Exploring the amazing city of Barcelona!! Past Review
By Lindsey B (Communication and Media Studies., The University of Texas at Austin) for
IES Abroad: Barcelona - Study Abroad with IES Abroad
My study abroad experience was amazing. This experience encourages me to travel to see the rest of the world, and appreciate America!
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. |
The spanish classes were great, the art history class was a little too intense for just taking it as an elective. The teaching staff was great! They very helpful and sweet. The grading system is based on pass/fail so it is pretty easy! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program did a great job encouraging the students in the program to meet and explore the city of Barcelona together. Their school field trips were very knowledgeable and fun. The program knew anything and everything about Barcelona, and helped solve all issues and concerns. The only weakness was how far the living situations were from other students and the school, and the quality of the living situations. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Our apartment was poorly located as it was a 45 minute walk to class and other students housing, and was in a lower neighborhood of barcelona. We had an RA who failed to provide toilet paper, dishes, etc. The apartment was extremely dirty, hot due to no AC, and next to a brothel. I would never stay there again. |
| * Food: |
Compared to Europe the food in Barcelona is not as good and pretty expensive. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We toured the coast of Spain and Dali museum with our program and had the time of our lives. We stayed at a 4-star hotel and had great food! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The program updated us on any sicknesses, danger zones or other issues involving our safety in Barcelona and all of Europe. If anyone needed a doctor the program took care of it. |
| 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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
The program did an excellent job encouraging and improving our use of Spanish. We could only speak in Spanish in our Spanish class, while our art history class gave us a historical look at the language. Yes, Spanish was needed in everyday life of Barcelona, from taking the metro home, to ordering dinner every night! Most people did speak a LITTLE English. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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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? | This summer program is a great way to get the experience of living abroad and traveling throughout Europe without staying over two months! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Great 20th-century artists: Picasso, Dali, Miro |
| Course Department: | Art History 223 |
| Instructor: | Matthew Clear |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | The teacher was very knowledgeable and well-prepared, he clearly loved what he was teaching, but for a first-level art class the expectations were too high for the students. The class had to do a lot of work. The city of Barcelona was the perfect place to take this art class, as everything the students were taught was displayed around them. I would recommend this class, but it is quite challenging. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I have not transfered my credit yet. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Intermediate Spanish in Context 1 |
| Course Department: | Spanish 201 |
| Instructor: | Pep Ingles |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Teach was incredible, helped the students improve and further their spanish speaking ability. Course work load was light, and the main focus of the class was improving the Spanish and using the language in everyday life. This class helped me comfortably practice my Spanish on the streets of Barcelona. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I have not transfered my credit yet. |
