Madrid: Tireless Exploration Makes For an Experience of a Lifetime Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was manageable over the summer. I took three courses (I audited the Spanish language course since I could only get 2 credits from the program), which was more class time than my friends, but still not that much in the grand scheme of things (the Spanish class met 4x/wk for 1.5 hours/class, the Art History class met 3x/wk for an average of 1.5 hours/class, and the Literature class met 3x/wk for 2 hours/class). Midterms were straight forward essentially spitting back what you learned (analyzing a little for the literature class). Finals were not cumulative (they were a second midterm). All courses were taught in Spanish which was a great opportunity to work on comprehension and formulating and presenting ideas, in addition to learning new words and phrases. I did not take classes at a Spanish University; they were run by very qualified staff members pulled in from various places located in a community college's residence hall (there were classrooms and offices there). Would have been interesting to have taken classes at the Universidad Compultense with other Spanish students (which can be done during the school year).

On-site administration of your program

The IES staff was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about everything and would go out of their way to make sure that you had all the information you needed or could want, which I really appreciated. There was an orientation the day after we arrived in Spain that went over most of what we needed to know and there were tours and activities planned throughout the summer that we could choose to sign up for, which were definitely worthwhile (Historic tour, trip with Spanish students to Parque de Retiro, Segovia day trip, cooking class, Flamenco class, tour of different art museums, etc). Wish I had spoken Spanish more with my peers and met more Spanish-speaking students, although they did provide opportunities for that. Expectations were met above and beyond. Extremely happy with my experience.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Lived with a woman and her 12-year old daughter in their apartment. A pretty good location (20 min walk from Puerta del Sol; 30 minute walk to class/8 minute bus ride+10 minute walk to class; a 3 minute walk from two different Metro lines) that was assigned randomly. She told me that her house was my house and to take what I needed and that I could come in and out as and when I pleased (I received my own key). I was treated as a family member/friend in the house, which was nice because I know some people had somewhat strict host mothers. I grabbed breakfast in the house by myself before class and she cooked "la comida" (huge midday meal)- she would sometimes eat with me if I was back in time, but would leave it out all day for me if I wasn't. She know my dietary restrictions and worked to vary up what she served me. I did not have cooking privileges, but that was fine. She had sheets, towels, etc for me and I had a lot of shelf space in my room. Nothing was stolen from the apartment.

Both the program and my host mother took my dietary restrictions into consideration (no pork products and no seafood) and were flexible. Fantastic food when we ate at restaurants with the program. My señora cooked good food. Lots of ham and pig products, but you can find other things (I don't keep strict Kosher so I suppose it was easier for me). Being Vegan is fairly difficult in Spain, but you can make it work if you cook your own meals (I had a friend who was).

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The first evening we were told to meet up with the students of the program that lived near our apartments, which was helpful- we walked around and got a feel for the area. Parque de Retiro picnics, seeing Puerta del Sol peaceful protests in late May and June, visiting museums with the program, Segovia meal with program, Valencia weekend trip with program, cooking class through program, Sierra de Madrid day trip through program. El Rastro flea market on Sunday mornings, go to El Tigre and Kapital!, visit Palacio Real. Explore the city.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Program had protocol for what to do when you were sick (list of numbers to call, pharmacies all over). Provide their own International Student Health Plan and cover everything (don't need to get from Brandeis). There will be pick-pocketing in Spain so be aware--girls get a good bag that zippers/closes well; guys don't put things in your back pockets. Be aware. Keep your stuff on your person (not just within arm's distance). Walk with someone else/a group when it gets to be dark (which doesn't begin to happen until 9:30pm during the summer), but I have had no bad experience walking back in the early morning even with one other person. Metro stops running from 1:30-6, but there are night buses and taxis.

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

I spoke Spanish with all of the staff on the program, so had to explain what I needed help with, what I wanted to change, small-talk with them (they would hardly ever speak in English). I spoke Spanish with my host mother (spoke good English, but generally only spoke to me in Spanish) and sister and with my host mother's friends when they were over. I would order in restaurants, shops, or museums in Spanish. I generally spoke in English with my friends on the program, but that was pretty much it.

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• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Host Family
• Americans