My Semester Abroad: Discovery and Adventure Beyond the IES Bubble Past Review
By Kaitlin K (Comparative Literature., Barnard College) for
IES Abroad: Barcelona - Study Abroad with IES Abroad
My study abroad experience was worthwhile despite the disappointing program I chose. Studying abroad taught me how to find my own happiness and to not let the confining structures of a program determine the quality of your abroad experience. Although, a great program makes happiness much easier to come by.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Universitat Pompeu Fabra |
| 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. |
The workload was easy and very managable. The grading system was much more lenient. It was evident the professors expected very little of the students which was disappointing and frustrating for me because I came to Barcelona to learn and to satisfy requirements for my major. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administrators were very accessible and helpful. As bad as my original housing situation was, I was grateful and impressed by the program's ability to respond quickly to my dilemma and switch me to a better housing situation. However, overall, my expectations were not met with the program. I was expecting greater cultural immersion and to be surrounded by other students that had similarly motivated academically as I was. I came to Barcelona to learn more about Spanish literature and to better my language proficiency. I was disappointed to discover that most people knew very little Spanish and had no intention of learning it. It seemed most people came to Barcelona to party and go to clubs, which was a great aspect of the city, but not the only thing. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My first living situation was horrible. There were three American students sharing a small living space. The apartment was located far from class and nightlife. Our dinners were not home-cooked but often consisted of insubstantial frozen meals. It was obvious that the only reason why she was hosting us was for the money. My second living situation was much better. We ate authentic Catalan dishes at dinnertime. My host mom always shared our meal with us so that we could practice speaking Spanish. The apartment was located much closer to class and nightlife. |
| * Food: |
My second host mom was a fantastic cook. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The program offered nice field trips but all of which you had to pay an additional price for. I only went on one, the Dali Tour, and enjoyed it very much. We went to the Dali museum in Figueres and Dali's home in Cadaques. The guide was well informed on Dali's history and had a lot of interesting facts to share. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| 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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Be aware of the Barcelona pickpocketer, don't let yourself fall into the trap of false security. |
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? | Intermediate II |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I spoke Castellano in all of my classes, when interacting with my host mom and in my weekly meetings with my language exchange partner. However, most of the time I was surrounded by Americans, a lot of whom barely knew Castellano, so I spoke English a lot more than I wanted to. It was hard to break out of the American bubble created by the IES program. |
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? | Don't chose this program if you're looking to immerse yourself in Catalan culture and to become fluent Spanish. However, if the reason why you're studying abroad is so that you can brag to your fraternity/sorority friends back home that you partied in Barcelona, this program is perfect for you. |
