The cross-cultural experience I have always dreamt up! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Overall, I enjoyed my classes abroad! All of my classes were taught in Spanish, so they were more academically challenging than the classes I was used to at my home university. Because of this, I was strengthened and challenged to improve upon my Spanish skills, and learn more about Spanish culture through it's historical, artistic, and linguistic perspectives. I especially enjoyed my literature courses!!

On-site administration of your program

The IES Abroad Madrid staff for the most part were very accommodating and kind and wanted the best out of each student. It was however difficult to communicate with some of the staff members sometimes, because of the language barrier, which sometimes lead to confusion and minor issues. But for the most part, I really enjoyed the staff and they made the experience as smooth for each of the participants.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I absolutely LOVED living inside of the residence hall (colegio mayor), as it was a cultural hub filled with students from around the world! I was able to practice and improve my Spanish and in turn help my friends improve their English. I was able to have freedom as I lived by myself with no roommates, but also had the opportunity to be a part of the student community and make wonderful friendships.

On my program, I lived in a colegio mayor, so I ate all of my meals inside of the dining hall. I really enjoyed the food, but I will say there was a lack of variety of vegetables and healthier foods... they served french fries almost every day. In general though, the food was flavorful and much better than my home institution.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I made a lot of local friends by joining a local church and getting involved with serving, I also took an IES sponsored Flamenco class, and learned a lot about Spanish culture from my friends who lived inside of the dorm with me.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The IES abroad staff was so caring and kind when it came to health and safety concerns. The personnel actually accompanied me to the hospital when I needed treatments and had doctor's appointments and made me feel very at ease and cared for.

I felt extremely safe in my host city, and even felt safe to walk back at night by myself, even though I lived right next to a park. I would say the biggest thing is to stay alert and attentive while in public spaces for pick-pockets, but I never had any precarious moments or issues with feeling unsafe.

I LOVED my program so very much! I loved the location in Madrid, and the opportunity to live in a big, metropolitan city with so much vibrancy and life, so that I could truly experience the heart and vitality of Spain in its capital city. I loved the opportunity of living inside of the Spanish dorm, allowing me to learn more about different cultures, and interact with people who were different than me. I also enjoyed being able to travel to 11 different Spanish cities, and fully immerse myself into the dynamic culture of Spain.

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

I think it was a bit difficult to live on a student's budget, as there was so much stimuli and things to do and see! Although I lived in the residence hall and all of my meals were paid for me, I still enjoyed eating out, to taste the local cuisine, and found resisting the temptation of going out to be very difficult. I learned to budget some, as I bought groceries for snacks and things to eat inside my room, to help me from spending so much money out at restaurants.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Inside of the classroom (during class discussions, in homework assignments and lectures) we had to use Spanish, as all of the courses were conducted in the language. However, outside of the classroom, especially at the study center, there was not much encouragement or sense of accountability from the staff to enforce using the language at all times when in the colegio. It was a bit sad and disheartening that people came all the way out to Spain just so they could speak more English. It truly came down to motivating yourself to use the language and being more cognizant respecting and appreciating the host culture by using the host language as much as possible.

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• Dorm

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

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• Americans

• The Colegio Mayor (dorm)
• The language immersion
• the location

• organization of the classes (work load in some courses)
• changing the daily spanish class to later in the day
• encouraging the students to use their spanish more inside of the study center

The Academic or Linguist