"The past has gone, what you wait for is absent, the present is you." Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was very manageable. This is definitely a program where you have to balance out your work with your activities, but it is doable. Grading is a little different and though there is a syllabus for classes, as there is in the US, they change a little more often during the semester. IES professors are conscientious about the fact that students were not accustomed to the European grading scale and class structure, thus they were a little more lenient when it came to papers and projects. This is not to say the courses were made less difficult, but that students were given more opportunity to improve their grades.

On-site administration of your program

IES Granada dealt with everything and anything very well. Their housing director knows every family like the back of her hand and on day one was telling students what they could look forward to with the families they had been paired with. The only complaint that I would have with their housing director is that there were a few minor problems between students and their host parent(s) that could have been addressed better. Other than that, students who had serious hostfamily differences to sort through had them taken care of quickly and efficiently. If someone is unhappy with their home, the housing director knows several other backups that suit a students needs and personality. All IES Granada professors had some type of formal background with teaching American students and if they did not have experience teaching American students, they had a good grasp of American culture and education and of the similarities and differences between American culture and education and Spanish culture and education. This made any misunderstandings in classes much easier to address. The program size has increased each year, but I can say that all the IES Granada students get very close. I saw my IES Granada group as a family. Everyone was very open with one another and respect was shown to everyone. Group trips to other parts of Spain were always efficient, informative, and fun and whenever we returned to Granada after a weekend in Sevilla, Córdoba, or Cabo de Gata every student always felt that they were traveling back "home". The professors are full of life and they all clearly love what they teach which makes for a bright and satisfying experience. Another trip IES Granada makes is to Morocco. Prior to me leaving for Spain, my parents were concerned about the trip. It is a different culture, but one that needs to be experienced. IES Granada knows all the families that you stay with in Morocco just as well as they know the families that they pair you up with in Granada. For a group of more or less 50 students trying to cross back into Spain, IES Granada had all passports collected and reviewed in no time and we were back on our way to Spain in an orderly fashion. All aspects of the trip are handled extremely well for a safe, diverse, and life changing experience.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The neighborhood I was in was a great location. I was a minute walk away from the Parque de Ciencias and had access to the Palacio de Congresos where there was often some sort of activity going on. I had about a 30 minute walk to the IES Granada building. The walk was extremely pleasurable and absolutely beautiful. Every morning I would wake up to the sun peaking over the Sierra Nevadas which I could gawk at on my way along the river to class. The apartment building itself was great. There were three other IES Granada host families in the same building and we all had a large lunch at the end of the semester. It was a bit of a walk to meet anyone in town, but it was a pleasurable one and a very safe one. It was easy to navigate where to go from where I was located and if I ever did feel unsafe or was coming back home alone at night, taxis were very accessible. The only things that I had bought were toiletries and food for dinner or snacking. The host families provide breakfast and lunch, but dinner is on your own. I was not allowed to use the stove, but I know many students who after forming a good relationship with their host family, could use it every so often. I simply went grocery shopping for dinner and would either make a small sandwich or salad or go out with friends. Lunch is usually so large that dinner isn't much of a problem.

I did not have any dietary restrictions, but my roommate was gluten intolerant and our hostmom did an excellent job at tweaking her cooking for my roommate. If she ever fried anything she bought a special corn mix so that my roommate could still enjoy the same dish as us, she always used different pans when cooking so that she wouldn't risk the chance of getting gluten products in my roommate's food, and if there was something she wanted to cook that did not have a gluten free recipe she wouldn't make it so that my roommate wouldn't miss out on a food she couldn't experience. Quantity of food was more than enough and it was all absolutely delicious! There are plenty of options to dine in town and it is usually fairly cheap. You can definitely buy a drink and get a free tapa, which doesn't happen in many parts of Spain. There are plenty of options whether you want traditional Spanish food, Moroccan food, or vegetarian food.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

All trips were fantastic and each had their own special factor. Málaga: Experiencing the buffet line in organized chaos Las Alpujarras: Looking around during lunch break at the top of the mountain and seeing that almost everyone's host mom had packed a bocadillo de jamón con queso (ham sandwich with cheese) Córdoba: Experiencing the Mezquita after having learned about it in Islamic art and arquitecture Sevilla: private flamenco performance outdoors, bike ride with students throughout sevilla Albaicín: a stroll throughout during orientation week, reaching the Mirador de San Nicolás and seeing the sunset over Granada and the Alhambra Ronda: enjoying chocolate from a small chocolate shop after an excursion through arab baths in this humble mountain town Gibraltar: taking a "stroll" up the rock of Gibraltar, reaching the top and seeing the crisp blue water beneath the half rain half sun sky and later enjoying a fish and chips dinner in a strange english pub with IESers Morocco: experiencing a new language barrier with hostfamilies, but creating just as strong a bond through a simple game of hand gestures and english mixed with whatever other language you can speak, experiencing a hammam, the architecture, the market, the morning hike through the blue painted town of chefchaouen Cabo de Gata: the 7 hour hike along the coast until we reached our hostel, a large and well earned dinner followed by a midnight chat on the beach with IESers and professors - took place in May, towards the end of the program, everyone was reflecting on the lifechanging, emotional, beautiful, difficult, and amazing experience Granada had been and how they were going to find a way to come back Going for a coffee with some friends from choir and sitting outside for three hours next to some palm trees. Taking part in a flash mob followed by an ice cream in the plaza with some friends. The IES Granada reception: Javier's speech, pomegrante flowers showered over all of the IES Granada students, and seeing how happy everyone was. Coro de Ciencias: doing more singing than eating in a restaurant in Jaén after our performance, but most importantly the people I met in the choir with whom I am still in touch. Chatting with Erminio and Lotfi after classes before walking back home for comida. Getting lost and discovering a breathtaking view in the sacromonte with a friend. Being part of an impromptu flamenco performance in the Mirador de San Nicolás. Salsa in a humble pub with locals and friends. Singing invented song lyrics and dancing under a traffic light with an important local friend. Watching gentusa with my hostmom and learning about her amazing artwork. A fellow classmate's concert in a small restaurant in town. and the list goes on...

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The town is very safe, taxis are available, Javier is a phone call away at any hour for students who are in need of assistance.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

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• Host Family

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• Americans
• Host Family

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• Americans