IES Abroad: Barcelona - Study Abroad with IES Abroad
Most definately!!!!
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | UAB- Eixample, UAB- Sant Pau |
| 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 extremely light. I just had to study for exams (we only had two for most classes the entire semester). My home school is much more difficult than the study abroad school. But that was nice because i could have more fun abroad and travel without stress. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program should have not given us class on Fridays like other programs. They also should give students a choice of whether or not they want to purchase the "readers" for each class (because I did not even use the reader i had for one of my classes, and therefore my money on it was wasted). |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived with 2 host families. The first one was wonderful because it pushed me to improve my spanish. i did not have to buy anything like bedding or cookware because the family provided that for us. I really enjoyed having a host sister who was my age because she showed my roommate and i around all the fun nightclubs and places to eat around the neighborhood. But then i had to move to stay with another host because my former host mother found out she had breast cancer. IES was great in giving my roommate and i options in choosing our second host family. We ended up choosing to stay with a señora with a very large flat. That worked out well, but unlike the former host family, she spoke both english AND spanish. This was a problem because she would only end up speaking english to us. It seemed like she was trying to improve her english.. when my roommate and i were trying to improve our spanish.. that was the most disappointing thing. |
| * Food: |
I was very satisfied with the food that I was given from my host families. For future students, I would suggest trying Woki which is an organic restaurant in Gracia. They make wonderful asian food (using woks). also, i LOVED eating at Xocoa which is a very cute little restaurant on Roger de Lluria. I loved that place because they have wonderful crepes and sandwiches and the most delicious chocolates. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I thought the Costa Brava trip was fabulous because it helped the IES kids to get to know one another. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The city is very safe. The only problem is that pickpocketing runs rampant. If you get sick, usually you just go to a farmacia instead of scheduling a doctor appointment. I personally like to see a doctor when i get sick but seeing the farmacia was super easy and generally helped. |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I think my parents sent me about 300 dollars a week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I would say that if you live in an apartment you should try to cook for yourself whenever possible. If you live in a homestay you should eat at home for as many meals as possible because this will save you a lot of money. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
We had spanish class everyday. The teacher, Raul, made the class so much fun. He was my favorite teacher abroad. I definately improved my spanish. |
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? | Have fun!!! live it up and soak up as much of the culture as possible. meet as many people as you can and take lots of pictures. |
